I spent the summer pitting next to a guy with a inline 6 power 60's Nova. The car ran well Mid to low 14's with an auto. For those who are not familiar, here's an example:

I got to thinking on the late night drive back home....a turbo 4 banger would fit right at home in that engine bay of a early Nova or Chevy II! And what a shocker that would be to someone popping the hood.

I would estimate the cars are similiar in weight as they are in size. So a 12 sec car should be doable.

I'm thinking a complete engine/harness/ecm transplanted into the Nova would be a good start. I know they make mid-plate mounts/transmission adapter, I need to find them again.

Now I can't promise i could go through with this but it's winter and that's the time for internet searching and dreaming.

Maybe this will stir some conversation...

Yeah, man, don't forget the hydraulics for the suspension and the dingleberries hangin' from the headliner ...

Oh, sorry... chanelling Cheech & Chong there for a second.

Honestly, I love that body style. Idea's cracked, though. *Laugh*

It's screamin' for a nasty V8...

Naw Impala's are for low ridin! I did the lo ryder for a while, going to go back to one someday.

I would normally say your right with the nasty v8 comment. But, after you heard this car with the inline 6 doing a burnout sounding like a pulling tractor you would start thinking of alternative motive power.

I guess I just like the idea of being different.

Oh, I understand. A 1000hp 4G63T would turn some heads...

there a million of those with big blocks and blowers... i am sure at least a 4G63T would be an original thought... although, I would recommend NOT popping the hood at a show or cruise, you might anger a few hard core GM guys.

... Who gives a shit?

I don't go to shows or cruizes so I really don't care to much.

Found a article in Chevy Hi-Peformance (yes I subscribe ) and there's a 66 that weighed in at 3000 with a small block, full leather interior stereo etc. I figure my 14b motor setup in a race ready (minimal interior, no air etc) Nova would weight about 2700 lbs. With traction, it would be a high 11 or very low 12 sec car.

I don't mean to detour this thread...

Evan had a similar idea tonight, but with a different car. He's been on a Fiero kick for the past year or so, and this is what he thought about putting a 4G63 into. Not a bad idea for a couple of reasons:

Their starting base weight is 2500-2700lbs roughly.
They are rear wheel drive for better weight transfer
The engine/transmission configuration set-up is similar to the DSM combo
V8's fit in a Fiero, so a 4G63 with a turbo would be no problem
The transmission is already set-up for cable controls
And lastly, I don't think there are too many GM guys that give a Rats ass what anyone does to a Fiero!


Otherwise, I like the idea of swapping a 4G63 into a 6 banger Nova. I'd hate to see a V8 get replaced by a Mitsu inline four cylinder. I've always liked the Chevy II duece, but I prefer the 66-67 models.

not me personally.. and BTW, my comment was meant to be taken very lightly... I think the 4G63T in a nova would be pretty cool myself!

definately digging the fiero with a 4G63T... just be sure that the car he finds, he does his homework...

the body's are all plastic and fiberglass, so they all look tity at first glance, but the frame rots on most of them, especially in the rear. I am not sure what else he needs to look for, it would be best to ask a fiero enthusiest or visit a fiero forum or website.

Nopw I'm hijacking my own thread . 4g63 Fiero

No shit! ROFL!

I've always been a muscle car fan, my dad's built Chevy 350/400 small block race motors for years. However recently I've definately leaned more towards the weight advantage of a turbo 4cyl in some cases, and I think a Nova setup like that would be awesome. The big advantage to them over something like a fiero, is you have more options with trans/rear end setups for racing, it's easy to setup those old Novas for a 4 bar rear suspension and throw a nice powerglide auto in it to really fly down the strip. I'd definately look into that over the Fiero, as Fieros many times had bigtime cooling probs too.

I've had the dream of a bad ass Nova (ChevyII) for a while now.

BIG BLOCK though. 502 Ram Jet FTW!!!!!!!

If you would like to do an import motor, I'd suggest a Datsun 510. I've seen a few of those with SR20s quite easily. And those are super duper light.

If anyone's concerned with GM in a GM, then I would go with my idea for my Dime: Ecotec.

Thanks for getting me drooling over cars with transplants... {Homer Simpson drooling }

I'm not a big fan of the Fiero myself. At the same time I'm not afraid to make anything work. Things like cooling are easily modified for improved performance.

A light weight rear wheel drive Fiero would be so much quicker down the quarter mile than a FWD DSM with the same engine, it's not even funny.

I say build the Nova though. The earlier Chevy II's are much less expensive than the 66-67 models too.

I've thought of Ecotec's but I know nothing about them... I do know a little about 4g63's though

I spent about 3 hours Sunday looking (Homer Simpson Drooling!) for swap info. When I get some more time, I'll post up some links that make me believe it would be highly possible and within my fabrication skills (with a little help from friends).

The ECOTEC crossed my mind as well when considering the Fiero. After watching what they do with it at the Import drags that I attended with Darryl & Susan, I know that motor can lay it down!

It's got some pep for a little economical 4 banger!

From saturnfans.com:

"Key components... in the Ecotec 2.0L SC include direct mount oil cooler, oil jets for piston cooling, heavy duty pistons, stronger connecting rods, forged steel crankshaft, larger oil sump, sodium filled exhaust valves for improved durability, and a high strength aluminum cylinder head...

Materials
Block: Aluminum lost foam casting
Cylinder head: Aluminum semi-permanent mold casting
Intake manifold: Aluminum
Crankshaft: Forged steel with induction hardened fillet
Camshafts: Cast iron
Connecting Rods: Forged steel
Pistons: High strength aluminum"

I also found this:

http://www.media.gm.com/aus/holden/en/prod...cifications.pdf

Seems EXTREMELY familiar with a few things to me:
Balance shafts; oil squirters. 86 x 86 square motor

I looked at an eBay ad with a buddy who is a pretty bonified GM scholar. He thinks the motor mount bolt pattern from the Solstice motor seem identical to my Dime's motor mounts. And the Aisin tranny is the same as used in the Colorado and H3.

That was something I was thinking about with the 4G63... tranny. You could probably find a Mighty Max tranny. It had a 4G64 as its motor, so the tranny should bolt to your motor. The intake manifold would need to be modified to put the throttle in the front, however. I thought about buying JMoushon's Mighty Max back in the day. Those were modifications I thought about when I was considering it.

Here's some links to some things I found.

Buschur Racing Conversion Parts
4G63 / Auto. GM Transmission Adapter Plate $350.00
4G63 Flexplate $275.00
4G63 RWD Conversion Motormounts $150.00

The adapter plate is set up for a 2 spd powerglide but a turbo 350 should be the same bolt pattern. They also sell a torque converter ($1400!!) but I'm going to look into whether a normal GM type torque converter will work.

I found Eagletalon.net where a guy converted a AWD to RWD. A lot of the engine mounting techniques are applicable to a Nova install.
Files are huge so I've included links:
4G63 and GM trans bolted up
Adapter plate made into a mid-motor mount
Engine bay mounts
Front and rear engine mounts
3/4 view engine in bay

A custom oil pan would be probably need since the sump would be where the cross member in the Nova would be. Here a shot of the Engine compartment which you can see the cross member towards the front. Here's the engine showing the oil pan where you can see the indention in the front third of the pan for cross member clearance.

Transmission options

Wiring Info This link is pretty good if you just want to know where differrent part of you harnesses are.

Here's a guy casting bellhousing to mount a T-56 manual on the back of a 4G63 block. T-56 Bellhousing


Pretty nice work.