Can you identify this rear suspension??

That looks like a Dave Folts(spelling?) conversion of a 901 into a swingaxle(definitely no longer available), but it appears to be an IRS rear end. So I'm just as confused as you are. I've never seen American-looking U-joints and a sliding booted joint on a 901 trans.

I did some more searching for independent rear suspensions in the late 1970's.  it looks like this is a Datsun 510 suspension and drive shafts. Strange!

That's actually pretty cool. Datsun 510 eh? Semi-trailing independent rear with coilovers. A lot easier to tune and set ride height than a VW or 911 torsion bar setup.

Mustang II up front? With a rack and pinion? That ought to be able to ride and handle nicely with some chassis tuning.

Cheers.

The rear is already sitting low and the coil overs are maxed out or worn out.  This is without the engine installed.  The challenge may be to find coil overs that will take the weight of the rear engine.

The rear is already sitting low and the coil overs are maxed out or worn out.  This is without the engine installed.  The challenge may be to find coil overs that will take the weight of the rear engine.

I used to run a Folts conversion on a Type 2 box in a drag car.  It looks just like a swing axle setup with a u-joint at the transmission end.  No boots, as the axle length remain constant.

DannyP posted:

That's actually pretty cool. Datsun 510 eh? Semi-trailing independent rear with coilovers. A lot easier to tune and set ride height than a VW or 911 torsion bar setup.

Mustang II up front? With a rack and pinion? That ought to be able to ride and handle nicely with some chassis tuning.

Cheers.

Yes rack and pinion up front from mustang.

LI-Rick posted:

I used to run a Folts conversion on a Type 2 box in a drag car.  It looks just like a swing axle setup with a u-joint at the transmission end.  No boots, as the axle length remain constant.

Found it to be a Datsun 510 after some internet sleuthing.

I thought those half shafts looked familiar! You through me off talking about the Nadella stuff. There were people in the '70's/80's that thought the Datsun axles were stronger than the VW. Interestingly enough, I remember hearing that some 510 owners were converting to cv joints, as they felt they were as strong but lighter.

Speaking of the Datsun 510.  We tested it on the test track at Pomona Fair Grounds. Datsun submitted 3 of them to LA County Sheriff Dept. for test and evaluation as a potential patrol car. At this time, the Sheriff's were interested in using Chevy Nova's with 350 V-8 interceptor engines in the fleet. They were down sizing from full size cars. The Datsun 510 actually did very well and was equal to the Nova in the tight cornering and braking part of the course. No way in the high speed chase course though. The drivers all made comments about how "forgiving" it was in the handling tests. The drivers were all pro driver/trainers of the Sheriff Dept.  The Datsun 810 didn't do as well.........Bruce

... and in order to complete the thread drift— my dad ordered and received a 1976 Nova Concours with that very “police interceptor” package. My buddy and I put headers on it a few years later. It was the very definition of “stupid fast”. On the (very rare) occasions when my dad let me borrow it, I abused that car as only a 17-year-old young man can.

I can tell you this— I found out pretty quickly (and much to my dismay) after getting my license that dad’s Nova with the cop engine was faster than my own 1968 Firebird. Once I found that out, I immediately pulled the engine out of the Firebird in an effort to rectify the situation. I’m not sure that even after a couple of years of my best white-trash gear-head efforts, and the application of several thousand dollars of my hard earned money transferred to Summit Racing, that I ever succeeded.

Dad had that Nova for 10 years, and I’m pretty sure it was as fast when he sold it as it was the day he brought it home.

A '76 Nova LM1 (145 SAE hp) beating a breathed-on '68 Firebird? I'd never have believed...

GM at that time, produced what they called a Police and Taxi Package. This included heavier suspension and huge brakes. There were engine options for them as well but it wasn't well known that you could order the "Interceptor" engine package. I do know that it was available in the Concours. That engine came with a different cam, a re-jetted 4bbl carb and  higher compression. The car was small and light and hauled the freight !!! The guys in patrol loved them but in the long run they were too small to use as Black and Whites. The drivers side arm rests kept getting torn off because the drivers were storing their batons in the grab handles. When they started putting computers in the cars, that ended the medium size cars for Patrol use. I have a friend that just sold his Nova last year with 400K on it. It was a junk pile but never had the heads off all that time...........Bruce

edsnova posted:

A '76 Nova LM1 (145 SAE hp) beating a breathed-on '68 Firebird? I'd never have believed...

At the time, the Firebird in question was a tired 326 F-body purchased from a police impound in St. Louis @edsnova. It didn't get "breathed on" until the infusion of my $4/hr cash (which was injudiciously applied in a kind of haphazard teenage-wasteland fashion). Cast pistons, a cam at least one size too big, a Holly carb I didn't understand, open headers, and a 3000 RPM stall torque converter on a Turbo Hydromatic 350 with a B&M trigger shifter didn't set the world on fire-- but I sure burned a lot of 93 octane. I never ran the Nova once the Firechicken was built, because dad wouldn't let me borrow his car once he saw that I drove my own in the kind of careless haste only a 17 year old boy can.

I didn't get engine building figured out until the next car: a '75 Monza with a legit 350 built right with good heads and a stout bottom end. That car put it down with a Saginaw 4-speed, and had a 3.73 rear end. I topped it off a Marvin Miller spray N20 spray bar on it just before I got married, or I probably wouldn't have lived to be 25 years old.

We were young once, and dumb. Perhaps youth isn't wasted on the young, but evidence seems to support the hypothesis in my case. I just wish I had 1/4 the energy I had then, without the angst.

"I just wish I had 1/4 the energy I had then, without the angst."

Amen, brother.  Amen.

T-Minus posted:

The rear is already sitting low and the coil overs are maxed out or worn out.  This is without the engine installed.  The challenge may be to find coil overs that will take the weight of the rear engine.

The rear is already sitting low and the coil overs are maxed out or worn out.  This is without the engine installed.  The challenge may be to find coil overs that will take the weight of the rear engine.

Looks good; actually in terms of height in the back I believe you are fine; if you notice the stance on original Speedsters the top of the rear wheel well matched the top of the rim. I venture to say when you install the engine that's where your ride height will be.