Makes › Chevrolet › Nova / Chevy II › Third generation › Nova COPO 9738 (L78 / TH400) · Factory competition · 1968 Ultra Rare
Chevrolet
Nova COPO 9738 (L78 / TH400)
COPO 9738 L78 Novas with Turbo Hydra-Matic 400, built to homologate the combination for NHRA Super Stock
Still being researched: identification guide, full specifications. Everything shown is checked against the cited sources. Know more? Send us a source.
Contents
01Overview
At a glance
- Built
- 50 Built
- Years
- 1968
- Engine
- Not yet verified
- Power
- Not yet verified
- Top speed
- Not yet verified
- Body
- Not yet verified
- Designer
- Not yet verified
- In this archive
- Not yet verified
- Surviving
- Not yet verified
Sources and any conflicting figures are in the sections below.
Why it matters
The COPO L78 Nova was an early use of Chevrolet's Central Office Production Order system to get a high-performance car approved for drag racing. Fred Gibb, an AHRA racer and dealer, had fifty of them built in 1968 with special automatic transmissions, a year before the better-known 427 Camaros.
How rare is it?
Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.
Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.
02Production & history
Production
Every figure says what it counts.
| What is counted | Figure | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total model productionL78 Novas with TH400 (COPO 9738), 1968 | 501,2 | Factory production | Factory reported |
Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.
History
Fred Gibb owned a Chevrolet dealership in La Harpe, Illinois, and raced in the AHRA. Drag-racing bodies treated an engine and body combination as stock-class legal once at least fifty had been produced, so Gibb turned to the fleet-order route that Chevrolet normally used for trucks and police cars. In 1968 he used it to get fifty L78 Novas built for drag racing with special automatic transmissions.
The same approach was used in 1969 for the ZL-1 and L72 Camaros (COPO 9560 and 9561).
Variants
How each version differs from the standard Nova COPO 9738 (L78 / TH400).
No variants documented yet. Have a source? Contribute it.
03Specifications
Technical specifications
Engine
| Engine family | Not yet verified |
|---|---|
| Engine code | L781 Independently researched |
| Layout | Not yet verified |
| Displacement | Not yet verified |
| Bore | Not yet verified |
| Stroke | Not yet verified |
| Compression ratio | Not yet verified |
| Fuel system | Not yet verified |
| Power | Not yet verified |
| Power at | Not yet verified |
| Torque | Not yet verified |
Transmission & drivetrain
| Gearbox | Special automatic transmission (COPO)1 Independently researched |
|---|---|
| Gears | Not yet verified |
| Driven wheels | Not yet verified |
Chassis, body & dimensions
| Chassis | Not yet verified |
|---|---|
| Front suspension | Not yet verified |
| Rear suspension | Not yet verified |
| Brakes | Not yet verified |
| Steering | Not yet verified |
| Body construction | Not yet verified |
| Wheelbase | Not yet verified |
| Length | Not yet verified |
| Width | Not yet verified |
| Height | Not yet verified |
| Front track | Not yet verified |
| Rear track | Not yet verified |
| Kerb weight | Not yet verified |
| Dry weight | Not yet verified |
Performance
| Maximum speed | Not yet verified |
|---|---|
| 0–100 km/h | Not yet verified |
| Fuel tank | Not yet verified |
“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.
04Colours & options
Factory colours & interiors
Original paint and trim, with the number of cars in each where a source gives it.
Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.
Factory options & codes
Codes are shown exactly as written by the manufacturer.
Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.
05Individual cars
Chassis register
Every documented car, with its colours, history and where it is now. Open a row for the full record. Known chassis are not automatically authenticated originals.
Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.
Competition history
Every race result of the individual cars, in date order. Click a chassis number to open its full record in the register.
Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.
Auction & sale history
Documented public sales of the individual cars. Click a chassis number to open its full record in the register.
Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.
See one in person
Museums where an example of this car can be seen.
No example is documented on public display yet. Have a source? Contribute it.
06Reference
Identification guide
How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.
Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.
Sources
Each number links to the exact facts it supports.
-
1
COPO 427: The Relentless Pursuit of Acceleration Level A Camaro Research Group (CRG) · 2020-07-08
- fifty COPO L78 Novas built for drag racing
- fifty COPO L78 Novas
- special automatic transmissions
-
2
Nova Resource – Chevy II/Nova history Level C
- 50 L78 Novas with TH400 (COPO 9738), 1968
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