1966 Nova L79 Question

[67 Nova Boy]

Are you talking about aftermarket parts in a 66 or 67 Nova or original? Bias tires or Radials?

Can they be improved..YES

I have had 11 66/67 Nova's...all SS and with original parts new or worn GM could have built them allot better.

Dave
67 Nova Boy

[PxTx]

There is certainly a slippery slope when it comes to improving the early Nova front suspension. The one mod I would recommend is boxing the lower control arms. I also agree that they are comparable to the Mustang but look 100 cooler!

[marxjunk]

just stock rebuilt...nothing special...no discs...

they are just never gonna handle like a chevelle or Camaro, but they do handle nice..

the same engineers that did the falcon worked on the chevy II..it may be urban legend, but they are so simular, someone stole someones ideas..and the mustang evolved out of a falcon...

years ago people started saying they where death traps, and yes they are, jacked up worn out, but with nice tight factory stuff, and good brake pads etc...they are more than acceptable...its sort of like the corvair...unsafe at any speed....you say it enough and people will repeat it with you...

I love chevy IIs always have..had a few converts a ton of 62-65s a few 66s and a 67...i'm a big chevy II guy..i just hate to hear the "they drive like crap" just hate it..they are nice little cars for what they where designed for...daily commuter cracker boxes...but i love them

[ban617]

I have a 66 ChevyII and it drives fine to me 327 350hp 4speed 12 bolt 3.73 ....But I dont try to road race it ....My ss emblem on the glove box door is chrome ....They turn goldish color when the chrome is gone ....

[lowmile]

I have had few of 66-67 novas and 68-72's without a doubt the 68-72 is far superior handling car. I love the style of the 66-67's but there is a reason GM changed the design. In a panic situation or hard or rough cornering the later design is MUCH more predictable.IMO That's why there are so many more aftermarket front end designs out there for the 66/67 cars. No need to call BS I love the little cars too. M

[Jack_Tar]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JayR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The figure commonly published is 5481 L79 Chevy IIs built in 1966. Additionally, there are published sources that state 3457 of those were Super Sports and 200 were 2 door sedans. The remainder would be 2 door Sport Coupes and a handful of wagons. There were also 195 Chevy II L79 cars built in Canada and 63 Acadians.

Bob </div></div>

Those numbers are more in line with what I thought as far as the over 5000 built. I know it is marketing, but when you twist the numbers to this extent, it is a lie. According to the write up &quot;Just 200 L79 Novas were built before the option was inexplicably dropped the following year, making examples such as this prize winning Nova SS coupe rare indeed. This just seems to be so far from the truth that it can't be construed as anything but a lie.
oh wait a min. I just saw this &quot;Built during the 3rd week of January in 1966&quot; Maybe there were 200 built that week.

[JayR]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jireh Customs</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JayR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The figure commonly published is 5481 L79 Chevy IIs built in 1966. Additionally, there are published sources that state 3457 of those were Super Sports and 200 were 2 door sedans. The remainder would be 2 door Sport Coupes and a handful of wagons. There were also 195 Chevy II L79 cars built in Canada and 63 Acadians.

Bob </div></div>

Those numbers are more in line with what I thought as far as the over 5000 built. I know it is marketing, but when you twist the numbers to this extent, it is a lie. According to the write up &quot;Just 200 L79 Novas were built before the option was inexplicably dropped the following year, making examples such as this prize winning Nova SS coupe rare indeed. This just seems to be so far from the truth that it can't be construed as anything but a lie.
oh wait a min. I just saw this &quot;Built during the 3rd week of January in 1966&quot; Maybe there were 200 built that week. </div></div>

If the current owner wrote that description, he doesn't know much about Chevy II L79s. In addition to the incorrect '200 built' figure, there was no requirement for L79s to have M21 4 speeds or 3.73 rear gears. They came standard with 3.31 rear axles and 3 speed manuals on the column. M20 amd M21 four speeds were optional as were 3.55 and 3.73 rears. The mention of 'period correct M21' leads me to believe this may not be a numbers matching car. Usually, if everything is original, it's very clearly stated. I fear someone may pay way too much for this car.

Bob

[kwhizz]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ban617</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I have a 66 ChevyII and it drives fine to me 327 350hp 4speed 12 bolt 3.73 ....But I dont try to road race it ....My ss emblem on the glove box door is chrome ....They turn goldish color when the chrome is gone .... </div></div>


Hate to disagree.........But,,,,,As delivered the Super Sport emblem was Gold in color.......all the repro stuff is Chrome......
Hard to tell from this pic but this is from a survivor car and it is gold in color...



Ken

[Material_Boy]

Jayr/Bob is absolutely correct. I own one of these cars and have owned it for almost 30 years. As already said there were 5481 L79's built. I don't know about the breakdown between models, but the standard transmission was a 3 speed on the column and a 3:31 rear axle, along with a 12 bolt rear. Posi was an option as well as an M20 or M21 4 speed. F40 suspension was also an option. My car has it's born with drivetrain as well as all the other components. They are neat cars. The suspension? marginal to say the least. Road race it? No way. Brakes? Well they are the same brakes you would get on a 4 cylinder car unless you ordered the metallic brake option. They were made to go a straight line and they did it very well back in the day. There aren't too many of these cars around that are correct and haven't been thrashed and trashed from years ago.

Happy New Year to all!

Dave

Absolutly no problem driving a 66 L79 Canso Sport Deluxe back in the day.Opps, except occasionally when you got into it.