T400 rarity in a nova (69)

[black69]

Is a T400 rare in a nova? and does a build sheet show the selling dealer?
I am told 'yes' to the first question and 'no' to the second according to owner.

[66 Biscayne]

I have friend who owns (bought it new) a 69 Nova SS with the th400 396-375 engine.....all matching numbers to this day....12,000 original miles.

[black69]

yep, this is also a L78. But were they rare as this guy is telling me.
500 of something is not a big number (if true).
that is a cool car your friend has. another survivor rises to the surface as they say....

[flyingn]

I believe all Big blocks in Novas are 400's

[Mr70]

1970 Yenko Deuce LT-1 Novas used a CW TH400 too,when an Auto trans. was ordered.

[66 Biscayne]

Back in the day, most of them I saw/remember were 4 spds.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

The A/T was more rare than the 4 speed, bec/ less people wanted them - same is likely true today, unless you already have a 4 speed version.

There were ~9,900 L78 Novas built between '68-'70, so although rare in terms of percentage they are not too hard to find (unless you want one that is orig owner with 12k miles!! That is 'super rare'). I know there were 66x of them in '68, with about 98 being a/t's, 5,500 +/- in '69 (I forget the a/t %), and another 4,000'ish in '70. They are good running cars, just like the LT1 a/t Deuces!

[black69]

thanks for all the info.

now as far as buildsheet for a nova in 69, does it show selling dealer? Someone told me the nova buildsheet does not, yet others (like chevelle) do. the car I am looking at has a buildsheet.

[WILMASBOYL78]

According to the Nova Resource site...these are the stats:

TH400 in Novas...

**note these totals represent all engines available with the TH400

1968...98 (50 of these were in the Gibb Cars w/L78..the other were L34 applications)
1969..1411 (L78 and L34)
1970..1238 (L78, L34 and LT1 in the Deuce)

The L78/LT1 applications used the high shift point/HD versions of the TH400.

So, regarding rarity...there were a lot less automatic cars produced than the 4 speeds...does that make them &quot;rare&quot;...I guess so, though most folks like to row the gears [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/[/img] From a performance stand point they are very durable and almost impossible to break...just put it in &quot;D&quot; and let it go [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]

***my sense is the TH400 might be more common in the L34 applications as a percentage of the total cars produced...but, this is just a guess...seems like I've seen more L34 auto cars than 4 speeds [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img]

Fisher Body &quot;build sheets&quot; commonly found in the back seats of Novas will not list the selling dealer...you will need other documemtation or owner history to answer that question. Sometimes there are clues in the car...old receipts, oil change stickers,dealership &quot;identity&quot; items, etc. that might help you.

Hope this helps..wilma

[TimG]

The engine code should call out the TH400 or the 4 speed transmission, too.