Photographs Courtesy Of Ade Brannan Photography
Words Courtesy Of Dave McKechnie
1988… a year that brought us the original Die Hard movie, saw Kylie dominating the charts with “I Should Be So Lucky” and Euro 88 was being held in West Germany when West Germany was still a thing.
It was also the year that Vauxhall introduced their new flagship Nova GTE to the UK market, complete with bespoke bodykit, 14” 3 spoke alloys and a class leading 116mph top speed thanks largely to its 100bhp 1598cc 8 valve engine, complete with multi-point fuel injection.
Add a kerb weight of 834kgs, improved handling and road manners and the Nova GTE instantly found success, probably helped by the late, great Colin McRae also piloting his Nova Sport towards overall success in the 1988 Scottish Rally Championship.
This was 33 years ago and for some, that’ll be hard to comprehend, possibly because you weren’t even born but for others, you’ll be sat with fond memories and wondering where the past three decades went whilst wishing Doc Brown and his DeLorean were available to hire just to go back, even for a day.
One such man with fond memories of such times is 44 year old John MacIver from Falkirk. John, like many of us, was just a lad back in ‘88 and grew up as a big fan of all things Vauxhall and understandably so.
The 80’s and 90’s were good times for Vauxhall in the UK thanks to a successful motorsport campaign and a pretty exciting and accessible range of performance models which, as was quickly discovered, were not only cheap to buy but also cheap and easy to modify.
Several years later with a new driving license in one hand and an apprentice wage in the other, John bought his first Nova. Like many, the performance models were out of touch but an early model Club provided the perfect base with which to start honing his skills both behind the wheel and with the spanners.
Unfortunately after a lot of time and effort, somebody decided they liked the Club too and it disappeared into the night, never to be seen again. Fortunately, this didn’t deter John and over the next two decades, he became a bit of a serial car builder and is no stranger to quick Vauxhalls, his current daily driver being a Mk4 Astra GSi with 350bhp. As you do.
But what of the Nova? “It was about six years ago” remembers John “I was sat on Facebook and a semi-stripped GTE shell popped up fairly locally and that was that really”. Fortunately for John, the Nova had been an aborted project but crucially it was solid in all the right places and most importantly, it was a genuine GTE.
“It was pretty much ideal for me as I wanted to build one from the ground up and it had to be a GTE. I’d always wanted one and this was the ideal opportunity to build one to my exact spec”.
Safely back at John’s garage, the shell was stripped and the not too inconsiderable task of sourcing parts began. “Parts came from all over via contacts in the Vauxhall scene - I picked up new wings in Liverpool and a new boot-lid but the scary bits were the gutter trims!” laughs John. Sourced new from America (nope, we can’t suss it out either!) they made their way to John via Greece and were eye wateringly expensive. “It was at that point I decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right” laughs John “This one was for me, I always loved the GTE and so decided to go all in and build the best example I could but with a few improvements”
As far as how the car drives, the original Nova GTE was good but improvements can always be made however John was again clear in his objectives. “I wanted the car to remain fairly standard but just dialled up slightly - almost like it had been done from the factory” and so with the shell now back, built up and with the engine and gearbox in place John added the tried and tested Bilstein B14 coilovers along with Rally Design poly bushes and adjustable top mounts.
Obviously if you’re doing it, you’re doing it right so all the suspension parts were sent off to be media blasted and powder coated. Wilwood 4 pot calipers with relatively modest 280mm discs are a great touch and make a huge difference to the stopping power.
The rear drums remain and all the better for it as whilst rear discs add more stopping power, they can become a bit overkill when pressing on and so a all new drums, cable, lines and fluid completed the brake work, all of which poke out from behind a set of Speedline Alessio 2 16” alloys which to be honest, on a Nova of this era are the law. T1-R tyres finish things off and help ensure the Nova stays where it’s meant to during spirited drives, which brings us neatly on to one of the most appealing elements of this car.
Given the amount of man hours John has invested in the car and the slightly scary figure it took to build (brand new doors aren’t cheap!) you’d be forgiven for assuming that the Nova sits in a heated garage under a silk car cover, only emerging once a blue moon (or as we call them in Scotland, a sunny day) to go to a show but you’d be wrong. “I never wanted it to be a car I didn’t use” ponders John “Even back at the start when I knew it was escalating, the end goal was always to have something to drive and enjoy - the original GTE was great and a standard, mint example would be nice but I wanted something that was just a wee bit more - just a wee bit sharper, a wee bit quicker and a wee bit more involved.”
A Nova GTE turned up a notch or two and its fare to say, he’s achieved it. Classic Nova styling, flawlessly put together and with a host of chassis and brake upgrades that make this car not only look fantastic, but an utter blast to take down your average Scottish B road. It may be a 33 year old
Vauxhall Fanatics Magazine
John MacIver - Nova GTE
Name: John MacIver
Age: 44
From: Falkirk, Scotland
Occupation: Glazier
Drives: Mk4 Astra GSi Turbo and Nova GTE
Engine:
Rebuilt E16SE, 1568cc, 8v with silicone intake elbow, induction kit, Magnex exhaust
Gearbox:
F13CR 5-speed manual, Black Diamond clutch
Suspension:
Front upper strut brace, Bilstein B14 coilovers, Compbrake alloy top mounts, Rally Design red series poly bushes, all suspension parts powder coated.
Brakes:
Wilwood 4 pot calipers with 280mm discs, standard rear drums, braided lines
Wheels:
16” Speedline Alessio 2 with 195/40/R16 Toyo T1R tyres
Body:
1988 Nova GTE shell with bare shell respray in original Flame Red including engine bay and chassis, bonnet struts, Vauxhall mudflaps, rear wiper removed
Interior:
1988 Nova GTE with Courtenay Sport leather seats, Alpine head-unit and speakers
Said improvements are all very subtle but the lengths John went to to achieve them are impressive.
Three months after buying the car and countless long nights in the garage, all the remedial work and preparation on the shell was complete and it was sent off to be painted inside and out in the original factory Flame Red colour.
A process that took eight labour intensive weeks to complete with the floor, arches and engine bay all receiving new paint. Whilst the car was away, John carried on the mammoth task of sourcing the elusive remaining parts, including sourcing an original 1.6 8v engine. “I picked up a complete engine on the way back from Liverpool and it sat in the garage for weeks but unfortunately it transpired it wasn’t right” John laughs “It’s one of those things but luckily I sourced another and had it fully rebuilt by Cuthills.”
Asked why he didn’t go down the big block or forced induction route, John is pretty adamant that he wanted to build the car true to the original brief. “I’ve built lots of Corsa Turbos, XE’s and so on and I actually had a complete turbo conversion kit for the 8v sat but decided against it. With the small block 8v they just drive much nicer and it’s much more usable too so no, absolutely no regrets about that decision!”
