me and my friends just found a 74 Chevy Nova ....?

Question

for cheap, it's butt ugly...but it runs....no 350, what is under the hood ...a 302 or 305?....it's automatic...how hard would be to switch to 5 or 6 speed?...is that expensive?...we might do a lowrider with 6 switches or air suspension with 13 inch rims and low profile tires...we never seen a Nova low rider...we were wondering if a supercharger can fit under the hood?...also can we fit a 427, 454, 502, or 540 v-8's in there....what size rim and tires came standard?...we think that it is sitting 15's...bald tires and no hubcaps.....we wonder if 20 inch rims could fit?...for a alternate look

Answer 1

I have a question for you and your "buddies" Who is going to hold the title to it/who'name or corp. is it going to be titled in? You do know this is a sub framed car with unibody contruction? By the time you spend all that dough on a motor(price those engines lately either rebuilt or factory crate)? Why haven't you seen a lowrider in one of these is because of the suspension set up and the fact this Nova is where GM decided to faze them outWhat you "guys" want to do to this car,even if it is a "freebie"and put into it what ya want, you are talking $50,000+ just in parts. Do ya want low profile 13 in tires and rims or 20 in rims and low profile tires? Now with $50.000 cash just what kind of car can ya get that is already set up?This is just the price of crate motors,5-6 spd trannys Supercharger, Paxton or GMC blower? Big Block with special pistons,pulleys and belt or Jackson gear drive?Air ride suspension with frame Modifications done to put a full frame under it (all fabricated cause no one sells them of the shelf) Paint, ya want to drive it around with the original dents and rust? No,I assument and their is another $7000 - $35,000,depending on how hot ya want it to look? Look ,I had the same idea with a 1938 Ford coupe back in the early 70's but the cost was blowing me out of the water. So, ask yourselves this,what can I buy already up and going for $35,000 - $60,000? I will tell ya what, A LOT!!!!!! And those "friends," who pays for what and who gets the car and who insures it (a corporation formed where the car was never driven on the street and a business venture for drag racing ( with this knd of Hp ya need a professional driver ,NO ROOKIES BEHIND THE WHEEL. I was young once and had wild dreams for a couple ol 'HOOPTIES I dragged in but partnerships never work out on cars . Later on in my early 20's I got a good job and was able to do my own cars and so did my friends and we helped each other out building and fabricating but we never went partners on anything. When ya buy a battery for it ya need a lowprofile battery,just like the Chevelles I worked at Delco Battery for 6 yrs and picked up a few for friends of mine so forget a Big Block with a blower under the hood cause it will sit up quite high and the hood will have to be modified too

Answer 2

you are right about the butt ugly. the collision bumpers just suck. yes you can fit a big block in it. yes you can make a low rider and still be a muscle car although a 74 nova was never a muscle car. the era had ended. yes 20 will fit with belts. 74 it likely came with 15s. they had some awesome rally wheels for them. i take the centers out of the wheels and weld them in wider and narrower wheels. 4 inch for the fronts and 12 and wider for the rears. my 70 nova drag car sits 3 inches at the rocker panels. i run 12.5 x 33 inch slicks on it, tubbed and tucked. the top of the tire is just under the rear side glass. looks awesome. runs awesome. is still street-able except for the dragin bottom everywhere on the rough streets we got.

Answer 3

dont make it a lowrider Novas are muscle cars. To switch from an automatic to manual is really expensive. A supercharger would prolly fit in there because Chevy expected people to put them on a Nova.

Answer 4

How do you know its not a 350 ? That was all that came in novas for a V8 in 1974 ( K,L,H,J engine codes 79% were 2v ).Until you pull a head and check the bore and stroke you wont know . 33 years is a long time to not have a motor changed . The block number might not help if someone has done a rebuild and changed cranks.

Answer 5

Good guesses...it might even be a 307...Chevy was fooling with them around that time.