Rubbish Cars We Love: Vauxhall Nova – Means ‘Doesn’t Go’ in Spanish. Figures.
This car really is rubbish. The biggest little bucket of bolts ever to grace the urban causeway, and yet we love it. Just.
The Vauxhall Nova appeared all brand new and sparkly in 1983, though it’s much better known as a second-hand jalopy, often parked somewhere near an all-night newsagent.
It’s sad, as once upon a time the Nova was driven by kids cool enough to own a pair of British Knights, but now it’s almost exclusively favoured by the ‘mod car’ crowd. Those apprentice chavs who can’t seem to wait to crash their stolen widowmakers into a bottle bank round Tesco’s car park.
The mod (modified) car scene has swept over Britain’s quiet cul de sac’s like a toxic plague. It’s also referred to as cruising, which makes us feel quite old at hecklerspray, because cruising meant something quite different in ‘our day’. It was illegal back then too.
The Nova is undeniably king chav in mod world (the ‘Novadose’). Frequently adorned with a vast array of skirts, spoilers and Day-Glo stickers, the once semi-proud Nova name has been reduced to laughing stock amongst anybody old enough to vote.
We’ll ignore this fact for now and just concentrate on the good old days. Let’s call them the early-nineties. Reservoir Dogs had just done the rounds, U Sure Do continued to rule the clubs, and we were all still embarrassed to buy condoms.
If you owned a Nova back in the day you had proper street cred. If you owned an SR model in red you could have had sex with anybody you wanted. Only a Peugeot 205 XS got you more action.
The Nova was an unsettling driving experience. Set low down, it felt as though someone had torn the seats out and replaced them with gym mats. The gear change belonged in a forklift truck, and let’s not forget the interior design. The 1.2 litre’s (much used) wine cloth and matching carpets evoked the feeling of a 1970’s Ford Mustang, but without giving the driver any sense of self worth whatsoever.
The brakes were never happy to stop unless an announcement was made a good two minutes before a junction. It didn’t matter though. Bang, crash, wallop, you got a ding and you travelled on regardless. The Nova’s brisk acceleration came in handy on such occasions, so long as you kept all on-board passengers to a bare minimum. One, preferably.
Normally in this feature we like to dig out some claims to fame about our chosen car. Something akin to "Ewan McGregor drove a Nova around the set of The Island", or "Johnny Depp bought a Nova for his wife’s birthday". But to be brutally honest, we’ve come up a bit short this time. Unless you consider Sean Bean apparently driving one before he got the Lord of the Rings gig to be in any way impressive. No, thought not.
It’s not a famous car, the Nova. It’s not loved by anyone much – even its owners if truth be told. There are a few websites around dedicated to attaching exhaust pipes bigger than barrels to its rear end, but they’re all run by people who can’t leave the country without it infringing on their ASBO. That doesn’t count as love, more like misguided glorification.
If any car’s reputation was ever built on rose-tinted memories it’s the Nova. Memories and those three spoke hubcaps that can still look okay in the right light, or strategically placed shadow.
If we had more cash than our £2.78 lunch money we would definitely buy a Vauxhall Nova. If only to enjoy burning out the clutch on the way to the scrapyard – assuming of course its after-market New Delhi tyres don’t just evacuate the road on the first wet roundabout.
Get yourselves on the other side of this link to see what eBay’s got to offer on the Nova front.
Our choice for the week is a faded blue 1992 model with service history and electric windows. It starts at just £50.00. Though don’t blame us if it ends up killing you.
If you’re still struggling to take the plunge, then this little tale of misery won’t help seal the deal…
In 1993 a woman from Pontefract only managed to park her Vauxhall Nova after eight hours and fourteen minutes of trying. This is despite having a whole 63ft to manoeuvre, which is roughly equivalent to three parking bays. She also crashed into two lampposts, a shop front and two adjoining cars in the process.
She was absolutely a crap driver, but if you want to discover just how little help she got from the Nova you’ll have to go buy one and find out.
[story by Chris Laverty]
Well its a couple of months now since i gingerly put the nova on the road and its running fine As you say Bo Lee ,theyre getting to be quite rare and the chavs have moved on.Ive only seen one apart from the one used by my newsagent while his Volvo was being repaired…even he says he cant bring himself to part with it as its simple and reliable…so for now its my runabout,its standard apart from a black and silver two tone body,bit of an SRI copy only because I had to replace the sills so I couldnt resist the two tone..it was only intended to be temporary transport while I sorted something but Im getting quite fond of it so Im havin fun at the minute…will let you guys know if I decide to move it on….
Oh haha how misguided and possibly slanderous that post was Chris.
BTW get your facts straight, Nova does not mean “does not go” in spanish, the term “no va” does however.
The vauxhall nova has had its day and in the eyes of most sane, mature, respectable, succesfull, mortage owning, family people, etc etc it does tend to look a bit “chavvy”
But I can asure you that if you fancy being a of the opposite of anything in that list above or perhaps want to experience something I garantee is truly amazing then a mod’d nova is right up your ally.
So cheap to buy and ok to insure. Once you spend a few quid on 2nd hand(or brand new parts) bucket seats…new steering wheel…rip out all the interior…re-upholster the back seats…replace the suspension and swap a few of the standard engine parts from its “bigger” brother nova engines(or just dump a cavvy or calibra engine in it)…you will not believe how much fun it is…
Check out ayrshore.com for a few pics or nova’s im sure plus a whole load of links for performance nova website(check out some of the specs of the seriously tuned nova’s…they will really surprise you just how much can be done to the looks and performance)
Anyway…I just wanted to add my own piece…ive owned a nova for 3 years…mod’d it severely (and been sorely hit by its tendency to rust) but have loved every minute of driving it and will continue to own one(most likely as 2nd car just for weekends or track days…yes i will own a sensible car aswell soon) for a few more years as I have become very attached to the kind of statement I make being seen in it.
So please…before slating it you really should at least arrange a test drive in one…just check papers or internet sites for sellers that will alow a test drive or for track days with a supernova up for a test run(50 or 100 pound usually covers insurance for the test run)
I am a Nova owner and have always been a Nova enthusiast and i would just like to say to all the people that have just disrespected the Nova Get It Right Up Yae the nova is a excellent car Due to its shell shape can be modified in many different way engine bay holds a good size engine for those delicate transplants and interior although standard interior is rather unpleasant to the eye once recovered they are excellent seats. But most of all the driving of a Nova compares to no other in the dry holds like glue in the wet rear end like to slide but this is gd if you like this sort of thing and i must admit i do so once again to those who disrespect the NOVA GET IT RIGHT ROYALLY ROUND YOU AND F**K OFF
NOVA ALWAYS AND FOREVER
i am also a nova owner and totally agree with cambo if u diss the nova get it rite up yi ive got a c20 let engine in it and it will piss all over any modern car!!! THE NOVA PRAYER
THE NOVA PRAYER
Our Father who doesn’t recognise any other car.
NOVA be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Tyres will be done.
On Earth as it is in Cookstown
Give us This Day or SR, SRI, GTE, GSI
And praise our NOVA
for we would KILL those who TRESPASS against us.
and lead us not into TROUBLE
But deliver us from TRAFFIC BRANCH and SPEED TRAPS
For thine is the 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 8v.
forever and ever.
Amen
novas ar jus the tits
I have kept my nova GSI besides still owning a new car, it delivers the fun I need.
I am sad that you slate a great car that helped many conmuters get to work as it was quite affordable in its time and very reliable. i FEEL ITS DONE A LOT FOR THE COUNTRY AND MANY FAMILIES
People who dont have the skill to write new innovative stories or good literature, and just talk shit thats been said before to annoy others and insult randomly should really dissapear…
I say leave the Nova alone to die in peace
Hi Dan,do you still have your nova,if so would you sell it as im looking for one,thanks,James
Well im proud to say i own a Nova (currently a 1.2) and i got to say, even as a 1.2 it out accelerates most other cars on the road, and as for the only ‘chavs’ owning one, well id like to see a ‘chav’ own one and keep one going as there now retro cars and sell for a fair bit of money (for a well looked after one) the only people you will see driving a Nova are enthusiasts who know how to rebuild an engine/modify a car without sticking a stupid homo body kit on it, Nova’s rule, End Of
ah, but did you have the 1.2 merit saloon?
that’s why im hardcore. screw you hatchback freaks. the saloon prepared me for when they put wheels on sheds. still waiting…
Novas are absolutly diabolical. To those that say “my Nova will beat anything round a corner” My saxo VTR will roast any Nova round the bends and on the straights. Sheds on wheels. Just tonight i seen one catch fire, just cruised past in my VTR
saxp VTR for the win
FOR ME THE NOVA MEANS S GREAT LOT .IT HAS GOOD BUILD QUALITY AND OUTDOES ANY FIESTA AT ANY TIME .MINE AT THE MOMENT IS GETTING RESTORED AS IVE JUST FITTED A 1.7 TD ISUZU ENGINE NEARLY THE SAME AS THE ONE IN THE CAVALIER .HOPE I FINISH IT SOON AS SOME SPRAYER JUST WENT AND F**KED IT UP……………
i know some people hate em , but for me i love em , yes i was a boy racer when i was younger, and it was my first ever car the nova sr in white
one thing i havent seen is stick some low profile tyres on em and you have a comfy go-kart, takes corbers like nothing out now.
yes it broke down most mornings and had some truly horrific interior design, but my god i love the shape of it.
i am the proud owner on a fiat panda (1988) so know i have no style whatsoever, but my god i still fantasise about getting another nova and a permanant mechanic to follow me
y’all chat bull my novaz a beast. i hav a 1.2 redtop it kicks out 138bhp. with a top speed of 128mph and 0-60 in 7.6 secs. the nova is the best hatchback eva built . it just depends wot u do to it. i mean iv had a new exaust system n air induction kit along with some 2.0 disk brakes of a monaro to stop it. altogether this car has cost me £1500 but its been well worth it. ive had it for five years now and have been using it for the tracks. but its the best car ive eva had and i wudnt change it.
and a tip for some of you bpi racers. if you hav a nova drop a 1.4ltr astra vxr engine into it. my m8 did it n i dnt no esactly how fast it goes but b4 cristmas he beat a ferrari testerosa on the 1/4 mile at silverstone. NOT BAD FOR A HATCHBACK!!!!
I’ve got a black 4 door saloon (1.2) that was given to me by a friend for free… I probably wouldn’t have chosen it but needed a car, and I have to say it’s great. There’s nothing wrong with it (only done 38,000 when I got it 3 months ago… now 50) and it’s surprisingly nippy. Bit of rust in the wheel arches, and the back of the exhaust came off because of rust the other week (not while I was driving), but it hasn’t let me down yet. Mine doesn’t actually have an interior, just 5 seats – no door trim panels, no glove box – nothing, and can’t be bothered to buy one atm, I can’t complain about the interior looking crap! It really is great fun to drive too! My only complaint is that the chavs all seem to want to break into – they’ve damaged a door and ripped the lock off the boot. Bastards! Got a new lock set though