What to look for - MECHANICAL
Novas are renowned for their reliability and ability to cover huge mileage with little trouble, but there are several areas, which can cause problems mechanically, so this section is here to help you check for common faults:
Engine
The engine is the obvious place to start, so that's covered first
This is particularly of importance on later 1.3 and 1.4 models fitted with the Pierburg 2E3 carb which uses an Automatic choke - this auto choke can stop working, making cold starting and running very difficult.
Cold starting can also be a problem on the GTE and GSi models, if one of the engine temperature sensors is faulty. It will usually only be a problem in severe cold however, so you might not discover any problem until it's the middle of winter!
Even worse, a cam follower may be broken, but that would make a much louder noise!
If a small amount is present and it stops once the engine is running, this usually indicates that the oil-stem valve seals are in need of replacing. A head-gasket kit contains everything to do this job normally, but it's not for the novice, as the head has to come off. Follow the Haynes and you should be ok.
If the smoke is more severe and is present at all times, then the piston rings may be on their way out. You may also hear piston ring chatter at tick-over...a metallic rattling noise from inside the engine...not good and time-consuming and expensive to repair.
This should only be present on very high mileage cars, so if the seller says it's got 90K on the clock, but it blows smoke all the time, then don't believe the mileage!
The Nova engine's bottom end is good for almost 200K if well maintained.
Small amounts of smoke at start up might be present from 90K, but it depends on how the car's been driven...if it's been thrashed, a 50K car might be blowing smoke! Either way, avoid it!
Take note of how the car accelerates and if possible, open it up and give it some revs. If it struggles above 3000rpm, then it indicates some problem such as a faulty carb, or ignition problem, or in the case of the GTE/GSi, maybe a faulty temperature sensor.
The best time of year to buy a car is in the Winter as it's the best time for any engine faults to show them selves...cold, damp weather will show up any carb/injection and ignition faults.
Transmission
Any gearbox whine, either stationary or on the move, indicates wear in the gear box components.
It can be very expensive to have gearbox damage repaired and usually the best option is to source a new box. Either avoid the car, or negotiate a discount on the price.
Check for slippage when accelerating which will indicate a worn clutch.
Check that all gears are easy to engage...if not, it may just be the gear linkage, which is adjusted incorrectly, but it may be worn selector forks. It could just be that the clutch is incorrectly adjusted though....if the biting point is very low, that can make gear engagement difficult.
If possible, jack up the front of the car and check for any wheel movement that shouldn't be there. This test should show up any bearing wear and at the same time, checking for steering rack wear. Turn the wheels whilst jacked up too with the car in neutral, to check for any brake binding caused by seized callipers, or warped disks.
Brakes
On MKI models, the brake callipers have the habit of seizing on their slider sleeves, which stops the calliper from "floating" as it's designed to. This can often be felt as a juddering through the steering under hard braking from high speeds, or even worse, can cause wheel wobble whilst not braking at all!
The calliper pistons can seize too, making the disks get very hot often leading to them warping.
Once they warp, they make an uneven contact with the brake pads so that you get the effect of the brakes coming on, then off many times a second causing the wheel wobble. I had this exact problem on my Antibes when I first bought it and it only became evident at higher speeds...above about 50mph.
I sorted it by fitting new callipers and disks (Cav callipers and GTE vented disks).
If any braking wobble is felt, then negotiate a reduction in the price and see it as a perfect excuse to up-grade to 258x24mm ATE Brakes as found on various high performance Vauxhall models, such as the Astra 16V, MK3 Cav Sri and Calibra.
If the handbrake lever feels loose with little feel as you engage the brakes, the cable is probably jammed. This is a common Nova fault and is caused by the cable being caught in the plastic slider which is mounted to the rear suspension beam.
The slider gets clogged up with dirt and grime and the cable gets jammed. Spray the slider with WD40 or equivalent and give it a good clean. Packing the slider with grease can stop it happening again.
Suspension
It can be difficult to test if the car has been lowered, as it will feel totally different to a standard Nova though. Bouncy suspension could be felt on a car that's been lowered on springs, but still has the original spec. shocks....it's not necessarily a sign of the shocks being worn.
If you can, have a good look at the shock units themselves to check for any obvious signs of leakage. This is easy on hydraulic shocks, but not so on gas ones like on the SR/SRi/GTE/GSi models.
