F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

What exactly did RPO F41 comprise of for a 1969 Nova SS ? When did a rear swaybar appear in a Nova ?
Thanks

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

In the I have information for my 1972 Nova SS the F41 option comprised: "Rear stabilizer; special front stabilizer plus special front and rear shock absorbers".I know the info is for a '72 but I would guess the '69 F41 option was similar.

Starting in 1964 the F40 option was described as a "Special heavy duty front & rear suspension". I'm not sure that meant rear swaybar or not?

Mike

[Edited by MikeA (04-13-2002 at 09:51 PM).]

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

As far as I can tell, Chevy didn't install F41 on many cars in 1969. The 1970 Yenko Deuce Nova used a rear sway bar. I don't think it was available on a '69 Nova or '69 Camaro. The RPO F41 with rear bar was available on '69 Chevelle but was only on a small number of cars. It was more common on the '69 442 Olds. In 1970 F41 had more widespread use by all GM lines. F40 didn't use the rear bar.

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

Based on information on Nova Resource.com the following indicates how many Novas were equipped with the F41 option:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>1968: 176
<LI>1969: 2,608
<LI>1970: Data Missing
<LI>1971: 1,370
<LI>1972: 3,456
<LI>1973: 4,770
<LI>1974: 891[/list]I'm not sure of the accuracy of this information

Mike




[Edited by MikeA (04-15-2002 at 07:31 AM).]

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

I am not sure either but those numbers look funny. Normally F41 used a rear sway bar and I don't ever remember seeing a rear bar on a 68-69 Nova. It would have fit the 69 Camaro if it fit a 69 Nova and there was no production 69 Camaro rear sway bar.

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

Mike,

I had noticed that an ordersheet for the 1970 nova listed the "Suspension, Special Front and Rear" as option F40, yet the Assembly Manual list it as F41. Is that normal or a misprint? Would that account for the missing 1970 info?

Greg

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

The F40 package is springs, the F41 package is bars and shocks. I don't know of any case where both options were installed on the same car, but technically I guess it's possible.

The F41 package is in the assy manual because it required a distinct assy of parts, (special brackets in the floor boards, special lower spring mounts, 2 vertical bars, 1 horizontal bar, 3 sets of bushings, a pair of bushing brackets, and a bunch of bolts). The F40 package might not be in the assy manual because it's only a part number change to the springs in an existing assy, and should be footnoted in the normal 'springs' pages.

I believe the F41 package may have been installed in '68 and up Novas, even though it didn't show up in the Camaro until '70. A '69 Nova rear swaybar setup would not be applicable in a '69 Camaro because of the floorboard bracket design. The brackets that get welded into the floorboard would be in the exact location where the '69 Camaro's rear shock towers would come through the trunk floor. Dimensionally, (is that a word?), the Nova rear sway bar would have fit the &lt;='69 Camaro due to the same width of the rear.

Obviously, in '70 the Camaro's rear got 1-2" wider, and therefore received a different swaybar design. The horizontal bar is too wide for the Nova's, (I have an NOS one, bummer). The vertical bars will fit, but they have a different 'clamp' design at the bottom and are ~~1" too short. These bars will cause the horizontal sway bar to rub the differential cover, but probably only if air shocks are installed.

Sorry for the long winded reply!!
[img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

For 67-69 Camaros:
F40 - Suspension, heavy duty front and rear
F41 - Suspension, special purpose front &amp; rear
F40 was basically a tow package, F41 was the handling package.
F41 had volumes of 5968 (67), 7117 (68), &amp; 5929 (69) in 1st gen Camaros.
Didn't realize why the rear bar didn't fit on the 1st gen. Thx Marlin!

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

I have only seen F41 on Big Block cars, has anyone seen an original small block F41? I recall the 1970 F41 front sway bar as 13/16" just like the COPO Camaros.

Re: F41- 1969 Nova SS
 

Kurt,

I wrote down information from a 1970 order from. F41 was not available on the list, but "Special Performance Suspension" was listed under the SS option. That is F41, correct.

The F40 "Suspension, special front &amp; rear" states that it is not available with Nova SS.

Marlin, Great info. I saw infomation on a 6 cyl Nova with F40. It had shock codes of PW Front and UK Rear. Aren't those Heavy Duty shocks? HD shock were not a seperate option and you could not get F41 without the SS option, does that mean the F40 also included HD shocks?

Thanks, Greg