F41- 1969 Nova SS

[Nicola]

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

[MikeA]

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).]

[JoeC]

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.

[MikeA]

Based on information on Nova Resource.com (http://www.novaresource.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).]

[JoeC]

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.

[Nova Research Project]

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

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

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!!
/ubbthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif

[Kurt S]

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!

[Stefano]

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.

[Nova Research Project]

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

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Greg;
To my knowledge, the Nova F40 package only contained special springs for the front/rear and 'matching' shocks. I don't know what 'matching' means, nor do I know what 'front stabilizer shaft on 6-cyl models only' means, (?).

In 1970 the F40 is called 'Special Front and Rear' suspension @ $6.35, and F41 is called 'Sport' @ $30.55. The F40 was not allowed with the SS option, and F41 was only allowed with the SS option! (This is why we believe that COPO 9737 was modified in 1970 to include the F41 on a non-SS car).

KurtS; Thanks for the info, I didn't realize that the Camaro's had an F41 option - just without the rear sway bar (?).

[Kurt S]

I've seen documented F41 on lots of SB first gens. Never seen an F40 first gen, though I've heard of one BB race car with it.

[BUIZILLA]

I have a '72 SS350 4 speed Nova, that is a factory F41 car. It has rear sway bar and what appears to be BB front springs as the nose sits up pretty good. I cut 1 coil spring from the front springs, and now it sits pretty level.

Jim

[fsc66]

Read over this entire thread and I don't see an answer to the first question asked. Did the F41 in a 69 Nova include a rear sway bar? I suspect it would be in the 69 assembly manual but do not have one.

Thanks,
Paul

[Lee Stewart]

Read over this entire thread and I don't see an answer to the first question asked. Did the F41 in a 69 Nova include a rear sway bar? I suspect it would be in the 69 assembly manual but do not have one.

Thanks,
Paul

https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?p=673485

[fsc66]

Lee, this is the thread I was reading, please advise which answer # on the right answers the question.

In the mean time I did find this other thread and this seems to answer:

WILMASBOYL78
Jan 17th, 14, 07:22 PM
OK...let's start with the "correct" basics.....
The F41 suspension was originally an optional suspension package only available on the 68-72 Nova SS models. Starting in the spring of 1970 the rear sway bar became part of this package. The SS cars all came with the F40 HD suspension... F41 was an upgrade. If you look at the links below from Nova Resource you will see a great explanation of all the features and options regarding the SS model, F40 and the F41 suspension packages.

Now...as far as adding the F41 sway bar to a Nova that didn't have it to begin with...not so easy. If you just want a sway bar, there are several aftermarket choices that will work and actually be better than the factory unit.

The factory installed sway bar had two welded mounting plates that were attached to the underside of the trunk. Those plates are difficult, if not impossible, to find. There were also very specific sway bar links and lower shock/spring plates that were required...plus the very rare rear sway bar itself. The sway bar was very small in diameter...and almost worthless from a performance perspective...but, none the less...they were put there by GM..so we live with it.

One of the reasons the 1970 F41 components are so scarce is due to the Yenko Deuce and the L78 cars...owners doing a concours resto all fight over these parts...a complete F41 suspension package will easily fetch $1,000 on flea-bay or other web sites.

So, now you have the facts...since your BB Nova has an aftermarket differential...I would get a real sway bar and not worry about Chevy's OEM parts.

Wilma

ps...we have an aftermarket sway bar on our 68 BB Nova and it works great....only way to go :hurray:

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Read over this entire thread and I don't see an answer to the first question asked. Did the F41 in a 69 Nova include a rear sway bar? I suspect it would be in the 69 assembly manual but do not have one.

Thanks,
Paul

No, the F41 option did not include a rear sway bar for '69 Novas, nor early build '70 Novas. The rear sway bar was added to the F41 option in January of '70, thus is a mid year inclusion which is important because the vertical bars were changed for '71 making the 1/2 year '70 versions quite hard to find!

[L78_Nova]

I have been fortunate over the years to piece together two factory rear Nova bars with floor/frame mounting brackets. One is on my 68 Acadian small block car and one is going into my 70 L78 car (I know technically it was built too early, but I'm OK with that).
Not sure of what upright configurations I have (suspect the later ones as the later bars were more common).


The spindly little rear bar does make a difference but you would need good tires to really make them work hard.

[nova67]

My 70 Nova SS 350 Auto car had F41 with rear sway bar. I bought the car 1 year old.

[RALLY]

I have a '72 SS350 4 speed Nova, that is a factory F41 car. It has rear sway bar and what appears to be BB front springs as the nose sits up pretty good. I cut 1 coil spring from the front springs, and now it sits pretty level.

Jim

Exactly what i have. A factory ordered F41 suspension on my 72 Nova SS. Came with front and rear stabilizer bars, F41 heavy duty shocks front and rear, 5 leaf rear springs, and front BB heavy duty coil springs. My car was higher in the front due to the BB front coil springs, still had the factory tags on them. I to decided to cut a coil off the front coil springs to lower the car and give it a nice slope downward.

[WILMASBOYL78]

Exactly what i have. A factory ordered F41 suspension on my 72 Nova SS. Came with front and rear stabilizer bars, F41 heavy duty shocks front and rear, 5 leaf rear springs, and front BB heavy duty coil springs. My car was higher in the front due to the BB front coil springs, still had the factory tags on them. I to decided to cut a coil off the front coil springs to lower the car and give it a nice slope downward.

Are you saying the car had BB springs from the factory??? I have never heard of that...my understanding is the springs were computer selected based on the weight/options chosen. What letter code is on the spring tags??

-wilma:hmmm: