Buying Advice!

[Anonymous]

im buying a 1.3sr in next 2 weeks, first car, so what warning signs should i look for so i know if its shitted engine etc or not? itll prob be 89model, so mk2. cheers, chris

[Anonymous]

89 is mark 1 m8 ;)

[Anonymous]

>LOOK FOR SMOKE! That's the first thing to notice. A little, and it will only be the valve stem oil-seals (sorted with a head gasket kit), but more and it could mean the piston rings are an their way out! (Smoke from the exhaust BTW)
Look in your rear-view window occasionally, as you test drive it. Any bad smoke should be obvious.
>Check the carb...will be a Pierburg 2E3 on an 89 model.....auto choke may be fked, so may struggle to start big time in colder and damper weather.
>Look for mayonnaise-looking crap in the top of the carb that could have come through the crank-case breather pipe. (My old A-reg 1.2 had shit loads...and I had to clean it out every couple of weeks). Due to water in the oil.......head gasket fked or other similar prob.
>Check the crack-case ventilating pipe it's self.....if there's smoke coming out, or it smells really dodgy...it's breathing heavy. Not sure exactly what to do about that....may be cleared with a good engine flush. Indicates high mileage! If bad enough, you may even notice the smell as you drive...I did in my old A-reg 1.2...but that did have going on 200,000 miles on it!! Could also be full of mayonnaise crap, as said above.
>Listen for noisy tappets......may be noisy at first when engine started, but should go quiet almost straight away, and certainly after a minuet or so...if not, you've got a dodgy one or two.....or, you may not have enough oil-pressure.
>Ask when it last had a cam belt change too, and see when it was last serviced.
>Obviously check for oil-leaks too, and water leaks from the water pump. Check condition of the oil on the dip-stick.

This may seam daft, but check it's actually the right engine! Check the front of the engine block for the letters 13SB. The reason?...I know of a lad who bought an SR...the only problem was, the previous owner had blown the engine, and on the cheep, had fitted a 1.2!! Check, just to be sure...you never know!

[Anonymous]

i would say the body is more important than the engine. these days it is hard to find a nova that is not rotten all the way through. as long as you find one that doesn't have alot of rust the engine shouldn't matter coz you can always change that later. if you are modifying the engine anyway you will most likely change all the tired old bits to gain more power, so go look for rust. the usuall places include rust along the inner wings just before or around the suspension turrets(which are obviously quite important), check in the boot under the rear light clusters or carpet, and check under or around the battery or you'll end up with puddles in the foot well.

True, True...

[Anonymous]

check round the tie bar mounts aswell incase someone has been plowing badgers :-0

--- Novaload technical support open 24hrs ---
--- Phone/SMS Support 24hrs ---
--- Workshop services 6pm - 11pm Mon - Fri, 9am - 11pm Sat/Sun ---
--- 16v engine fitting advice ---

[Anonymous]

bottom of the doors, inside and out.

[Anonymous]

Check no-ones been at the back arch lips with a grinder and separated the inner and outer skins, common problem me-thinks?

[Anonymous]

check behind the rear bumper aswell i have looked at loads an they have all rotted there, needless to say i am still looking for a decent 1.3/1.4 for a mate

[Anonymous]

Take someone who knows cars.

[Anonymous]

ya never gonna get a decent nova unless its been modded by someone good

i bought a perfectly std SR with only 84k and it still had a fair bit of rust etc etc

it takes time to fix, so if u get it off someone who has fixed it good, shouldnt be a problem

[Anonymous]

Check around the door locks, as more than likely someone will have had a go at them at some point, so look for rust and uneven shape around the lock.
Also if the car has those plastic stickers that go around the lock(supposed to stop u scratching your paintwork)its probable that it has lock damage and someone has tried to cover it up! ;)

[Anonymous]

check back of rear footwells for rust, and the sills (i dont think any1 mentioned his), if it has a sunroof, check for leakage.