Chevy II Renovation, Part 1

The caliper-mounting bracket was bolted up . . .

. . . followed by the rotor installation. As you can see, we've already assembled the rotors, including the inner bearing and grease seal. The discs are directional, and marked appropriately. New 13/16-inch fine-thread spindlenuts are provided.

With the calipers bolted in place, we've got great- looking brakes that should stop us on a dime and make change. But first, we need brake lines. These must be ordered after the brakes are installed and measurements are made.

From the "Do as we say, not as we do" department, be sure to install the wheel studs in the hub, which is drilled for traditional 5x4 3/4 GM configuration.

The master cylinder Wilwood sent us is a work of art. Paul had to finagle the stock pedal assembly a bit to make it work, cutting about 3/4 inch off the actuator rod, then adjusting it to contact the piston. The Wilwood piece comes with a small piston "extension" insert, which we used to get the right combination.

At this point, JCP's Andy Henry took over. The Wilwood master uses one chamber for front braking and one for rear. The back brakes utilize a proportioning valve, which we'll show you next time; the fronts run directly off the master cylinder. Andy ran a hardline down to the framerail.

At the framerail, Andy ran the hardline into a "T" fitting. Our 14-inch flex line then ran to the left front brake (arrow), while a second hardline feeds the right-hand brake.

The line ran right along the crossmember. Andy pop-riveted it into place using these foldover brackets. The line bends right up to meet the flex line on the passenger-side brake.

Again, it's time to take a step back and look at our work. It'll almost be a shame to cover all this cool-looking stuff up with body panels . . . but we weren't building a museum piece, so that's exactly what we did.

Andy started by reinstalling the original core support. The frame pieces that remained attached to it during removal were cut off, before the support was cleaned and painted.

The fenders were then bolted back onto the firewall; if you labeled the original bolts and shims, this is pretty easy. The very clean Heidt's inner fender panels were then slid into place.

Johns put body-panel nutserts in place to bolt the upper edges of the panel to the fender. All but the last two bolts were put loosely in place.

The hood-hinge braces were then bolted in. The two outer bolts on the support-tube mount must be removed, while the top two side holes bolt through the inner panel to the fender. Again, everything was left loose.

The front section of the panels came next; the lower holes should line up with the bumper's rear mounting holes. Heidt's notes that some fitting may be needed, but we only found two holes, up on the fenders, that needed clearancing.

The lower section of the fender panel mounts to the framerails. There's one hole for locating purposes, but the other three must be drilled for 5/16x3/4-inch self-tapping screws.

At this point, with things still loose, the hood hinges are mounted with bolts that run through to the inner fenderwell. An assistant to hold a nut on the inside is helpful, as Andrew Serrano and Denny Choi demonstrate here. With this in place, everything but the hood-hinge bolts can be tightened--this should wait until the hood is fitted, of course.

Earlier, we mentioned Flaming River's column-mounting bracket that we couldn't use; Paul Morrow created another bracket to attach it to the firewall, which enabled him to keep the column securely away from the Nova's headers.

Finally, we hooked up the new power-steering system. GM pumps of this vintage are designed to run at 1,000-1,200 psi, while the power rack works at 700-800 psi. Heidt's came up with this adjustable power-steering valve. Using a simple needle and bleed-off port, fluid is bled from the pressure line to the return line, so there are no pressure-buildup problems. The steering system can now be adjusted from full-power to almost-full-manual, or anywhere in between.

Except for reinstalling the hood, bumper, and grille, we're done for Part I. In Part II, we'll build up the '66's rear with one of Heidt's Nova Rear Subframes, dial in the suspension and steering, and head back to the track.