Wanted GM Nova 3 door hatch panels

[chester drawers]

Right no sniggering at the back. Can anyone point me in the direction of a decent supplier of OEM GM or decent quality pattern panels for a 1986 3 door Nova hatch? There’s going to be quite a shopping list when it’s stripped but at the moment there’s an obvious need for:

 

Driver’s door. Used would be fine, but everything I’ve looked at so far has been f*cked. Repair sections may suffice.

 

Boot lid

 

Sills

 

Three quarter panel repair sections for both sides

 

Outer wings which actually approximate to original fitment (i.e. Match the bonnet shut lines without requiring massive hacking about).

 

Realms of fantasy now. I presume repair sections for inner wings were never made? And moving into rocking horse manure territory – anyone squirreling away a new shell? No of course not, I’ll get my coat...A better used shell would be the realistic choice of course but since I want to keep the original registration this isn't an option.

[Cavcraft]

Tried PNG or one of the more generic Vauxhall forums? PNG used to be good for stuff like this but you'll need to wade through a sea of 'txt tlkrs' and horrendous bodykits.

[chester drawers]

Cheers. Was putting it off for the exact reasons you’ve mentioned but I suppose needs must...

[Station]

This site is quality if you own a Vauxhall:

 

http://www.vauxhall-car-parts.co.uk/acatalog/NOVA.html

 

http://www.vauxhall-car-parts.co.uk/aca ... anels.html

[cms206]

Got two replacement rear wheelarch repair sections for the Cavalier from A-Panels up here, quite reasonably priced too and more or less bang on - not sure if there are any branches further north/south though.

[Station]

How are pattern panels made exactly?

[chester drawers]

Thanks for the suggestions gentlemen.

 

Station that site does indeed look interesting. I’d been looking at Hadrian and the like but wondered if anyone did genuine outside of the main dealer network. Ta!

 

Don't know what processes are involved in copying original equipment to produce the moulds / dies for pattern production. I'll bet some folk on here do, but a Nova thread is probably of limited interest here abouts so it might worth a thread of its own

[CreepingJesus]

Nova thread! Quite liked the old Novas, the last run GSi and SRi models were top fun. Except for my size 10's catching on the oddments shelf under the steering column...

Anyway, working in a Vauxhall parts department in the last years of the Nova, I'm pretty sure we only ever stocked full panels, not the repair sections. Still, Vauxhall dealers are worth a shot, 'cos a fair few will have NOS parts gathering dust at the back of the store - boot lids were always kept in stock.

The best full and part panels, are made on original or official copy bucks, offloaded once the o.e manufacturer has finished with them. The not-so-good ones are often made cheaply (China or E.Europe), due to feedback from requests to the panel sales reps. Thus the common fail panels get made from vague drawings, and fit like a bin lid.

[trigger]

I used to love my Nova, I loved the way you could feel the steering UJ rubbing on your left foot as you turned corners.

 

My first car was a 1.2 Swing, i had to fit a pair of rear arches and plate the bottom of the door, Luckily being brown meant that you couldn't see most of the rust.

 

 

I also had this lttle hunny, it was a 1.2 SXi model, i sold my Escort Eclipse for this, God know what i was doing.

 

[Negative Creep]

I think they're well on the way of getting back to the 'interesting' level again since most of the scrotes have moved on. Had a 1.0 Swing as my first car, crashed it after 6 weeks and it was always breaking down. I don't have a single photo of it either, as my Mum double exposed every picture I took

[face]

I've had two - an original 1985 Sport with standard twin 40's then a white 1.4SR. Both were tough, reliable and great fun - the SR more than the Sport, as that was very very 'all-or-nothing' and did about 20mpg tops.

I stuck a K&N on the SR and it was a real hoot to slag about in.

Cracking little motors, I'd deffo have another - the only thing I never liked was the plunge style reverse selection, meaning quick changes always felt a little clumsy as you had vertical movement on the lever.

[Cavcraft]

I think they're well on the way of getting back to the 'interesting' level again since most of the scrotes have moved on.

Absolutely. Most now seem to prefer more subtle mod's which must be applauded.

Dickheads with 'Kingdom' bodykits and neons now seem to have moved onto (and past) Saxos and the like so there's more chance of finding a decent Nova these days.

[Guest]

I like Novas, they're just a nice sharp-edged shape and you can't really lose with those. Plus some of them have eggcrate grilles.

 

This stunner turns up on my estate sometimes:

[Lord Sterling]

My cousin used to have one of these. It was a J-reg Red Nova Swing(?) which he eventually ruined with worse-than chav mods. Stupid wheels that didnt fit properly and stuck out too much, bodged up side skirts (That were supposed to be for an Escort) and badly painted bumpers (In a vein attempt to make it look like a GSi)

 

It was affectionately known as the ‘lady-bird’ (without black spots) or Noddy's car. I remember when we were coming back from Tamworth, we got overtaken by everything, including a girl in a modded Astra who kept trying to race him. One of those times I knew we should have taken my (then) Rover 827Si

 

It went a long time ago after pressure from his then other-half. He's now got a Corsa GSi.