The struggles of building an old car! *whiny rant inside* NOVA/LS/TKX

[@chui19801]

Don't feel bad brother. I went thru the same shit. I had to make a decision at some point not because of finances but more of what car was more desirable. Both went thru a full LS conversion. 1969 Lemans Hardtop with a Gen 4 Flex fuel engine and the 1966 Convertible with a Gen 3 6.0 liter and 4l80e. Guess which one I decided to part ways? Yes that is right. The 69 but sadly. It is hard to work on two projects, take care of family, attend school for higher education, work on home improvements to add value to our home, etc. It is ok. Keep up the good work. Better times will come.

[@BillyFargon]

I appreciate the feed back! I have stepped back some from a little burn out but I still love my car, still buy parts for it, and will still continue to video it. I just needed to take away the obligation to post which was stressful and took some of the fun out of it for a while there. Now my biggest gripe is the cold! :)

[@najeeturner1372]

Billy hang in there. I saw two things that could be causing this issue in my experience. 1. Ditch the AGM battery. Since your charging at 14+ when running, It suggests your battery is trash. With the AGM batteries if you ever go below 9V the battery will be trash. You may have several dead cells. 2. leaving my hand held controller in causes a slight drain on the battery. This is probably amplified if you have dead cells in the battery. Keep wrenching brother!

[@BillyFargon]

Battery is good. If I turn off master power switch and let it sit for days with the only thing powered by battery is Holley ecm it always has power to fire. It’s a draw somewhere else.

[@najeeturner1372]

@@BillyFargon tracking!

[@dougrenner611]

Keep going my Brother. Anyone that's built one like your doing is always going to be challenged. You've had an unfair share, but thanks to you, I learned about the Dakota Digital BIM 02 module version, so that I didn't have to suffer. God used it for good! You will have your victory, as long as you don't give up and keep going. My build is hopefully going to finally be at the stage where I can actually start the motor up in it by the end of this year. 5 years into the build. I love your channel and how you share all the issues, it's real life and very encouraging to know that others are facing same/similar difficulties. Blessings! Doug

[@BillyFargon]

Thank you Doug I really appreciate all that you said. I contemplated not putting that portion of the video up but no point in acting like no problems happen! I definitely won’t give up. I’m a sucker for punishment 😂 I hope you get yours started this year! That will be such a motivator to hear it running! Game changer.

[@theariesexperiment4642]

A good friend of mine built a 72 Chevelle. He had basically,...the same journey your having with your Nova. After 2 years of having problems out what anyone would consider a completed build, he parked it. It sat for another year,.....when one day I asked him,......"why don't you take it to Hot Rod Barn?". To which he replied with a sigh,........"yeah I guess I could.". So,....I'm not sure if you have a specialty shop like that near you,....but after 2 weeks and $350, they ironed out every problem that car had. I think they even dyno'd the car for him for free, per his request. It's been 4 years and he hasn't had one issue outta that car. Just thought I'd share. Good luck with that thing man. She is such a beautiful beast.

[@BillyFargon]

Believe me, in my frustration I have thought about it taking it somewhere! But I really want to figure this out myself and be able to say I built and fixed it all. It’s running and driving so it won’t be just sitting and I don’t think I could let it sit that long without some sort of progress happening to it. I refuse to give up and I have lots more planned for it :)

[@theariesexperiment4642]

@@BillyFargon I understand completely. Good luck man.

[@SecretSquirrelGarage]

Take a deep breath, throw a jump pack in it, drive it and have fun . It happens to all of us at some point. It will get better. Cars looking nice!

[@BillyFargon]

My big breath was ranting and getting it out of my system 😂 I’m all good and will keep plugging away at it. Thankfully I can still enjoy it right now. Thank you for the encouragement!

[@MikeWolf-427]

Thanks for your videos and your time on this build. I just got my '69 427 Nova and your videos have been awesome and has given me a lot of motivation. I understand the negativity and frustrations you're feeling. I feel like that all the time with my projects. There have literally been months where I just didn't open the garage to see some of my previous project cars. I hope everything feels better with the car now. The thing about these old cars is they don't have to done right now or even next year. Squeaks and leaks are just character. :P

[@BillyFargon]

I appreciate the time you took to write this and it’s encouraging! My car runs and drives I just haven’t gotten back on it to start fixing the little things. I have had a decent break from it so I will probably get back on it soon cause time is flying by so fast and before we know it it will be driving season again! Thanks again :)

[@justanoldgm]

Hang in there. I once heard that nothing grows on mountain tops. Growth happens in the valleys below. Your Nova sounds super! I’m in the middle of a tkx install on my c10 and I can certainly relate. I’m so thankful for the freedom we have to do these projects. Very nice work sir!

[@BillyFargon]

That’s a good saying! Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it :) I hope yours turns out awesome!

[@georgeadkins2089]

Billy, I needed this video. I thought it was just me. In fact, I just ordered my third set of leaf springs (too low, sound familiar). But at the same time, after 4 long years, I’ve driven more this summer than I ever have. Still afraid to go more than 20-30 miles but I push it a little further each time. So keep on wrenching and you’ll get there. I know a fraction of what you know about cars and I got there, you will too.

[@BillyFargon]

Thanks for this comment George, I needed it! Glad to know we are in the same boat :) gotta build that circle of trust out a little larger each time. What springs did you start with and where are you now?

[@georgeadkins2089]

@@BillyFargon The first set of springs we’re the summit racing 2” drop and the rear wheels rubbed big time. Switched to summit stock height and still rubbed. Extended the shackle to gain a 1/2” but still bottoms out sometimes. Just ordered the Hotchkis 1.5” drop. On sale right now $390 for the kit or $280 for springs alone.

[@BBBILLY86]

my Nova lives on the float charger. Replaced pieces and parts of the electrical system but it's endless issues. Hope you have yours ironed out soon. I know the frustration.

[@BillyFargon]

Sounds like you definitely understand it! For now I will trickle charge it and keep turning the master switch on and off so I can still enjoy the car :)

[@michaelpage7182]

Hey Billy you have so kind and answered my questions before. This may help it may not. But I have had a sem issue before and I left my battery on and pulled one fuse a time on the the fuse panel to see what circuit is drawing the battery down while sitting. It’s a slow process took a few days but I found it. Keep push bro you got this

[@BillyFargon]

Thank you Michael! I’m going to do something very similar to what you noted but use a volt meter with battery cable off to watch voltage as I pull fuses. Just want to wait till it cools down some!

[@BuddhaC5]

This is the reason my Ventura has been sitting for the summer because I can’t trust it till I do I won’t be out and about in it. Better to be safe than sorry

[@BillyFargon]

Drive it around the block and build that circle of trust :)

[@KutzRacing]

Love the build, I just found your channel by accident and I'm glad I did. I have a 70 Nova I've been building for years, it's is similar to the set-up you was thinking about going with. Mine is a 6.0 Single Turbo, I'm fixing to put a 4l80e in. As for your battery drain check the Alternator, if it has a bad diode it can charge the battery still but discharge when it is setting. Good luck! Hope to see some new content soon.

[@BillyFargon]

Awesome, glad you found the channel! I got a whole list of things to check but for now it’s just driving it till weather gets more cooled off. Sucks working in the humid heat! I think I may still miss not going turbo. But for now I will work out the bugs and maybe do it later. You are going to be stoked when you get yours going!

[@reborn74nova]

My Nova had that squeak on front suspension. What I found it to be was the front springs. Take spring out and grease the spring pocket and spring. The metal to metal contact between spring and frame pocket was the issue. Massive hassle to take apart full front suspension to grease spring pocket but it solved the darn squeak which I agree with you was so damn annoying. For the parasitic draw, attach a multimeter on battery and disconnect electrical things one by one. Make a list like alternator, starter, dash etc. Also I dont recall if you have original firewall connector but you may want to disconnect it as a test to isolate engine compartment electrical load from interior electronics load to try and narrow it down. Again...make a list of the different electrical components on your creation and disconnect each thing one by one, watching to see if the parasitic load stops. If there is no change, reconnect item than go to next item. I have built my car from scratch, so I had to do this when I built my Nova. My parasitic draw when I first bought my project Nova "REBORN" was the wiring to the alternator. I literally went through every wire on my Nova, which isn't much to begin with considering it was from 1974. My Nova is now my most reliable car and I literally don't even have interest in ever buying another so called "New" car. So, it can be done and is possible to have with an old car. You can do it!

[@BillyFargon]

Thanks for taking the time to post this! I will look into the spring for sure. It’s a qa1 coil over so I might just be able to adjust it and take tension off enough to grease it. Your explanation for power draw sounds just like the KZbin video I watched so that definitely sounds like the route to take. Going to be tedious but it has to be done! I would like to get where you are at with yours and have that confidence in reliability!!

[@reborn74nova]

@@BillyFargon Always a pleasure helping out! I too have QA1 coil overs on all 4 corners (Pro touring torque arm setup for the rear). My front setup, 550lb Springs with single adj shocks, was installed back in 2012 (initially with the iron head and block 454 engine and now LS3), is still working great so I can tell you with confidence that its quality. Looking forward to seeing when you get the electrical gremlin resolved!!

[@BillyFargon]

Mine are the single adjustable too. Glad to hear yours are still going strong!

[@josevillarreal6393]

Your doing a great job nova looks good that is the best part working on it. My car had a short inside the starter. And drain my batery over night. Disconect start one night leave batery connected. And see what happens then do the same thing with the alternater

[@BillyFargon]

Thank you :) going to start diagnosing soon when it’s not 100 degrees in the garage!

[@donsmanufactory]

3 days dead sounds like a solenoid or bulb powered up. Something drawing 1/2 amp or so. Put a 1 ohm ballast resistor across your battery switch. Measure the voltage across the resistor. Since it’s 1 ohm, voltage reading = amperage draw. Then start disconnecting things until you see the reading drop. May be more than one thing pulling power. Needs to be less than .050 amps (50 milliamps). It’s not magic, it’s science and fun. Good luck

[@BillyFargon]

For sure. This is good info and seems to confirm the videos and other comments on how to test. I will be sure to document my findings!

[@enriquefig9693]

hey brother, so since you changed the harness, dont know if you found the electrical gremlins yet but check the fuse box and make sure that everything that needs to be wired to ignition only power is on that and everything that needs to be on battery is on that, can't tell you how many times I have flipped flopped two wires and killed my battery only to find out it was something simple that I did

[@BillyFargon]

I will check that for sure. I haven’t even started looking yet since it’s so easy to hit the master switch and keep battery good but I definitely need to get it taken care of. I have had a charging problem since I got the car so hopefully the new wiring is ok and it’s just something old that needs to be updated.

[@cap42]

Stay Positive Billy! Anytime you modify any car there are problems that need to be tweaked sometimes several times before they are "fixed" Keep at it!

[@BillyFargon]

I’m positive :) just a little rant on question and comments I get asked. I can at least still enjoy driving it for now with the master cut off switch :)

[@juliorosario2852]

I have a 73, and I Installed a 4.8, it runs great, but has a 4 sod Muncie. My issue is a little bump steer. As for the electrical, I have no power to the car until I flip the “toggle kill switch” I don’t have any large battery drainage.

[@BillyFargon]

If I keep my master switch off while it’s sitting im totally good. So my battery is good. But I should be able to leave master switch on and have it not drain. So it’s good enough to work around right now but not correct and I would feel way better if it was all good :/

[@fieldsgarage4070]

I followed your channel because I was in the middle of a similar build, even down to the green paint (mine is dark green) and black cowl induction hood. I finished mine and was excited when you went with the Tremec as that is what I installed The whole process was a love/hate thing, cost waaayyyy more time and money than I expected, and I had my own challenges that kept me awake at night. Keep your chin up- we relate to you and are rooting for you. As Red from the The Red Green Show says “we are all in this together.” In the end, this was the most fun car swap I have done and the end results are nothing short of amazing. I love driving my Nova again!

[@BillyFargon]

That’s really awesome! I would love to see your car. Are you able to upload a video and show it or do you have an Instagram? Love / hate, way too much $$ and time.. you nailed it! But all worth it in the end.

[@Nova.1971]

Thanks for the updates Billy. I was wondering about the Impala, and yes to many project's in uncertain times. I have followed the up's and down's with the Nova and you have had your fair share of crap and things going wrong. I noticed when I installed my Dakota Dash my battery was dead in 2-3 weeks, so it's always on the tender when I'm not driving it. This could be the problem as long as you start it every week mine is fine. You have ton's more electronics that could have a drain but don't know. Thanks again for sharing and posting the update, Until next time stay safe and have fun driving the Nova a bit. Cheers Mike

[@BillyFargon]

I would blame the Dakota but I have had a charging issue since I bought the car and I’m sure all the electronics is not helping! At least for now I can flip the main power switch when parked and it doesn’t drain so I can drive it :) You taken your car out yet?

[@Nova.1971]

@@BillyFargon As you know the shop has used up a ton of time this year, but I have had the car out a few times. I will be hopefully working hard on it as soon as I can. Ton's of new parts etc. The lift will be a godsend!!!!!

[@BillyFargon]

Oh good! Hadn’t seen car videos but that makes sense. That shop is coming together awesome!

[@Turbochapman]

Dude that car has come a long way. You'll get the miles on it, you just need to cruise with a partner for a while. And carry a nice tool bag with a power probe, they're pefect if you need to energize a circuit long enough to get to safety

[@BillyFargon]

Yeah that’s a good idea. My friend and I joked he would follow me around for a few hours with a jack and a tool box :) maybe I should take him up on it!

[@Turbochapman]

@@BillyFargon do it! Only time in the seat and miles can build confidence. Mine has left me stranded a few times, it happens to everyone

[@BillyFargon]

I’m sure it will break down, I expect that. I would like to do the road trips you have been doing!

[@ksduathlete]

My brother and I always say, it’s always going to be something with these old cars... we like to kind of rub it in when are whining. Then we just laugh cuz we realize no one cares! Hang in there and just enjoy it. If it was perfect you’d be annoyed that it all done and nothing to do

[@BillyFargon]

You are totally right, it’s always going to be something! I would be ok being annoyed right now if it was all perfect cause I could get another beater and do it all again 😂

[@eduardorivera2460]

Good job for staying motivated and continuing to work on it.

[@BillyFargon]

Thanks, I won’t give up on this for sure. Just going to keep picking at it and making it better :)

[@3Wheels1Block]

Hang in there Billy. For your battery drain I would check the load on each circuit, it's a pretty common issue if you have a diode that has failed. Those little pesky issues can wear on you. I have been fighting with a header on my Nova for 2 weeks. Sad part is, I had no issues until I swapped the engine 😂.

[@BillyFargon]

I will get it figured out eventually. I watched a few videos on what you are talking about so I just need to get out there and do it. I feel like it always has to be something! I hope you get yours figured out soon!

[@jessiesalmonson3344]

Great work on the car and awesome video. As everyone else has said you will get there just have to keep pushing. I’ve had my LS swapped Nova back together for a few months and am finally to the point where I’m comfortable with longer trips. I’m thinking about going away from my th350 this winter and putting in a TKX. Once you get a chance to get some seat time in your car it would be cool to hear your thoughts on the manual vs auto. I think a manual will make the car more fun but man it pulls hard right now with the th350 and a 4000 stall converter. Decisions…Decisions.

[@BillyFargon]

It will get there, just had a take a minute to whine and let people know why I’m not driving cross country with it 😂 I have 100 miles so far on the trans and I love It! Completely changed to feel of driving my car. Way more engaging and exciting. I don’t drag race my car but ripping around so far I have zero regrets!!

[@UCxPdotWee]

Keep your head up Billy! Car looks beautiful sounds beautiful… Be proud of all the hard work you put in… you keep me motivated on my build!

[@BillyFargon]

I’m all good, I just needed to rant and get it out there but I’m very happy with my car and where it’s at and still have lots planned for it :) thank you for the encouragement!!

[@smackdammit4266]

Actually this is a great vid, sorry for all the trouble it’s put you through but it gives people who are interested in building an old car a glimpse of the problem’s that comes with it. Keep your head up though bro you’ve come way too far and the nova looks great…. Also agree with another poster here about taking it to a shop that specifically deals with hot-rods/restomods pay there extra tax and be done with it… Nothing wrong with paying for help from guys who do this on an every day basis…. After all you’ve done you definitely deserve to trust the car and enjoy it!!!

[@BillyFargon]

I hope it doesn’t deter anyone from wanting to build one though! It may be tough but the feeling of accomplishment when it’s done is like no other when you are driving down the street and seeing people react so positively! I’m can’t bring myself to take it anywhere at this point. It still runs and drives and I have learned and am learning so much with everything that’s done that I can’t just stop now. I want to know every inch of this car so if anything happens on a road trip I know what to do! Just gonna keep pushing forward :)

[@smackdammit4266]

@@BillyFargon Respect

[@FnaAuto]

If everything goes right the first time you’ll never know how to fix it when it doesn’t! Keep your head up man 🙏🏻

[@BillyFargon]

Yup, one of the benefits of touching everything on your car it makes it easier to get back in there when things go wrong!

[@PMcGuffin]

Hey it could be worse. Mine still doesn’t even resemble a whole car snd I’m pretty sure we started around the same time

[@BillyFargon]

You probably have a lot less car stress 😂😂

[@webe_fishing9345]

Triple check all your ECU Wires that went to battery switched power and ignition power. in the morning touch all the relays on your holley terminator see if one is warm. Thats your culprit

[@BillyFargon]

I had this power draw from before the Holley.. from the beginning when it was still a straight 6.

[@guysmiley4189]

Ya it feels defeating sometimes. But ya gotta keep on moving with it because I steel half your ideas.... no seriously I do haha

[@BillyFargon]

😂😂 you’re awesome! I just needed to vent, so it’s all good now :)

[@bonezshakergarage]

Super clean Nova. What spraco setup do you have?

[@BillyFargon]

Thank you :) If you look on Amazon the steering wheel is: Sparco 015TRGL1TUV The quick release is: NRG SRK-400BK Also using a 1/2 spacer: NRG SRK-500B

[@bonezshakergarage]

@@BillyFargon thanks Billy

[@KFisher-un5fc]

I just started following you. New here to the nova world. I’m thinking about buying a 1971 nova in the next couple days for 9k. Couple questions I have. It is a salvage title unfortunately. It does run and drive and brakes and all lights work. It has a 307 small block in it. Do you think it’s worth buying even if it’s a savage title? I’ve never owned a muscle car but it has always been a dream of mine. I don’t plan on selling it ever but I do plan on fixing it up for myself. Do you think it would be worth it in my situation?

[@BillyFargon]

Welcome! First thing I would want to see if I was buying a salvage car is pics of the damage it had. If there was any chance of it causing permanent misalignment I would pass.. so I would be checking panel gaps and checking for any creased or buckled structural areas of car. Sometimes they total a car with not much damage so it could be ok. Next I would check with a couple classic car insurance companies and make sure they will full coverage insure your car for an agreed value that you are comfortable with. If they can’t I would pass on that reason too. Also know that a salvage title car will never be worth as much as a clean title car if you ever want to sell it. But if you plan on keeping it forever that wouldn’t be an issue. I’m not sure where you are from or what the market is on cars there but here it sounds pretty basic. 9k on a basic car I would expect it to be pretty clean.. not necessarily paint but solid as far as rust and being complete. That’s a clean title car though. I don’t really see salvage title novas around here so I don’t know what it should cost but I would be looking around to confirm if it’s a deal or not. I hope it all works out well for you and good luck!

[@KFisher-un5fc]

@@BillyFargon I’m from California. The car looks to be in good shape. Definitely needs a paint job. It is completely primered and ready for paint. He says it’s a rust free car but I am going to check it out in a couple days. I will call insurance today and see what they say. Thanks man for the quick reply I really appreciate it. Your nova looks pretty bad ass man I love the color of it!