9-C-1 Nova

[SoupCoup]

Just wondering if this is a copo designation for a police car? The Nova is a 78 4 door. The only reason I suspect it was police rather then a taxi is because the speedo is 200 kmph & says "certified" in the bottom of it & has what appears to be a Z 28 steering wheel of that era 77,78. The car has a/c, but no other option's,not even a am radio. It has a rear sway bar & diff says 3:08. The emissions decal says LM-1 350 4bbl. No tires or rims on it but has 2 plain hubcaps in trunk.Some has put a sticker above fuel filler that says " premium unleaded gas only" does not appear factory.

[L89DRMR]

I bought a 9C1 1978 Nova from the original owner and have the dealer order sheet and a copy of the window sticker. It had thirty-four options.

A01 Soft-Ray Tinted Glass
B80 Roof Drip Moldings
B84 Body Side Moldings
B93 Door Edge Guards
C04 Intermittent Wipers
C50 Rear Window Defogger
C60 Four-Season Air Conditioning
D35 Sport Mirrors LH REM & RH Manual
D85 Body Side Pin Striping
G80 Positraction Rear Axle
J50 Power Brakes
LM1 350 CU. IN V8
MX1 Automatic Transmission
NA2 Standard Emission System
N41 Power Steering
QDV FR78-14?B Radial B/Wall
U05 Dual Horns
U35 Electric Clock
U69 AM/FM Radio
U80 Rear Seat Speaker
V30 Bumper Rub Strips & Guards
ZJ3 Interior Decor Package
ZJ9 Auxiliary Lighting
48L Dark Green Metallic
62R VCC1 Camel Vinyl Bench
1B4 V-8 Engine 350 CID 4 BBL
5FF FR70-14-B Fabric Radial
6C1 H.D. Front Seat
6C3 Rear Arm Rest
7K4 80 Amp Generator
7Z9 Speedometer
9A3 Speedometer Adapters
9C1 Police Car

Options totaled $2,680.80
Total Amount was $6,601.10

The car was ordered from Don Heavens Chevrolet in Woodbury, CT on 1/26/1978

The car had the Z-28 Steering Wheel and handled incredibly well. I sold it as I couldn't justify restoring the car despite its rarity.

Dave

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

The best part of the 9C1 cars is the rear sway bar. We found one in a junk yard in Pine Grove once, and my buddy Neal scarfed the rear sway bar - it's in either Frank or Joe's Deuce....

[SoupCoup]

The guy that owns the wrecking yard(auto dismantling & recycling yard) that has it thought that the springs,shock's,lower control arms,sway bars & steering box were same as 78 Z-28. He called me to see if I wanted motor before crusher gets there Friday or Saturday.From what I can find nothing special or unusual from any other 350. I think it may be 2 bolt main? Trans may be H/D or upgraded with this package,but of no use to me.Thanks for the reply's.

[9C1Beater]

Hey Guys...I'm new on here, but not new to classic musclecars. I'm 57, retired from the Navy, and have a 2 yr-old son (no, he wasn't planned, but I figure I might keep him anyway) who will be a classic car nut just like his Old Man. I have a '68 RS Camaro coupe that is slowly being restored with its original 230 six and a 3-on-the-tree shifter (rare, no?). I also have a '77 Nova 9C1 4-door sedan, and that's the main reason I joined your forum (I've lurked on here for many years).

I found my 9C1 last Nov. on CL-Phoenix and bought it for $400. It is complete, but had been in a crash 11 years ago that wrecked the front end and put it on a downward spiral that resulted in its sale to me for unbelievably cheap money. I recently purchased a '76 Nova 4-door parts car with a good front end, so my car should be running around capturing criminals again very soon.

I joined Steve's Nova Site in Dec. and started a 9C1 Nova Registry because guys were saying how rare these cars were, but no one sat down and documented each currently known survivor until I did. That list has only 15 verifiable 9C1 Novas out of approx. 14,000 built between '75-78 (basically only 1 in 1,000 survived), 2 coupes and 13 sedans. The car up in Canada should be saved no matter what, as it will be only the 2nd Canadian 9C1 known to exist. Currently on the registry there is one Canadian 9C1, a blue and white '78 4-door that is owned by Bruce Hamilton of Surrey, BC, a car that served duty at the RCMP outpost in tiny Grimshaw, AB.

Although the 9C1 COPO Novas are rather plain appearing cars, they possess a lot of interesting standard equipment that makes them special: a 350 4-barrel Z28 LM1 engine with hardened valve stems and a few other HD mods, a specially prepared TH-350 transmission with HD parts, a 4-core radiator and HD cooling fan from a 454 pickup, HD 61 amp alternator, a special reinforced front subframe, Z28 front and rear sway bars, Z28 front brakes, rear drums from a full-size Chevy station wagon, HD rear springs, HD police car seats (including an unusual smaller back seat that only came on 9C1s), a 4-spoke Z28 steering wheel, a 120 mph certified speedometer, 14x7 inch plain steel wheels with dog-dish hubcaps, and special high performance tires. The 9C1 Nova was basically a 4-door Z28 and was actually faster than the Corvette from that time period. The 9C1 Nova is rumored to have a top speed of around 130 mph (I'll let you know once I get mine going...shhh, don't tell the cops).

I really hope that the 9C1 Nova in Canada hasn't yet been crushed and can be saved. I have a feeling that these Novas will be worth a good sum of money one day, and will continue to increase in popularity in the future. I have attached a link to the registry to bring you up to speed on the 9C1s known to exist. If anyone on here knows of another one, please feel free to contact me. Thanks, Alex Manz

http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=404777

PS...I would like to get "L89DRMR's" 9C1 info for the registry. I need the VIN (or a good portion of it...I know how some guys are about releasing their VINs) and the cowl tag data. A photo would also be nice.

[SoupCoup]

Interesting info,thanks for the response. I had no idea these cars even existed or were so rare. The current owner of the yard bought it 10 years ago(the yard) & the nova was there then.No idea how long it had been there, but there was a gas reciept from 1981 under the seat with 122682 wrote in pen across the top. The car showed 143812km. now, so I wonder if that was the milage marked on in 81? If so it must have been brought to the wreckers in 1982 maybe? It had been rear ended on left rear-hard enough to break back glass,but no damage to rear door. The owner of the yard always figured it had been a taxi-(dog dish cap's & rubber floormat). I did too until I saw the 200km/hr speedo with "certified" on face,plus I don't think a taxi/cab company would want a gas guzzleing 350.It looks like the only parts sold or missing are the master cylinder & booster,front rotors,a/c compresser,tire/rim's,grill,carb & distributer.Looks like mice have takan up residence in the manifold.One of the spindles is off,but in the back seat. Wondering based on the info above if they sold it & found out it was different from a reg nova & it was returned ?

[Charley Lillard]

Until today I had never heard of 9C1. Learn something everyday....Then I forget two things a day so I should have plenty of space left over.

[SoupCoup]

Just got off the phone with the guy. Right now it's still in the the yard but was crushed saturday & is on a trailer with a 77 dodge charger(looks like a cordoba)under it & a 82 chevette or acaidian on top.

[9C1Beater]

Man, I sure hate to hear that! If you could give us the color scheme of it (exterior and interior) I will post the info on Stevesnovasite. Did anyone think to save that 200 Kph speedo?!!!

The 9C1 Nova is considered by many cop car afficianados to be the best cop car Chevy ever built, and it consistently appears on "10 best cop car" lists. Due to its light weight it had an outstanding power-to-weight ratio, had incredible handling, and could stop on a dime (1.2g's of force in braking, around .9g's in handling). Motor Trend magazine did an extensive test of one in the Sept. '76 issue and gave the ordering codes so that civilian car enthusiasts could order their own. To order one you had to specify the 350 LM1 engine, TH350 trans, variable ratio power steering, high performance radial tires, posi rear-end, and power brakes...then the 9C1 option could be ordered for around $300. They were ordered under the Central Office Production Order (COPO) system, which included large fleet orders as well as special muscle cars like the Yenkos and 427 Camaros. Not all dealers would accept a COPO order, as such an order took more time and effort than a standard order (as well as specific knowledge of the ordering procedure). If a COPO order wasn't submitted properly, the factory would kick it back to the dealer and delay the manufacture of the car.

My 9C1 was ordered by a car enthusiast in his 20s, Chad Larson, a computer programmer for American Airlines in Tulsa during the '70s. He read the Motor Trend article and persuaded 2 of his co-workers to also order 9C1 Novas from the same dealer (Ramsey Chevrolet in Bixby, OK...a suburb of Tulsa) on the same day (bet that was a happy salesman!). It took about 3 months for the order to be processed, and the tach and gauges Chad ordered were not installed on his Nova. He ordered it in dark brown metallic with a tan interior for the maximum sleeper effect, and successfully raced it in SCCA Solo 2 Autocross events for the next few years...Chad said nothing pis*ed the Corvette and Porsche guys more than to be beaten by a "little-old-lady" Nova! When I bought the car in Nov. of 2014 it was sitting on the west side of Phoenix in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, and the ad on Craigslist said "1977 Nova 4 Door, Needs Bodywork Make Offer". The young guy (Omar) selling it had no idea it was a rare cop car (I could tell from the fat wheels with dog-dish hubcaps, the 350, and the cop car interior what it was). Omar was about to sell the 9C1 to the junk guy for $100, as it had been on CL for 2 months with no buyer! I asked him what he would take for it and he said "$400" ...I immediately sent him a down payment on Paypal and flew out to Phx from Columbus 3 days later to pay it off. Omar had been given the car by the 2nd owner, Les Biffle, whose son had wrecked it 10 years earlier (2004). It had sat behind Les' garage all that time until the wife wanted it gone (we all know that story, right?). Chad sold the car in '87 to Les, who was one of the 3 guys that ordered 9C1s from Ramsey Chevy. Les had sold his 9C1 in the early '80s after moving to Phx, and always regretted selling it. When Chad decided to sell his 9C1 in '87 he gave Les the first chance at it and he took it. I flew out to Phx in March and had dinner with them both (I tracked Les down from his name and address that were still on the AZ title, and he put me in touch with Chad...they are still friends). I heard some great stories about the "Brown Bomber" (the 9C1's nickname) during dinner with them...they're both great guys. Les gave me some of the car's original paperwork, and I'm waiting for photos from both of them. Chad is in his 60s now, but still has the '87 Mustang LX V8 he replaced the Nova with. It has a 347 Ford Motorsports crate motor and several other mods to make it a screamer at stoplight duels. He graciously let me drive it after our dinner. BTW, I plan to restore the Brown Bomber to its day 1 appearance.

[Canuck]

9C1 was the designation for Police package on all Chevrolet cars.
I had a 79 Malibu 2dr Ex RCMP Drugs quad car a a 1982 4 Dr Malibu, Suburban detachment Highway Partrol unmarked.

Paul

[SoupCoup]

It was dark blue with white front doors.Basicly no paint left on the hood,roof or fender tops from 30 + years sitting out. Dark blue inside-no design or texture at all on seats,just looked like 1 big peice of vinyl streched over the cushions. I assumed they'd been recovered,but based on the info you supplied they are likely the originals.
I wish I'd known about or posted something sooner about it. Had no idea what it was. I'm sure somebody could of used it or the parts, as I said it was almost complete. I'm wondering if he has or kept record of the VIN, maybe I can at least give you that Alex or for $ 20.00 I can get the trace of previous owner(s).

[old5.0]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 9C1Beater</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Man, I sure hate to hear that! If you could give us the color scheme of it (exterior and interior) I will post the info on Stevesnovasite. Did anyone think to save that 200 Kph speedo?!!!

The 9C1 Nova is considered by many cop car afficianados to be the best cop car Chevy ever built, and it consistently appears on &quot;10 best cop car&quot; lists. Due to its light weight it had an outstanding power-to-weight ratio, had incredible handling, and could stop on a dime (1.2g's of force in braking, around .9g's in handling). Motor Trend magazine did an extensive test of one in the Sept. '76 issue and gave the ordering codes so that civilian car enthusiasts could order their own. To order one you had to specify the 350 LM1 engine, TH350 trans, variable ratio power steering, high performance radial tires, posi rear-end, and power brakes...then the 9C1 option could be ordered for around $300. They were ordered under the Central Office Production Order (COPO) system, which included large fleet orders as well as special muscle cars like the Yenkos and 427 Camaros. Not all dealers would accept a COPO order, as such an order took more time and effort than a standard order (as well as specific knowledge of the ordering procedure). If a COPO order wasn't submitted properly, the factory would kick it back to the dealer and delay the manufacture of the car.

My 9C1 was ordered by a car enthusiast in his 20s, Chad Larson, a computer programmer for American Airlines in Tulsa during the '70s. He read the Motor Trend article and persuaded 2 of his co-workers to also order 9C1 Novas from the same dealer (Ramsey Chevrolet in Bixby, OK...a suburb of Tulsa) on the same day (bet that was a happy salesman!). It took about 3 months for the order to be processed, and the tach and gauges Chad ordered were not installed on his Nova. He ordered it in dark brown metallic with a tan interior for the maximum sleeper effect, and successfully raced it in SCCA Solo 2 Autocross events for the next few years...Chad said nothing pis*ed the Corvette and Porsche guys more than to be beaten by a &quot;little-old-lady&quot; Nova! When I bought the car in Nov. of 2014 it was sitting on the west side of Phoenix in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, and the ad on Craigslist said &quot;1977 Nova 4 Door, Needs Bodywork Make Offer&quot;. The young guy (Omar) selling it had no idea it was a rare cop car (I could tell from the fat wheels with dog-dish hubcaps, the 350, and the cop car interior what it was). Omar was about to sell the 9C1 to the junk guy for $100, as it had been on CL for 2 months with no buyer! I asked him what he would take for it and he said &quot;$400&quot; ...I immediately sent him a down payment on Paypal and flew out to Phx from Columbus 3 days later to pay it off. Omar had been given the car by the 2nd owner, Les Biffle, whose son had wrecked it 10 years earlier (2004). It had sat behind Les' garage all that time until the wife wanted it gone (we all know that story, right?). Chad sold the car in '87 to Les, who was one of the 3 guys that ordered 9C1s from Ramsey Chevy. Les had sold his 9C1 in the early '80s after moving to Phx, and always regretted selling it. When Chad decided to sell his 9C1 in '87 he gave Les the first chance at it and he took it. I flew out to Phx in March and had dinner with them both (I tracked Les down from his name and address that were still on the AZ title, and he put me in touch with Chad...they are still friends). I heard some great stories about the &quot;Brown Bomber&quot; (the 9C1's nickname) during dinner with them...they're both great guys. Les gave me some of the car's original paperwork, and I'm waiting for photos from both of them. Chad is in his 60s now, but still has the '87 Mustang LX V8 he replaced the Nova with. It has a 347 Ford Motorsports crate motor and several other mods to make it a screamer at stoplight duels. He graciously let me drive it after our dinner. BTW, I plan to restore the Brown Bomber to its day 1 appearance. </div></div>

Was it possible to order a 9C1 as a two door coupe, or was it four door only?

Unfortunately, the junkyard car the OP referenced was probably done the minute it hit the yard's driveway. Not sure how it works in Canada, but in the US the era of the little mom n' pop yard is about over. I recently had to watch an 84 Mustang GT Turbo4 car in Desert Tan go to the crusher. Very solid, complete and rare car (not sure how many Desert Tan Turbo GT's were built, but pick a number around 25 and you're probably in the ballpark). The guy up front was sympathetic to my cause, but there was nothing he could do. Once it hits the yard, it's dead.

[9C1Beater]

Yes, the 9C1 was available as a coupe, although most were 4-doors. There are currently only 2 coupes known to exist, a black '78 with a cabriolet roof and many options that was special ordered by a man in Chattanooga, TN, and a carmine red '78 that was used by the Iowa State BCI for undercover work (it is now owned by John Ellison, a retired Iowa state agent who actually drove that same car back in the day...he recently got it running again after a 30 year period of slumber where it was owned by a couple of other guys). The black coupe is owned by Mark Williamson in KY and has approx. 30k original miles...a consitent show winner.

[9C1Beater]

That blue and white color scheme was used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (and still is). Bruce Hamilton's RCMP 9C1 Nova has the same color scheme, and he has the buildsheet for the car which shows that it was a specially mixed shade of blue that was used only on the RCMP cars. Bruce sent to GM of Canada for info on his Nova and learned that 132 9C1s were delivered to Canada in 1977. When fleet cars with special colors were built, the factory would spray a large number of them sequentially, so there would've been a whole string of them going down the assembly line at the same time...I'm sure that would've been quite a sight. All of the RCMP 9C1 Novas were ordered by the main office in Ottawa, ON, but could have been built at any of the 3 plants that produced Novas at the time (Tarrytown, NY; Willow Run (Ypsilanti), MI; or Van Nuys, CA). Bruce's 9C1 was built in Van Nuys and then rail shipped to Edmonton, AB before being truck shipped to tiny Grimshaw, AB.

[SoupCoup]

Thanks for all the great info Alex. I'm really kicking myself now that I didn't persuade the guy to put this one off to the side. I'm a Ford guy, the only reason he called me about it 2 days before the crusher got there was he knew I was looking for a small block to build for my wife's 78 pick-up. I didn't figure the the LM-1 was anything special,so I passed.The guy I called at machine shop said they were only 2 bolt main &amp; to pass on it. Truck is 4x4, so trans was of no use to me either. Hindsight eh ?

[9C1Beater]

Yeah, I know all about hindsight...many great musclecars have slipped thru my hands over the years (decades). Bruce was pi*sed to learn that another RCMP Nova was crushed, but it-is-what-it-is. I'm guessing that that 9C1 was in pretty sorry condition from 30 plus years in a junkyard...probably not worth saving, but who knows? These 9C1s are fantastic handlers and great little sleepers, and with a cam change, some head work, and a rear gear swap they transform into worthy musclecars. You might want to see if the guy kept that 200 Kph speedometer...it would probably be worth a few hundred bucks.

[SoupCoup]

No,nothing saved. Body was very rough,back glass &amp; trunk lid crunched from crash,so trunk &amp; rear seat area rusted/gone.It had been up off ground sitting on some old 22&quot; or 24&quot; truck rims, so maybe suspension components would have been of use to someone? Maybe rad or steering box.Or maybe if someone wanted to add A/C to there car? Everything there except the compresser,which I imagine is generic to any g.m. in this era? Just had no idea what it was or had been.

[PeteLeathersac]

Cool info Doug, nice to see you back and what boneyard was the Nova at?
Have you seen the '79? Malibu around Ptbo' w/ the rear sway bar?
Fairly clean looking w/ recent 'cab color' blue paint...l always wonder if it's a 9C1 car when I see it flying by.
A good thing for any 9C1 enthusiasts to keep in mind is GM Canada Vintage Services has build documents for 'most all' <span style="text-decoration: underline">1977 and newer</span> GM cars <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">regardless of build plant location</span></span>.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif
~ Pete

[SoupCoup]

No Pete, haven't seen that one around (Malibu), but I'll keep my eye's peeled for it though. As I said a couple of post's ago,up until a week ago,not being a G.M. man, I didn't know these cars even excisted.Now that I have a little knowledge,wish I'd at least got the v.i.n. It was in the old preston Yard.The rest of the yard was emptied 8 or 9 years ago,before this guy bought it,for some reason in the n/w corner they left a early 80's? grand wagoneer, 76-8 charger, acaidian or chevete,the nova,78-9 monte carlo, 63-6 chev panal truck &amp; a couple of others,I can't remember-about 10 total. &amp; a BIG MOUNTAIN OF TIRES/RIM'S.

[StriperSS]

When i worked at Dick Irwins in North Vancouver back then, we got in a few 9C1 Novas and Malibus. I took them out for test drives, and was very impressed with the handling. I've always been on the lookout for one ever since. I think this was 78 or 79.

[daverd]

My father had one for work as he was head of the boston fire dept.
Photo squad....what a great car it was I got to drive it a couple of times......
Wish I could have bought it when the dept.got rid of the fleet......

[Canuck]

When I saw this tread in April I contacted Dans Garage in Kennewick WA and made arrangements to purchase the COPO 9C1 1978 Nova he had. The car had been in Dans possession since 1997 and he refused to part it out. Good thing, the car is complete less engine and transmission. I plan to put in a crate engine and TH400 trans. The car is amazingly solid and would make a great Power Tour Car.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/paulolds/FullSizeRender_zpslezdhd4h.jpg (http://s285.photobucket.com/user/paulolds/media/FullSizeRender_zpslezdhd4h.jpg.html)
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http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/paulolds/image.jpg1_zpsbbp0ajft.jpg (http://s285.photobucket.com/user/paulolds/media/image.jpg1_zpsbbp0ajft.jpg.html)

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/paulolds/image.jpg1_zpscmys0rot.jpg (http://s285.photobucket.com/user/paulolds/media/image.jpg1_zpscmys0rot.jpg.html)
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[firstgenaddict]

Yes, I will dig the article out from a 1978 Hot Rod about the COPO program COP Nova's.