Welcome to CHR:

Not to burst your bubble, but the 1979 Novas used by police departments were a reflection of the horrible performance era. The Nova 9C1 was offered to police agencies between 1975 & 1979. They were available with either a 170 horsepower 4.3L 265CI SFI engine(typical of a city police department) or a 200 horsepower version of the L99 350 used by state police. The 350s had some heavy-duty components (e.g., forged crank, heavy valve springs, etc.) that improved durability but they didn't get any performance-enhancing modifications.

None had 400s – none were high performance.

Get numbers off the engine and we can help you determine what it really is.

Glenn