RE: Vauxhall Nova: Shed Of The Week
Discussion
I had a 1.2l 3 door, which I traded down to from a 1.8l Sierra Sapphire.
Put 40-odd thousand very cheap miles on it, during which time it even survived a rear-end shunt from a 206.
After an overly tail-happy Sierra (student-grade rear tyres, ex-rep mobile with firmed up shocks on the back) the Nova was a pleasurable hoot to drive until it suffered what turned out to be water pump failure on the M6. Getting the top end of the engine hot enough to melt the oil filler cap wasn't ever going to be a good idea :-(
To whoever it was that compared a Nova to the Fiesta of the same vintage (the MkIII, rounded one that came out in around '89). I owned both. The asthmatic, dreadful Ford 1.3 Fiesta was an utter POS compared to the marginally lower capacity Nova.
Would I want to own a Nova now? No. Would I like to revisit my youth by having one to hoon around country lanes in for a few hours - you bet I would.
Put 40-odd thousand very cheap miles on it, during which time it even survived a rear-end shunt from a 206.
After an overly tail-happy Sierra (student-grade rear tyres, ex-rep mobile with firmed up shocks on the back) the Nova was a pleasurable hoot to drive until it suffered what turned out to be water pump failure on the M6. Getting the top end of the engine hot enough to melt the oil filler cap wasn't ever going to be a good idea :-(
To whoever it was that compared a Nova to the Fiesta of the same vintage (the MkIII, rounded one that came out in around '89). I owned both. The asthmatic, dreadful Ford 1.3 Fiesta was an utter POS compared to the marginally lower capacity Nova.
Would I want to own a Nova now? No. Would I like to revisit my youth by having one to hoon around country lanes in for a few hours - you bet I would.
I looooved my Nova GSi!! So many fond memories. I managed to max it out at 120mph which was exactly the top speed stated in the mags, also out dragged a golf GTi 8v in a straight fight. Plus it was so simple and easy to work on. You could also remove the steering wheel centre cap to store your erm... smokes. Bear in mind this was over 15 years ago, I've grown up now.
mine looked exactly like this one, same colour but different wheels.
mine looked exactly like this one, same colour but different wheels.
To clarify, they're paying £875 to anyone prepared to take this piece of crap to the scrapyard, correct? If so, I'm still out.
My mates Nova vies for the title of the worst car I have ever had the misfortune to drive, alongside my gran's Metro automatic, a Peugeot 205 diesel (non-turbo) and a broken Hyundai Atoz.
My mates Nova vies for the title of the worst car I have ever had the misfortune to drive, alongside my gran's Metro automatic, a Peugeot 205 diesel (non-turbo) and a broken Hyundai Atoz.
My mate's big brother used his mum's 1.4 saloon to ferry us round when we were at school. Very sensible lad from a very sensible family, until he got behind the wheel of that thing.
Was a corner into our local village, him and his brother were adamant he used to take it at 70 (I can believe it the way he drove), this is significantly faster than I've taken it in anything I've ever owned. 50 feels about as quick as I'd do it but can believe he gave it a go.
There's also a bridge that he found out you can take off also at 70 BUT you have to hit the previous (blind) corner flat out to get the speed to do it. Almost every night heading home from school we'd come off the main road and go for it, 70 tended to be enough two up but as soon as there were 4 in he had to aim for 75+.
Thinking back to the way he drove it I'm not sure he ever used the brakes. I'm sure he was incredibly lucky and right on the limit of what that thing could do but he definitely could make it go round a back road in a way it shouldn't.
Don't even remotely want one but it has interesting memories for me!
Was a corner into our local village, him and his brother were adamant he used to take it at 70 (I can believe it the way he drove), this is significantly faster than I've taken it in anything I've ever owned. 50 feels about as quick as I'd do it but can believe he gave it a go.
There's also a bridge that he found out you can take off also at 70 BUT you have to hit the previous (blind) corner flat out to get the speed to do it. Almost every night heading home from school we'd come off the main road and go for it, 70 tended to be enough two up but as soon as there were 4 in he had to aim for 75+.
Thinking back to the way he drove it I'm not sure he ever used the brakes. I'm sure he was incredibly lucky and right on the limit of what that thing could do but he definitely could make it go round a back road in a way it shouldn't.
Don't even remotely want one but it has interesting memories for me!
I never got why Nova's were so popular back in the day? - compared to the competition like the Fiesta, and erm...the Fiesta - they were awful!
They got you from A to B I guess, but it was a horrid place to be. I remember the 'Merit' my mate had, and it even had a blanking plate were the clock should be!
They got you from A to B I guess, but it was a horrid place to be. I remember the 'Merit' my mate had, and it even had a blanking plate were the clock should be!
I bought a 3-door Nova 1.2 for use as a second car by my then wife. Private sale in the local rag; it came from a grieving widow in High Wycombe. It had been her late husband's car, she didn't drive and had no idea of its then value.
Negotiations were not helped by her bursting into tears each time I asked a question about it. Fortunately, her son-in-law soon appeared on the scene and we got the deal done in 5 minutes.
Flimsy build quality, no image, but reliable. You wouldn't want to have a big accident in one. Number one son learned his basic driving skills on it, then we sold it to a traffic cop who was buying it for his wife. I think the time for a car like this is past, frankly. I'd be looking for something a bit more modern.
Negotiations were not helped by her bursting into tears each time I asked a question about it. Fortunately, her son-in-law soon appeared on the scene and we got the deal done in 5 minutes.
Flimsy build quality, no image, but reliable. You wouldn't want to have a big accident in one. Number one son learned his basic driving skills on it, then we sold it to a traffic cop who was buying it for his wife. I think the time for a car like this is past, frankly. I'd be looking for something a bit more modern.
Would people actually like to see all remaining Nova's, Metros and the like destroyed ?
Its kind of an IS approach to persevering history that isn't it ?
I makes me smile to see cars from years gone by kept going, and to be honest, it isnt the obvious ones that get dribbled over on here, yes a Lancia Stratos is a wonderful thing but nobody was ever going to throw all those away and I had no personal involvement with them, ever, but seeing a crappy Nova brings back memories of the late eighties when my mum had one, get in a car you had and by and large it smells the same, the memories come flooding back, all those folk sat day in day out over the car show season provide a valuable service allowing people a few glimpses of the past.
However mundane or common something was it doesnt mean nobody had any fondness for it, on these threads its like the car version of teenage girls going vegetarian and getting all animal rights but seeing something that isnt ickle and fwuffy and then wanting to kill it.
So, just say not for me instead of the dreadfully hackneyed "Kill it with fire" thing, it was slightly funny in 2010 but not now.
Its kind of an IS approach to persevering history that isn't it ?
I makes me smile to see cars from years gone by kept going, and to be honest, it isnt the obvious ones that get dribbled over on here, yes a Lancia Stratos is a wonderful thing but nobody was ever going to throw all those away and I had no personal involvement with them, ever, but seeing a crappy Nova brings back memories of the late eighties when my mum had one, get in a car you had and by and large it smells the same, the memories come flooding back, all those folk sat day in day out over the car show season provide a valuable service allowing people a few glimpses of the past.
However mundane or common something was it doesnt mean nobody had any fondness for it, on these threads its like the car version of teenage girls going vegetarian and getting all animal rights but seeing something that isnt ickle and fwuffy and then wanting to kill it.
So, just say not for me instead of the dreadfully hackneyed "Kill it with fire" thing, it was slightly funny in 2010 but not now.
I had a white SR model with the 1.4, I loved it although it was a bit of a nail.
The car had one of the ugliest dashboards I've ever seen, the newer models were a bit better.
I'd kitted it out with a million watts of Pioneer ICE, an essential upgrade when you're 19.
I killed the engine having it modified to run on unleaded, became a rattly thing quite quickly.
It came to an abrupt end when during a head on clash with a Rover 400 where I discovered that despite it's fragile nature, it was a lot more solid than the Rover!
Happy days.
The car had one of the ugliest dashboards I've ever seen, the newer models were a bit better.
I'd kitted it out with a million watts of Pioneer ICE, an essential upgrade when you're 19.
I killed the engine having it modified to run on unleaded, became a rattly thing quite quickly.
It came to an abrupt end when during a head on clash with a Rover 400 where I discovered that despite it's fragile nature, it was a lot more solid than the Rover!
Happy days.
djbobbins said:
I had a 1.2l 3 door, which I traded down to from a 1.8l Sierra Sapphire.
To whoever it was that compared a Nova to the Fiesta of the same vintage (the MkIII, rounded one that came out in around '89). I owned both. The asthmatic, dreadful Ford 1.3 Fiesta was an utter POS compared to the marginally lower capacity Nova.
Would I want to own a Nova now? No. Would I like to revisit my youth by having one to hoon around country lanes in for a few hours - you bet I would.
Absolutely - people compare them to modern superminis with all their complicated wizardry. Compared to what was around in the early to mid 80's they were a vision of the future - electronic ignition, OHC without tappets, modern engine. friends were driving round in Heralds & Minis with rotten subframes. Agree the Fiesta of the same vintage seemed archaic in comparison let alone the bleedin Metro...To whoever it was that compared a Nova to the Fiesta of the same vintage (the MkIII, rounded one that came out in around '89). I owned both. The asthmatic, dreadful Ford 1.3 Fiesta was an utter POS compared to the marginally lower capacity Nova.
Would I want to own a Nova now? No. Would I like to revisit my youth by having one to hoon around country lanes in for a few hours - you bet I would.
Wouldn't own one now, but in the day - yup
DrDoofenshmirtz said:
I never got why Nova's were so popular back in the day? - compared to the competition like the Fiesta, and erm...the Fiesta - they were awful!
They got you from A to B I guess, but it was a horrid place to be. I remember the 'Merit' my mate had, and it even had a blanking plate were the clock should be!
Some people were very loyal to Vauxhall for some reason and wouldn't be seen dead in a Ford for example. My mate (who actually liked driving) had a 1988 Nova GTE, which was an immaculate low miler when he bought it. I had a go, and yep, it was a Vauxhall alright. The chassis, steering and gear-change were all equally wooden. No feel at all IMO.They got you from A to B I guess, but it was a horrid place to be. I remember the 'Merit' my mate had, and it even had a blanking plate were the clock should be!
Ha ha bring back memories, mostly of smoking brakes ! I had a Nova SRI - well I though it was a SRI - could never understand why it was so quick, then the garage where it was having the disks and pads replaced on it (again) pointed out it have a 2.0 cavalier engine in it.
Unfortunately it had not had the rear brakes or the front uprated - hence why it ate them for fun.
Got me into modified cars - though I have no desire to have another vauxhall nova.
Unfortunately it had not had the rear brakes or the front uprated - hence why it ate them for fun.
Got me into modified cars - though I have no desire to have another vauxhall nova.
Itsallicanafford said:
'1.4',those were the magic numbers back in my youth, everybody had 1.1 or .95, but 1.4 mean't proper speed...
it still impresses to this day
Ha - glad I am not the only one who remembers how things were before the power and displacement arms race began.it still impresses to this day
I got a (knackered) Corsa GSI when I was 19 and felt like a king among mere mortals to be driving round in a 1.6 16V!
My mum had Novas back in the day. 1.2s as I recall. I remember being a little kid and getting picked up from cubs one evening. We got into my mum's red Nova and both paused for a second as something didn't seem right. Then we realised it wasn't my mum's Nova, just another red one that our key had opened. Not the most secure of vehicles then...
J4CKO said:
Would people actually like to see all remaining Nova's, Metros and the like destroyed ?
Its kind of an IS approach to persevering history that isn't it ?
I makes me smile to see cars from years gone by kept going, and to be honest, it isnt the obvious ones that get dribbled over on here, yes a Lancia Stratos is a wonderful thing but nobody was ever going to throw all those away and I had no personal involvement with them, ever, but seeing a crappy Nova brings back memories of the late eighties when my mum had one, get in a car you had and by and large it smells the same, the memories come flooding back, all those folk sat day in day out over the car show season provide a valuable service allowing people a few glimpses of the past.
However mundane or common something was it doesnt mean nobody had any fondness for it, on these threads its like the car version of teenage girls going vegetarian and getting all animal rights but seeing something that isnt ickle and fwuffy and then wanting to kill it.
So, just say not for me instead of the dreadfully hackneyed "Kill it with fire" thing, it was slightly funny in 2010 but not now.
This. I like like seeing mundane stuff like this survive - brings back lots of childhood memories. Its kind of an IS approach to persevering history that isn't it ?
I makes me smile to see cars from years gone by kept going, and to be honest, it isnt the obvious ones that get dribbled over on here, yes a Lancia Stratos is a wonderful thing but nobody was ever going to throw all those away and I had no personal involvement with them, ever, but seeing a crappy Nova brings back memories of the late eighties when my mum had one, get in a car you had and by and large it smells the same, the memories come flooding back, all those folk sat day in day out over the car show season provide a valuable service allowing people a few glimpses of the past.
However mundane or common something was it doesnt mean nobody had any fondness for it, on these threads its like the car version of teenage girls going vegetarian and getting all animal rights but seeing something that isnt ickle and fwuffy and then wanting to kill it.
So, just say not for me instead of the dreadfully hackneyed "Kill it with fire" thing, it was slightly funny in 2010 but not now.
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