1966 Nova Wagon ( now for some changes)

went for New Year's 2025 drive yesterday. that was a blast. already have a new 2025 list started... out with HEI, going with an MSD 6AL Box ( with rev control) MSD Pro Billet Dist, and Blaster coil... new plug wires ( MSD) or if anyone has a suggestion what better ... Blue print 396 crate engine has headers... but the plug connectors are close.. should I use some type of heat protection.. ? also a few friends have pointed out the fuel supply line to the carb... we will be changing that .. also put an metal inline fuel filter at the back.. can see it in the picture .. but there is a rubber hose running to a either glass or plaster visable filter... .. going to change this a solid line...

 

Love your Wagon brother, it's got to be a riot.

My daily driver for the past 15 years is also a '66 Chevy II Wagon that I thought I'd share a couple of pictures with you so you don't feel like a lone ranger around here.

 

Nice little wagon!! Nice daily driver....

 

not much to report.. MSD parts are on order , going with 6al box, blaster2 coil and pro billet distributor.. need to figure out what wires to run.. header and spark plugs are really tight... finally got the carb fuel line that was on back order for a month...

 

Gonna keep all 4 doors ?!?
6sally6

 

yep.....why mess with it..

 

6sally6

 

two thumbs up for the win..

 

Chevy II thumbs up!

 

yes sir !

 

Love you're wagon.....following!!

 

Thank you !

 

good mail day ! finally got some of the MSD parts I needed.

 

Very nice! Much improved with the changes you’ve made too. The wheels in particular look great, what gold do you use on them?

 

So a friend of mine... did this color on some American's on his Dad's 56 Chevy... It's Eastwood's Carb Renew paint.. The color of the gold is great... I've contacted @eastwoodco , it's not available right now... Need to replace his can of paint... Its being reformulated per the Rep I spoke with .

 

Looks great, dig the upgrades

 

Thanks, hopefully the reformulated stuff looks the same

 

I hope so also.. I want to buy about four, give my friend back two for his help.

 

Thank you ! its getting there.. Still haven't got around to installing the geen line SW gauges ( non heated garage ) Waiting on MSD 6AL box and MSD Pro-Billet Distributor now... remote oil filter coming Canton Racing ..still running break in oil...

 

nothing really much to report.. been way to cold the last few weeks.... Did get my window lace for the upper driver door frame. door glass rattle

 

scored a great deal from my friend on a new MSD Dist & 6AL box.... Need to order some rev control chips for the box... 6000-6500 rpm . My shift skills are they great these days ( ie getting old ) .. so could I go maybe higher on the chip kit ? thoughts.. its again a 396 SBC ( Blueprint crate engine) Muncie M20 4 Speed

 

picked some original LT1 Valve Covers for the Wagon... Now can ditch the Blueprint Valve Covers.. ... next ditch the Blueprint lettered dipstick....

 

Actually those are cross ram valve covers for a 1969 Z/28 Camaro..... WoW!....

 

Great looking DD..........my only suggestion is to upgrade the Muncie while it still works well and get a Tremec 5 speed to replace it. The Muncie is probably worth $1k in good shape and would ease the sting of a new Tremec. Probably never tear it out with your 396, while the Muncie will be expensive to repair and lose value if you break it. The overdrive will make your daily driving much more enjoyable.


Muncie variations: https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/1808-guide-to-muncie-m20-m21-and-m22-four-speed-transmissions/

 

How did we get by with the lowly four speed?

 

55 mph highways and lots of rebuilds along the way......... The 350/350 was the most popular hot rod automatic transmission until highway speeds became 70-80 and gas prices went up.....then an awful lot of people saw the benefit of using a trans with overdrive. Same thing with the manual transmissions today, almost every manual transmission produced for cars and 1/2 ton trucks has more than 4 gears.
4 speeds work today but usually at some compromise in acceleration vs cruise speed. Personally I have always felt that the choice of a transmission should get way more consideration than most people give it. It can often mean the difference in whether someone drives a car a whole lot...........or not.

 

It's not a daily driver... have my other two off topic cars I drive daily... lol... The Muncie was just rebuilt by the previous owner... all the drive train is new.... I'm not one to abuse my stuff. I drive pretty easy. lol .. but a little spirited moments due come up ...

 

I was told they were off a LT1.... will check the cast part numbers...

 

I had a 63 Impala with M21 trans and never had to rebuild it in 70,000+ miles of spirited driving including a lot of drag racing, both on the street and drag strips! Cars today benefit from more gears as they are in cars powered by 4 cyl engines that lack torque. If the car has a 4 speed or 5 speed will make you decide whether or not to drive it much I'd say that you aren't much of an enthusiast!