1970 Nova How do you tell if it is a SS?

[92646]

I am looking at a 1970 Nova that has a 350, 4-speed, power steering, power disc brakes, black bucket seat interior with no tach or console gauges, no A/C and a 12-bolt posi rear end with low gears. The car has SS emblems but the seller said he added the hood grills on the hood so he did not think it was an original SS. Is there any other way to tell if the car is a real SS? Could you get the 350/300hp motor on a regular Nova? I had plans of dropping a big block in the car or going to a COPO stripper look with a LT-1 350 but I would hate to tear up a real SS car.
Mark Sheppard

[BARNFOUND YENKO]

If im not mistaken in 72 if it was a real SS nova it had a K in the vin, not sure if it was like that in 70 or not??

[Mr. Chevy]

Unfortunately there is no way to tell via the VIN Tag. A vin starting with the number sequence of 11427 will tell you that it was a V-8 engine car. Yes, a Nova could have been special ordered with the 350/300 HP motor minus the SS package but most usually only came with the SS package. Car sounds like it may be an actual SS if the power disc brakes are on the car, twelve bolt rear & 4 speed. Maybe the hood was swapped out at one time or another and the louvers were not put back on. On the real SS hoods there were two small brackets that were spot welded to the underside of the hood to help support the weight of the louvers. Maybe look for these on the underside of the hood. If there is insilation on the hood you may have to peel it back some to look for these brackets.

I would say the car may be an actual SS unless someone added all of these listed options to a non SS car. I would look closely at these parts like the power booster, 4 speed set up and 12 bolt rear to see if they appear to be original to the car. It was possible to get an SS Nova minus the tach and gauge cluster or counsel.. Would not make sense if someone ordered this car with all of these SS options in 70 and not just purchased an SS car with same!!

Hope this helps you... Rich

[92646]

Rich, Thank you for the information. The hood has the insulation on the underside but I did not feel the supports. The car was repainted at some point so there may be a reason that the hood could have been changed. All the other stuff looks original to the car. The 12-bolt posi rear end is still throwing me a curve because of the 2 letter code instead of the 3 letter code that I expected for a 1970 Nova but the axle date code is with in a month of the car's build date.
Mark Sheppard

[Novadiecast]

What was the build date? I have an early 70 with the 2 digit rear axle code.

[92646]

The car was built the last week of October 1969 and the rear end was stamped the first day of October 1969.
Mark Sheppard

[SuperNovaSS]

Mark,

If the price is right on the car, just buy it and rob the rear. It should pay for a good portion if it is a BE rear.

[92646]

Jason I am now not 100% sure if the rear is a "BE" anymore. I had the owner look at it again and he thinks it reads out "PF" which makes more sense but the rear gears are much lower than 3:31. The light in his garage is very dim and I will not know for sure till I get the car on a lift and get some real light so I can read the code with my old eyes. We are $500.00 apart on the price. I am going to Long Beach this week end and if I do not find anything I will pull the trigger.
Mark Sheppard

[mnyenko]

Another good clue is the return fuel line. The only small block Novas with a return line are 350/300 hp with quadrajet. Even if the return line is gone. The original fuel line clips with two slots usually stay. Earl

[L78steve]

Look in the LH rear wheel well on the frame.If it has a rectangular plate welded on,The car came with dual exhaust and is most likely an SS.