time to start building

[project71nova]

well i think its about time that i get my 71 nova back up and going again (due to spun bearing). im looking for advice on building a car. I would like to know where to start. Basically im looking to have a real clean street/strip nova with full interior, 8 point cage, damn good amount of power, sand something to be proud of. i kind of know what i want but i think some guidence would help out alot.

where to start ?
car is not running, was planing on gettting mini tubs and the cage put in at a locol hot rod shop (roseville rod and customs) from the work i have seen, they do a good job. but i might have to do it myself is the price is to much wich i have a feeling it will be.

Been looking at the currie 9 inch ford rear ends and i think i want one, but can i get one custom built for less? i do want it narrowed so the wheels have a nice deep offset ( love that look) and to take off a few pounds while im at it.

engine would be a big block in the 700-800 hp range on pump gas.

i want a th350 or 400 built to handle the power. anyway just looking for advise of where to start. thanks

[1320quick]

What kind of budget do you have for this project? That will be a big key to how you should proceed. Is the body, paint or interior already done? How much of this project can you do yourself? Building a car like you describe is not cheap. I have a buddy trying to do the same thing with a 64 Chevelle and the car is maybe half done and he has 25K invested in it. One of the most important things is to know exactly what you want as a finished project and make a solid plan to get there.

For what it's worth, I'll tell you how I did my Nova over the past 13 years. I started by getting the car running and mechanically sound. As part of that, I rebuilt the front suspension, got an alignment, new shocks and brakes all the way around. This way the car was safe, could move under it's own power and I could drive it. I then swapped the 307ci for a 355ci, a 4-speed and a 4.10 posi for the 10 bolt. At this point, the car ran good, stopped good and was fun to drive. Then I turned my attention to the body, paint and interior. Took 4 years to get to that point. Then, I went forward with my ultimate plan of building a nasty heads up car. Swapped the sbc for a 454ci with nitrous, put a t400 with 4000 stall and a 12-bolt. Ran 12 and 11's with that for a few years. During that time, added the cage and upgraded to a race type suspension. Then in 2002, I got serious and upgraded to the current 540. Finally got the car I wanted. I always had a plan, just took 13 years to get there.

[project71nova]

my budge isnt really big at all. i am working full time and saving a good amount of money every week. i dont have any bills so basically the whole check gets saved. anyway i have 8k as of now to start with and i want to get started. the car is mechanically sound (except motor) and has just been sitting for 5 mounths or so. i was driving it every day to high school. the whole interior is basically done (cept for cage/racing seats/awsome gauges/ all that good stuff)i bought it all new and redid it, still needs headliner though. the body is in primer and is damn straight, car has no rust at all. bassically its ready to put parts on.