Brownnova’s eponymous vehicle... It might be over for my Nova.

[High Jetter]

Brown period? Ugh

[Essex V6]

On 9/15/2020 at 6:45 PM, dollywobbler said:

One step above base I think? 

Yes that is right! Sadly this is the kind of information my brain is full of!

[Essex V6]

On 9/15/2020 at 11:35 PM, New POD said:

A set of 14 inch Iron cross wheels, off a mk2 cavalier, would make it look like a mini cavalier, and also allow the fitting of mk3 Astra gsi front calipers.  

DiD you know that the rear beams are interchangeable on nova, Corsa, mk1, mk2 and mk3 Astra, so a rear beam off a mk3 Astra gsi would allow rear discs to be hidden behind 14inch alloys.

My main reason to comment is that the 1.3 8V OHC engine can be built into a proper screamer, and was very successful in the up to 1300 cc rally class, in its day. 125 bhp quite "easy" to achieve. ? 

Yup - as ably demonstrated by a young Colin McRae ?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

On 9/15/2020 at 8:02 AM, brownnova said:

..... I’ll put a tank of super through too. It would have been 4 star originally and as it’s so low mileage I might put a lead replacement additive in maybe. 

Don't bother with lead replacement. Use proper lead. Google "Tetraboost".

[somewhatfoolish]

31 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Don't bother with lead replacement. Use proper lead. Google "Tetraboost".

It is mildly terrifying that TEL can be bought by the general public.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

42 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

It is mildly terrifying that TEL can be bought by the general public.

Is it?

[brownnova]

Today I’m sick from work, first time in about 3 years... (NOT Covid) 

Having spent the morning resting up I decided to get outside to re-stick on the 9000 number plate.    

This went well... so I went back to bed, but looking out of the bedroom window someone was looking at me... 

No I’m sick I told Norman the Nova, But he kept looking at me...  So I gathered what little energy I had and went down to install the freshly charged battery. Squirted a little fuel down the carb and gave it a go... we ran for around 3 seconds, badly. 

 So I gave it another go and got about 10 seconds of bad running... but progress.

 Then...

[brownnova]

Oh and just for @dollywobbler (and any other wiper lickers) I took this video too... 

[beko1987]

Awesome! You taken it on your private test track yet for a drive? 

[Bren]

Somethingvabout 80's vauxhalls - robust and nice to drive. I loved my mk 2 cav. I have even joined the mk 2 cav forum.

[New POD]

9 hours ago, Essex V6 said:

Yup - as ably demonstrated by a young Colin McRae ?

Scottish accent mode: "If I di  na crash I wer na gern fast enough" 

Translated : In order to win, I need to know how fast I could go, and the only way to know how fast is too fast is to crash, which is why my sponsors are a bit pissed off again, because having crashed I couldn't finish which kind of stops me winning" 

 

 

[New POD]

13 minutes ago, Bren said:

Somethingvabout 80's vauxhalls - robust and nice to drive. I loved my mk 2 cav. I have even joined the mk 2 cav forum.

To be fair to the technology, the mk4 astra is pretty much an upgraded version of a mk2 cavalier.  The basic design mechanical design only altered a little in 25 years. 1980 to 2005. 

[brownnova]

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

Awesome! You taken it on your private test track yet for a drive? 

I shuffled it on my drive a little, it goes forward and backwards. 

Test drive on a ‘private road’ next when I’m feeling better. 

[Fumbler]

This has got me looking at Novas for sale again now! Looking forward to more progress on this fine automobile.

[adw1977]

On 15/09/2020 at 07:45, dollywobbler said:

One step above base I think? 

L was two steps above base, there was Merit inbetween.  The 1.3 engine had only recently become available in L trim when this car was registered. 

Brochure link

[sloth]

there was no 1300 base, apart from nova sports being a base on logbooks. saloons in base were only 1.0 and 1.2. most 1300 saloons were gl trim. this ones a rarity. have you found any rust yet 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

The 1.2 saloon was available* on the Green Shield stamps scheme, if you could fill 2500 books with stamps.

Then there was the 1990s fashion for stuffing a 2 litre 16v engine into a Nova....

[brownnova]

I’ve joined a Nova group on Facebook... it wasn’t just a 90s trend it still persists today... 

[Joey spud]

This is ace i've noticed the current trend seems to be for VW's and Aldi's to be painted in flat Grey colours perhaps ''rich poo brown'' will make a return to our roads too ?

I was an Apprentice at (the long gone Vauxhall dealer) G.Wells and sons in Strood when the Nova was launched and i can recall an old boy in the cleaning bay buying one of the first,a poverty spec one litre two door saloon in white with a green interior.

A Nova 1.2 or 1.3 with a five speed gearbox would still be a very capable car today,alas in the 90's i failed a fair few of them on life ending galloping rust where the front turrets met the scuttle.

[sloth]

On 9/18/2020 at 7:06 PM, brownnova said:

I’ve joined a Nova group on Facebook... it wasn’t just a 90s trend it still persists today... 

the nova scene has changed from back then, back when every one was wedging big engines in them with zipties and gaffa. the guys still around now are into their 30-50s. 

a well built 2.0 16v nova is an amazing bit of kit in the right hands. the fact its a bolt in swap helps. 

[sloth]

ive had the cance to sit in a 900hp turbo small block camaro as it hurled itself forwards. ive been in lambos and ferarris. nothin puts a grin on your face like a 300bhp nova turbo with a cage and no interior. probably cos if you stack it youll be just a smear, mainly because from 0-140mph its ballistic.  but always because no one expects it and the grin is amazing

[Tadhg Tiogar]

6 minutes ago, sloth said:

....a well built 2.0 16v nova is an amazing bit of kit in the right hands. the fact its a bolt in swap helps. 

Wheelspin in third gear?

[sloth]

Just now, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Wheelspin in third gear?

wheelspin in 3rd, and a speedo needle that would go round the clock.  then i found a decent lsd diff haha

[Tadhg Tiogar]

7 minutes ago, sloth said:

wheelspin in 3rd, and a speedo needle that would go round the clock.  then i found a decent lsd diff haha

I remember Steve Berry doing a feature on converted Novas on Top Gear. That hasn't made it to YouTube, unfortunately

[sloth]

hard to beleive this was 24 years ago. and more than a few of thse novas still exist. im currnetly trying to find a good gsi gte or sri or sr to import to australia..... this thread isnt helping haha

anyway back to mr brownnova. hows it going?

[cms206]

On 9/13/2020 at 10:58 PM, brownnova said:

I mostly blame @cms206 for this... 

 

But @davidfowler2000 deserves an honourable mention... as do others who added to the peer pressure too ( @Floatylight @Ghosty @rml2345 @Inspector Morose I’m looking at you)  

So... 

A little over a month ago at the FoD gathering some  free Haynes manuals were offered by @Slowsilver out the back of a Maxi... I picked one up for old times sake... 

And tomorrow the car to go with it arrives. 

Dunno what you're on about. Nothing at all to do with me.

[brownnova]

With a “fire break” lockdown looking likely here in the land of Dragons (and it’s half term soon in any case) I’m thinking I’d like to make some progress on the Nova.

But if I’m honest I don’t know where to start... 

What we know: 

It runs and drives, starts and stops. Clutch and gears feel ok. 
I’ve yet to be able to reduce the choke (unless I keep giving it revs), but I’ve also yet to register any heat in the engine on the temp gauge. That may be a gauge fault as I think the fuel gauge is duff too. 
Car rolls fairly freely but one brake is binding a little. 
Bodywork is mostly OK nothing which will fail an MoT that I can see, so that may be left until last. 
MoT wise all the obvious things are ok, I could do with getting it over the pit to give it a proper look underneath. 
It hasn’t had an MoT since 2005ish. 

Ideally I’d like to give it a run round the lanes to see what’s what, but Wales is 90% hills and if we break I don’t fancy my wife having to tow me back home (she won’t like that)... plus if we’re back in lockdown that’ll be too obvious (not that you ever see a Rozzer out here in the sticks). Part of me is tempted to give it a go in a test, but I’d worry if it would make it to the test station not having been on the public road for about 15 years!

So where would you start?

 Give it a damn good service? 
Go hunting for faults to fix? 
Or just whack it in for test? 

[dave j]

I would do that list in that order! You don't want it breaking Down on the way to an mot with something you could have easily spotted if you went over it first. If it's been sitting that long it's likely there will be seized brakes so that would be a good starting point 

[Six-cylinder]

I find having a car legally mobile makes doing stuff so much easier. If it was mine I would concentrate  on MOT stuff, then get it an MOT asap. 

[Floatylight]

37 minutes ago, dave j said:

I would do that list in that order! You don't want it breaking Down on the way to an mot with something you could have easily spotted if you went over it first. If it's been sitting that long it's likely there will be seized brakes so that would be a good starting point 

I'd be doing this, full service, including belts and water pump, brakes, good check over and get it in for an MOT..