Quote:
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?
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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.