1966 Nova L79 Question

[Jack_Tar]

According to the write up for this car. http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail...ign=FL0114-F224 (http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=FL0114-173905&utm_source=emv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaig n=FL0114-F224)
There were only 200 L79 Novas made in 66. I was of the understanding that there were a lot more than that made. I know in 67 there was only a hand full. How many L79 Novas were built in 1966?

[JayR]

The figure commonly published is 5481 L79 Chevy IIs built in 1966. Additionally, there are published sources that state 3457 of those were Super Sports and 200 were 2 door sedans. The remainder would be 2 door Sport Coupes and a handful of wagons. There were also 195 Chevy II L79 cars built in Canada and 63 Acadians.

Bob

[kwhizz]

Rims should be painted Black (Full Hub Caps)........Plastic Shifter Slider is missing from the console...Looks like a decent car...

[kwhizz]

Super Sport Emblem of glove box door should be Gold in color.......

[JayR]

This looks like a real nice car, but it appears to have a broken horn rim (like it's broken off!). You'd think they would have replaced that. A pretty obvious weakness in a good looking interior.

Bob

[Billohio]

I wasn't sure from the write up anything is numbers matching. Pretty car
I have heard those cars handled horribly. Any opinions on this?

[67 Nova Boy]

Yep...like a school bus! They are a handful at times and require your full attention when driving manual steering, manual brakes and a 4-speed with bias tires. Once those tires hit a rut in the road... you need to yank on the wheel to get it out.

Thanks Bob as always, for your knowledge of these somewhat rare cars that are on the top 10 list of cars to own.

Dave
67 Nova Boy

[lowmile]

When going into corners they prefer to continue on straight path.

[Billohio]

Good info! Kinda funny unless your driving
Last year they had a survivor that I think was a 66. Neat car. Pretty much untouched.

[marxjunk]

Bull$hit...ive had at least 20 Chevy IIs including a few 66's and 67s...they drive fine..just not like a Chevelle...get the suspension built with quality parts, get the brakes top notch and they are fine...as good as a stock early mustang...ive had a few of those too..

[67 Nova Boy]

Are you talking about aftermarket parts in a 66 or 67 Nova or original? Bias tires or Radials?

Can they be improved..YES

I have had 11 66/67 Nova's...all SS and with original parts new or worn GM could have built them allot better.

Dave
67 Nova Boy

[PxTx]

There is certainly a slippery slope when it comes to improving the early Nova front suspension. The one mod I would recommend is boxing the lower control arms. I also agree that they are comparable to the Mustang but look 100 cooler!

[marxjunk]

just stock rebuilt...nothing special...no discs...

they are just never gonna handle like a chevelle or Camaro, but they do handle nice..

the same engineers that did the falcon worked on the chevy II..it may be urban legend, but they are so simular, someone stole someones ideas..and the mustang evolved out of a falcon...

years ago people started saying they where death traps, and yes they are, jacked up worn out, but with nice tight factory stuff, and good brake pads etc...they are more than acceptable...its sort of like the corvair...unsafe at any speed....you say it enough and people will repeat it with you...

I love chevy IIs always have..had a few converts a ton of 62-65s a few 66s and a 67...i'm a big chevy II guy..i just hate to hear the "they drive like crap" just hate it..they are nice little cars for what they where designed for...daily commuter cracker boxes...but i love them

[ban617]

I have a 66 ChevyII and it drives fine to me 327 350hp 4speed 12 bolt 3.73 ....But I dont try to road race it ....My ss emblem on the glove box door is chrome ....They turn goldish color when the chrome is gone ....

[lowmile]

I have had few of 66-67 novas and 68-72's without a doubt the 68-72 is far superior handling car. I love the style of the 66-67's but there is a reason GM changed the design. In a panic situation or hard or rough cornering the later design is MUCH more predictable.IMO That's why there are so many more aftermarket front end designs out there for the 66/67 cars. No need to call BS I love the little cars too. M

[Jack_Tar]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JayR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The figure commonly published is 5481 L79 Chevy IIs built in 1966. Additionally, there are published sources that state 3457 of those were Super Sports and 200 were 2 door sedans. The remainder would be 2 door Sport Coupes and a handful of wagons. There were also 195 Chevy II L79 cars built in Canada and 63 Acadians.

Bob </div></div>

Those numbers are more in line with what I thought as far as the over 5000 built. I know it is marketing, but when you twist the numbers to this extent, it is a lie. According to the write up &quot;Just 200 L79 Novas were built before the option was inexplicably dropped the following year, making examples such as this prize winning Nova SS coupe rare indeed. This just seems to be so far from the truth that it can't be construed as anything but a lie.
oh wait a min. I just saw this &quot;Built during the 3rd week of January in 1966&quot; Maybe there were 200 built that week.

[JayR]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jireh Customs</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JayR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The figure commonly published is 5481 L79 Chevy IIs built in 1966. Additionally, there are published sources that state 3457 of those were Super Sports and 200 were 2 door sedans. The remainder would be 2 door Sport Coupes and a handful of wagons. There were also 195 Chevy II L79 cars built in Canada and 63 Acadians.

Bob </div></div>

Those numbers are more in line with what I thought as far as the over 5000 built. I know it is marketing, but when you twist the numbers to this extent, it is a lie. According to the write up &quot;Just 200 L79 Novas were built before the option was inexplicably dropped the following year, making examples such as this prize winning Nova SS coupe rare indeed. This just seems to be so far from the truth that it can't be construed as anything but a lie.
oh wait a min. I just saw this &quot;Built during the 3rd week of January in 1966&quot; Maybe there were 200 built that week. </div></div>

If the current owner wrote that description, he doesn't know much about Chevy II L79s. In addition to the incorrect '200 built' figure, there was no requirement for L79s to have M21 4 speeds or 3.73 rear gears. They came standard with 3.31 rear axles and 3 speed manuals on the column. M20 amd M21 four speeds were optional as were 3.55 and 3.73 rears. The mention of 'period correct M21' leads me to believe this may not be a numbers matching car. Usually, if everything is original, it's very clearly stated. I fear someone may pay way too much for this car.

Bob

[kwhizz]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ban617</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I have a 66 ChevyII and it drives fine to me 327 350hp 4speed 12 bolt 3.73 ....But I dont try to road race it ....My ss emblem on the glove box door is chrome ....They turn goldish color when the chrome is gone .... </div></div>


Hate to disagree.........But,,,,,As delivered the Super Sport emblem was Gold in color.......all the repro stuff is Chrome......
Hard to tell from this pic but this is from a survivor car and it is gold in color...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/kwhizz/66%20Yellow%20Nova%20Project/DSC05376.jpg

Ken

[Material_Boy]

Jayr/Bob is absolutely correct. I own one of these cars and have owned it for almost 30 years. As already said there were 5481 L79's built. I don't know about the breakdown between models, but the standard transmission was a 3 speed on the column and a 3:31 rear axle, along with a 12 bolt rear. Posi was an option as well as an M20 or M21 4 speed. F40 suspension was also an option. My car has it's born with drivetrain as well as all the other components. They are neat cars. The suspension? marginal to say the least. Road race it? No way. Brakes? Well they are the same brakes you would get on a 4 cylinder car unless you ordered the metallic brake option. They were made to go a straight line and they did it very well back in the day. There aren't too many of these cars around that are correct and haven't been thrashed and trashed from years ago.

Happy New Year to all!

Dave

Absolutly no problem driving a 66 L79 Canso Sport Deluxe back in the day.Opps, except occasionally when you got into it.

[ban617]

I thought that the emblem looked as if it were chromed ...And over the years turned to that finish

[Paul_S]

They drive fine and as said above compare with others (Mustang, ...). Prefer the manual/standard controls over power. Cannot compare to more modern stuff. They were given bigger brakes in '64 (9.5&quot; x 2.5&quot; Front, 2&quot; Rear) which was used on (A, F, X, Z-Body) for years after and the X-body is lighter than the F &amp; A. 4, 6, &amp; 8-cyl cars got the same brakes.

[novadude]

My '65 handled poorly when the stock front end was completely worn out. It actually bordered on scary. With all new stock bushing / ball joints / tie rods, a rebuilt steering box (manual steer), and idler arm bearing conversion kit, at stock ride height it drives great now. Not quite like a Chevelle or Camaro, but not as bad as some people claim. I also added '72 Chevelle discs which work really well on these light cars.

[Lynn]

My experience is exactly as John states. All new parts: really not bad.

Problem is the upper ball joints tend to wear out in less than 10,000 miles.

Along with the midsize furds of the day, one of the worst front suspension designs ever.

[x Baldwin Motion]

funny all this talk about &quot;scary&quot; with these cars. back in the eighties I had several early Novas and did V8 conversions on all without changing a bit of the stock suspension, but for swapping to 64 and later 5 lug front clips. scary used to be the norm when hot rodding.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/3gears.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif


*currently that is NOT the plan with the vert, any mods will start with a full new modern front suspension/brake clip

(I'm getting too old for scary)

[novadude]

Fresh stock suspension with disc conversion drives just fine. I hate to see so many trashing the stock subframe on these cars and replacing with aftermarket. After rebuiling mine, I see no need to move away from the stock stuff.