My 69 Nova was purchased in August 1998 in Columbus Ohio. I had been looking at cars for a couple of months and found this one after a previous deal feel through (Bummer). When I initially contacted the owner of the Nova the details of the car included: 69 Nova with stroker motor, 350 turbo, 3000 or 3500 stall converter, he wasn’t sure which one, 202 heads, new a strange spool and axles. New paint, approximately 1 year old, new flowmaster exhaust and a 742 Chrysler rear-end with 513 gears. I had just finished looking at a 69 Z-28 and was pretty interested in it, but wanted to look at this Nova I just inquired about. So I proceeded to drive up to Columbus. It was about an hour and 15 minutes drive from Dayton, Ohio, since I didn’t know where I was going.
I finally arrived at my destination and could see the Nova from down the street. WOW what a machine, I thought. After meeting the owner of the car, we proceeded to look over the car, as he was pointing out the features of the car, new paint, new carpet, rear interior panels still in the box, stroker motor.
At this point I asked if it was a 383 stroker, he said O’ yes, its a 383 stroker. I was asked if I knew what a 383 stroker was and of course I said yes. And made an attempt to get a good look at the balancer. It was of the 8 inch type, but the un-usual shape I could not detect. So I asked again, "So this is a 383 huh ?. Same answer, yep. The owner continued to show me the rear-end that was re-installed after he claimed that it was torn out several months ago. (Should of been a FLAG) That was the reason for the new quarters and the new tubs "That was done RIGHT", this time.
We moved from the outside to the inside of the car and it was pointed out that there were several new interior items just added to the car. The new rear interior panel and the carpet. That might explain why the carpet was hacked up in a couple of areas, such as around the shifter and around the roll cage where it’s welded to the floor. There were no working heater controls, they were there, just not operational. I didn’t care as much since it wasn’t going to be driven in the cold anyway. At this point probably almost an hour and 30 minutes have passed by and I asked to here it run. We started it up and again I thought "WOW what a machine". We checked all the lights and emergency flashers to make sure they worked and the brake lights too. Wouldn’t want to get rear ended you know.
Well, its now time for the ole test drive. I said I wanted to drive but was informed there wasn’t any insurance on the car, so I opted not to drive, "BIG MISTAKE". You all have probably said that several times already, so why was I missing that point. Remember "WOW what a machine" ? We took it for a ride, probably lasted about 5 minutes. During the ride the owner, dropped the hammer, so to say. I thought, not bad for a small block. It responded well, even chirping the tires in 2nd and 3rd. So we finally made it back to his place of residence and now was the moment of truth, the negotiations !!!
After about a half hour of discussing the price, I was the proud owner of a Purple 69 Nova. "WOW what a machine". There was one small problem though, I didn’t own a trailer. That was OK my good friend had access to one. So, we picked it up the following Saturday and brought her home, where my friend immediately pointed out some other things that I just happen to miss, like say, the steal braided fuel line laying directly on top of one of the mufflers, "WOW what a major mistake". You thought I was thinking something else, didn’t you ??? We fixed that problem and a few other minor things. Would you consider a wobble so severe that you can’t control the car car at about 50mph, a minor thing ? So now since it was the end of summer my friend and I decide to pull the motor out to paint and re-seal everything. The fun was just beginning, for you see, it was now that I was about to get an education.
Now I begin taking things off the motor in preparation to pull it. I got the balancer off and what did I find. Well, its not an external balancer. Isn’t a 383 stroker supposed to have an externally balanced damper on it ? Well, in most cases YES. So then out comes the motor. And guess what ? the flex plate, it is an externally balanced flex plate. What the heck is going on ??? I even check with 2 different speed shops in and around Dayton, Oh to make sure. Not to slight my friend who said the same thing. O yea, did I mention my buddy is a mechanic and service writer for a local Chevy dealership, sorry !!! We got the tranny out and tore it down. The input shaft had groove worn in it and the inside lip of the converter was so scarred (is that spelled right) up that we just pitched it in the trash. So by now its kinda obvious, a whole lotta new parts are in my immediate future.
So now the re-assembly is about to start. First we bought some heat resistant paint (purple), who would of guessed. New gaskets, timing chain, oil pump, oil pump shaft(steel one, not the cheap kind). A new turbo 350 and a brand new 3500 stall converter, no really, a 3500. We bought some new body bushings and leaf spring bushings and new rear shocks too. We bought some traction bars from C.E. At this point its winter of 98 and my car is in a thousand pieces in my garage and in my buddy’s. We wait for summer and slowly start piecing everything back together. This process took a couple of months, because we only worked on it on the weekends. I never even got to drive the car this summer (99). Now its November, yea, its November, the hotrod has not been started or running for about 7 months. But we finally get it all back together with a few mishaps along the way, like getting a defective oil pump shaft from a mail order company and finding that a couple of my head bolts are bad, so we bought new ones. An entire set of bolts for one head just to replace 3. Well, its all back together and its Saturday Nov 20, 1999. I got to start the car, man, "WOW what a machine". I drove the car home Monday Nov 22, 1999, only to find a small oil leak under the valve covers and a leak coming from the transmission dipstick tube. At this point, I can deal with that. Those are minor compared to what I’ve been through the last 7 months, with the car. All that brings us up to Nov 28th, 1999 at this writing.
After all this work, this is what we know for sure about the car. 302 +.030 for 306 C.I. The block casting date is C296 (March 29, 1968). Cam is 284/290 Dur, 480/494 Lift HYD, Forged Crank with a 3 inch stroke(Casting - 3279) with 11.0:1 Forged Pistons, Scorpion Intake RPM range 3500 - 7500 Single Plane. Heads are 041 castings dated (1969) w/ 194/150 valves and 1.5 rockers (Stock). Holley 750 model 3310-4, Valley Pan and windage Tray, 350 Turbo with 3500 stall, Chrysler 8.75 rear(742 casting) with 5.13 gear (Not sure here). There aren’t many future plans, just to stop the two little leaks and just to continue to clean-up the interior and maybe some new rubber seals for the windows and doors. The 69 Nova will most likely be put up for sale in the next month or so. We currently have the motor up for sale in the local trading post. I’ve received about 6 or 7 calls inquiring about the suffix code for the motor. Its either a 1968 Z-28 motor or just a 350 block bored .030 over with a 302 crank installed. The suffix code has been removed by machine work done to the block. My friend and I have come to the conclusion that its either an MO or MI motor or its just a plain ole de-stroked small block. Since the suffix code is gone, we’ll never know. For someone out there, if you can help, here are the casting numbers. Block - 3914678, Heads - 3947041 and Crank - 3279.
May the Lord GOD Bless You All, Keep Us (Tom, Cassy, Aaron and Alex) in Your Prayers,
Tom Elam
Future Christian Gear-Jammer Alex Elam!