Anyone crawling under an early Nova for the first time certainly has some questions about the subframe and suspension's design. The driving concept behind the "tub," which constitutes the front suspension clip, was certainly low cost to manufacture and assemble on the line. Remember, the Chevy II was a low-price entry in a market that included the Falcon and the Valiant, and it did quite well in that segment. It was only when Chevy began shoehorning small-block V-8s in that tub and hot rodders started making these engines move the car down the dragstrip at speeds not originally envisioned for this chassis that the adventure began. Soon there were heavy-duty components available for the Nova front clip, but that still didn't address the basic design problem. This was not a high-performance suspension. Even achieving proper front end alignment was a difficult proposition with the stock components, and adding aftermarket springs and shocks didn't always help.
Some very good minds have created solutions to the Nova front suspension by designing front clip replacements, which we have installed and tested and found to truly do wonders for the handling of the early models. The installation of these clips is a major process, and they aren't inexpensive. However, we recently learned of an alternative kit from Classic Performance Products that is very affordable, easy to install, and essentially redesigns the front suspension to eliminate the factory strut rods, adds adjustable forward control arms, eliminates the need for a lock-out plate to maintain alignment, and installs without cutting or welding. The retail cost of a complete Mini Subframe kit is under $700, which includes the following:
- 2 tubular lower control arms, one piece, 1 1/4-inch 120-wall D.O.M.
- 2 tubular upper control arms
- 1/4-inch-thick steel crossmembercoil springs
- Shocks
- 4 alignment cam kits
- Grade 8 hardware, premium upper and lower ball joints, and low-friction bushings
The kit we installed in our '67 Nova includes a few more pieces of hardware, but this is w
The A-arms are 3/16-inch shorter than the stock A-arms, have a wider range of adjustment, and allow for a larger tire/wheel combo. The one-piece crossmember only adds 2 pounds to the weight of the car after the heavy factory strut rods and mounts are removed.
The entire job could be done on a weekend, depending on your skill level. We included a new master cylinder with a built-in proportioning valve, and a new set of rotors, discs and spindles, which CPP has engineered to retain the stock wheel position, giving much needed fenderwell clearance. The rotors are a new item, measuring 10.8-inch diameter and allowing the use of a 14-inch wheel. The spindles can be used with the stock steering linkage, as well as any rack-and-pinion with a separate steering arm (although some changes are necessary if you're planning on using them with '62-63 four-bolt wheels. Call for specific info). However, a brake change is not necessary with the Mini Subframe kit. An average owner/builder will need some help with front end alignment, and possibly the installation and removal of the coil springs. When in doubt, get some help.
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Up on the lift, unbolt the wheels (you'll forgive us if we don't have a photo of that high
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Our car had settled so much that we used spacers.
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A slight amount of persuasion is sometimes required when disassembling the steering linkag
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When we unbolted the lower arm from the strut rod...
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...we could see enough wear on the bushing to warrant a rebuild, even if we didn't install
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Here's where it gets tricky. Having done a couple of hundred Nova front ends, CPP's R&D g
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For our homebuilders, we recommend extreme caution and possibly some professional help.
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Unbolt the control arm.
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Once again, a certain amount of force must be used, as these parts have been in place a ve
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Removing the upper control arms is less of a problem on cars with the stock exhaust manifo
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Headers can make it mandatory to approach this step from the car's underside, which will a
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This step is the most time-consuming in the disassembly. The strut rod brackets were facto
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By the way, make sure you have quality drills; the bargain basket ones won't get it for th
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Here's where we want to be after all that drilling. This particular car has a spacer to mo
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Old sway bar out, new sway bar in.
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CPP's Engineering guy, Danny Nix, does the honors here.
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Fit the new crossmember in place.
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Fit the new crossmember in place.
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Install the lower control arm using the factory bracket at the rear and the new crossmembe
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Bolt it in place using the supplied hardware and alignment cam.
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Install the sway bar mounting rod and attach it to the lower control arm.
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Insert the upper control arm studs from the engine compartment side...
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...then install the upper control arms.
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Install the spring perches. Now it's time to deal with the coils. The old (top) and new co
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Jeff inserts the new coil up into the tower...
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...then seats the spring into the perch slowly and skillfully using the pry bar.
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New shocks are installed.
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We're installing new rotors, discs, and spindles along with a new master cylinder that has
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These spindles are designed to keep the wheels in the stock position. It is not necessary
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While Danny applies leverage to raise the upper control arm against the spring...
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...Jeff positions the assembled brake/spindle assembly between the control arms, then gent
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Easy, huh? Not exactly, so take care if this is the way you do it. Other methods for this
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Tighten everything up.
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We're getting close to being done.
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This is one of the steering stops. One is installed on each side of the crossmember.
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Reinstall the steering linkage...
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...and brake lines.
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After installing the wheels and tires we finished up the shock installation from the top.
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After installing the new master cylinder, it was time for a full brake bleed, adding fluid
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As you can see, this is a manual brake installation, but the system works with manual and
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Classic Performance Products, Inc.
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