hi guys, first of all let me say i'm a newbie here.a friend of mine just inherited a 68 nova small block. it's originally a west coast car that's been sitting in pieces for about 20 yrs. eveything is there, in boxes. what i want to know is, is there any way to tell if it's a real ss? it supposedly was a lt-1? there is no paperwork at all on the car. from what i saw it had bucket seats, auto w/console, and chrome valve covers. there are no ss markings anywhere on the car. any help would be appreciated. i'm a regular on the chevelle site, but don't know much about novas, sorry. any help would be appreciated. thanks in advance.
68 ss nova???
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Without paper work it may be tough to say without a doupt that it is an SS or not but there are clues you may be able to find on your car that will let you know more likely than not what it is...the first link below has information on identifying SS cars and the second link below is to the main page of the same site. There is tons of useful information there on Novas. Now I could be wrong as I am not an expert by any defination but I'm not too sure that the LT1 was avialable in 1968...I believe, again I could be wrong, that is wasnt available until 1970. If it is an LT1 and I am right about them not being avialable until 1970 all that would mean is your car doesnt have the original motor it could still very well be an SS...good luck.
http://novaresource.org/rpo_Z26.htm
http://novaresource.org/
http://novaresource.org/rpo_Z26.htm
http://novaresource.org/
Now I might be wrong about the availability of power disc brakes but I believe power discs were available (optional) in '68 BUT they were NOT required for a car to be an SS (in other words they were not part of the SS package itself in 1968) I think the base SS package in 1968 has finned front and rear drum brakes...franco said:
ya paper work and more paper work is the name of the Game with Nova's too.
Power disc brakes were available in 1968. The difference is, they are the 4 piston calipers as opposed to the single,sliding calipers of 1969 and later. The LT1 engine was not available until 1970. The 350 available in 1968 was the same 350 used in Camaros and was rated at 295 HP. The L79 327, rated at 325 HP was the hot small block for 68. As stated by other users, without a build sheet or window sticker, it's very hard to determine if your car is a real SS. Even the 4 holes in the tail panel for the SS trim panel do not mean it's a real SS, as the deluxe trim package included the rear trim panel without the SS designation. In any event, a 68 Nova is a rare piece in it's own right and should be put back together. Good luck
One more thing I left out. Bucket seats have been transplanted into many Novas over the last 30 or so years. If your car is a REAL bucket seat car, it will have the large risers welded to the floor that the seat brackets bolt to. As far as I know, these are not reproduced yet, so spotting an original bucket seat car should be fairly easy.
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definatly post some pics. Sounds like an interesting piece.
Here's a quote from the above link that sums it up:69NovaSS said:
"1968 thru 1971 = optional package: there is no way to verify an SS these years without some original paperwork. In-dash tachs, floor consoles/shifters, console gauges, bucket seats and even 12-bolt rears are NOT indications of a real SS. There were real Super Sport Novas built with the standard dash, column shifters, bench seats and 10-bolt rears. However, you can guess at it's originality. First, all 1968 Super Sports have finned front drum brakes (standard Novas have non-finned drums), and all 1969-71 Super Sports have power front disc brakes. The next thing to check is the engine code. If the engine is original (the last 6 digits of the VIN are stamped on the engine block) and it has a application code (also stamped on the block) that decodes to an SS only engine, then you have a real SS. Without the original engine or some original paperwork, you're basically out of luck. "
Dan (good luck with it)
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