1966 L79 Nova

[Stefano]

Marlin,
I need some Nova Help. There was a 1966 Nova SS for sale at a recent cruise night.

He said that it originally came equiped with a 327 factory Holley Carb and aluminum intake, Muncie 4 speed and 12 bolt posi.

The original block and heads were scrapped and all that remains is the original trans, rear end ,the correct intake carb and original curved correct thermostat housing.

What other clues would help determine if it was a true high HP solid lifter Nova? Was the 12 bolt available in all 327 applications for 1966?

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Stefano;

The '66 L79 Nova is a hydraulic lifter engine.

Unless there is paperwork, or the original block, I don't think you can verify that the car was an L79 Nova. To my knowledge there is nothing in the VIN or Trim Tag that denotes RPO L79. The 12 bolt rear was also available with the 327/275hp engine, all were mono-leaf setups since the multi-leafs did not arrive until '68. The curved neck thermo housing is not a hard part to find, and may not be original to that particular car, same with the intake. If it's a hardtop, then it should be a SS and have the brackets on the tunnel for the console. I have not seen any SS L79 Novas without the console, although I'm sure some were made.

If you're thinking about buying it, make sure the back cove panel is super nice - because they are super expensive!

[Stefano]

Marlin,
Was there a solid lifter option available?

He wasn't representing the car as a high horse, its just that the equipment and story Jive upon initial inspection.

You know ,tossed out the original 327 and kept the original carb and intake.

The thermo housing is available in repro, but the car was not done to fool anyone IMO.

Yes, it is also an orig. buckets and Console car.

Is the carb linkage specific to the Holley equiped Novas?

[TimG]

The solid lifter version was rated at 365 horse and was only available in the Corvette in 64 and 65. No solid lifter small blocks in the Chevrolet lineup in 66. Look at
the tach for 6000 red line.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Tim;
I'm not sure the Nova's received a tach, other than the 'lazy susan' style that was an accessory item - which had an adjustable redline of course.

Stefano;
The carb linkage is the lever type I believe, so it probably won't look any different than the Rochester equiped 275hp cars.

[TimG]

Thanks, don't know much about these Novas but sure do like the engine.

[Stefano]

No factory tac. It must be a high horse car because it came from Ohio! That is enough documentation for me [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Even a 275hp would be cool IMO.

[Schonyenko2]

Stefano, check the rear end code, my book shows BQ as4 speed L79 3.31:1 or FQ RPO L79 3.07:1. Chevy II 12 bolt rears are pretty pricey no matter what the code. Those little deuces were lethal set up right. Ken S.

[Stefano]

Thanks Ken,
That sounds like a solid clue.

[William]

This thread leaves the impression that only an SS could have the L79 engine.

The L79 option was available on all '66 Novas. Even a few wagons have turned up.