'70 Nova L78 project on eBay w/ MacNeish docs

[PeteLeathersac]

Don't know the car or seller but there's a '70 Nova L78 project on eBay w/ Jerry's documents..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-NOVA-R...1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-NOVA-REAL-SS-396-375-HP-L-78-L78-4-SPD-BUCKET-SEATS_W0QQitemZ220131193118QQihZ012QQcategoryZ6172 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

~ Pete
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif

[Xplantdad]

This is a members car

[92646]

Shhh- I traded for this car recently and it just got delivered last week. It was a very fair deal with a great guy but it's still more of a project than what I have time for. I started checking out some of the local shops here in Southern California. It seems that everyone I have talked to have their kids going to USC and they want me to pay for their tuition. I was hoping the car could find a home before anybody noticed. The truth is I need to find a complete car because I just do not have the time for a big project any more. I wish Stefano would take this in trade for his complete L-78 nova.
Mark Sheppard

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Jerry's doing Novas now? Wow!

BTW, you'll need the underhood thingys for the SS hood grilles as that hood is not an original SS version. Someone liked their toggle switches eh?

[427king]

http://contact.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...llerQuestion_VI (http://contact.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowAllQuestions&requested=ms92646&i id=220131193118&frm=284&redirect=0&ShowASQAlways=1 &SSPageName=PageAskSellerQuestion_VI) I was reading the questions on the car as it was running on ebay , is it true that the L78s all had an A on the trim tags as stated and what does the A signify ??

[SuperNovaSS]

I particularly like this question:

Q: saw rolling chassis on ebay auction..what i saw indicated that it was a normal 350/SBC. 99% of the 3700/396-375 HP70 novas had 355 gears,bench seats and rubber floor matts. In 1970, the guy who ordered the 396 cars could not afford to pay $265.oo for bucket seats, $100.for console, $90. for gauges,when the blue collar worker at the time could barely afford the $316. option for the engine.If he could afford this option and the extra options such as the seats, he wouldn't have been in the market for a nova in the first place. He would have been in the market for a Camaro or Corvette.This is the reason that any adult that owned a nova in the day does know bacially this concept.This Jerry Macneish obviously has never owned a real car in his life.He must be caught up in the Barrett Jackson fairey tale.If you want to know any real facts about 66, 69 or 70 cars just give me a call. Tony 214-351-6647 Jul-19-07

I also like Mark's answer. Do you think he really was thankful? I would really like to have one of those 1 out of 100 Novas with bucket seats and carpet. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

A: Thanks Tony for your input.



Jason

[JRSully]

King, "A" usually signifys an exterior trim option/combination. Marlin knows the "A" code stuff pretty well

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

The 'A' simply means that the interior items other than the seats are black. The 'B' is for blue, 'S' for sandalwood, 'G' for green, etc...

If there is a single digit after the 'A', that would indicate the # of exterior moldings. This number can be blank for zero, or 1-3 but never a 4. We don't believe that Chevy produced Novas with all 4 ext. moldings.

We all love self-professed experts, especially in the Nova world http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif Obviously the majority of the non-SS Novas were bench seat economy cars. However, there is a fair percentage of SS cars that were nicely optioned. Not everyone raced after a Camaro, Chevelle or Corvette - some people preferred the looks of the Nova, and were willing to pay up for a fancy one. One editor coined the phrase 'a Camaro is nothing more than a gussied up Nova', so it's all in the perspective I guess!! I wish Tony would ask some more, that was an enjoyable read http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Hylton]

What the heck do you know about Nova's anyway Marlin? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Nuttin, eh!! I gotta few, had one since I was 17, took a few apart - even got them back together http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif Got one that can run the number, another that must have been a 1% car since it's got all those 'Camaro' options on it...

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Mr70]

Just don't ask him about Chevy II's. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Hylton]

[ QUOTE ]
Just don't ask him about Chevy II's. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

When it comes to Deuces, the both of you know your stuff! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

The ebay ad states that the car is documented, but I don't see a bill of sale, window sticker or POP. Is the documentation referenced related to the MacNeish paper?

The trim tag has a '2' on the bottom row for two ext. moldings. I see the door frame moldings, is the other molding drip rail?

[427king]

I can personally attest that the car started out life as an L78[or an L89]. In addition the heater box, 3/8 fuel line,6500 tach and associated wiring harness were never off the car as well.

[92646]

Marlin you are 100% right the only paperwork I have on the car is the inspection sheet and certification stating that the car was inspected and found to be a real L-78 car. I am limited on the space in the title area, what would be more appropriate if it looks misleading? It looks like I may be heading to putting the car back together since I can not sell it. The trim tag has A-2 on the bottom line and the car has the side window trim but there are no signs of it ever having of the side trim. Is it possible to have the side window trim with no side trim? Or would it have had the door edge trim or both of lower trim strips or just one of the lower trims and if so which one?

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

I'm not contesting the clues, as they certainly point to an SS L78 car - and are the same clues on my car. I was curious as to the extent of the 'documentation', as I think that might be hurting the sale of the car.

[427king]

I dont think you can find a full paperwork L78 nova for what mark is asking. I also havent seen too many L78 novas with full "factory" paperwork either. Isnt it true also that in 1970 the broadcast sheet didnt tell if the car was an L78,and they didnt have buildsheets .So really what is "full" factory paperwork on a nova??

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Full paperwork on a '70 would be the BOS, WS & POP. The broadcast sheet didn't tell you the engine designation like prior years.

I'm not questioning his price, I just think the Mcneish paperwork is not helping. McNeish is practically an unknown in the Nova community, as until recently has been the guru for Z's. Now he's documenting all kinds of stuff, and his reputation is not known to the average Nova buyer.

Personaly, I think the car stands on it's own, and is a good deal, IMHO.

[92646]

Marlin, you are not the first person to say that Jerry MacNeish is not known in the Nova group. Look at Jason's post. I will try the ad without mentioning the paperwork in the title to see if it helps. It is a shame because the car has potential to be pretty neat when done and I think the price is fair. The only reason I do not want to do the project is because of the prices the shops want to do a complete repaint on an old car here in southern california. Can you tell me about the trim?
Mark Sheppard

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

I would really key off of the clues in your description, the rad support, heater box, 4speed speedo location, trans crossmember, engine mounts, pwr disc brakes, especially the high redline tach, and the unique wire harness for the gauge cars, the special holes in the tunnel and special interior heater box for console cars, hype the buckets and deluxe interior, tear that back seat apart for a broadcast sheet in order to nail down the options. Also, take a good pic of the dual exhaust plate, the 5 leaf springs and the rear code.

That is a good color code, and a nicely optioned car. I would also suggest to add a picture of a restored car in that color, Terry Wolf in NY has a twin to it so we'll see if we can't dig up a pic of his car.

I can't tell from looking at the pics if the car has the drip rail option, but I think I see one piece on the passenger side pillar. Otherwise, open one of the doors, and look at the pinchweld right by the latch for a covered up hole. The door portion of the body side molding was held on with clips/studs, except for the ends where there was either a stud or a screw that came through the pinchwelds at either end of the molding. So, when folks remove this option, they grind off the studs, and fill in these two holes leaving the clues. Also, the 1/4 panel portion of the body side molding has a hole at the ends by the tailights, that hole is also usually visible after removal. Otherwise, check the rockers for the dual moldings, similar to Camaros.

[Stefano]

[ QUOTE ]
Shhh- I traded for this car recently and it just got delivered last week. It was a very fair deal with a great guy but it's still more of a project than what I have time for. I started checking out some of the local shops here in Southern California. It seems that everyone I have talked to have their kids going to USC and they want me to pay for their tuition. I was hoping the car could find a home before anybody noticed. The truth is I need to find a complete car because I just do not have the time for a big project any more. I wish Stefano would take this in trade for his complete L-78 nova.
Mark Sheppard

[/ QUOTE ]

Mark,
I just read this post. Sure I consider trades. The only L78 Nova I have left has no docs as well. I do feel that you can't buy your car/parts and make it look like the one I have for less than what I am asking, unless you do all the work yourself http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[92646]

Stefano, what is the best way to contact you? Marlin thank you for the response. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. With Camaros all you have to do is open a book to find most of this information but not with a Nova.
Mark Sheppard

[Allen]

[ QUOTE ]
I would really key off of the clues in your description, the rad support, heater box, 4speed speedo location, trans crossmember, engine mounts, pwr disc brakes, especially the high redline tach, and the unique wire harness for the gauge cars, the special holes in the tunnel and special interior heater box for console cars, hype the buckets and deluxe interior, tear that back seat apart for a broadcast sheet in order to nail down the options. Also, take a good pic of the dual exhaust plate, the 5 leaf springs and the rear code.

That is a good color code, and a nicely optioned car. I would also suggest to add a picture of a restored car in that color.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a great summary and response.

[@wot]

Indicated the exterior trim level I believe, as in A 1, A 2 etc. My 70 Nova has only an A, and basically has no exterior trim except bright work around the windshield and rear window.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

All Novas have the same stainless moldings around the windshields, and therefore are not referenced on the trim tag. Only the side moldings are referenced, drip rail, door frame, body side, and rocker.

[ktownkid]

Hi Marlin--
I read, in another post, something about you could not get all four "trim" on the same car. It was an "either or" kind of thing. My car (photo below) has all four, I think.

Am I wrong???

Thanks...!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v448/ktownkid/car.jpg

[Stefano]

[ QUOTE ]
Indicated the exterior trim level I believe, as in A 1, A 2 etc. My 70 Nova has only an A, and basically has no exterior trim except bright work around the windshield and rear window.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/StefanoBimbi/1970%20L78%20Nova%20Fencel%20Tufo/Fred172.jpg

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

K-town, I don't see the rocker moldings in your pic. It might have them under the door, but if so, they appear to be added. The rocker molding option was actually two rows of moldings, with the area in between painted black (except for dark colors) - very similar to the '69 Camaros. The reason I suspect someone added some rocker moldings if they are on there, is because I only see one row, and I don't see any behind the rear tires. That area also received two rows of rocker moldings, but the area in front of the front wheels did not.

[ktownkid]

Hi Marlin=
No, not added. I bought this car from my police officer neighbor in 1973, with 20k on it. I was there when he brought it home and when he bought it brand new from the dealer. I have always noticed that some cars got the extension moulding and others did not. I'm talking about the piece that goes between the wheel and rear bumper.

Thanks-
ktownkid

[92646]

If anybody is interested, I just lowered the buy it now price to $12,950.00 on the e-bay ad for the rolling shell. The auction ends in about a day, so make an offer. If you need parts to go with the car I also have a 1970 396/375hp 4-bolt 854 rebuilt short block, 661 case M-21 Muncie trans, 1112000 distributor, new 4557 Holley carb, 291 bare heads, set of 5-spoke 14x7 wheels, rebuilt big block water pump, 3:31 1970 Nova 12-bolt posi and a second 854 4-bolt block with crank and rods that was cast a few week before the car was built. If you are interested make an offer on everything with the car or just the parts that you need with the car. At this point I do not want to sell the parts until the car is gone. Thanks for looking.
Mark Sheppard

[PeteLeathersac]

Mark, the car mentioned as available by the guy Bob w/ the question in your auction isn't a '68 L78 Nova...IS IT?http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif.

~ Pete
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif

[92646]

I think it might be the one that was listed a few weeks before and the auction ended early. I e-mailed him my address and asked him to send me pictures and his terms but I have not heard from him yet.
Mark Sheppard

[Mr. Chevy]

Quote: We all love self-professed experts, especially in the Nova world Obviously the majority of the non-SS Novas were bench seat economy cars. However, there is a fair percentage of SS cars that were nicely optioned. Not everyone raced after a Camaro, Chevelle or Corvette - some people preferred the looks of the Nova, and were willing to pay up for a fancy one. One editor coined the phrase 'a Camaro is nothing more than a gussied up Nova', so it's all in the perspective I guess!!

I agree w/Marlin.. My first car was a 69 Nova when I was just a kid at 15 years of age.. I had a blast w/that car and have loved Novas ever since. I have seen nicely optioned Novas before. I currently have a 70/L78 car and you would be amazed at the people that come up to me at the local car shows and indicate that they really loved these cars, or had one "just like it" and tell me the different options that they had on the car and/or ordered it that way. I think the Novas are sometimes looked upon as the "bastard stepchildren" of the Chevy Family. Don't get me wrong I love the Chevelles and Camaros also but I think the Novas are great looking cool cars!!

Rich

[69LM1]

Wow. Can't believe that no one scooped this guy up. I sure wish I had the room for another project......

35 mins to go....

[92646]

Rich, if you are interested I would trade my car and cash for your green Z/28.
Mark Sheppard

[69LM1]

Bummer, I might have been interested in that! But the green Z sold. I do have a killer 69 Camaro LM1 running project that I might be able to work something on with you?

www.69lm1.com/4sale (http://www.69lm1.com/4sale)
(it's the orange one)or direct at:

http://www.69lm1.com/69lm1ho/

It is a 69 LM1 car (the SS badges were added by a previous owner), all orig, numbers match. Cert by Jerry, orig Dog Dish car (see orig spare) orig power windows, and orig fold down rear seat (not a pontiac replacement, but a real, rare 69). Orig Hugger Orange and Houndstooth interior. Only bummer is that it took on some water in Katrina. I have everything flushed and it is running like a top, and am in the process of finishing a brake job. I have the interior pulled and a new set of seat covers going on this week, and have new carpeting.


http://www.69lm1.com/4sale/rhpic1.JPG



Email me priv and we can talk,

Rich
[email protected]

[mbxlesney]

Hi Stefano...I was following this thread and I noticed the pic of your trim tag and the what caught my eye was the 1180 number that knowone seems to know what it means. My trim tag is as follows, ST 70 11427260052 BDY
TR 732 28 28 PNT
04A A 1181
Are cars were built very close. I heard something about it meaning some kind of paint sequence, In my own research I have found that predominently 1970 Nova SS cars seem to have these 4 digit codes yet yours and mine seem to be the closest I have ever seen within 1 digit, While I have never seen these codes on 1969 Nova Trim Tags. I also noticed in my research that 28 28 Fathom Blue seemed to find its way on more SS Novas than its sister Plain Jane 6 cyl or 307 variant. I have not seen too many Fathom Blue Novas that were not an SS. If you could shed light on this code I would love to find out. I have seen a lot of 70 Nova SS trim tags that start out with 0XXX but very few that start out with a 1XXX. I find this very interesting. I have added my Trim Tag info to the Nova Research project years ago but not sure if the research has had time to decipher them yet. I did my own research on 25 +/- Trim tags 85% BB Novas and a few SB SS that seemed to be legit cars. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[JHS]

Kim,
I also have a 1970 Fathom Blue L78 Nova, build date 04B and no exterior trim numbers after the A. The 4 digit number you are questioning is 1193 on my tag.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

That 4 digit number is an inventory tracking number, and is not related to any options on the car itself.

I spent several years collecting, tracking and analyzing this number for the 3 production weeks of Deuces. I found that this number will increase linearly with the body sequence number, and will generally reset to 0000 when the color, or transmission type changes. I believe that this number was used to sequence the bodies through the paint shop and weld shops.

I scanned my data quickly, and I have 10 F-Blue Deuce owners that have submitted their 4 digit number. Of those 10, 9 are over 1000, only 1 is less @ 0993. So, I thought maybe you were onto something with the blue cars. However, I scanned all of the Deuce codes that I have, and found one Forest Green Deuce with a 1133 code. So, we can't conclude for certain that only blue cars received high numbers in this code. I've never seen this code start with a number higher than a '1', my highest number is a 1263 on an 06A car.

Here's the 10 cars, build date and 4 digit code:

05D - 0993
05D - 1021
05D - 1040
05D - 1064
05D - 1076
06A - 1140
06A - 1263
06B - 1136
06B - 1141
06B - 1164

[mbxlesney]

Marlin Here are my list of Fathom Blue cars, One thing I found interesting is there is matching #1141 for a 05C car in my list.
(Fathom Blue)
02A 0883
02D 0473 *This car had a Vinyl top
03C 1180 *One listed earlier on this thread
04A 1181
04B 1193 # JHS supplied
05C 1141
07C 1168
(Cortez Silver)
01C 0324
03B 0293
(Forest Green)
04A 0370
04B 0185
05A 0473
(Tuxedo Black)
02D 0229
03C 0777
(Citrus Green)
05D 0048
(Classic White)
05B 0325
(Desert Sand)
02A 0204
(Green Mist)
03A 1107 * the only non Fathom Blue car I have that starts with a 1

Like I said earlier I have not seen these codes on July-Dec. 1969 as they are blank in this area. Thanks for posting your findings. JHS Your number seem to be inline with mine and the one on the thread.

[JRSully]

I have an 05B 70 Fathom Blue L78 Nova

[92646]

Well it looks like everything is changing again. How about $11,000 for the rolling shell. In the original ad I had said the car needs a trunk pan but after looking the car over more. I would recommend just replacing a small section in the corner. I really want another car and I am willing to listen to fair offers to make this car go before the other car that I want gets sold.
Mark Sheppard

[mbxlesney]

Hey JR.....Whats your 4 digit code just below the paint code? I was wondering if Toms Fathom Blue (Marine Corps) car was built after Jan. 1970 and what his code might be.

[WILMASBOYL78]

The Marine Corps Nova is a 4th week of Feb. car....I'll have to check on those numbers...more to follow.

wilma