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flyin flea
22-09-10, 10:27 PM
Hey kids!

Thought it was about time I stopped bein a lurker and announced my arrival! Well.... I was in PNG 'back in the day'.... until it all went a bit.... er... one make?!

I own this.....
Well, I would post a pic... but aparently I cant... coz Im a n00b!!! So instead, I'll describe it as a black 1992 1.4SRi, with blue/grey interior, grey stripes up the bonnet, and Kingdom front bumper with intercooler set in the mouth!!

The train spotters amongst you will have seen it around for the last decade or so!

It was my daily runner from '96 to '98.... but 60,000miles in two years soon put an end to that! So I bought somethin German and fast for the daily runner, and took the Nova to pieces.

Since that time... its evolved... very slowly, and been blown up lots!!

So stop shouting "BUT WHATS THE FUKIN SPEC" at your screen and read on:
Right then...... full spec list....

Was once a 73bhp 1992 Nova 1.4 SRi. Purchased in 1996 for £5000. I am the second owner!


Engine
1369cc four in line (Whats unfortunate is the number of dopey half wits who see it at a show and immediately say its a 2litre!)
Hybrid T2 turbo conversion
Tough ridden crank (cooked for 3 days to harden it)
Uprated crank shells
Bespoke pistons (1 off set)
Bespoke conrods
Wire ringed head and block
Hi-flow oil pump
Oil cooler
Honda stretch bolts + nuts
Lowered compression ratio (was 10:1 as SRi, now 8:1)
Bored and flowed head (Courtenay CS15 spec)
Switchable anti-lag (yes.... its very offensive on the ears!)
Anti-lag throttle bypass valve (to force it to misfire on anti-lag)
High/low boost control valve
Hi-torque Kent cam
Kent Cam vernier pulley
Increased fuel pressure regulator
Bailey motorsport dump valve
All silicone hoses
K&N filter
One off intercooler set into bottom cross member
2litre injectors (from Vx 2litre engine)
Omex rally engine management system
Standard OE gearbox



Chassis
Weitec fully adjustable coil-overs + adjustable shockers (on all four)
Astra GTE front disk calipers
Full Astra GTE rear disk brake system
Astra GTE handbrake system
Goodridge braided hoses
EBC Greenstuff pads all round
EBC Spotties disks all round
Dare RLS 15" wheels (for accelerational purposes)
4x Toyo 888 SG (Everyone MUST experience these at least once in their life!)
Seam welded engine bay


Body
Front and rear wings pulled out (yes even more than standard, to allow for the very square shoulders of Toyo 888s!)
Wingmirror mounted repeaters
Kingdom Bigmouth front bumper
Quad Conversions rear bumper + lights
BAT Motorsport sideskirts
36 pressed vents (NOT done at Cool (small) Louvres)
Painted black, grey stripes sprayed on and laquer coated

All paint and bodywork carried out by Phil Bramhall @ Bramhalls Autobodies, Sheffield.

Best 1/4 mile.... never had a good one... either due to rain, driver error, mechanical failure.... and mostly... I work at weekends, kinda puts a big damper on goin to drag strips.

Best 0-60: 5.99 @ Trax 2009. And this was with a good 0.5 second of wheel spin!! Then I killed it! Had a good start, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.... 4th.... 4th.... where the chuffin ell if 4th? ....ah... here we go... clutch..... then it squealed like a trapped pig.... Id put it in second!! Kinda pissed it off a bit! When I stopped there was a big cloud of steam and water flowing from it!

Damage:
-Smashed all piano keys in rocker box!
-valves hit two pistons

It is presently still in pieces. The car in my garage, and the engine in a number of boxes at Noble Motorsport in Chesterfield.




FAQ:
Why dont you put a 2litre/LET in?
BORING! In 1999 when I started EVERY Nova in Max/Revs had a 2litre lump in. Just like a clitoris, every **** has one. (At the time)



Why the silly big vents and massive intercooler up front?
Heat, too much of it! The original conversion was done by Courtenay. They put the cooler in front of the water rad. Result was the rad fan was running all time.... even when I was driving.

I had to do two things...
-get the charge temp down = big intercooler set up front near floor
-cool the engine bay = BIG vents in bonnet

The vents were actually copied from a 40year old 3litre Austen Healey!! At the time, everyone else was fitting Scooby/Monterey vents!! Just like a cli.....


Why dont you put 16s on it?
Small wheels = good acceleration.... which is what I want!



Unfortunately, thanks to our wonderful weather, we dont get summers like when I was a lad... so I dont get change to have it out to play much (when its workin). When I do.... its like a road legal go kart. And just like 1996, it still attracts a lot of attention from HM Police!!

Plug
22-09-10, 10:31 PM
sounds like a good motor mate :thumb:

Get 15 non spammed posts up as i would like to see it aswell as read about it :)

peester
22-09-10, 10:33 PM
welcome to png, and turbo ownership lol..
hope you get it fixed, back up and running

simonm
22-09-10, 10:36 PM
id like to see this to get posting so we can see

flyin flea
22-09-10, 10:42 PM
"Let us not go to Camelot, it is a silly place!"

The 15 post rule is a bit bonkers IMO, BUT I can understand why its there.... there again, there are ways the scripts could be adapted to stop spamists!

Anyhow... Im sure someone on here will have photos of it. OR.... if someone PMs me I can send you some links to pics..... which you could post for me!

AlexW
22-09-10, 11:03 PM
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/DSC_0479.jpg
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/DSC_0478.jpg
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/DSC_0476.jpg
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/DSC_0473.jpg
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/DSC_0482.jpg
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/DSC_0491.jpg
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/DSC_0492.jpg
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/DSC_0493.jpg

Think i picked the best pics, will do you until you have 15 posts.

Looks nice, engine bay is cool.

craig green
22-09-10, 11:15 PM
welcome. I'm pretty sure I've spotted thaty one at PV or something before.

I've had a couple small block Courtenay turbo's, so know how they go.

flyin flea
22-09-10, 11:28 PM
Its been at many shows since 1996.... and blown up at quite a few too!!

Although the turbo turnip factory did the original conversion, I wanted to take it further, but (TBH) Courtenay just didnt seem interested in wanting to help a customer.

So in about 2003, I took it to Noble Motorsport in Chesterfield. They sorted some new (one off pistons) and a new management system.

When I blew it up last year the bloke who rebuilt the engine was surprised just how much survived being over revved. Moreso that a lot of the engine survived, and very few parts were damaged. Just goes to prove that if you put more money in to engine disaster prevention (as I did), it works. The block didnt burst, the pistons didnt wobble, the conrods didnt bend, the cranks didnt snap, the head & gasket didnt blow.

Sooooo.... the rebuild is now a slow winter project. Having just got married, got a new bathroom to pay for, and the pleasure of a large bill from HMRC in January to look forward to.... Its not neccesarily a financial priority!

Sloth
23-09-10, 09:06 AM
i really want this....

oh and keep the 90's ness of it, lewi007 will be along soon to drool lol

Rickyb
23-09-10, 09:50 AM
looks ok but not a fan of the skirts or rear bumper and lights but it does look cool i its own way.

Mazz
23-09-10, 11:21 AM
aha, I remember seeing this at Traxx 2002!!

Here's the pics i took, and i'm glad to see its still alive'ish!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/mrmazz/Cars/P1010143_Small.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/mrmazz/Cars/P1010145_Small.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/mrmazz/Cars/P1010144_Small.jpg

flyin flea
23-09-10, 11:24 AM
I always did want to keep the original theme and style which is why Ive kept it looking OE in most respects.

As you all no doubt know, SRi's did not come with sideskirts. When I fitted the new front bumper it looked 'naked' without anything down the sides. I obtained some GTE skirts and had them flatted off and painted.... and it still looked ****e! The rest of the car was mint, but the OE skirts were ****e.... they never fitted properly when they left the factory!! Soooo, I had to find something to fill the space without being to 'Jap-look' as everyone else was doin at the time. Then I saw those I Ian Storeys blue thingy.... So off to Liverpool I went to get me some B.A.T. sideskirts.

The rear bumper... yes... er... well.... Id done the front and the middle, and to put the OE bumper back on would just have been well out of place. Plus I wanted to change the rear light clusters. At the time LED lights were just starting to appear (some 8 years after I first put LEDs around the exterior of me mates Nova!!), but by present standards they looked gash, and there were very styles available. Again, didnt want something everyone else had, and didnt want something outrageous. So I went for the Quad-Conversions rear end kit. "Some say......" it's based on an XR2 bumper! Whadever! It fits with the side skirts, and they fit with the front.


Rob.... sorry.... you cant have it! Its mine! :-p Ive built it since '99. It is loony to drive, yet it can also be a complete dog!!

Numerous people have tried to buy it from me... but it's just not for sale. It's too much fun! (When it works!)

flyin flea
23-09-10, 11:29 AM
Trax 2002.... sh1t the bed!! See all those bent fins on the intercooler.... that was a lump of truck tyre bouncing across the A1 (North Yorkshire) as I was smoking some rep in his supposedly fast Merc! Went with a right bang!

I have a wee vid from 2002 stashed around somewhere.... I'll try n dig it out....

Connor
23-09-10, 11:41 AM
Awesome machine, soo 90's i love it

Mazz
23-09-10, 11:42 AM
Aye, do!

I-spy an old school PNG sticker in the rear window too :)

Stuart
23-09-10, 11:51 AM
velly nice.

Any idea on the power output when its running? (nobel RR print out will be fine lol)

Whats the device in the back with brake lines running to it?

Sloth
23-09-10, 11:53 AM
its the brake bias valve, looks likk a mk2 astra one....

flyin flea
23-09-10, 12:13 PM
Oh yeah... I forgot HP#!! Was 165 at the flywheel before I blew it up! Dunno if Ive got a dyno graph kickin around.

Yes... the thing in the boot is a brake bias valve. To be precise, from a Mk4 Astra Estate. With the rear disks on the back end was a bit.... 'twitchy'! So I put that on.... then half a day of driving around slamming the brakes on and tweakin it!!


Anyhow....
Give your neurons a poke with this..... (The trainspotters amongst you will spot a number of Novas plus owners!)

.....and at this point you expect to see a hyperlink to a video! But I still cant post links.... which is moderately frustratin!! Sooo... you'll find the vid in the same directory as all those images above. Its an open directory listing, the vid is at the bottom. Id be grateful if someone else could post it.


** !!!FLASHING WARNING!!! Safe for work too! (IMO)

*** I have more where that came from!

**** Yes, I edited it!

Connor
23-09-10, 12:27 PM
http://www.yorkshirecruise.com/fftv/nova/traxlg.mpg
There you go mate :thumb:

Stuart
23-09-10, 12:29 PM
165 at the fly, very good.

Edd
23-09-10, 12:46 PM
Very nice I indeed, no really a fan of the rear end tbh

I need to get rebuilding my 1300 turbo engine me thinks lol

Dayle_
23-09-10, 09:58 PM
Cars looking good mate, and CNUT sticker that brings back some old memories! Was that cozzie chris's escort in one of the pics from trax?

flyin flea
23-09-10, 10:30 PM
Eyup Dayle! Yeah... Cossies Escort.... As seen in the vid posted above too. Mrs Cossie drives it now... he's given it up!

dj_wudgey
24-09-10, 02:37 PM
ive seen this around the shows aswell not a major fan off the looks but its a cool engine set up mate!