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The Ultra Nova is a project that came about at the end of race season. Bob Ruppel's 1972 Nova destroyed 3 transmissions in one race season (8 total passes). Bob was just trying to join the 11 second club when he discovered the issue. A newly built 454 changed everything. Transmissions weren't the only victim of his destruction, the OEM driveshaft ripped in half causing exstensive damage to the undercarriage. Fortunately the driveshaft safety loop took the brunt on the initial impact. Check back for progress updates. The project:
what we want to avoid.
what we want:
Progress
Click to enlarge The old 350 turbo has been removed. Upon inspection of the remaining parts a problem with the flexplate was discovered. A quick Jeg's order later and it time to get it back together. Here a a few photos of the old broken 350 turbo.
Click to enlarge The old turbo 350 was disassembled and all internal components were transferred to the Ultra Bell prepped housing. The final assembly is almost complete. The Ultra Bell in on and the bottom is now covered with a Jeg's aluminum transmission pan. We were not able to get it painted before assembly so the paint job will come this afternoon. Check out the latest photos.
Click to enlarge Since the last photos were taken the car has had the rear 4:11 gears swapped (of course they were setup up by Geoff) for 3:73's. The floor boards were fixed and the driveshaft safety loop was repaired and improved. A set of MT 255 x 60 x 15 drag radials were mounted and balanced at Big G's. The car is fit for the track after a few minor tweaks. To see the Nova in action click here.
Questions or problems
regarding this web site should be directed to bigg@att.net.
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