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In this installment of Project Swinger, we’re looking at buttoning the beast up and focusing on the details. Follow along as we replace the glass and brightwork on our long-term Project Swinger ’71 Nova, courtesy of Classic Industries.
Project Swinger had been pushed around the shop enough, and this year it decided to push back when the LSA and Tremec 5-Speed were installed. The exterior trim, glass and interior trim are upcoming projects and we’ll keep you filled in.
Project Swinger gets a custom hot set of pipes using a kit from Flowmaster, Super 44 mufflers and a cool coating from Jet-Hot Coatings. It’s almost criminal to hide parts that look this good under a car.
It’s been a long time coming, but after all the performance parts mock ups, we finally stripped our Project Swinger Nova down bare and dropped it off at the paint booth at ZBest Paint & Body to get a shiny new coat of Sherwin-Williams paint.
It’s pretty obvious “Swinger” is heading out as a heavy hitter. It’s been a long time coming, and finally with the paint smoothed and finished, Sean Goude, our resident tech-genius could begin the laborious task of fitting Swinger with the entire powertrain setup, exhaust, and driveshaft.
Project Swinger is nearly up and running. This month we update you on its interior, more specifically, it’s all digital hardware from Dakota Digital. This all-in-one unit supplies the driver with every running feature via included sensors and easy-to-read display. We’ve got the update here, check it out!
Before we can revel in the beauty of freshly repainted and dutifully re-straightened classic muscle car sheet metal, we need to assemble and trial fit most everything. Today’s mission was simple enough: install Aeromotive’s Stealth Fuel Cell, Performance EFI regulator, 100-micron fuel filter.
Before we can revel in the beauty of freshly repainted and dutifully re-straightened classic muscle car sheet metal, we need to assemble and trial fit most everything. Today’s mission was simple enough: install Aeromotive’s Stealth Fuel Cell, Performance EFI regulator, 100-micron fuel filter.
Behind every great engine is a great cooling system. Swapping an LSA engine into our ’71 Nova, Project Swinger, meant upgraded its cooling system. We turned to AFCO and their bolt-in LS radiator and fan conversion kits for muscle cars.
Reassembled – although loosely – Swinger looks good on its own feet. It’s been a long time since this fair-weather project has been back together and it makes us want to turn up the heat and git ‘er done. We’ve been tinkering with the ride height, raising it an inch here, lowering it an inch there.
Right now, with her supercharged 6.2-liter CTS-V LSA plant resting between the fenderwells, we’ve had Swinger all but totally plumbed for the big ol’ Aeromotive fuel cell, electric fuel pump, and a whole lot of steel braided line.
Hey kiddies! It’s been a while since we’ve last heard a peep out of our Pro Street/g-Machine ’71 Nova nicknamed “Swinger,” we know. But be not dismayed! There’s all sorts of cool stuff coming down the line for our venerable classic conversion Bowtie.
In this installment of updates on our Project “Swinger,” we’ll reveal our sinister plan to update our Nova with a thoroughly modern small block Chevy – the supercharged LSA, with a little help in the oil pan department from RetroLSX.
In the recent past, updating a classic car with a modern overdrive transmission could be an exercise in frustration. Fortunately, that’s no longer the case, and to prove it we installed a brand-new TKO behind the fresh GM LS crate motor in our Project Swinger ’71 Nova using the Keisler Engineering Perfect Fit Kit.
With the underpinnings of “Swinger” coming along, it was time to attack the sheetmetal, starting with a Detroit Speed wheel tub kit to accommodate wider tires in back, a pair of their subframe connectors to stiffen the chassis, and a firewall cover plate. Follow along as the sparks fly on our ’71 Nova.
Bringing Project Swinger, a ’71 Chevy Nova Coupe, into the new millennium as a retro street racer with a hi-tech edginess to it has led to some real challenges in the build.
Our project car, the Swinger Nova, recently received an upgrade to a Ford 9 inch rear end from Currie Enterprises. While the nine has been around forever in both stock and high-performance flavors, Currie’s recipes bring a fresh approach to this venerable axle.
We’ve been hearing a lot of buzz on the forums about air suspension systems in recent months due in no small part to suspension pioneers like Air Ride. But like many people, we had always thought air suspension was for semi-trucks or super slammed low riders.
We’ve been finishing up the full Air Ride suspension, we mounted up the Currie 9-inch rear end, and the SSBC brakes, and now we’re waiting for a full LS3 engine mount/swap conversion kit from BRP Hot Rods. Shawn is really dialing us in with everything we need for the Nova swap.
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When it comes to enhancing the handling of a classic muscle car, the first thing you think is a quality suspension. While that is true, it is far from everything you need to upgrade. Most people forget the important part of a car that is actually turning the front wheels – the steering rack.
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