Hi XXXXXXXXX,
Well the VIN tells me that it is:
A Chevy Nova, V8, 2 door, made in 1968 (yes 68) in Willow Run, MI
Unfortunately the only way I know of to determine for sure if a 68 or 69 Nova is an SS (other than by the engine) is that there would be SS badges on the fenders and taillights, which are easy enough to put on after the fact to fake an SS. Without the original engine the only other indicator is that the SS had a slightly upgraded suspension but if the factory suspension parts have been replaced or you can no longer read the part numbers on them you really wont have any way to tell.
Phil:
when i ran the vin # portion, the 114279W500986, the first "9" stated that this was a 1969. Maybe it was built in 1968 but is it a 1969? Do any of these other numbers tell us anything about engine/transmission info?
Ok, in your original post you had an 8 in the VIN instead of a 9. A 9 denotes a 1969, an 8 would mean a 1968.
The only thing the numbers tell us is that it was supposed to be a V8. It wont tell us if it was a 350 or a 396 or which variation of each it was. It also wont give us transmission info unfortunately. I dont think we can garner any pertinent info from the rest of the numbers with regards to being an SS or not that I have ever heard of.
If however it was originally a 396 with a turbo 350 than the chances of being an SS are pretty good, those were both somewhat rare components. Total Nova production for 1969 was 269,413. Only 17,564 were SS's. Only 7,209 had a 396. Only 27,704 had a 350 tranny.
Classic Car Mechanic
20 years experience in rebuilding restoring and repairing classic cars