Chevy II Renovation, Part II - 1966 Chevy Nova Rear Suspension

Here's the subframe connector as it will be welded into the Nova. The connectors are constructed from 1/8-inch steel plate and 1/8-inch-wall box tubing. The increase in chassis stiffness is marked.

The rear of the subframe connectors, which incorporates the mounting holes for the four-link setup, slides into place alongside the framerail and front leaf spring mounting bracket. The flimsiness of the original mounting points is evident. Ours were bent from years of duty; clamping them to the subframe's mounting area is a necessity.

On the driver side, the factory parking-brake cable bracket must be cut out to make room for the subframe connector. A new cable system will need to be fabricated.

Unlike the Heidt's front clip, the rear is a weld-in proposition-once a piece is in, it's in. To ensure the Nova, and therefore the subframe connectors, would be reasonably straight once the smoke cleared, Johns carefully measured, car-to-connector, at several points. A side measurement was made at both the front and rear, and the distance from the bottom of the car to the four-link mounting points was also checked.

Johns also checked the car and the subframe connectors with a level. The old Chevy II was remarkably straight, especially given the timeworn sheetmetal structure. Measuring across the rear framerails, our level bubble was almost dead center.

The vertical straightness of the four-link mounting points was also checked. This is critical to prevent any twisting of the four-link system.

Most important of all, however, is the distance between the four-link mounting holes across the car. This dimension must match the one found between the mounting holes on the rearend housing. Ours did.

Satisfied that everything was properly aligned, Johns went ahead and tacked the connectors into place. The Millermatic 271 MIG welder we used made this an easy job.

Next up is the shock mounting bar, which also incorporates the top mounting bracket for our Panhard bar. The mounting grooves fit tightly on the Nova's framerails; a hammer may be needed to make adjustments. The bar itself should be right up against the hump formed by the Nova's trunk.

With the mounting groove tabs clamped into place, the shock bar's mounting slots were then tacked to the Nova's framerails.

So far, so good. With the subframe connectors tacked in, the difference between the Nova's thin metal floor and the beefy box-section connectors is evident. The factory trans crossmember was then temporarily reinstalled.

Johns made sure the bar was properly located by measuring from the shock mounting holes down to the lower four-link mounting hole. Again, the distances were a match.

Here's what our installed shock bar looked like. At this point, there was a lot of final welding to do, as well as a good chunk of under-car painting and cleanup. We didn't stick around for that part...

...but we did stick around for a test-fitting of our new rearend. The four-link bar mounting holes lined up perfectly, as our quartet of bars made a straight trip from frame to rearend. The shocks and Panhard bar also slid nicely into place.

Assured that the subframe connectors and shock bar were in their proper places, Johns then loaded up the new axle housing with a Heidt's-supplied 3.70:1-geared pumpkin.