[topdogger]

Alright so heres the deal. I'm 16 and went out and bought a 74 nova ss off ebay that was in the same city as me. Got it for 1800 cdn after it was running and in my posession. Now that I've been working on it for half a year I'm starting to find out more and more.

Here's what I know because I've already replaced it...
1. Motor, apparently from a 74 c10 and was rebuilt 5000 miles ago.
2. Rear Axel, took mine in because it was leakign and found out it was on its last leg.
3. Gas Tank, basically a portable rust holder. I have a brand new factory replica thats going in.
4. Transmission, my car is an original 4spd with a th350.
5. Transmission 2 , well I blew my first th350 which was incorrectly setup. So this time I'm installing the new one myself. Rebuilt stage 3 th350.
6. Dash, its an automatic.
7. Hood, Big ugly snorkal(have original)

I think thats it for what I know for sure. Probably missed some.

Here's what I think isn't original but don't know for sure.

1. Whole front end, not entirely sure. I forget why I thought this after I noticed the badges. But the car does have a front SS BADGE instead of a decal. 73's had a badge 74's had a decal. Also, apparently the steering linkage is on the wrong side of the engine crossmember for a 74.
2. Interior seats

I think thats it. But anyway, where can I find serial numbers on this stuff? Where should I look on the fenders to find out if they came from my car? Where do I look on the front subframe? Where do I look on the motor to verify its origin? Where do I look on the th350 just for some background information? Is there anyway to match up dashes?

Thanks for the help. It would really be nice to get ontop of my car. Its two feet off the ground rightnow without an exhaust, transmission, and a few other things. Oh ya and the headers are pinched BAD so they're coming out for sure. Otherwise I'm positive I'll burn an exhaust valve.

 

[Henry Highrise]

You can look up your engine block casting number over at Mortech dot com and find out what year and what type vehicle your engine was originally installed in and what your engine is but thats about it I think....as far as I know anyway...never heard of numbers on fenders or dash boards. Maybe Johnny Cash built your car....one piece at a time, LOL.

 

[jimfulco]

A guy with a '74 told me the '74 has shock absorbers on the front bumper. My '73 junker does not. I took his word for it, but I never did lay eyes on them.

The steering linkage is to the rear of the big crossmember on '68 through '74 Novas. '75-up went front-steer.

Get the casting number from the upper left rear of the block, and the stamped codes from the top right front, just in front of the cylinder head. The casting number will narrow it down, and the codes will identify what type of car it came in and what trans it had.

If you want some specialized info on Novas, check out the Q&A site at www.stevesnovasite.com if you haven't already.

And stay off the top if you don't want to cave it in.