I just bought what I was told was a 72SS. There is SS on the rear just below the trunk lock, and on the stering wheel. Should there be one on the grille? From what I can decode from the vin, it was a 350 model. It has factory tach in the dash. What else should tell me this is a real SS and not a clone?

The fifth digit of the Vin has to be a "K". 72 was the only year that the vin actually can tell you if it was an SS or not! On the SS the grille is blacked out and it has an "SS" in the center of it! The tail pan, horn shroud, and grille are the only areas that have an SS emblem on the 72.

There is a "k" and ss on tail, horn, but not on grille. is it part of the grille, ora seperate emblem attatched to the grille. I used to have a 74 it was seperate.

The SS is a seperate piece from the grille! Also though the grille should be blacked out and only chrome on the outer pieces (Basically the center is painted black). If the grille has been changed and you are missing the emblem I would take a close look at the front of the car particularly the subframe as the car may have been in a accident and the front from a regular Nova put on without properly addressing subframe issues! The other possibility is your car was maybe a donor car for another project and is built out of the left over stuff the guy had after building his car. I know I've went through enough parts cars that if I would have kept the extra stuff instead of selling it I could easily build a second Nova now!

The car hasn't been wrecked, I just think the emblem is missing, or someone just put a new(nonSS) grille in it. There are currently no holes where the SS is supposed to go. Based off the vin and rest of the car, I believe it is a true SS, no big deal, $10 and I can get the right emblem for the grille.