Fit To Serve Again: Rare 9c1 To Honor Fallen Deputy

General Motors manufactured the Chevrolet Nova “9C1” police car package from 1975-’78. In those four years, GM produced 13,800 units. But here and now, in 2026, only 28 are known to have survived.

I lead up the “Nova 9C1 Police Cars” Facebook social media group, and over the past few years, I’ve been finding Nova police car survivors, as well as tracking and researching the history of these cars. One particular Nova police package survivor was found in the desert of California back in 2022. It was a 1978 four-door with its original 350 V-8 engine and TH350 transmission.

The owner posted about the possibility of selling the car, so I reached out to him and after a few months, finally broke through and made the deal to purchase the rare Nova. Living in New Hampshire, I hopped in my truck and set out on a cross-country journey to buy it. 

After days of driving, I arrived and set eyes on the car. This Nova looked nothing like a patrol car. It was sporting three shades of green paint, and the interior was a mess: ripped seats, a sun-dried and cracked dashpad and brittle plastic trim. Someone tried to peel back some of the door paint to unveil its original white paint. There was no emergency gear, nor markings on it. It still, however, wore its four police package “dog dish” hubcaps. The owner knew some of its history, including that it was, in fact, used in a law-enforcement capacity. But by which agency, and for how long, he didn’t know. 

All smiles and full of glee, I loaded up the old Nova on my trailer and drove 3,000-plus miles back east to New Hampshire. There, I inspected the car and found many clues of its past. A hole, now filled with Bondo, could be seen on the rear driver’s side quarter, signifying a whip antenna. A hole on the roof indicated it once had a light bar. Two holes on the front bumper indicated where a push bar had been mounted. Holes on the inside pillars between the doors suggested that a cage had once been installed. And a hole on each outside pillar, now welded over, showed where spotlights were once mounted.  

The car started, but the engine clearly had little life left in it. Blue smoke bellowed from the exhaust pipes. The steering column had some concerning play in it. Most of the interior door cards were ripped and unusable. The seats were falling apart from beneath a ripped seat cover. But being a California car, its bones were still strong. The frame was solid. The passenger side floor board had a few holes, and the passenger fender had a rot hole, but all in all, it was an excellent candidate for restoration. I then researched the car through the GM Heritage Archive Service. By providing the car’s VIN, I was able to get a copy of the original factory invoice. On it, two things stood out: “LA County” and “Police Car.” This solidified that the car was purchased under the GM/LA County contract.

This was incredible. Why? Because the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department played a big role in the overall success of the Chevy Nova 9C1 police package vehicle. The LA County Sheriff was seeking a car that would have lower fuel and maintenance costs than full-size squad cars in order to offset the rising costs of fleet operation resulting from the early ’70s oil embargo. After testing the Nova extensively against other compact police cars, the Nova was the best overall performer. 

Bringing back ‘Bear’

This was exciting, but soon reality set in. I am not a mechanic and lack the experience, tools and space to restore a car. However, these limitations didn’t deter me. I knew somehow, someway, I could find the help necessary to make this dream a reality. I soon began another search to find the right person who could take this car back to its original glory. 

On YouTube, I found the channel “Three Rivers Wrench.” The host of the channel was Brian James, who’s based out of the Pittsburgh, Pa., area. Brian was in the process of restoring his 1975 Nova coupe that he had named “Frank.” I was immediately intrigued by Brian’s structured approach to restoring his Nova. His videos were comprehensive, walking viewers step-by-step through the process of the repairs and restoration work of his Nova. 

In late 2022, I messaged Brian and inquired about his ability and bandwidth to take on another Nova project. In the message, I explained the Nova was a rare LA County car. 

But at the time, Brian wasn’t ready for another project; he was finishing up his Nova and needed some time to focus on that. He told me to reach out in early 2023 and we could re-assess the project.

And so I did. In February 2023, Brian gave the green light to start the project. But he warned me that this could easily take a few years to complete. Regardless, I was elated. The dream of this special Nova making its return to its roots would be realized. And the entire restoration would be covered on Brian’s “Three Rivers Wrench” YouTube channel — creating a record of the steps taken to restore this car.  

I also described to Brian how I had an even bigger plan for this restoration. I wanted the restoration to serve as a dedication to a fallen deputy who died in a car accident while on duty on May 3, 1978, while driving a Chevy Nova – Deputy Walter Hannan, Jr. 

I had found information about Deputy Walter Hannan, Jr. and how deeply respected he remains by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Office and many of his peers who worked out of the Carson, Calif., LASD station. 

Deputy Walter Hannan, Jr. had two daughters, who I was able to find and contact. One lived in Missouri and the other lived in Southern California. When I informed them of my plan to have this car restored in their father’s memory, they were thrilled and full of happiness about the news. Additionally, I was able to locate Walter’s partner deputy who was also in the car accident, but survived. He is Deputy Ernie Archuleta. Ernie had to retire from the LA County Sheriff Department due to the nature of the injuries sustained from the car crash, but after his recovery, he went on to successfully work in other law enforcement capacities in the decades to follow.

In April 2023, the restoration project officially began. The first step was to name the car. Brian came up with the perfect name — “Bear”— because a bear is seen in the LA County Sheriff emblem. And so for the next 2-1/2 years, and over 45 episodes, Brian gave Bear a complete transformation. The engine, transmission, suspension system and exhaust system were all completely overhauled. The 3.08:1-ratio Positraction rear end was repaired with an entirely new carrier. The entire underside of the body was cleaned and re-coated with rust encapsulator material. The rear quarter panel had sustained an impact over the years, so that corner was completely cut out and a replacement panel was welded in. The passenger floor pan was cut out and replaced with a new pan. The passenger fender was replaced with a new fender. The entire engine bay was emptied, cleaned and re-coated, including the core support. The tilt steering column was completely rebuilt. New body bushings were installed, along with new brakes, brake lines and tires. The gas tank was cleaned to look as new. The four 14×7-in. factory steel wheels were sandblasted and repainted black and supplied with new hubcaps. And the body of the car was completely stripped down to bare metal and recoated and painted. The interior was completely re-upholstered with new black vinyl material. The dash pad, vinyl flooring, sound deadener material, headliner and interior plastics were all replaced with new or quality used original materials, and were all repainted. All four doors were taken apart, cleaned and refitted with new components where needed. A replacement front windshield was installed. New weatherstrip seals were installed on each of the doors and the trunk. The trunk was completely cleaned out and repainted. The bumpers were replaced, along with the taillamp lenses, headlamp bezels and grille. New wiring was installed as the existing wiring had many issues. The air conditioning and heater box were completely rebuilt with new parts. While Brian didn’t install and wire up all the emergency equipment, he did install the spotlights, the whip antenna mount and the front push bar (the push bar, in fact, is original, made by the LA County jail back in the 1970s).

Brian completed the mechanical restoration in August 2025. From there, the remainder of the emergency equipment installation would be performed by Phil Masso of Rhode Island. Phil restored and installed the roof light bar, which is a CTS (California Technical Standard) manufactured by Federal Twinsonic. He wired the lightbar speaker and installed the interior GE and Unitrol equipment in the front, and a GE transmitter receiver box in the trunk. He also installed the era-correct whip antenna. Phil applied the original LA County Sheriff door and rear trunk lid graphics, along with the numbering on the roof of the car, which provides deputy identification for Deputies Walter Hannan, Jr. and Ernie Archuleta. 

A 9C1 Nova returns

The car was officially complete. In a few weeks, I would trailer the Nova back to California. But first, I would make a stop in Missouri to show the car to Walter Hannan, Jr.’s daugher, Kim, and her family. 

The road trip then continued to the West Coast, with numerous stops along the way to show the car to various museums, agencies and friends. I arranged for a dedication ceremony to occur during the annual Ripon and Menlo Park, Calif., Emergency Vehicle Show in Ripon on Oct. 4, 2025. The show has been organized and coordinated by Daryl Lindsay over the past 35 years. Deputy Walter Hannon, Jr.’s other daughter, Jennifer, and her family, attended the show. Also in attendance was Retired Deputy Ernie Archuleta, who rode with me in the emergency vehicle parade that followed the car show. It was a true honor for me to be able to ride in the parade with the retired deputy. 

Bear was awarded “Best In Show” at the 2025 Ripon & Menlo Park Emergency Vehicle Show, recognizing all the hard work that was put into its restoration. The next day, Retired Deputy Archuleta and I brought Bear to the Los Angeles County Sheriff station in Carson to get photos with their personnel. It was an amazing experience to be able to bring Bear home. 

What was once a vision and a dream has become an amazing reality and an outstanding result. 

For more information on this Nova 9C1 restoration, please visit “Three Rivers Wrench” on YouTube.

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