Most likely yes, it will work. I say most likely because I am not sure of the year Nova you need to use. And I say yes because this is exactly what I did on my '67. Same story as you, the firewall was gutted (hacksaw & duct tape) before I got the car.

I've always wanted to put the A/C back into my car and was always greeted with laughter whenever I inquired at automotive recycle yards about 1st gens with A/C.

So one day my brother stops over with his Nova. We were futzing around under the hood and I noticed that the A/C looked like is would just bolt up to my '67. As it was his A/C was not operational and he didn't even want it under the hood.

Before you knew it fenders were off, A/C and heater systems out, and the Nova was converted to a standard heater system. I even bought him a new dash controller to replace the A/C one in there. It was a perfect job.

Then of course the '67 got the A/C parts that work to this day. . .

Bob.

 

Hey guys,

I just wanted to post a reply to my own message, if someone searched this in the future.

I replaced my missing underhood suitcase with one from a '76 Nova. The suitcase is identical. The actual A/C setups are a little different, but 100% originality was not critical for me, so this system works for me and looks like a factory set up. Also, the plenum valve and the kick panel valve on the passenger side from the '76 are the same as the '69.

This should open up a whole new source of interchangeable parts for those of us missing the original stuff. From what I've seen, the '75-'79 Novas are plentiful in the graveyards.