The classics you love, drive and restore
‘I own five Vauxhall Novas!’
1984 Vauxhall Nova Swing Andrew Oag, Aberdeen
When I was a teenager, the SR Nova and XR3 were the pin-ups for me.
However, I always had a soft spot for the Vauxhall. I was sold on them when I picked up my very first car, which was a 1-litre Nova. They’re brilliant cars – such a great shape that still looks crisp today. Of all the Novas I own, I’ve had my 993cc Nova Swing the longest and have used it the most. It is definitely my favourite. I’ve owned it for nineteen years, with plenty of fond memories of time spent at the wheel. It was a non-runner when I bought it and was about to be scrapped.
I hadn’t done much work on cars until that point, so it was very satisfying to get it back on the road and I did so with help from my dad and his friend, who taught me a lot about how to keep cars going. After that, I wanted the variations. In addition to the Swing, I have an early 1.2 L, a Sport, a 1.3 SR and a Mk2 Spin.
‘I just couldn’t walk away from the deal… I had to buy it!’
I didn’t intend to buy a Cortina but when I saw this, I couldn’t resist it. What’s really clear is that everybody who has owned this car in the past has looked after it. When I went looking for a usable classic, I knew I wanted four doors, a 2-litre petrol engine and a decent sized boot. And at just over five grand, how could I walk away from this?
It’s the run-out ‘Cortina 80’ Crusader model, which Ford sold by the bucketload. 30,000 apparently – Ford’s best-selling special edition ever. Ford threw all the extras on them as they were keen to get rid of them. The Sierra was coming! But we all know what happened next… people were scared of the new car, so they kept asking to buy these things!
I just love it. Put her in second, floor it and she takes off!
‘It’s not very good on the motorway’
It’s a bit of a weekend toy with a four-inch suspension lift, front winch bumper, snorkel, underbody protection, bigger wheels and tyres, plus spotlamps. It goes off road a lot, sometimes on quarry ‘play days’ where it does get stuck sometimes – but not for long, fortunately. The biggest problem is the modern fuel injection system on this engine. It needs lots of revs when what you actually need is low down torque.
It is not very economical and it’s hopeless on the motorway, so we don’t go on there.
‘I bought it without even seeing it!’
I’m the Elf technical advisor for the Riley Motor Club so I have always had a fondness for the marque, particularly the 1.5 – acar I remember fondly as a child. Before this Kestrel, I owned an MG version of the ADO16 and loved it. The Riley isn’t as quick, but it still has that lovely co
