Nova Kit Car - is it practical as a daily driver? Should you get one?

[@tahustvedt]

This body design is so cool that it deserves a chassis upgrade. It looks like a pretty cohesive design. Most kit cars have really amateurish lines but this doesn't.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@tahustvedt I totally agreed as far as design goes, it was far ahead of anything kit wise during its time which I guess is why it still looks so good now and gets so much attention

[@skaughtmc6591]

Full Custom Garage (a car show on MotorTrend in the US) is currently airing a “Sportscar Edition” season, where he’s hacked one of these apart and put the roof on a Boxster. One interesting thing he’s done to avoid the possibility of getting trapped inside, is he’s made cups that the rear hydraulics sit in but are not bolted to. So in an emergency you can just push the roof up.

[@ZEUS-eg8jw]

Oké, that's a good idea for laying upside down in a ditch ... Oh no, wait ... 😮!!

[@sidewayssam]

My mate had one in the 80,s and we used to go out in all the time, great fun, very cool, and girls loved it. dead easy to work on

[@garthmccarthy4911]

I have one and I love it to bits. 2l golf motor. under dash electric air-com and some other mod cons. Just subed because of this video

[@custombodyrepair]

@@garthmccarthy4911 might have to pick your brains sometime on the air con mate, it’s something we are planning for this one 👍

[@alasdair4161]

We had them in Australia where they were called the Purvis Eureka. My neighbour had one and I always drooled over it whenever he brought it out. I also remember thinking if I ever managed to find one I'd transplant a Porsche engine into it, but then maybe some extra ballast up front to counter the inverted wing airfoil effect. Happy Days.

[@philtucker1224]

@@alasdair4161 yes a couple of sacks of cement in the frunk worked well..😁

[@MikeSchmidt-qt7ls]

Such great memories from my childhood seeing kits cars at car shows in the 70s

[@alistairclyne9362]

Excellent video guys … looking forward to following the work you’re planning for the interior and body 👍

[@custombodyrepair]

Thanks Alistair 👍

[@mtliam999]

There is one of these in the town where I live. Love the style and it looks amazing. These are kinda one of my fever dream cars

[@custombodyrepair]

@@mtliam999 they are definitely something to aspire to if you like them, may surprise you what they can be purchased for to be honest though

[@russellhammond4373]

I love the positives and negatives for a kit car project. Great stuff

[@NeilWinnington-rv7sv]

I love the Nova. Still looks amazing, especially when you remember it was designed in 1972. Not all kit cars are this old or beetle based. My Quantum Saloon rock solid, central locking, electric windows. Brilliant heater. Done 2 road trips to Sweden. Fun video. Remember though it pre-dates the Countach

[@charleigh195]

Fab channel I’ve been waiting for years for someone to do a nova on KZbin

[@custombodyrepair]

@@charleigh195 well, good news is, you should see plenty done to this one over the coming months 👍

[@AC-id5ow]

Reminds me of one of those pedal-boats you rent on a pond for an hour. Novelty fun.

[@dice268926]

1 of my dream cars 🚗

[@ianjones4071]

Hi they made it to Australia in 70s 80s, there name here was pervis eureka, vw,and small ford motors, cracking machines, cheers mate 👍

[@Stuntman175]

One of these with a fully built 2332cc engine has to be either a complete hoot or absolutely terrifying going down the road!

[@DM-wp9vq]

Super easy to mod. Body kit that creates front and rear downforce, plus skirts for inline stability. Drop in a dual dual carb VW 2200 in there, get about 200-320hp. Put in electric AC, and Pwr Steering with rack and pinion steering rack. Do a massive NVH makeover for rattles and such. Clean up the profile for less drag.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@DM-wp9vq a lot of great ideas here mate 👍

[@DM-wp9vq]

@@custombodyrepair Thanks! I've been trying to find a good one for years to mod. There was another VW based kit from that era that I can't remember the name of. It's similar to your car, but it has clear acrylic gullwing doors & the interior is like a 70's version of a shag carpeted space ship & a boat. I think it's called a Stirling GT? it was gonna be my first car, but I hesitated & it disappeared.

[@philtucker1224]

I remember these launching back in the 70s !

[@tonycharlton4296]

Me too.

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

The Nova was an awesome car. Nova was the car to take over. Loved it in the 70’s, still love it. My next favourite was the Pegasus with V12 jag engine and gearbox Thanks for sharing ❤

[@custombodyrepair]

Thankyou for watching and for commenting, we appreciate it 😃

[@ATVHOLICS]

My mate had a Nova & I had a Geep - happy days!

[@sdc8547]

My upgrades would start with a more powerful engine and a power steering system. It's well worth keeping such a fantastic machine on the road. It's unique. 😘

[@charleigh195]

Always wanted a Nova when I was younger but could never find a good one still looks fab

[@custombodyrepair]

@@charleigh195 they can be tricky to find in a decent condition that’s for sure, we’ve had some right heaps over the years but usually improved them drastically before moving them on

[@Dudeface167]

You know what would be really awesome... to put a Goldwing GL1800 flat 6 in one of these.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@Dudeface167 that’s a mint idea 👌👍

[@ClassicTrialsChannel]

A guy round the corner from my family home had 1 on these back in the day.

[@TheDeadman328]

I so miss this car

[@custombodyrepair]

I know Carl, but maybe it being on the road is a bit of a comfort mate

[@MisterHughes]

It's moment of glory was in a car chase in the film "Condorman" starring "Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em"s Michael Crawford, being chased down a mountain pass by a bunch of black Porsche 991s. About the only good bit in the film 😅

[@sidewayssam]

What I forgot to say, I have another mate that probably owns the fastest Nova in the world, drags it with vw action at Santa pod, it is in essence a spaceframe with a nova body. It is all black and very cool.

[@jumpstart9473]

perhaps a 911 engine or even a subaru boxer . cool vid

[@custombodyrepair]

@@jumpstart9473 it’s certainly something we’ve considered, doing an engine swap, as you quite rightly point out the boxer engines are a great way to go as it’s already one in there and we know they’ll fit, oddly enough we do have a Subaru that’s not up to much at the moment, have to admit it would be nice having something liquid cooled and a tad more reliable for the longer journeys etc

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

​@@custombodyrepair I remember seeing one back in my Stoneligh NKC show days with an Alpha Sud or GT boxer engine in...

[@sidewayssam]

Great vid.

[@Mr_Spegru]

Kit cars and philosophy? Wow!

[@custombodyrepair]

@@Mr_Spegru had to happen at some point 🤣

[@freman007]

You can a mod VW flat fours to have some decent performance numbers.

[@01menyou]

That was the most accurate and decent summary possible. I'd certainly employ you two. The Nova is a dream car, nothing more. But it also has a very real risk set that comes with not being able to get the roof open. Well described. Please stop eating McDonald's shite. You deserve better.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@01menyou what a great comment, although the odd McDonald’s breakfast is a nice treat lol

[@01menyou]

@custombodyrepair I'm interested in following this rebuild. I think there's, at least, three must dos. 1 Air-con, got to incorporate that, essential. Electric powered, maybe? 2 Delete the sunroof, it's useless as a means of escape, and air-con would mean you don't need it. Pop-up sunroofs are an ugly rash on classic cars. 3 Side window opening. These are the most realistic escape points if the car toppled onto its roof. Will need a bit of thinking about and detail, but a means to get out in an emergency and have an opening for drive through, etc, without the roof raising is essential.

[@custombodyrepair]

⁠@@01menyouthe sunroof is the emergency escape hatch so the majority of owners keep them or fit them if they don’t have one already. Opening side windows in on the to do list for this car. As for air con, with an aircooled beetle engine it’s possible but awkward and extremely expensive, but it’s something we have on the plan to investigate because it would make the driving experience a million times better

[@01menyou]

@custombodyrepair I'm not sure how the car would land and the sunroof be accessible to get out of. It would need a very lucky angle. Certainly, on its roof, you'd be trapped in there? Any other angle would definitely offer a side window if they were engineered to be knocked out from the inside? Out of interest, has anyone actually rescued themselves from a Nova using the sunroof?

[@custombodyrepair]

@@01menyou apparently, the hydraulic pump is powerful enough to lift the car in the event of a roll over, not that I ever plan to test that.

[@cestusfr]

Ferrari 512 BB and Luigi Colani had a kit car

[@OwhyeeVdub]

It needs a 2110cc with a W125, 9:1 and duel 44idf carbs. That thing is sick

[@MuShinnen]

I'd buy one just to sink a lot of time in it. Probably cut it in half to widen it a couple of inches. 3D printers mean it'd be easy to do body mock ups relatively cheaply for some updates to the nose and tail. The possibilities with something like this really are endless.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@MuShinnen most definitely mate, with modern technology it certainly opens up a huge amount of customisation options

[@FairladyS130]

Is this based on an old air cooled VW? Those crude days had gone I thought.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@FairladyS130 yes bud it’s on an old beetle chassis 👍

[@sweenytodd202]

I had a Nova then after that I got a Eagle SS this had gull wing doors.This was a rip off of the Nova.The Eagle SS was s car you could drive day to day which I did I had mine for about 5yrs it had a 1800 Mexico ford engine twin 45 Weber carbs .rev to 9000 revs steel crank etc

[@stejer211]

Only two minutes in and I have horrible back pain from looking at the driving position. And is there a bottom escape hatch, in case you end up on the roof?

[@custombodyrepair]

@@stejer211 on this particular one we’ll be putting side opening windows in but supposedly the roof pump is powerful enough to lift the entire car in the event it rolls over

[@stejer211]

@@custombodyrepair That would make for an interesting episode LOL Rent a crane with slings, roll the car on some mattresses and break all the YT viewing records.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@stejer211 if the windscreens weren’t so expensive I’d be willing to give it a go 🤣

[@bayvanman]

The canopy either stays up or jams when closed. The latter isn't fun when there's an engine/fuel fire...not fun at all.

[@gacattack1234]

Styling is good and could be made better. Id go ev conversion with air suspension with all mod cons inside.

[@thatcheapguy525]

from your review, it seems the Nova is all about its looks. the worrying part is having an unstable front end on a car that you would surely want enjoy by driving it hard. maybe an enthusiast with some decent knowledge of aero and chassis dynamics could fix that?

[@custombodyrepair]

@@thatcheapguy525 you can absolutely counter weight the front end but they can suffer from droop if not reinforced so it can be an easy one to solve if you take some time to figure it out 👍

[@scottcorcoran6514]

They used to be built just down the road from me. They were based outta Mirfield near Dewsbury. They sold the rights to someone down south. They moved into selling 4x4's. The dealer was called Ellams of Mirfield Research the Condorman movie from Disney. It was built by the manufacturer in Mirfield. They're a cool car pity they were based on a asthmatic Beetle 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@stevenfox7378]

They had a showroom in Ravensthorpe and I used to look through the window dreaming of owning one oneday. Great looking design and subbed to see what you can improve on this 70s classic. 😊

[@RustedPistons]

If you were selling this, how much would you want? Asking for a mate 😂

[@custombodyrepair]

@@RustedPistons 🤣🤣 tell your mate I’ve no idea lol not really thought about selling it lol

[@fredmercury1314]

Is it a kit car or is it a VW Beetle in uncomfortable shoes?

[@thecontinuingadventureso-qs5zm]

That is crying out for an engine, gearbox, and rear running gear from a MR2 : - )

[@SimonRockman]

Ripe for an electric conversion.

[@dice268926]

I have an idea for it if you're interested in

[@custombodyrepair]

@@dice268926 fire away mate, what are you thinking ?

[@dice268926]

@@custombodyrepair love the NACA ducts idea. I'd make the doors Gullwing with roll down windows, and possibly a Rose Royce style Skyliner roof for the night when the hood comes up. And, a front bumper skirt to reduce lift at higher speeds

[@custombodyrepair]

@@dice268926 solid ideas mate and definitely going in the pot for when the work really gets going on it that’s for sure

[@fozzie221]

Hi guys I'm thinking of selling my nova as the work required is beyond me . So if you know anyone that may be interested send me a message. I'm based in Telford Shropshire

[@custombodyrepair]

@@fozzie221 are you a member on the forum ?

[@fozzie221]

@@custombodyrepair what forum ? I'm not very good with tech

[@custombodyrepair]

@@fozzie221 not a problem mate we’ll message you and discuss 👍

[@custombodyrepair]

Can’t find a way to message you mate

[@custombodyrepair]

@@fozzie221 can you get in touch with us bud, can’t seem to find a way to reach you 👍

[@jacobredington1746]

This deserves a k20 swap

[@zAvAvAz]

Maybe if you knew how to build the thing correctly you could drive it correctly everyday all day.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@zAvAvAz your point ?

[@zAvAvAz]

@@custombodyrepair Just saying if it was built properly it could be used daily. That is what i am doing. I am shall make all accomplish. You can do it. I can build it for you. I can build you a super car one off iwth entirely custom engine design. Think golden era super sports cars. Like Stradale 33 alfa romeo. So like a one off design with a sports 2 to 2.7 litre v8. I can make it 300 hp. or more. 800 kg First i place you in a full body mold, then build an armature and cast you in posable foam. Then i build an indestructible seat around the posable full size figure of you. i place light up eyes and give full field range of view and design all of the driving angles and visibility. i design the doors around you and any would be occupants. i begin design of the main doors for easy escape or entry of the vehicle while protecting the top of head. etc. the front and rear sections of the car are break away sub frames that shear off in extreme crash to expel energies from collision into or by vehicle. the main body shall have deep side collision

[@custombodyrepair]

@@zAvAvAz so you are ASSUMING for some reason that we don’t know what we are doing regardless of the fact we have decades of collective experience and own a professional body repair/customisation business 🤷🏼‍♂️ condescending at best is how you’ve come across

[@zAvAvAz]

@@custombodyrepair Well forget about that, just You can do it. You have the knoledge and gumption. Just meant the point that any car can be streetable and daily if you want it to. Nice project and channel. i am sorry. Don't take it to heart. I am salty. With you i am that i am have a covenant of salt.

[@custombodyrepair]

@@zAvAvAz ok bud 👍

[@77raymo]

Purvis eureka?