1970 nova motor choices

[hamlinmotorsports]

Sorry if this isn't a good question but I have no idea. I'm wanting to turn my nova into a stocker and I've asked before what motor should I go with. I had alot of ppl have told me to claim it as 69 or 71 or 72 and use one of those motors. Now let's say I do that and it gets questioned at race and it's check will I be allowed to race or DQ'D?

Now while choosing a motor I don't have the money to buy one ready to drop in a car. I'm going to have to buy it piece at a time and see if someone could put it together that knows what they are doing. So if I were to choose a motor from 1970 which one would be a good one to use? And what are the best brand parts (pistons, rods, crank, etc) any help would be much appreciated thank you

[Terry Cain]

It doesn't say where your located. That could help you a lot with answers. There's guys who probably live close that you could "pick their brain" in person and get some answers on who to use for machine work and assembly.

[Greg Barsamian]

Originally Posted by hamlinmotorsports

Sorry if this isn't a good question but I have no idea. I'm wanting to turn my nova into a stocker and I've asked before what motor should I go with. I had alot of ppl have told me to claim it as 69 or 71 or 72 and use one of those motors. Now let's say I do that and it gets questioned at race and it's check will I be allowed to race or DQ'D?

Now while choosing a motor I don't have the money to buy one ready to drop in a car. I'm going to have to buy it piece at a time and see if someone could put it together that knows what they are doing. So if I were to choose a motor from 1970 which one would be a good one to use? And what are the best brand parts (pistons, rods, crank, etc) any help would be much appreciated thank you

Too bad you don't want a complete motor Johnny has one here that would fit your needs!
http://classracer.com/classforum/showthread.php?t=37520

[hamlinmotorsports]

Terry I'm in the Dallas tx area

Greg I'd love to buy a turn key motor just don't have that kinda of money laying around or I would

[jmcarter]

Originally Posted by hamlinmotorsports

Terry I'm in the Dallas tx area

Greg I'd love to buy a turn key motor just don't have that kinda of money laying around or I would

Borrow the money to buy Johnny's, trust me you'll be WAY ahead compared to a lot of trial and error, breakage and still not being able to hit the index.

[Jim Whitehead]

Well if you are on a Budget, i would build a 350-255 hp or 300hp only difference in the two engines are the cylinder heads. They are a very common combination, lots of people run them and lots of engine builders know them. I suggest you stay away from Big Blocks, as they will eat up your money fast. Good luck, nice to see someone that wants to build a class car.
Jim

[Alan Roehrich]

If you're on a budget, a 255/350 or a 300/350. I'd lean toward the 300/350, but you may find a solid 255/350 for sale.

If you start from scratch, you cannot hope to build a competitive engine for what you can buy one for used from a good running car. There are too many parts to sort through where you may need to buy multiple cores before you get a really good core. You'll also spend a ton on the "learning curve", buying valves, having valve jobs done and redone, buying camshafts, etc.

Buying an engine a piece at a time and getting someone to put it together probably won't happen, and you likely won't find anyone to do it, never mind save any money. When you buy a race engine for a class car, or pay to have one built, you are not just buying parts and paying for labor. You're paying the builder for his knowledge and experience. Knowledge in class racing comes from expensive and labor intensive R&D.

You also need to decide on an automatic or a stick.

[tj310]

Buying an engine by piece is more expensive than buying a complete used motor. I'd work on the chassis, clutch and suspension first and worry about the legal ,trick and or best later. Nothing wrong with a 402 ,
---Trevor

[Grant Eldridge]

We raced a '70 Nova and started with a very budget 396/350hp combo. In the first engine were well used street TRW heavy forged pistons, nothing trick or high dollar just careful assembly, torque plate hone, attention to detail and tuning. In E/SA at 3570 lbs it ran 11.39. The index now is 11.70, so still 3 tenths under with junk. We claimed the car as 1969 and used the parts for that combo. Next year we "stepped up" and bought CP pistons, "stroked" .012" crank H beam rods etc. Eventually, after lots of converters, cams, headers, trick carb and suspension changes our best passes were 10.73 and 121.32mph with a 1.41 60 foot. That car is a pretty good combination, in my opinion, and you could start out as I did with cheap stuff to get the basic combination out to the track. There was another thread the other day "396/325 hp" on here with several sets of heads offered for sale to start with-they are the same casting numbers that are legal. The manifold is an orphan for 1969, you need that specific year I believe, but these parts are not too hard to find or expensive. Bullet could supply a cam, tool steel lifters are $$ but probably safer than the Schubeck/smith ones IMHO. I'd focus on high quality machine work, reduced drag in the short block through careful ring package selection, maybe assemble it yourself if you have done engine work before.
Someone posted earlier, correctly, that it is way cheaper to buy a good engine used than you could possibly build even doing it yourself. I've seen stocker engines on here for $5000., I'm guessing a "name" engine new would be $15,000.-$20,000. carb to oil pan for Chev, more for anything else. It's a great challenge, but to go fast be prepared to spend lots of money, time and effort trying things.
Grant Eldridge
E/SA 6650
National Record Holder 2011

[Mark Yacavone]

Question:
Why do most of you guys want this guy to end up in F, G, H /SA ?

He's a beginner on a budget. He'll get his a** handed to him regularly in heads up runs in those classes.
Big block scenario is even worse.