Vauxhall Nova 1.6 GTE

Can't beat a Vauxhall Nova for cheapnesss - get one, add Astra gte brakes fit 2.0 8v on twin 40 carbs add a kent cam and lower it and get ready for some cheap thrills might not be able to have a thousand brake like other motors but I know people that hav gone to Vauxhalls because they're cheap to buy.

The Vauxhall Nova just the best, you can't get better. They're cheap, also cheap to run and so cool to rag round the bendy roads. I love Novas

Well my mate had a Vauxhall Nova 1.6 GTE before I evan had my first car. He bought the car 6 years ago when he was 18 for about £800 quid which was cheap at that time. The car had no rust and the engine was fine, it had been in a little knock at the front as the bonet was slightly out of alighnment. He keeped telling me how fast his nova gte was. I never had a car at the time. He took me for a drive in the gte and it was very quick, it was standerd but at that time I had never been in a small car that went so fast and handled so well. After insurance probs the nova gte stayed on his drive for 4 years rusting and rotting away. We than decided to try and bring it back to life. The engine took 1 week to eventualy start. We replaced the manifold, spark plugs, leads, head gasket, backbox, brake pads, bushes welded and replaced all the rotten arches and m.o.t d it. This took 1 year. After that the nova was back on the road. It never really fet the same as before as it still needed a service. My 1.6 16v tigra was a lot quicker than the nova at the time. I managed 114mph out of the gte and it wouldn't have anymore. My mate reckond he got 130mph when he first bought it. The nova was sold 1 year after with a set of new 15inch rims. I later bought a black gsi which was by far better than the older gte. The dash is better. So are the seats and the engine is better. Novas are still good cars and so people slag them off but most of the time the people who slag them off are the ones that get beat by them. I have seen 1.4 sris with 120bhp leave astra gsis mk3s all the way to 70mph. 154bhp gsis beat standard r5 turbos civic 1.6 vtis and so on. A standerd nova gsi is faster than a saxo vtr. The 2.0 option or turbod 2.0 option is the best choice if you want a nova for speed. A 180bhp nova will see of wrx's easy.

Vauxhall Nova 1.6 GTE's are good cars, mine used to be a 1.2 shed that I bought of my mate for £30! Now its got full bodykit, MG ZR yellow respay and a 1.6 gte lump. Get a nova for a first car, do it up, drive it like a nutter then sell it!

Recipe for fun: add 16v brakes from an astra GTE, upgrade suspension, skim the head, add a cam and exhaust manifold + full system + panel filter = 125bhp / 845kgs * 1000 = 148bhp per ton. = 0-60 7.1, 1/4 mile 15.4secs. This what I have done to my baby 1.6, and she flies. The times are confirmed 0-60 @ TRAX 2003 and 1/4 mile at Santa Pod

Im on my second nova now the first being a 92 j 1.2 flar. That was my first car and had great times in it. I sold that 1 with 129000 miles on the clock and it never let me down. I now own a j 92 gsi thats is in great condition for its year, its been loved by the other people thats owned it and its getting the same from me. Yes the rides a bit hard unless u get better springs and its not going to win many beauty contests, but its a great car to drive, handles good, and its a lot of fun for the cash. With a few cheep engine mods it goes fast. People go on "my GTI's" or "my turbos a lot better thats yours" chose the novas gona be around a lot longer yet and that can only be good .

nova = a granny pop down the road to tesco shopper. if u want decent handling and performance from a 70s/80s car theres so much better - Golfs, 205GTIs, any ford (especially rear wheel drive - handbrake turns are rubbish, powersliding is so much more fun :P ;)

10/10 for practicability - easy to get shopping bags in.

10/10 value for money - change from a fiver? not bad, you can always turn it into scrap metal.

A fun little car to drive, which is fun to chuck around the twisty roads. Dont expect to beat many cars in it tho in standard form. Needs a couple of extra BHP to keep up with modern day equivalents. With the mods i had plus cam, head work, performance manifold and tailored chip to mods, might see around 150bhp.