1974 Chevrolet Nova Police Car Demonstrator, Rare GM COPO Brass Hat

1974 Chevrolet Nova

If you're looking for rare, this is it. If you're looking for something no one else has, this is it. This is possibly the most historic and best documented Chevy police car in existence. It is a BRASS HAT (ordered by a GM executive) COPO car (Central Office Production Order...the same process Don Yenko used to order his high performance cars) with heavy documentation to prove it. Back in late 1973 a bunch of Chevy execs sat down with members of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Dept and a Motor Trend magazine editor and writer named John Christy to build a cop car that got decent gas mileage...a Nova cop car. Two bright young engineers from the GM Tech Center in Warren, MI, Harry Hammond and Jim Ingle built the prototype Nova cop car, a white 4-door which was the near twin of the car I'm selling, and drove it from Detroit in late April 1974 to participate in the 1974 LA Sheriff's Dept (LASD) police car tests. Their Nova blew the other cars away and the LASD immediately ordered 15. The Fleet Sales Manager at Chevrolet's Los Angeles Zone Office, a gentleman by the name of Rick Mahoney wanted one he could use as a demonstrator for police car buying officials and he ordered the gold car I'm selling now...it was the 2nd one ordered and built, and the only known survivor of the17 '74 Nova police cars.Chevrolet built a new body for 1975 and there were another 15,000 Nova police cars built from 1975-78...the Nova police car is considered to be one of the greatest police cars ever built and this car is the earliest Nova police car in existence. Rick ordered his gold demonstrator with all of the high-performance equipment that the white one had, but he had the standard L48 engine rebuilt with all 1974 Z28 components (something I found out when I pulled the engine out anddiscovered 1974-dated Z28 cylinder heads, 4-bolt mains, forged "pink" connecting rods and forged Z28 pistons, Z28 high-lift camshaft,Z28 8" harmonic balancer, Z28 high-volumeoil pump, Z28 baffled oil pan,Z28 carburetor, and a Z28 dual-snorkel air cleaner). The buildsheet says it was supposed to have 3.08gears in its posi rear-end, butit had 3.42 gears that were GM parts and dated May 1974...the same month the car was built. Rick ended up with a factory "sleeper" that provided thrilling demonstration rides for interested cops.The car was ordered, built at the Van Nuys (Los Angeles) GM plant, and delivered to him in just TWO WEEKS! He kept the car for 5 months, then it was sold because the new '75s were out and he got a new police car demonstrator in the new body style. The car was sold to the LASD on Nov. 4th, 1974 with 2,189 miles on its odometer (the original warranty booklet stayed with the car and verifies that the "Los Angeles Fleet Management Division" was the buyer and that it went to the LASD as vehicle number 46892 which is stamped on its car keys and painted inside the driver's door frame in faded silver paint that is clearly visible in one of the photos...additionally, the bottom of the warranty booklet says "Zone 20 Demo" and "CFH453", which was the car's order number in block 111 of the build sheet...CFH stood for "Chevrolet Fleet HQ"...note also that it is a 1975 warranty booklet which I suspect is because someone at the LA Zone Office had already thrown out the out-of-date '74 booklets...it was sold late in 1974 when the '75s were already out). The LASD used the car at its "4-Points" station (which I have been unable to locate), and also at the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station (one of its original keys is stamped "LASD 46892" on one side and "STA 9" on the other side...Station 9 was West Hollywood). Further evidence of its LASD use are a shotgun rack riveted to the right side of the trunk with a non-functioning but still intact Smith and Wesson electric lock (see attached photo...the prop Remington shotgun was used in the movie "The Terminator" and comes with the car), and a sticker on the leftinside of the glovebox lid which shows the 4 channels whichthe car's radio could communicate with (the first channel is "WHD DISP"...West Hollywood Dispatch).The LASD used and abused this car for 7 1/2 years andthe officers that used it probably wondered why it ran so much better that the other Nova cop cars...it had a Z28 engine and 3.42 gears! I cleaned the car out and found probably 100 cigarette butts, a Smith and Wesson handcuff key, probably 15 matchbooks which include a couple of Hollywood strip joints, Hollywood bars, Hollywood liquor stores, Hollywood diners, a couple of .38 shell casings, and a nearly full pack of Benson and Hedges cigarettes with a 1975 California tax stamp (all of these treasures will go with the car for display and laughs at future car shows). After the LASD used the car, it was sold at a public vehicle auction on April 24th, 1982for $875 to a Hollywood film editor named Woodward Smith. He drove the car for only 3 years before parking it in the garage under his home in the Hollywood Hills for the next 32 years. Why did Woody stop driving it?...it wouldn't pass Calif's strict smog test due to excessive smoke and he refused to sell his beloved Nova. I found out about the car in the summer of 2017 when Woody's daughterNancy Smith contacted me through my Novaweb forum on "Steve's NovaSite" to ask if I could help her document whether the car was really a rare Nova police car like her father had said it was (Woody had Alzheimer's Disease and his kids were clearing out his house in the Hollywood Hills to sell...and the Nova was nearly hauled away by a junk man). I told her tolook for a buildsheet under the back seat or on top of the gas tank (it was on top of the gas tank), and once I saw that the buildsheet said it was a COPO car (look in the 4th row at the middle right area of the buildsheet and it says "COPO OPTIONS"), had F41 Special Performance Suspension, 350-4 barrel engine, and E70-14 RaisedWhite Letter Tires (among other things). I agreed tobuy it and come out to LA to personally pick it up (ithadn't run since 1985 and wouldn't start). The car came with the originalGoodyear Polyglas raised white letter E70-14 spare tire on the original wide steel wheel, the original Z28 air cleaner inside the car, and a large stack of paperwork which verified everything. I got it back to Columbus and got it running and it smoked like the devil...I pulled the engine, disassembled it, and discovered all of the Z28 goodies in the engine. I bought an expensive NOS GM L82 camshaft and lifters, NOS GM L82 .020 forged pistons (reboring the block was necessary due to excessive cylinder wear), and it was balanced. A Mellings high-volume oil pump, Felpro gaskets, and TRW rings and bearings were installed. The heads wererebuilt with a 4-angle valve job and new GM L82 springs and retainers. The engine machine work and parts came to $3,700. The enginehas 500 careful break-in miles on it. The car has a new $1,100 set of reproduction Goodyear Polyglas E70-14 tires that exactly match what came on it when it was new. If you look over the buildsheet you will see the F41 suspension, G80 posi rear axle, N40 power steering (it has a Z28 close-ratio steering box), HDcooling, HD electrical, Z28 dual-snorkel air cleaner, L48 350 4-barrel engine, TH350 auto trans, and several other high performance components. It still has its original F41 rear sway bar (this is theONLY 4-door 1974 Nova I know of with F41 suspension) with many GMpart numbered tags still on the various components (LA is very nice to its vintage cars,,,the whole underside of this car is nearly pristine), and it has 6-leaf rear springs (theONLY Nova I know of with 6-leaf rear springs!) that have stickers on each spring that show that they were custom made by the spring shop at the GM TechCenter in Warren, MI (the rear sway bar mounts and shock plates are also custom made and different from standard 5-leaf parts). I was able to locate both Harry Hammond and Jim Ingle, the GM engineers who built the white prototype'74 and Harry Hammond signed the inside of the car's trunk lid (Harry and Jim are both in their 80s, retired from GM, and both still live in the Detroit metro area...nice guys and fun to talk to). He said he and Jim Ingle sat at the kitchen table in Rick Mahoney's house in Northridge, CA on the evening of May 1st, 1974 and ordered this car...that's history! Along with the aforementioned documentation comes the original Los Angeles County auction paperwork from April 24th, 1982 which showsthat the LASD was the agency getting rid of the car and that the buyer was Woodward Smith. Also included is the California title which shows that it was owned by Woodward Smith who lived on Holly Drive in Hollywood, CA. Also included is the original owner's manual and associated paperwork in the original plastic envelope. Among items found in the car was a key ring for the Los Angeles Zone Office that is included with the original keys. The car comes with an extremely rare matched pair of California Manufacturer license plates that were used at the Los Angeles Zone Office by a retired executive who knew Rick Mahoney and gave the plates to me. It also comes with an NOS Arrow Chevrolet dealer license plate frame (the dealership where Rick Mahoney liked to have his Zone Office cars delivered, prepped, and serviced at...he was good friends with the dealer's service manager, Mike Johnson). The car has a small rust-thru spot on the right front door (a complete replacement door is included with the sale), a large dent in the left quarter panel, and many smaller dents and scratches. The seats are the original heavy-duty cop car seats, the dash pad looks decent, the original rubber floor mat has a couple of small tears, the headliner needs replaced, all of the electrics work except the horns, the car starts up immediately and drives well (brakes are grabby when it is first started which means it could use a power brake booster rebuild in the future), and it sounds muscular (it still has the original GM dual exhaust and muffler). I deeply regret selling the most historic car I have ever owned (or ever will), but my wife has stage 4 cancer and has a steep hill to climb. I am selling the Nova to help clear out my life and be prepared for whatever comes next. I expect a $500 down payment by the winning bidder via Paypal within 48 hours of the end of the sale, as well as a phone call from the buyer (I can be reached at Six One Four Seven Six Nine Five Eight Six Eight) to discuss the final payment and picking it up. It is at a storage unit located a mile off I-70 on the west side of Columbus, OH, and asemi truck and trailercan get into the facility to load the car. I expect full payment in cash or by cashier's check at the time the car is picked up (the check must clear my bankbefore the car will be released for loading). As you can see I have over 1,800 transactions on here with 100% perfect feedback over the last 14 years...I am an honorable and honest seller...the car is exactly as I have described it. I will sell to anyone in the US or Canada and nowhere else. If the buyer gets here and realizes the car isn't his cup of tea, I will cheerfully and promptly refund his money and relist the car. This is a rough time in my life and I don't want to deal with any goofballs who want to bid on a car without the funds or intent to buy it...please don't waste my time...be honorable and honest. Thanks and happy bidding.

PS...I forgot to mention that this car comes with three large 36"x24" story boards which explain its incredible history and have photo copies of its historic documents, as well as photos of Rick Mahoney. Harry Hammond and Jim Ingle, John Christy, the LA Zone Office building, and Woody Smith. You can read more about the car if you search for "1974 Nova Police Car...the only survivor of 17 built". There are numerous pages of its history and documentation that I have posted on "Stevesnovasite.com" and "Yenko.net". Additionally, this car won a first place award for "Best Unrestored Musclecar" at the prestigious Len Immke Memorial Car Show" in Columbus, OH in the summer of 2018, which really p*ssed off a lot of people who were mad that a FOUR DOOR beat their GTOs and Road Runners! The show judges recognized that this was a special car and they were blown away by its history, originality, musclecar parts, and provenance. This is a car that would be welcomed and appreciated at the MCACN in Chicago.

• Make: Chevrolet
• Model: Nova
• Type: Sedan
• Year: 1974
• Mileage: 121000
• VIN: 1X69K4L207683
• Engine size: 350
• Number of cylinders: 8
• Power options: Tilt Wheel, Tinted Glass, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Rear Window Defogger, Air Conditioning
• Vehicle Title: Clean
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