Anyone seen or know anything about these nova .. They are lookers
Anyone seen or know anything about these nova .. They are lookers
Both Sterlings based on the background skyline. You're probably better posting the question on the Sterling site forum to be sure of an answer.
Mick
Club Nova Member
MicksRedNova2 may take longer than the original!!
Yes, both Sterlings as Mick says. The two-tone blue one belonged to California Custom Car co-founder Cecil Robertson. The picture is from a photo-shoot for the 1976 edition of Motor Trend magazine (I have a copy). The San Francisco skyline is visible from across the bay, probably somewhere south of Oakland (that's the Oakland bridge in the background, and the factory was located in nearby San Lorenzo).
Cecil's car had a number of custom features, including pop-up headlights, Opel GT side markers, a modified 240Z (I think) front bumper and a Mazda RX-3 rotary engine. That's why there is a second radiator duct above the sill intake.
I think the black car may also have been something to do with the factory, but Rick (Letterman7) is the man to ask!
Lauren
only Pythagoras can save me now!
Don't know the black one, but the other one is indeed Cecils car. This will kill you, but it's not two tone blue. But it's actually white (with custom paint of course). This car has surfaced in the US late last year, but sadly, someone had thought to strip the car down, sand it back, and then, like most, leave it to be finished by a succession of owners. Many custom parts are now lost. Still has the rotor in it though.
There's a discussion about the car over on the Sterling site. On about page 4 there's a scan of an article from a VW magazine with a fair amount of info on Cecils car. Worth checking out.
I have been following that thread and it is so a case of, "why the hell can't people leave well enough alone"! It was dam near perfect but some bright spark thought they could improve on it and as is so often the case, it ends up ruined!
The opinions expressed in my posts may not be made in a sound mind and should be taken in the spirit intended, Jack Daniels is fine. Autism isn't something you get or can be 'cured of', it is the way we are wired, differently.
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That'll polish out no problem Peter, with some TLC, or that's what an eBay advert for it might say.
Club Nova Member
MicksRedNova2 may take longer than the original!!
A bit of g3, jobs a gooden
Phi 1.618 is more universal than pi 3.142
Hard work done, put that in the ebay ad as well.
Wow - I'm digging the rotary engine. It's tiny! You can see why it was such a popular fitment for VW kits - plenty of RX-2s and RX-3s around over there. Only the RX-7 was sold in any numbers in the UK, which meant you always had to pay a premium for the engine. As a consequence not many rotaries made it into kit cars over here
I've just looked at the cover of Motor Trend again; all the pictures were taken in the half-light, so the light areas look blue. But yes, I guess it could be white...
Lauren
only Pythagoras can save me now!
There is quite a bit missing from the engine but, yes, they are small.
The opinions expressed in my posts may not be made in a sound mind and should be taken in the spirit intended, Jack Daniels is fine. Autism isn't something you get or can be 'cured of', it is the way we are wired, differently.
http://ukhozi.page.tl