Once you have the complete assembly apart, installation is basically the opposite of the removal process. As for the tie rods, you can use the ball joint tool or perform the same procedure with the hammer to break the taper loose. If you plan to retain the factory drum brakes, be sure to check the hoses for cracks and replace them if you find any. To remove the hoses, simply loosen the nut that holds the hard line in the flex hose, then pull the retaining clip holding the hose into its bracket. Repeat the procedure for all four ball joints.īefore removing the ball joint nuts to drop the brake drum/spindle combination, you will have to take off the flexible brake hoses and remove the tie rod ends from the steering knuckle. Providing that the parts haven’t rusted themselves together, this process should work. Use care and be sure to have the car planted on jackstands for safety. If you don’t have access to a removal tool, another way to break the taper loose is to loosen the ball joint nut, leaving it threaded part way, and with a heavy hammer, firmly hit the side of the spindle where the ball joint shaft goes through it. Use a ball joint removal tool, where possible, to separate the spindle from the A-arms. This is due to the fact that the A-arms are the same for both the four- and five-lug versions. Removing the spindle doesn’t require compressing the coil spring or unbolting either the upper or lower A-arms. The spindles simply need to be unbolted at the upper and lower ball joints, while you should remove the tie rods and center drag link at the idler arm and Pitman arm. When taking off the five-lug components from the donor car, you need to remove only the spindle and steering arm assembly. And with the performance levels that many Nova enthusiasts are attaining, there’s no better reason to upgrade. Another added gain here is the larger brakes on the five-lug cars. All twodoors, four-doors, and wagons are acceptable donor cars. The solution is to swap out those four-lug hubs with a five-lug setup from a ’64-67 Nova.
Today, the market on four-lug wheels is very limited, and getting a hold of a vintage set of aftermarket rims is restricted to finding a good set of used rims, locating a collector willing to part with his, or searching on eBay. This is a big problem when choosing an aftermarket wheel or rally rim (the ’63 Super Sport models had a four-lug 14-inch wheel, which made things a little easier when it came to adding late-model tires). Four-lug Wheels Limiting Your OptionsĪll of the ’62-63 Novas came from the factory with four-lug wheels. This month, we will write on doing this conversion. Not only does this increase your options when it comes to tire and wheel choices, but it allows the use of bigger brakes for better stopping power.
When it comes to tech upgrades on early (’62-63) Chevy IIs, one procedure is a must for serious performance enthusiasts: upgrading the factory four lugs to five lugs.
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