This will be a bit of an unsual project thread as the Nova in question has been rebuilt already. Unfortunately I didn't make a thread as I was going along as basically I never planned on doing quite so much in the first place! However since I intend to keep the car forever (or as long as I can at least) it will have more work done to maintain it and as funds allow new additions to improve it further, so it won't only be a thread about the past.
Heres the car in its current state:
So I will be going back in time with this thread to show how the car has progressed. Since I'm looking back I thought I might as well start from the very beginning...
The car that started my love of Novas and eventual fascination with modifying and fixing cars. Back in 1991 my Mum bought this car to replace a horribly unreliable Metro. It served well as a family car but I didn't really think too much of it, it was just a basic car. It wasn't until I started learning to drive that I began to really appreciate the car, as my mum kindly put up with teaching me to drive in it. Eventually I passed my test and my Mum gave it to me as my first car, at this point it was very rusty and looked shabby but I absolutley loved it. The Nova bug had bitten, I had the freedom a car gave and the basicness of a Nova really won me over. The lack of power steering, abs, the fact you felt the road through the car much more because of its simplicity was a good thing for an eager new driver and I think I might well have crashed a different car.
I had the car for about 6 months then if memory serves correctly the head gasket went and a rear spring went straight through the rusty platform. I was told it was uneconomical to repair, and at the time I didn't know anywhere near enough about cars to fix it myself. It was really sad to see that car go and I couldn't even face seeing it get scrapped!
I just had to get another Nova, and somehow on a £3 something an hour weekend job I bought my own as quickly as I could. I bought myself for the grand sum of £800 a 1.2i (not so) special edition Spin, which was the most reliable car I've ever had. It was a bit slower than the old carb 1.2 saloon but I loved it all the same. It would have been at this point I first started visiting this forum, or Novaload as I think it was called then. Typically it wasn't long before I wanted to modify it, but thankfully since the over the top bodykits and such popular at the time were out of my spending reach it was all tasteful. So the car got kitted out with GSi three spokes, an induction kit, stainless rear box and a carb exhaust section to de-cat it.
Those modifications did little to really improve the pace of the car, it did sound nice though. So after a few years of motoring the time came to upgrade, I did consider perhaps putting a 1.6 in it, but then this car came up for sale and I just had to have it:
Still have the text from the original for sale ad:
For sale
E-reg metallic steel grey Nova 1.3sr on twin weber 40 carbs
Rolling road tuned at 100 bhp
As quick as a GTE/GSI but cheaper to insure!
Spec;
Rare pair of original nova sport carbs with irmsher inlet manifold, ITG racing air filter
Full GSI spec inc interior, dash, electric windows etc
Koni adjustable suspension
Astra GSI front brakes with braided hoses
Head rebuilt and Kent cam fitted by S.B.D Motorsport
Full stainless steel Magnex exhaust
Cat 1 alarm and immobiliser
£1300
Selling on Astra sport wheels fitted with Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres or cheap set of 14" alloys for bit less if you wanna source your own set of alloys, i.e. bigger than the astra wheels as the arches have been rolled when they were replaced 18months ago.
Driving it back home put a big smile on my face, the noise of the twin 40's is addictive and the speed of the car was so much better than I was used to. Eleven years later and it still makes me smile everytime I drive it.
It was my daily driver and it made driving to and from work the best part of the working day. A bad day in work would be remedied by getting in and firing it up. Then one summer I did one of the best things I've ever done and took it to the Ring:
It was a fantastic experience, drove the car all the way there through France and Belgium. I had bought Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2 the day before leaving to practive the green hell and it paid off. I managed to remember the track pretty well and since its so full of corners I could get around quicker than a lot of faster expensive cars apart from Sabine in the BMW ring taxi who flew past me. The only problem was when a motorbike decided to cut me up on a corner and I went off the track to avoid hitting him. The Nova didn't appreciate coming to a sudden stop, cut out and wouldn't start. Thankfully it did come to life before the tow guy could reach the car (caught in the photo above) and I sped off quickly, scared of a hefty tow charge as I'd read scare stories of expensive fines before going there. The Nova did me proud, I'd recommend the Nurburgring to anyone.
Not much of a project thread so far, but thats all to come...