Vauxhall Nova 1.4 SR Review

Overall Rating

Great all round

Needs Bigger Breaks Standard what were vauxhall thinking using the same as the 1.0 models.

Ok i can tell your having some Arguments here. i own a vauxhall nova 1.4sr mark 2 on a J plate it has standard 5 speed gearbox a straight through stainless pipe Twin 40 webers and a GTE Break conversion. Ive had an indicated 132mph @6500 rpm at santapod and the certs to prove it. and for all you ford lovers it beats xr2i's xr31's without even thinking. Im pushing 135bhp out of the standard block only mods are the weber carbs and exhaust I also have an HNC in Automotive engineering......

Members' Comments onTiPsEyBoY's Review

• turboJOE on 2nd Mar 2004

  okay then HNC boy, tell me in engineering terms exactly how a 1.4 engine on carbs can be as powerful as a 1.6 turbocharged engine (RS turbo, 130bhp) with multi point injection? ive been workin on cars since I was 14 and know from experience that twin 40s are\'nt the equal of an injection system, and without a hell of a lot of trickery your average nova sr cant keep up with an xr3i, xr2, or any xr for that matter. oh, and how fast did you get to up the pod? that\'s superbike territory, that speed.

• dave hitchen on 6th Apr 2004

  Did you get 132mph going down a hill? lmao

• maxpower on 4th Jun 2004

  I've had 3 xr3i's and two nova 1.4sr's and I hate to say this as I have an sr now but the xr3's I had would have the edge on all sr's I owened. The sr I have now has webster twin 40's with a k&n filter and full s.s janspeed, so no excuse....the hairdresser car wins unfortunatly...respect. Saying that, I also had a nova 1.5turbo diesel that seriously kicked both cars arses until the timing belt went, guess I should have checked the service record ,eh....wot a great car that was. If you get the chance of buying one, buy it.

• morts on 23rd Jun 2004

  135bhp from a 1.4 is only possible with head work cams and twin dcoes and then you'd be lucky to get that!!
  
  I like the way you compare your tuned to car to standard ford cars!!
  
  I'll go and stick a set of forties on my XR2 and we'll see what happens!
  
  There are a lot of people claiming a lot of stuff which just isn't possible!
  
  Was that a rolling road figure? What was the wheel output? rolling road comapanies have a habit of adding huge amounts for transmission loses.
  
  A standard injection will not out do a twin DCOE setup. Injection systems are limted unless upgraded and early ones can't even handle an air filter change.
  
  A 1600cvh with a ported head, cvh33 cam and twin dcoes will make 135bhp so how the hell did you do it with a 1400 standard engine and twin carbs!!!

• cocain387 on 5th Jul 2004

  Nah nah nah well done geezer, me an my mates run a sort of vauxhall appreciation club and we jus wanna say 'done well'. All 6 of us have owned at least 4 nova's, ranging from 1.2 stars to 1.6 GTEs and GSIs and I don't care what anyone says about thier tappy xr2s and thier 'mechanically sound' xr3is. I had a 1.4 luxe, J reg, only engine mod was a 1.6 carb and a 1.6 fuel system stolen from a GTE. It went like crazy, I swear down I beat 2 mazda rx7s at the same time. You don't have to believe me, I'm sure you don't, but both drivers thought I had a 2 litre 16 valve conversion in a 5 door! Done well geezer from the nova boys.

• johnygee2 on 16th Sep 2004

  I can see there are loads of arguments here, apart from all of the above mentioned points on the limitations of a 1.482 hp engine upgraded with twin 40's only as a suspect claim of 135hp
  look at the claimed Santapod speed 132mph! I went santa pod last augsut and a guy called stuart ran 123 in a 330 hp green mini!
  nuff said eh!

• morts on 16th Sep 2004

  You are also forgetting about the driver just because someone has got an RX7 doesn't mean they know how to drive it!
  
  The SR is light with a 1.4 engine you can get a decent output and the gearing is pretty low so yes they are quick but if you yourself drove an RX7 and recorded the time and then i'm pretty sure it would be quicker than the nova.
  
  Just accept the fact that the nova does what it does well and your input as a driver is just as much responsible for your wins as the car itself.
  
  As for tappy XR2s and 3s. mine is 20 years old and doesn't tap. Only people who don't look after their CVH or accept the fact that the camshaft is best changed every couple of years have to put up with tap. I've heard plenty of tappy vauxhalls ;) and they have no excuse they don't have to endure the large valve spring loading in the CVH.

• jamiegoscote on 28th Nov 2004

  Are these top speeds being quoted done with pro timing gear or are you going by the dials? Because I cant see how a 1.4 sr is going to do those kinds of speeds. I had a 1600 escort and the speedo said I was doin 120 mph but I bet I wasnt even at 115.

• gazzareth on 13th May 2005

  Nice one mate i like your attitude on the nova iv got a k-reg 1.4 sr cavalier 1.6 bottom end and a 1.3SR head powerflow stainless straight through exhaust rally cross cam webber 40s front and rear astra gsi brake conversion and told to be running between 145 - 150bhp i thought it was a bit to much. what do you reckon i wanna get it rolling roaded to find out if it's 100%.

• GsiFan on 15th Jun 2005

  115-120 bhp mate, look everyone, as morts said the nova does what it can do well, but nothing more. i know what they're like; i have one.
  
  my 1400 sr might only have a bolt on K&N and full performance exhaust including manifold, but its quick. im not quoting figures coz i dont know any, but i know its quick enough to scare the average driver in quite a few cars. also i know that when my speedo says 120 im probably doing around 110, which is about what the book says for an sr anyway

• Purplehayz868 on 19th Oct 2005

  I have a nova 1.4sr MK2, it has done 62k it has a piper cam, carb, 4 branch and stainless system and i can tell you that your 1.4sr has not done 130mph and runnin 135bhp with jus carbs, as for 1. the gearbox will only go to about 116mph as i have the same gearbox on mine and i have a digi dash and 2. the carbs will only take it up to about 90 - 95bhp, so come on when you say all this rubbish bout doin 130mph on a 1.4 sr standard with carbs your just making novas and their drivers look like idiots

• novalovingned on 3rd Dec 2005

  well just to get it straight 1.4sr's are quick. my mate had his of the clock at 130. I didn't believe him until he showed me. I think people (ticky fordy boyz) forget that novas are flimzy and consist of like nothing, so the right little tweeks will do a lot of differance, so i dont want to read any more how that boy is speaking nonsense because he is not!!!!!!
  mon the nova boys

• morts on 3rd Jan 2006

  Nope. I know nothing about headflow, The 5 elements of an engine cycle, the differences between multivalve and 2 valve heads and their effects, torque and power curves, gear ratios, final drive, power to weight ratio, wheel sizes and tyres sizes, suspension, the direness of standard equipment speedos, the effciency of carbs, port matching, blueprinting, The average standard of head and engine work, cam timing and the effects of duration and lift, etc, etc i could go on all day. A nova is virtually the same weight as the various MK2 fiesta models and other small cars of that period.