[Woody176]

Hey Guys, I need some help, I recently imported a 46' Chevy pick-up, running a Nova front-clip, 350 motor and trans. Basically the front clip needs re-building to Uk laws. How can I recognise what front-clip it is to order the parts from the great suppliers you have over there.
The seller reckons we're looking in the 70's.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks. Woody.

[bet on black]

a picture would help us get started guessing which one it is.

[novajohnb]

Look at the tie rods on your front clip. If they are behind the axis of the spindle- they are rear steer. If in front- they are front steer.

I am assuming you need basic rebuild parts like ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rods. If so, i't usually much less expensive to buy an entire Front End kit. Chances are if some components are obviously worn out- other consumable parts are not far behind.

Rear steer is 1968-1974 Nova. Replacement parts the same- except 1973-1974 has a different bushing outside diameter on (rear?) lower control arm.

Front steer 1975-1979 Nova. I think? replacement parts interchange regardless of year.

You mentioned a "Nova clip"- the above are the most common Nova clips for doing this kind of thing. Many suppliers' catalogs will list basic dimensions of parts like control arm bushing. It's probably a good idea to measure yours to verify correct parts are being ordered.

[Woody176]

Hey thanks guys, with a little help from yourselves and some knowledgeable boys over here, it looks like it may be a 70-73 Camaro not Nova, there are just slight differences in the suspension parts. The quiz goes on.
What rough guide temp should a 350 chevy run at, mine is showing around 190-195 F, is this OK ?
Thanks again.
Woody.

[trees]

190-195 is right where you want to be. Good luck on your project. You Brits carry the hot rodders flame quite well. And your Police/Intel guys are doing nicely also.

Trees

[bet on black]

what is the differnece between camaro and nova?

[Ratchet]

The front clips were identical except the front horns where the bumper mounts. The rest is the same.

Ric

[fat_tire_freak]

a good supplier of front end and suspension parts is www.classicperform.com
I'm rebuilding a 69 nova and their parts are fitting very well.

[bet on black]

Originally Posted by Ratchet

The front clips were identical except the front horns where the bumper mounts. The rest is the same.

Ric

that's what i thought. so all suspension pieces are the same, right?

[Rockettruck]

'67-'69 Camaro and '68-'74 Novas were basically the same with some disc/drum brakes and ball joints being different. These were "rear-steer" clips. The steering box was located behind the crossmember.

The '70-'81 (Third Gen Camaro) clips were "front-steer" clips, where the steering box has been placed in front of the large clip crossmember.

I have a '67 Camaro clip in my '39 Olds and a '74 Nova clip in my '51 Chevy pickup. Both are rear-steer and are virtually identical. Both worked great!

Rockettruck

[Woody176]

I found a small difference in the upper control arm bushes and tie-rods between Nova and Camaro, it seems Chevy used 3 or 4 different types of everything and just used them in a different arrangement ! That's what determined what my clip was. So there are more differences apart from just being front or rear-steer.
But that supplier mentioned previous is spot-on for Chevy clip bits.

Woody