Nova Sport Servicing & Parts
Owning such a rare little car can sometimes make it difficult to locate even the simplest of parts for general maintenance. Below we have covered some of the typical consumables that you may need to keep your Nova Sport in tip top condition. If you have anymore information that this section of the website would benefit from please contact us.
Air Filter
The original paper air filter was used from an Opel Manta and has a part number of 93152974. These filters may be in short supply with Vauxhall but they are widely available from eBay if you type the part number into the search.
If you prefer a bit of an upgrade for your Air box then K&N do a filter. The filter that works is a 33-2001 and is available from around £40.
Fan Belt
When fitting the twin 40s and the lowering bracket you will find the fan belt will not fit. To resolve this Vauxhall used a different belt. The Sport Pack listed it as a ST300 (ST standing for Steve Thompson giving reference to Steve Thompson cars and Irmscher UK who made the Sport Pack up), and would have been available from Irmscher UK. The belt used was a 10mm x 850mm and is again widely available. For that extra little detail, to our knowledge the belt supplied in the Sport Pack was made by Ferodo.
Once you’ve got you car up and running fully then you may want to look at some aspects to make it a little bit more lively. Below we have listed a few well known tips to help you.
Throttle Cable
The original throttle cable is not long enough to fit the twin carb linkage and the part number in the installation instructions is no longer valid. However you can use a mk1 Astra 1300 cable.
Ignition Timing:
Most people building Nova Sports today, whether they are original restoration cars or slightly modified will still be running the original Delco Ignition system. Whether the car is running the original Weber 40 DCOE Carbs or another pair of Weber 40 DCOE Carbs, with or without vacuum advance, most will have the vacuum side of things blanked off and the timing manually advanced to 32 Degrees and set at 4,000 RPM for peak performance. This will allow the timing to be set and you can do away with the vacuum advance which can sometimes fail on these. After all, these cars are made for rallying and it’s good to have them running at their peak. Even if they are driven around on a trailer.
Carburetor Jetting
To compliment your Sports ignition timing and improved air flow, if you’ve opted for the K&N filter mentioned above you may wish to improve the fueling. Below is a simple guide to the jetting of the carbs. We’ve put the standard road settings along side the improved competition settings so you can see the changes. This information is borrowed from the suppliers of the Sport Pack set up and competition drivers of the Sport from the Group A 1300 Rally Days:
Idle Jet – Road: 59 F 21 – Competition: 52 F 26
Main Jet – Road: 100 – Competition: 125
Air – Road: 160 – Competition: 170
Pump – Road: 40 – Competition: 40
Emulsion Tube – Road: F47 – Competition: F16
Choke – Road: 28mm/28mm – Competition: 28mm/28mm
Disclaimer: The information is supplied above in good faith. We accept no responsibility for damage to you engine from following the information above.
