1968 Chevrolet Nova - Introducing Project Nova

A coat of Dupli-Color 1,200-degree ceramic paint was applied to the cleaned-up headers. The pipes look to be a 1 3/4-inch design, which will tap a little into our power. We used 1 3/4-inch headers on the dyno, and that's the size that will eventually go on the car. For now, these refurbished pipes are already known to fit.

With the old engine out, it was the perfect opportunity to clean up the engine bay and spray bomb it with a few cans of Dupli-Color semigloss black acrylic enamel. We soaked the bay in degreaser, then used a heated pressure washer on the frame, suspension, firewall, and fenderwells. We did a final prep clean with acetone before hitting it with the rattle can. The improvement was amazing.

Our first misstep was ordering a short water pump/pulley kit, when the old engine was set up for a long water pump. We ordered a Summit mechanical water pump Pro Pack (PN CMB-12-0026), which contains a Weiand short water pump, water neck, Trans Dapt billet aluminum pulleys, Mr. Gasket thermostat, and fasteners. At just $215.95, it's a killer deal, but we quickly discovered that the short water pump we wanted to use wouldn't allow our traditional alternator mounting position. Turns out, we would've been OK if we had just ordered the long water pump version of the kit.

On the bright side, we learned that a Weiand short water pump does indeed clear COMP's two-piece billet timing cover with room to spare. We ended up cleaning the factory cast-iron water pump from the old engine, and painting it with aluminum paint. We also mediablasted the old pulleys, and painted them with Dupli-Color satin black.

Our Dart SHP 400 short-block came internally balanced, so we ordered a zero-balance SFI flexplate from TCI, and attached it with strong ARP flexplate bolts.

Totally Stainless makes some of the strongest, best-looking fasteners around, and we like the durable, long-lasting performance of stainless steel. For all our cosmetic fasteners, we used Totally Stainless' "engine" kit, which includes fasteners for the distributor, fuel pump, intake, oil pan, thermostat housing, timing cover, valve covers, and water pump. We like how fasteners for each part of the motor are separated in different bags and clearly labeled. We got the six-point kit for stamped, perimeter-bolt valve covers (PN 6-5655, $155).

We tried one of Summit's Edelbrock-sourced 110-gph fuel pumps (shown, PN SUM-EDL21) for $49.95, which is a screaming deal, because it's built by Edelbrock, it doesn't need a regulator, and it's good for 600 hp. The only problem is that the inlet and outlet are clocked 180 degrees, and in our '68 Nova there was no way humanly possible for both the inlet and outlet to clear the crossmember, motor mount, and engine block. We ended up using the nearly identical 110-gph Edelbrock 1721 pump with clockable inlet and outlet-for $42 more.

Time to drop the Dart SHP 400 into the Nova, but oops, it doesn't fit. Criminy sakes, it's just a small-block Chevy in a Nova, what could be easier? We discovered that our Nova was originally a six-cylinder car that had a transplanted V-8. We don't know if the crossmembers are different, but we can say for sure that a six-cylinder crossmember does not like our big Moroso oil pan.

Our Moroso 7-quart Stage 1 drag race oil pan is the ultimate in engine protection for a hot street car, with an integral crank scraper and internal baffling for windage control and best power. When we built our Dart 400 SHP small-block, we knew it was destined for the street, but we hadn't bought our project car yet, so we had no idea whether it would fit our chassis. It turns out, the Stage 1 pan will not fit the '68 Nova unless you notch the crossmember, or use some kind of lifted motor mounts. We love the oil pan more than the crossmember, so the crossmember needed surgery.

We cut out a V-shaped notch in the crossmember using a cutoff wheel. The crossmember is boxed, so once we welded a new top piece in, it was better than new.

Here's where it helps to have friends with friends. For a few beers, we lured Hunter Branson of Branson Mold Polishing to fabricate and weld in a new top piece for our crossmember. He's got this really boss Airtronics TIG welder from the 1950s that was originally built to make aircraft parts for Boeing. It's a very cool living artifact. "I've never repaired it in all the years I've owned it," Hunter says. They only made 22 of these welders.

The old part of the crossmember that was cut out is 10-gauge steel, and the new section is a little thicker at 1/8 inch. We'd like to keep the stock subframe and crossmember, so we want it to be strong.

We tagged the modified crossmember with more Dupli-Color semigloss black before taking another stab at dropping the Dart bullet into the '68 Nova.

When we purchased the Nova, we got lucky that a previous owner had installed a three-speed Turbo 400. The original car had an inline-six, so it had to originally be a two-speed Powerglide. Some inline-fours and inline-sixes ('69-71 models) even came with a crappier two-speed automatic called a Torque Drive. Note how this Turbo 400 also has the beefy (and rare) double-hump crossmember from the '68-70 big-block cars. Score! We plan on beating this old Turbo 400 and stock converter until it gives up. The trans also appears to have some sort of shift kit. The stock stall converter is the bomb on the street too. We hope it lasts.

We decided to try our luck with the original fan, water pump, pulleys, alternator, power steering pump, hoses, and radiator. We even reused the original coolant-for now. Much to our amazement, it fired up on the first try, and we were doing burnouts five minutes later. In the weeks since, we've encountered no problems with overheating, charging, or the transmission. We're actually rethinking our whole theory on gearing. This car/motor combo loves the two-series highway cog. The cruise rpm is low, and there's more than enough torque (493 lb-ft at 3,500 rpm) to incinerate the tire.