1986 Vauxhall Nova Saloon

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Just over a year ago, I purchased a rather tidy little Vauxhall Nova.
I thought I should share what I've done with you guys.

Here are some pics of the car when I bought it.

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My original plan was to keep the car as close to standard as possible as it is very rare to see a standard, good condition Nova, let alone a 2 door saloon!

That plan was going fine until December 2015...

At the beginning of December 2015 I was crashed into whilst stationary at a set of traffic lights! (Pics of damage below)






What should have been a simple "third party at fault claim" turned into an absolute nightmare...

After having an engineer come out to assess the damage I was informed that the Nova was written off as a 'Category B' after it was involved in an accident on 20/01/2003. I was left confused and devastated by this news. I was adamant that this must be some sort of mistake so I began to investigate...

I found out from my insurer that it was More Than (RSA) that had written the vehicle off in 2003, I called them over and over until I finally got through to someone that could access previous total loss files. The very helpful guy accessed The Motor Insurance Anti Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR) and confirmed that the vehicle had been involved in an accident on 20/01/2003. He also confirmed that the damage was assessed on 27/01/2003. He then went onto to confirm that (wait for it, this is where things get even more sketchy) it was recorded as a Category B write off on 20/07/2004. Wait, what?!

So basically, it took them 18 months to decide that it was a write off? I don't think so...

The very helpful guy gave me the details of the team leader of the total loss department at More Than. I was told I might be able to write and request further information about the file as he couldn't find any details on the computer system.

Thinking I would have no chance of getting help from an insurance company I wasn't even paying, I thought I should do some investigating of my own.

I contacted all accident repair and restoration companies within 15 miles of the previous owners address (the old boy never travelled more than 15 miles per journey according to his journals). None had any record of the vehicle being in for repairs.

I then contacted the local police department with an incident reference I had found scribbled in between accident information. They had no details other than it was a reported indecent that required no attendance by the local police.

After weeks and weeks of hitting dead ends, I was losing the will with the Nova and was starting to look at Mk1 Jettas on Car and Classic...

My last chance was to write a letter to the team leader at More Than's total loss department with all the information/proof I had and beg for them to look into it...

On 15/03/2016 I received my letter back in the post, at first I thought they were returning my correspondence with a note saying they couldn't/wouldn't help me. But the compliment slip read: "Dear Mr Martin. We are terribly sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. It is quite clearly a mistake. We have removed the entry from MIAFTR."

I was frozen with shock and excitement. I fought an insurance company and won!

This whole ordeal has been an absolute nightmare. But I can safely say I'm never letting go of my lovely little Nova...

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So whilst the original claim to get my Nova repaired was still going through, I decided it wasn't in my nature to keep a car standard and it was time to start modifying...

Now, everyone I know with a Nova was offering me the usual ideas to "drop a redtop (C20XE) in it".
I enjoy trundling along at a regular speed in my very reliable 1.2 Nova, so I decided to do something I've always wanted to see someone else do with their Nova.

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Before I could go on, it was time to learn how to effectively deal with the rust i'd found whilst poking around with a screw driver...

For now, I've just welded a plate in, I have full repair panels to go in when I have the rear panel repaired.

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I was told to leave the paint to cure for a week or so and then use a rotary polisher to bring out a decent finish. So I had a go at that too. Not a bad result really

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Next up, the slightly obnoxious side to me wanted to build a better looking sub box. So I did.

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Then all the bits arrived from Germany that I needed to start my main feature

So I got stuck in and started to figure out what goes where...

Tank and compressor mounted and various wiring and relays fitted.


In the boot (only just!)

[Mehowski]

well this looks promising!

love novas man you can get them done perfectly if you know what you want, there was a creme saloon floating about on stance | works a couple of months, maybe a year ago now hard to say haha

you insurance scenario seemed like a plot from a tv show or something haha, glad you're cracking on with the car and keen to see more

[Botedly]

Just realised I had not updated this thread in a very long time.
I have now completed the initial air ride build, the car now looks like this: