F41 Rear Springs with 6 Leaves

[RALLY]

Sounds good, i be waiting for your pics.

[RALLY]

Sat still no pictures.

[9C1Beater]

Rally, here are photos of the driver's side shock. The part number is 2200260...I couldn't find a date code. The shocks are in very good condition...I cleaned them with Simple Green and they look nearly new. In the 3rd photo you can get a better look at the 6 spring leaves. At the very forward top of both springs are faded yellow stickers that I couldn't get photos of due to their close proximity to the floor. They say "WARREN" and have what appears to be a picture of a leaf spring below. Maybe someone on here can comment on those stickers, which I am guessing show they were built by the spring shop at the GM Tech Center in Warren, MI. The stickers appear to be made of vinyl, and right below them are paper labels with very dirty and faded numbers. I will have to clean them to be able to read what they say.

The last photo is the lug nuts, which are stamped "RBW"...I believe they are probably original to the car. I pulled another hubcap and they were also RBWs. It also appears that the muffler and exhaust pipes are GM originals. The car has 120k original miles and was in LA until 2017...a nice climate for classic cars.

[novadude]

You mentioned "full size rear brakes"? Those pictures look like normal Nova 9.5" rear drum brakes. What makes them unique?

[RALLY]

Originally Posted by 9C1Beater

Rally, here are photos of the driver's side shock. The part number is 2200260...I couldn't find a date code. The shocks are in very good condition...I cleaned them with Simple Green and they look nearly new. In the 3rd photo you can get a better look at the 6 spring leaves. At the very forward top of both springs are faded yellow stickers that I couldn't get photos of due to their close proximity to the floor. They say "WARREN" and have what appears to be a picture of a leaf spring below. Maybe someone on here can comment on those stickers, which I am guessing show they were built by the spring shop at the GM Tech Center in Warren, MI. The stickers appear to be made of vinyl, and right below them are paper labels with very dirty and faded numbers. I will have to clean them to be able to read what they say.

The last photo is the lug nuts, which are stamped "RBW"...I believe they are probably original to the car. I pulled another hubcap and they were also RBWs. It also appears that the muffler and exhaust pipes are GM originals. The car has 120k original miles and was in LA until 2017...a nice climate for classic cars.

Good pics, heavy duty Delco Big D Shocks, good for the F41 suspension. And heavy duty springs.

[9C1Beater]

Originally Posted by novadude

You mentioned "full size rear brakes"? Those pictures look like normal Nova 9.5" rear drum brakes. What makes them unique?

Novadude, several magazine articles from that time mentioned "full-size Chevy rear brakes". I posted a letter from GM in my other thread on here about the '74 9C1 that discusses using Chevelle rear brake drums, which I believe were heavier than the stock Nova's to dissipate more heat, and I believe the path to these brake drums led Harry Hammond and Jim Ingle to try several different setups before settling on these drums. The drums on the car now are the originals (there is a factory identification sticker still present on the right drum). I am posting a picture of a standard '74 Nova finned rear drum to compare with the heavier finned drum that came on the 9C1 (GM #1249146). I believe it also used heavier-duty brake linings than standard Nova parts. I'm not sure where the 3rd Gen 9C1 Nova borrowed its brake drums from, but it may have been from the full-size Chevy from that time period. Harry told John Christy from Motor Trend magazine that that's where they came from, as well as Ed Sanow, who wrote the excellent book "Chevrolet Police Cars" (see posting above with excerpts from the aforementioned publications). I believe it's possible at the time the prototype was built that these rear brake drums had not yet been used on any other Novas.

Another interesting thing about the '74 9C1 Nova is that it used metal screw-on valve stems like a truck. The original Goodyear Polyglas E70-14 spare is still with the car and it still has its original valve stem. Harry Hammond and Jim Ingle went all-out to build the Nova police car as heavy-duty as possible. I will post a photo of the spare in my other thread on the car.

[novadude]

The Drum in the left picture looks like an aftermarket replacement. The drum in the right picture looks like the standard Chevelle / Camaro / Nova piece (to my non-expert eyes, anyway).

[9C1Beater]

Probably the only way I can determine what I actually have is to buy a 1974 GM parts book and see what actually came stock (or was available) on a 1974 Nova, and see what these drums were available on AT THAT TIME. In the ensuing 45 years since this car was built, I'm sure these drums have been retrofitted to many 3rd Gen Nova and Camaros, but I am pretty sure that back in 1974, these drums were something special on this car. The fact that Harry Hammond, the engineer who built this Nova said that these were special parts on this special car indicates that they were probably special parts on this special car.

This drum is what SS396.com says is the 68-74 Nova rear drum.

https://www.ss396.com/nova/FBD-95R.html

[Furback]

Just noticed this post. I have a 1977 Concours with the F41 option. 14X7 wheels, 6 leaf rear springs and rear sway bar. All original 60 original miles. 1 owner before me.