You can build one for peanuts mate

 

It will be faster than a tuned GTE/GSI and more importantly be a lot cheaper. People look down on the 2.0 8V though and hence they are shunned and not worth much either as bare engines or built cars. It's overshadowed by the 16V but it's actually a decent engine in it's own right.

 

I built one once, before I'd even heard of MIG. It's much much easier, you can even get the 1.2 exhaust to mate to a SEH Cavalier exhaust, and it's the same diameter.
No clutch cable outlet to bend, no heater matrix pipe to cut, you don't need as much alternator clearance (I got away with trimming the pulley down).

If you look hard enough, you'll get a 2.0 Cav for free. I consider any multivalve engine more gragile than an 8v, so if budget is limited, and the learnign curve steep, stick a 20XE a few years down the line after you've sussed the 2.0 8v.

 

first 2.0 nova we had was an SEH'd gte. it was superb. so much fun and bloody quick to. still retains some handling aswell which is a bonus if you dont intend to spend lots on setting it up properly

rodgerq

 

Looked over one of these at the weekend.

Running a just ran in rebuilt Cav sri 130bhp lump, with a fitted cam, and exhaust, filter. So mildly tuned.

Seemed to go ok, comparsion to my old mans carbed nova it seemed tame but thats more due to the sound id suppose and the fact that nova probably has 40bhp on the 8v one.

All in all it seems not a bad engine, its setup for whatever is to go in it next so could even spend some time LET'ing it but i would rather get to grips with the 2.0 8v power etc first than rediculously torque steer myself to an early grave lol

Cheers for the replys

Rob

 

i sold my 2.0 8v nova, Shell was mint Engine was rebuilt 5k ago

Sold it with no Tax or Mot for £900

 

Was that the Red one based on a 1.3sr? £900 for any nova without tax and mot is a very good price!

Comparitavly to other cars what was it like, and would you say there worthwhile.

Also, is there any difference in insurance costs?

Cheers

Rob

 

Insurance wasnt to bad as i'm 21

It was mint no rust underneath or in arhces

Only thing it needed was a new drivers door and a passenger wing, they were bent when i bought the car. didnt see point in replacing as i built it for the track.

It used to go very well could beat most cars on the road off the mark, would run out of steam at about 130.

But who has the balls to do 130+ in a nova for along time
My engine had had a full rebuild but any 8v with moonmiles would be a bundle of fun.

Total cost of car Was £650 and £230 of that was the engine parts

Cheap Fun Budget car

 

Sounds interesting.

Cheers for that Tim. As for 130+ Ive never touched a ton in any car ive owned and im sure a few would have managed it, so thats not a great issue really.

Seems like they may be worthwhile afterall lol

Rob

 

My personal opinion is that if you are going to go to the trouble of swapping the engine you might as well go for the XE, you can pick them up cheap enough these days. A mate of mine bought a Nova 2.0 8V on carbs and whilst it was a nice car my XE Nova leaves it standing.

I don't think it's a case of people looking down on the 8V but it is true that they are overshadowed by the 16V but with very good reason.

 

a good xe costs £300 where a decent se,seh can be had for £30 !! thats a good chunk of money to get all the bits ud need.
it depends what car youve had before. if uve been driving about in a 1.2 or 1.4 etc a 2.0 8v is gonna seem awesome.a 2.0 8v nova would propably be as fast as an astra gte 16v and would be easy to get it to handle better.im in the middle of putting a v6 in my astra gte 8v. its still got the engine in and its drivable so if youre close you can come and have a go. its completly stripped except the front seats and dash so is a bit lighter.would give you a good idea of how quick a 2.0 8v nova would be

 

a good xe costs £300

If you look around you can easily pick a good condition XE up for half that price. Look at it this way, how much would it cost to get the 8V up to the 16V perfomance level?

 

you dont need to get up to the xe performance levels. an 8v nova is gonna be fast and kick the arse of most hot hatches.
as regards for a decent xe for £150 ???? show me on for that price that can be heard running and comes with history . i dont sell xe's for less than £250 but i also dont sell them without history or ones that i cant let the customer hear running.

 

you dont need to get up to the xe performance levels. an 8v nova is gonna be fast and kick the arse of most hot hatches.
as regards for a decent xe for £150 ???? show me on for that price that can be heard running and comes with history . i dont sell xe's for less than £250 but i also dont sell them without history or ones that i cant let the customer hear running.

sorry off topic but what do you do? own a brakers yard? if so you pm me.

 

Mates 2.0 8V did a 15.6 1/4 mile back in 2004, then he put a 16V in which did a 13.8.

The only real difference between 8V and 16V conversion is the price of the engine.
The 8V's can be very quick, especially if you start of with a SEH and tune that !

Check http://www.corsa-novatuning.nl/ for info on conversions

 

8v is the under dog. IMO the XE is too heavy to handle nicely. Ive helped to build an XE Nova & although its now sold, my mate said he'd never do a big block Nova again because the XE weighs so much.

A 2.0 8v on the other hand strikes a good balance over extra power & weight.

Me? Ive got a turbo'd 1600. Best of both worlds.

 

There is barely any weight difference between the 2.0 8V and 16V, they are both big block, in fact the same block casting.

The 8V advantage is it's ease of installation, ease of working on, cheapness of sourcing engine and cheapness of parts.

 

there's a nice 2.0 8V turbo thats creeping around with big BHP.

 

I'm thinking that a 1.3 SR could be made to go round corners faster than a 2.0 8V or 16V ? Something about the weight????

 

There is barely any weight difference between the 2.0 8V and 16V, they are both big block, in fact the same block casting.

The 8V advantage is it's ease of installation, ease of working on, cheapness of sourcing engine and cheapness of parts.

An extra 45 kilos unlesss Im mistaken ??

i fail to see how a 2.0 8v can be too much heavier than the 1.6 GTe lump.

Compare with the 2.0XE & I have driven them, they just power on in a straight line under power.

 

45 kg is a pretty massive difference.

I fail to see how two engines with the same block can weigh that much different, the difference must be in the head and ancilliaries, and being able to lift them myself I very much doubt there is 45 kg difference between them as I probably wouldn't be able to lift it at all LOL, 10-15 maybe but not 45.

Are you sure you aren't quoting the difference between the small block 1.6 and big block 2.0 XE?

 

there are enough GM parts in scrapyards to tune your 8v to xe level for less than 100 punds. u can find lexmaul ex.manifolds and all other cool stuff for 8v almoust for free.

 

Must be some good scrap yards in Estonia.

Richie. I couldnt say if Im right or not about the engine weight. I know ive read that figure somewhere.
The issue is XE Nova's are 10 a penny & usually a result of people preferring the look of the rocker cover over that of an 8v. Sure 20XEs are great engines but if you ask me they shouldnt be anywhere near a Nova, except in LET form for testing tyre tread!

 

After having owned both (2 of each), its XE all the way, people used to go fo rthe 8v as I remember when XE's used to fetch £800/900 pounds and 8v would cost £300, I know quite a few people who've done the 8v route, tuning etc only to ditch it a year later for an XE, then another year later for a LET.

Do it once and just fit the XE, its worth it for the extra £200 it will cost. Never noticed any difference in weight isues myself, its only the head that is different, a few kg's at most.
Novas arent too bad at 130+ providing its a decentish smooth bit of road, and the rest of the car is up to the job.

Most Xe's and 8v's are tired or have clocked up the miles nowadays, just look for the common suspects and if on a budget, a quick servive and dont fix what ain't broke aproach should suffice.

 

there are enough GM parts in scrapyards to tune your 8v to xe level for less than 100 punds. u can find lexmaul ex.manifolds and all other cool stuff for 8v almoust for free.

Still don't understand why you would fit an 8V only to spend the same as the difference would be for a 16V to take it up to XE power. You might as well start with that power and work from there. Weight difference is negligable.

Small block engines will retain the Nova's handling characteristics but if you are going to upgrade the engine you should upgrade the brakes and suspension to suit anyway thus addressing any handling issues caused by extra weight.

The initial cost of the 8V is attractive I agree but in the long run I see it as a false economy.

As said above your scrapyards sound much better than the UK ones!