I'm buying a Nova! Also I'm new.

Hey figured I should make a post to introduce myself, since my Nova should be on my drive on Saturday (pictures then) it's a 1986 (I think) 1.2l Spin, current state of the thing is pretty decent, there's some rust on the exterior which needs dealing with, some welding needs doing in the wheel wells, but I'm getting that and 12 months MOT with the car. Brakes are a bit ****, going to be replacing the discs, pads and fluid. Air con motor is ****ed, but I don't really care, probably just going to lose it and call it a weight reduction.
Other than those bits (so far :P) the car is in a pretty decent state. Interior is all original and absolutely spotless, only 50k miles on the clock, and it's only had 2 previous owners. Engine sounds a bit weird, but it is old, and I'm probably going to replace that anyway since there is an i on the car and apparently that means dropping a 1.4 or 1.6 engine in there should be relatively easy.

Little about me since I am new, this is my first car, I'm paying just under 900 quid for it, I live down in sunny Cornwall, and I love Novas. Always have, when I was a teenager there used to be this one Nova driving around town that I was jealous of, so now I'm getting one. Can't wait to get my hands dirty with it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the car is white from the factory, and smells like old people.
EDIT AGAIN: There's also a dent in the front right hand side panel, so I'll be needing a new one at some point.

Any advice, greetings, or cries of "you're a moron because...." are completely welcome. Just very excited about becoming a Nova owner really.

Hello and welcome and yeah get some pics up when you've got the car, I'm sure others will be along to welcome you and call you a Moron shortly.

Hi mate
Welcome along!

Hello and welcome mate :)

Welcome to PNG.

Welcome.you dont have air con lol

AC on a Nova? Never seen one fitted with it, bar talk of Spanish ones having it...


Welcome.

Welcome - just bring your sense of humour along here - they do like to poke every now and again - however things are never taken too seriously !

Sounds an interesting project, just a couple of heads up....

- Nova Spin's were limited edition mk2's mainly on a J and K plate
- Panels are almost non existent new, you make need to find good second hand ones
- There is a place in Germany that still has a stock of some brand new panels (at a price) - don't get them posted as their packaging skills aren't up to much - some members go over and collect in person


If you want more perk the 1.6 16v from the corsa is an easy conversion as you don't need any special parts and with the right tuning parts the 16v is a real screamer.

And brakes -if you fit either 14" rims on a 5.5" rim or 15"s on a 6" rim Astra GTE/GSI / Cavalier GSI calipers and 256mm discs fit straight on.

And lastly, the most stupid question is the one you don't ask !!! Some of us have owned nova's for over a decade (some even 2 decades and a rare few knocking on 3 decades!) so we have a wealth of knowledge - most things we have seen and can comment on the viability or technical aspects.

Good luck and keep us updated with lots of pictures!

Joff

Welcome to the nut house ;)

Good on ya for getting a nova for first car! Most young lads today couldn't care less about retro hatches.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JC93

and smells like old people.

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Standard feature of Novas tbh. lol

Welcome to PNG!

Thanks for the welcomes and fun facts guys. N Day is tomorrow (providing the welding is finished and it has passed an MOT), and I am ridiculously excited, can't wait. Going to get the car on the drive, give it a detailed look, work out which issues are most pressing, rent a vax or rug doctor to clean the human slime out of the Nova and my mates Focus, then get to spending money on Nova parts.
I will make sure to photograph everything for you guys, so expect either a post tomorrow explaining why I don't have a Nova, or a massive post filled with pictures. Such fun.

Also it's a K reg so a fair bit younger than I thought, don't know where my brain got that 1980's figure from.