The Nova 1.3 Sport
January 25th 1985 saw the first public viewing of the Nova Sport. A car that makes modern day special editions look either over priced, or tame. Most specials these days are either a standard car painted in a different colour, or a base model with a few extra option boxes ticked – to make you feel you’re getting something special, and of course help it sell for a little more. Could you imagine walking into a Vauxhall dealer today and being able to buy a Corsa 1.6 turbo “S” but with a VXR interior, VXR engine, and a set of steel wheels and wheel trims? No? The 80’s were a little bit different!
The first cars were ordered in a batch of 4 and were registered around a month later in February 1985. These were used for road test reviews in the media, as well as being displayed to the public at various events. We believe these to be B747VBM – B750VBM as these are the earliest registered Sports we are aware of. The first customer cars then followed from around March onwards.
They landed in the UK from the factory in Spain as white base model Novas, with nothing other than the Daytona Check SR interior to make it stand out at the docks. Looking closer you’d see the silver 5×13 SR style steel wheels and the 1.3 8 valve 13SB engine and 5 speed gearbox from the SR. According to reliable sources, the cars were fitted with their 3M/Irmscher decal set when they arrived at the docks and were then shipped to their designated dealers as something, at least in look, that resembled the Nova Sport we recognise today. This is where the fun starts!
The cars then arrived at the dealerships ready to be PDI’d and the GM Dealer Sport Kit fitted. Despite the belief that the pack was in the boot, the Sport pack was actually sent direct to the dealer from Irmscher UK. The box contained the Ashley & Weber goodies, along with Installation Instructions and 2 important car stickers, which we’ll mention later.
Once in the hands of the dealer workshop, the Sport was really born. The mechanic un-bolted the original single Pierburg carb, inlet manifold, throttle cable, alternator brackets and various pipes and fittings which made up the SR engine set up, and put them to one side. Following the installation instructions closely, the mechanic was able to put together one of the best Airfix kits he could possibly imagine. The Weber 40’s were pre-set and bolted to the Irmscher inlet manifold which fitted straight onto the 1.3 SR cylinder head. The alternators on each car were dropped using specially made lowering brackets so the carbs could fit on and not foul the alternator. Final adjustments such as longer hoses, and a different throttle cable, were all part of the Sport Kit, and helped adapt the original car to fit it’s new engine modifications.
The dealer then had the carbs set up by their mechanics, and again following the instructions they set the car just so, for it to be a stable road car, but have the performance to win Rallies! In with the kit were 2 stickers for the car, one was for the engine bay – to show which way the cold/warm air intake hose should be for Summer & Winter driving, the other was a sticker for the dashboard beside the headlight switch – to both notify the owner of a free 2,000 mile carb reset and notify the starting procedure for Warm/Cold engines.
Also in with the Sport Pack was the distinctive red 2″ Ashley rear silencer. The original 1.3 item just wasn’t up to the job with the newly fitted Weber 40’s. It is also another important, and usually overlooked part that’s fitted to the Sport, that does make a difference over the standard exhaust.
Most Sport’s were registered as Nova Base, although some dealers registered them as Nova SR due to them having the 1.3 engine, 5 speed gearbox, Recaro interior and SR 6 dial clocks. As such, some owners over the years have since changed their registration document to Nova Sport.
Despite years of people believing that the Sport was not available with any factory fitted options, in recent years some Sport’s have turned up with factory options fitted to them. So far we have found cars with factory fitted radios, and pop up sunroofs (not the dealer fitted type). A lot of cars also had various dealer fitted options, like passenger mirror and rear seat belts (yes they were an add on then!).
Once the PDI was complete and any selected accessories had been fitted, the Nova Sport was ready to be picked up by it’s lucky new owner. Most cars left the dealers with the Weber 40’s fitted, but from speaking to people who were in the dealer network at the time, there were a couple of cars that left with the single Pierburg carb still fitted. It seems even back then, when petrol prices were a fraction of today’s prices, that the Webers were just that little too thirsty for some!
