just been looking at nova's and you can get so much power out of them ! u can easly put a 2.0 redtop in there and be pumping 200bhp quite easly !

as with a polo u need to spend quite a bit of money on tuning them up

i have always been into dubs but mk1 nova's look the dogs and u can get them quite cheap

just wondering what peoples opinions were on them ?

anyone got any photos

bit of a pointless thread but just wanted to share this

Don't do it stick with the polo!

The nova's with redtop's in them are fast but they will not go round corners and will just go through tyres so quickly.

I don't wanna be a badge snob but when you buy a nova you do get a free burberry hat :-D

Love my Novas. I used to rally them about 8yrs ago. I could cry thinking about the clean shells and parts i scrapped/destroyed. My missus is currently running a satin black/carbon fibred 5dr. I love them.

There's a big difference between "u can easly put a 2.0 redtop in there and be pumping 200bhp quite easly" and doing it properly and safely. Just depends how particular you are with your cars and their quality. Just remember tho, in a nova you ARE the cumple zone.

Cue the nova/burberry comparisons

*edit* see above

Edited 22 November, 201015 yr by McCann

i used to own a nova saloon it had a redtop in it and was epically fast it didnt eat tyres that quickly and was immense fun only problem for me was it getting stolen it was recovered but i had to get rid as it was to easy to steal after that

Don't do it stick with the polo!

The nova's with redtop's in them are fast but they will not go round corners and will just go through tyres so quickly.

I don't wanna be a badge snob but when you buy a nova you do get a free burberry hat :-D

lmao i nearlly pissed my self laughing when i read this last part about the burberry hat!, true though plenty of chavs i see in novas lol, IMO though they are very nice cars i love them, just a shame about some of the chavy people that give them a bad name :)

good car or not you will be branded a pikey, same with the saxo and corsa but mostly the nova and why have a nova when you can have a proper car like a polo

The nova's with redtop's in them are fast but they will not go round corners and will just go through tyres so quickly.

Don't know about the tyres but i have seen plenty of Nova's handle very well on the track.

I like Novas. Especially the arch shape on them.

having driven a mates early nova sr (the one with the 1 piece bumper and grill combo, think it even had burberry style interior!) I have to say it whips the arse off the polo coupe s and gt, which i would class as being direct competition with the nova sr. they are a fab little car if you can find one which isnt rotton, or been ruined with a fibreglass novadose bodykit. Theres loads of tuning bits for them, esp the sr and gsi.

The only thing that has ever let the nova down is its street cred and rust issues

They were the must-have car of the early 90s for my mates - three of them had early SR's. A passenger died in one in a crash in Northampton and that near ended their appeal but it wasn't the car's fault,it was T-boned and did quite well considering. The other occupants were far better off.

The owner replaced it with a yellow one and once he'd got his confidence back he showed me how great they handled - especially compared to the Polo and its inferior suspension. Handling isnt all about grip,and my own experience was alot of fun.

But they were all rusting even then. Sills and rear arches of early ones were going in '95 so fifteen years later and you're gonna have to be vigilant.

Quirk of the car has to be the issue if nudging the front corner - Walking pace against a shopping trolley can be enough to put a kink at the top of the front wheel arch on the bubble arched 3dr models.

My mate had a Nova which he put a 1.4 sr engine in. Went like nobodys business. It was cammed and had a few other bits done. He then put a redtop in and we hit 140mph in 4th as he couldnt get the gearstick into 5th. Once we sorted that I have never had so much fun driving a car. They are so light the standard 150bhp redtop throws it up to 100 like its nothing.

BUT! if you do it, get it done properly as the whole front of his car started to twist and split up. Also watch out for the engine you buy as most have been raped

brings back some good memorys. My Nova SR was awesome even though the only sr bit left was the shell, the rest was GTE. Was a super quick little car. Used to upset my mate in his 3i and my other mate in his gt turbo

Cant be many nova's left out there, never mind sr's Get it bought dude

So in summary; we'd all prefer to be driving a Nova!

Get a Nova you slag

^^^ i am keeping the polo i will always have a dub but i would love to get a nova as a full on project !

as g40jon says they would eat a polo ! i wunt mind just finding a 1.6 gte engine as there 90 something bhp

and hobnob488 i no what u mean with the front end but a few strut braces and surport braces welded in should sort that

got to admit as well the the arches look sweet

if i can find one thats pritty solid i might get one next year but i would rather have a mk1 golf over one

just found a 1.4 nova with a 1.6 gte engine 230 £ body work looks a bit :/ but the rest of the car looks ok

cheers for the feedback on them anyway lads

they're getting quite rare now aren't they? I hardly ever see them on the roads anymore. I dread to think what the state of the underneath of a "cheap" one will be in. I remember a mate having one in the early 2000s and the rear strut turrets rusted away and the suspension collapsed.

I think they've gone past the era of being chav cars now, most 18 year olds probably don't know what a vauxhall nova is! Nice ones fetch good money and they are usually the standardish ones, I think all the messed about ones with garish bodykits have long since gone to the scrappy in the sky. Similar with mk2 fiestas too now, especially XR2s, nice ones fetch thousands, cheap ones will be full-on restoration projects.

and hobnob488 i no what u mean with the front end but a few strut braces and surport braces welded in should sort that

Thats the bit he didnt bother with. He had a strut brace and that was all. A few support plates welded in but it didnt help at all. He has just stripped down a 1.2 saloon to put the red top in. Looking forward to getting stuck in with him and doing it.

Dont think just do :) You could end up with a beast

just a shame about some of the chavy people that give them a bad name :)

i see plenty of people that would be classed as 'chavs' driving vw polo's, infact i see them every day, not seen any one like that driving a nova for year's, so i guess polo's are much more chavvy than nova's.

nay imo nova's a great little car's, i drove my mate's 1.4 sr and loved it, they are a rare sight these day's too and a clean looking one with some subtle mod's look so refreshing

btw if you do get one it HAS to be black.

they're getting quite rare now aren't they? I hardly ever see them on the roads anymore. I dread to think what the state of the underneath of a "cheap" one will be in. I remember a mate having one in the early 2000s and the rear strut turrets rusted away and the suspension collapsed.

I think they've gone past the era of being chav cars now, most 18 year olds probably don't know what a vauxhall nova is! Nice ones fetch good money and they are usually the standardish ones, I think all the messed about ones with garish bodykits have long since gone to the scrappy in the sky. Similar with mk2 fiestas too now, especially XR2s, nice ones fetch thousands, cheap ones will be full-on restoration projects.

I was thinking the same thing. You don't see them about anymore. I remember when I was at school it was the chavvy car to have. Nowadays they're a bit more

of a classic for the enthusiasts rather than the normal boy racers.

I've not seen a Nova on the road in ages, I was looking on a forum awhile ago. Some amazing examples, perfectly standard.

Not sure if this is myth, but didn't they all sit in the Docks in Spain in water rotting their arses off, while being stored to be shipped?

Me and my dad have a nova project. When it was on the road was one of the most fun cars i have ever been in. Definitely recommended but as already said rust can be a big problem.

If you can find a decent Nova around then buy it. Most of them got wrecked about 8-10 years ago by boy racers.

Novas are the way forward. Pikey racers have moved onto corsa bs,cs and to a lesser extent Ds up here, everytime i see a nova its either an OAP, a smackhead or an enthusiast

I know where there's a nice clean nova GSI for sale with a redtop conversion, it's white with anthracite cav slabs and bumpers, £2500 if anyone's actually keen about getting one, drop me a PM and i'll hook you up.

Novas are the way forward. Pikey racers have moved onto corsa bs,cs and to a lesser extent Ds up here, everytime i see a nova its either an OAP, a smackhead or an enthusiast

All the ones I see are just enthusiasts - so it's all good. Some real clean OEM examples going round.

I had one just like this in the late 90,s Loved it, Mark