Project Saloon 2 trackday wip

[beeftech]

Anyone remember my Old 2.0 GSi (http://www.novaload.net/forum/viewfeaturecar.php?ref=402)? Well that rotted away in 2002, and was reshelled into a mint G reg 2 door saloon (http://www.novaload.net/forum/showthread.php?t=79805%5BURL=%22http://www.novaload.net/forum/showthread.php?t=79805%5B/URL%22), stock looking as you like, 2.0 8v lowered 40mm with 15" astra 4 SXi rims and 4 pot Willwoods. Well that was sold a couple of years ago as houses became the priority.

Noticed how popular saloons have become on here recently so thought I'd post some pics of a new Track Day project I'm building with a couple of friends.

We bought the car in May 2006 and progress hasn't exactly been breath taking lol, but it's coming on :) One of the cleanest Nova shells I've seen. 24,000 genuine miles from new, 35 service stamps from local dealer, 1 old lady owner, garaged and ?225 all the way from Plymouth.

Plans are usual low weight, well sorted handling and brakes... still undecided on engine...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/standard/frontns.jpg
Time warp to 1984

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/standard/ns.jpg
Just as it left the showroom, shame it's beige lol

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/standard/clocks.jpg
Genuine 24k, with 35 stamps in the service book!

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/standard/nsturret.jpg
All the problem areas are like brand new

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/standard/osfrontpanel.jpg
Gotta love these early shells

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/stripping/3.jpg
Amazing that this car is over 22 years old, note original tyres!

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/stripping/5.jpg
Stripped to a rolling shell, slightest spec of rust taken back to bare metal and primed.

[beeftech]

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/9.jpg
Dicky on the MIG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/shell/4.jpg
Strange mid weld shot of 1st strengthening plate going in

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/6.jpg
Me cleaning up strut tops to weld the plates on

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/r2.jpg
Dicky had little faith in my roll over frames, here you can see the true 2 door proportions

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/r4.jpg
45 degree section in frames allows a controlled roll, tyre there just in case lol

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/r7.jpg
Phil & Dicky looking pleased with themselves

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/r12.jpg
Takes up less space in the garage now lol


As you can see most of the working is the boring stuff so far, shell stripped bare, all the important seams 30% stitch welded, chassis strengthening kit etc etc. Cage is half bolted up. Should have all the welding done in the next couple of weeks.

In case your wondering, we designed and built the roll over frames, they bolt to the front bumper brackets and rear bumper mounting points. 2 man job to tilt it over.

Frames will be for sale in a few weeks once we've finsished with them. If you fancy building your own out of some 40mm box section, my plans are HERE (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/shell/rollover.gif]HERE) Absolute godsend for underside prep and fitting the chassis kit etc.

[Driver]

good start to what looks a good project ;)

is that shell brand spanking new ? it looks it lol

[Will F]

I amn guessing that wont be ready for Llandow matey? ;)

[beeftech]

Well this is the plan! We'll see lol. Depends on what engine route we go down ;)

[jonnova16]

ohhhh i love that a mate of mine is doing something similr for drifting looks great mate keep at it

[vaughanmc]

i love saloons mate -- looks mint already :)

[beeftech]

Quick update from this weekends mincing:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/s1.jpg
Chassis strengthening kit: n/s tie rod plate being fitted

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/s5.jpg
n/s chassis strengthening kit fitted, all seams stitch welded, anti-rust primed and 1st coat of smooth white hammerite :thumb:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/s3.jpg
Chassis strengthening kit: n/s front leg. Sump guard nut plate deliberately upside down ;)

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/s2.jpg
Internal penetration (oo-er) so far, drain holes welded up.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/s4.jpg
Chassis strengthening kit: rear beam pick up plate

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/s6.jpg
Flipped over the other side so all the fun starts again on the o/s :)

[olix99]

looks like a fantastic base to start on, any thoughts on an engine?

i think im going to build myself up some of those rollover bars for doing tyhe underside of my project!

[beeftech]

To be fair, the shell is like the day it left the factory which is a massive head start on this project :thumb:

Original plan for engine was the C16XE and F15, but we haven't 100% ruled out big block with F16 :)

[olix99]

do you REALLY want to wreck this perfect shell by plonking in a big block? lol

Stick with the 16XE or other small block imo :thumb:

[beeftech]

To be honest I was against going big block from the start on handling grounds, but since we've watched Dar and Bottlethroddy's recent footage from Coombe we're not so sure...

My last Saloon ran a 20SEH with the PMC XE front springs and was wicked fast road fun, but never went on track.

[beeftech]

Just found my original user account on NL so switching back to beef@novadose.net

[beef@novadose.net]

That's better, now I don't feel such a newbie :)

[Dave.]

do i spy some ultra rare rear window surrounds?

looks ace mate, the pic of it from the side as stripped makes me want a saloon

[beef@novadose.net]

The black trims around the rear quarter lights? They didn't come off in one piece I'm afraid. They won't fit a 3 door anyway, as I discovered when i tried to fit my GSi windows in my last saloon in 2003. The 3 door glass is longer!

lol, just found the photo too! Lmao at my mates faces lol

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/200%20in%20the%20garage%20014.jpg

I know what you mean about the 2 door shell in the pic with no wheels or suspension, you can really see how well proportioned it is. Makes the 3 door shell look stunted ;)

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/april07/r2.jpg

[Ste L]

That's better, now I don't feel such a newbie :)

well with 26 post's your still basically a newbie lol

[Novasport]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ghl/saloon/images/stripping/3.jpg

Gotta be the mintest chassis leg I've seen fo a long while, apart from mine maybe;)
Looks like its just rolled out of the showroom.
They say the early shells were made of better metal, looks true here!

[Novasport]

To be honest I was against going big block from the start on handling grounds, but since we've watched Dar and Bottlethroddy's recent footage from Coombe we're not so sure...

My last Saloon ran a 20SEH with the PMC XE front springs and was wicked fast road fun, but never went on track.

What about a Z18XE from an Astra/Corsa C? More power but still small block weight:thumb:

[Rallyslag3]

Hi all I am Dicky V.I.P! I am the one in the ps2 pic's doing most of the welding! and the only dirty looking one! lol
I have just found my old logging in details! its been a spell (Rallyslag3.
You last visited: 08-06-06 at 11:55 PM ) but we are all back in force.
after many years of road rallying 3 door novas. I now like my nova's the way I like my girls, with a big ass! lol long live the coupe!

[LUV2XLR8]

I now like my nova's the way I like my girls, with a big ass!

oh i! lol i'll be teling your mrs that lol

cars looking mint mate, fair play

[beef@novadose.net]

Quick update from the last mince... underside stitch welding and chassis strengthening is now complete, along with a second coat of Hammerite.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/1.jpg

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/2.jpg

Car is now back on 4 wheels as a rolling shell. We still haven't decided on what engine is going in, but decided to remove the centre console support bracket and remote housing.

Here's Nick drilling out the spot welds:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/3.jpg

Removed:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/4.jpg

[beef@novadose.net]

Bit of a development on the engine front... What has 1.8 litres, 169bhp and a LSD as standard?

Why, a Honda B18C4 of course:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/v1.jpg

There was much excitement at the prospect of what is basically the old Integra Type R lump, save a pair of cams and inlet manifold. Dubbed 'Nov-R', could the saloon be equally at home at PVS and Japfest?

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/v2.jpg

Toight fit with the standard inlet manifold which would have been changed to a Spoon knock off to save space. Rear gearbox mount also tricky as the steering rack was in the way.

It was all looking good until we realised we wouldn't be able to turn left due to the wide gearbox having about an inch clearance on the 145 tyre currenty fitted :(

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/v3.jpg

There maybe potential with major butchering of the chassis legs and inner wings, and a wide track conversion, but we're getting away from the Project's purpose and budget.

It's all off! Back to the drawing board...

[Ash]

if you could get that in it would be awesome!! Imagine hearing that V-Tec scream and a nova saloon driving round the corner lol

[Driver]

oooo unlucky pal whats going in instead then ?

[beef@novadose.net]

Dunno yet!

[elgan]

you'll fabricate a cheap wide track front yourself.

some corsa lower arms, eccentric top mounts, and some extensions to the steering rack depending how wide it goes.

get on with it

[beef@novadose.net]

Nah GM power it is :)

[Ash]

that narrows it down! any thing from a 3-cly to a V16 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GM_engines)lol

projectsw looking great btw

[beef@novadose.net]

OK, looks like we have an engine... but it did involve buying a Corsa *spit* :)

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/c1.jpg

2000(W) Corsa Sport 1.6 16v, 59k with keys. Looks well looked after, that is until someone did the decent thing, and crashed into the side of it :)

Had to pay ?450, but theres a full interior, alloys, exhaust and Chav rear lights to go on eBay, so I'd be disappointed if we didn't break even and get a free engine out of it :)

We've spent months looking for a tidy C16XE to no avail, so X16XE it is. Hope its the late spec head with the triangular inlet ports ;)

[Matt2107]

Bit of t-cut and that'd polish right out.
Those rear lights make me feel ill. lol

Look forward to more progress.

[beef@novadose.net]

Well there's been a big effort over the last week to get this Corsa stripped and weighed in ASAP.

Lack of locking wheel nut key caused Phil and Dicky to resort to unorthadox engine removal :D

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/c2.jpg

Every last pennys worth of bits has been stripped from this poor Corsa for an eBay frenzy, and we're well on track to get our free engine:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/c3.jpg

Here's the engine and box, the Corsa started and drove, so we know this engine is a good runner. Much rather that than pay hundreds blind for some smokey old lump with unknown mileage.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may07/e1.jpg


So it's back to work on the Nova!

[Will F]

Where's my bonnet?lol

[beef@novadose.net]

Where's my bonnet?lol

Hanging up in the garage ;)

[beef@novadose.net]

July update, the engine bay was ready for paint, and after some deliberating about gun metal grey under here, we finally decided to keep it simple and go Glacier White.

All prepped and ready for paint:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jul07/1.jpg

Here's me applying primer in our makeshift 'booth' in the garage:
3 12'x10' polythene sheets ?2.99
1 borrowed ?50 compressor and spray gun ?0
Primer, Paint, Activator and thinners ?35
1 Corsa radiator fan hooked up to a battery extracting all the overspray: PRICELESS :)
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jul07/2.jpg

Primed:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jul07/3.jpg

1/2 litre of Glacier White later:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jul07/4.jpg

The last photo doesn't really give it any justice, but it's come out really well considering we've never painted before and used a ?50 compressor lol.

I think we'll spray the rest of the car ourselves too, but in a proper booth with proper equipment :)

[rdznova16v]

amazing project mate cant wait for next update:thumb: :thumb:

[shy witness]

lookin well mate


i hope that my bay will look something similar by the end of the winter

[blue_peg_16v]

that shell is awsomely clean,

[Rallyslag3]

Hey thanks for the feed back guy's! blue_peg_16v (http://www.pngclub.com/forum/member.php?u=19552) was that you saloon in total vauxhall this month?

[blue_peg_16v]

yeh it was its in bits on the drive again though as im fitting a turbo lump now

[beef@novadose.net]

Quick update from our latest purchase:

We've been on stop a few weeks waiting for some GTE/GSi bits to materialise. Engine mounts and brackets were the main thing, together with a gear linkage so we can get the new engine and box in, and get the Corsa in car remote fitted. We later plan to fit competition mounts but thats not essential to start with.

Coupled to this we also needed a whole host of other bitties that are not such a priority:
GSi/GTE radiator and hoses
GSi/GTE drive shafts
GSi/GTE anti roll bars
GSi 6 dial clocks
GSi/GTE fuel tank, pump and bracket etc
Mk2 front lights and indicators
GSi front bumper
GSi/GTE top tint windscreen

IF we could find these parts for sale, theres no guarantee of condition and we'd be looking at over ?300 anyway. After being spoilt with a free engine and box, and a couple hundred quid profit from the Corsa, we decided we'd buy a smashed GSi and break it.

We've been checking all the salvage sites and eBay for months to no avail, and last week up popped a J plate GSi on eBay. It was accident damaged with cosmetic repairs, and the MOT man had finally caught up with it with 2 pages of failures. Inner wings, legs, cross member, rear chassis railes etc all too far gone, and the front end wasn't straight anyway so we wouldn't lose any sleep breaking it.

We had budgeted ?300 for a smashed one, but this one was cosmetically mint, and unmolested with intact bumpers, even has the towing eye cover!. Also it had a couple of nice bits to sell on to cover the cost, namely a mint set of 15" Pentalines with brand new Yokos, and a pair of Corbeau recliners, so we were also sorted for subframes :) We'll probably keep the 16v brakes in stock for the saloon.

We upped the buget to ?450 and bid ?455, which is just as well cos we won it at ?454! Quick spin down to Somerset last night, and we returned with this little beauty:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/aug07/gsi3.jpg

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/aug07/gsi2.jpg

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/aug07/gsi4.jpg

Like I said, it's a shame to break this car cos it looks mint in these pics, but rest assured the shell is too far gone.

All unneeded parts will be in the forsale section soon :)

[blue_peg_16v]

shame its that bad underneath looks like a nice motor on the outside

[beef@novadose.net]

Saying that, it doesn't show in the photos but the rear arches are well gone, and the n/s rear quarter is buckled :(

[Will F]

lol
I was bidding on that. Wanted the wheels off it! ;)

[beef@novadose.net]

lol
I was bidding on that. Wanted the wheels off it! ;)

Come and get em then lol

[Rallyslag3]

Beef! You for got to say how well it goes! and that the -40mm drop suspension will be up for sale too!

[Will F]

Come and get em then lol

I was going to, then I saw the price!! ;)

[craig green]

I know that GSi. Its from Bridgy. A right rotter IIRC, though as said, it does look OK in the pics but the last 3 owners have all been gate way tokers, so I wouldnt get too excited about it.

[carls nova sri]

looks great beef anymore updates for us

[beef@novadose.net]

Well the GSi only lasted a week before it was cut into 4 pieces and weighed in. We've made our money back on it all ready, and we still have a couple of hundred pounds worth of bits left, plus the bucket seats and alloys :)

Here are the (now free) parts we needed for Project Saloon, including GSi front bumper, fuel tank and pump, shafts, rad, hoses and fan, clocks, engine mount brackets, linkage etc:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/1.jpg


I've been away on holiday since Trax, so not much done until this weekend when it was finally time to prep and paint the interior.

Boot all finished and prepped:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/2.jpg

Interior finally finsihed, cage out, column and pedals out to allow preppage:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/3.jpg

Prepwork took a full day and was a pig of a job in all the nooks and crannys, and then it was time to build a new 'Booth':
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/4.jpg

Inside "The Booth". We screw a Corsa rad fan to the door frame, hook it up to a starting pack, and then shut the door till theres a foot gap. Does a great extraction job :)
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/5.jpg

Couple of hours, litre of primer and a litre of paint later, and job done :)

Boot (spare wheel stay removed for battery box):
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/6.jpg

Interior:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/7.jpg

Now that that's out of the way, we can start to build the car at last!

[The Simps]

Looking good! Excited to see how this goes as you're probably a month or so ahead of where I am on mine.

[beef@novadose.net]

Just a quick update on all the bitties that are now sitting on the shelf ready to fit:

Latest purchase is a Grp A Bias pedal box from Peter Lloyd Rallying. We've gone for a 0.700 master cylinder for the rear, and 0.625 for the front. We also went for in car adjustable bias, so each of us can set the car up quickly to our personal preference on track. A bargain at ?185 all in:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/b2.jpg

Another bargain back in July was this Quaife Kwikrak rack and pinion, which takes the number of turns lock to lock from 4.1 to 2.5 (iirc). This one came all built up, and minted up with silver paint, having covered only 2000 miles for a rather nice ?75 delivered :). Dicky has since given it some love with new track rods, boots and track rod ends waiting to fit. Also pictured is a Corsa steering rack mounting bracket, which was pillaged off the Sport, before being cleaned up and painted. Unfortunatelyno good. We will also run polyurethane mounting bushes, rather than use the solid ally competition mounts. There's no give at all with the solid bushes, so even the most minor knock on the wheel will damage the rack.
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/b1.jpg

Next up is a steering wheel boss to allow us to run a proper steering wheel. Won this on eBay for a measly ?5!
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/b3.jpg

Avo front coilovers and adjustable rear shocks (springs not pictured), ?210. Forgot all about them as we bought them in June 2006!!!!
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/b4.jpg

All the engine mounting brackets from the GSi have been stripped and painted up - just waiting on the competition engine mounts now, and we can drop the engine in.
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/b5.jpg

We're still not completely convinced on the seat situation. In the meantime we'll run these sliding subframes that were in the GSi, so the position can be easily adjusted for each driver.
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/b6.jpg

Just a quick shot of the interior I took earlier, rear hoop of cage is back in, pedals and brake assembly cleaned up and refitted
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/sept07/b7.jpg

Full project (including the car) is now owing us a grand total of ?1,576.14, so still less than ?400 each :D

Next job: brake lines.

[beef@novadose.net]

Well I've decided to move house again, and Dicky has just moved into his house so the Saloon has again taken a back seat. Brake and fuel lines is the next big job. We've also been looking at GrpA alloy competition engine mounts, and finally decided on Chris Astley's product. We recently sold the Yokos off the GSI's pentalines for ?100, so there's enough in the kitty for the mounts, so will be ordering them asap.

Meanwhile, Gareth SE4 rings me with a set of 15" Cesaro wheels for sale. Been looking for some for a while, but they're like gold dust all of a sudden, unless you wanna pay top dollar ;) We've already got a set of 15" Astra 4 SXi rims and the 15" Pentalines, but Dicky and I popped down next day to have a sniff anyway:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/oct07/cesaros.jpg

Not in the best of nick, usual kerbing and corrosion, and a 10mm section of rim missing on one! However we'd be having them painting anyway, so no point spending a lot. Couldn't say no for just ?50! Cheers Gar ;)

Plan was to store them until we needed them, but with moving house on the cards, I decided to get them refurbed straight away. The boys in Swansea Valley tyre centre whipped off the knackered tyres Cav size anyway), and I dropped them down to resident Alloy guru Mr Steve G60 of Alloy Polishing Services. We had a chat about colour, and decided on white initially. The day after we decided on gun metal, and found a nice BMW colour on Novaload, so called Steve to let him know. Just as well as he was just about to paint them!

Had them back a few days later, and what can I say, his work never ceases to amaze me!

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/oct07/c1.jpg

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/oct07/c2.jpg

I know it's a cliche, but the wheels are like brand new, and look absolutely stunning in this colour. I couldn't tell which one has had the rim repair! The photos don't do them justice, but in the sunlight there's a pearl effect with purples and greens. Very happy with them, and a great price - Cheers Steve!

[krobinson]

Cant believe i've not checked this thread in months. Good to see you back in the Nova world beef, awesome project :D

KEith

[BIGS]

got to say im loving the saloon. Cant wait till i get one

[The Simps]

got to say im loving the saloon. Cant wait till i get one

They're Coupes not saloons and they're the future!

[Saloony]

Be running by the weekend then!! lol

[beef@novadose.net]

lol

Good thing is that moving house means garage clear out this weekend. Theres still a couple hundred quids worth of bits from the Corsa and GSi we broke sitting there, so the kitty will be replenished :)

[beef@novadose.net]

Cheeky little impulse buy this morning.... '96 Corsa LS

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/nov07/corsa2.jpg

We've got all the parts to repair it from the Corsa we broke in the garage. We'll all chip in and spend a day repairing and minting it up, should net us a couple hundered quid for the project's kitty :) Gets rid of more crap from the garage too! Love it.

[beef@novadose.net]

Well it didn't take long to repair the Corsa, and it's come up really well after Dicky minted it up. We've put a new MOT on it, and it's gotta be ?695 all day long :)

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/nov07/corsa.jpg

With the Corsa gone, we quickly filled up the empty space in the garage with a Nova Road Rally car. It only came from down the road, and we gave a grand for it as an unfinished project. The shell has seen better days, but there's a few nice new bits on it that never made it onto to the road.

Highlights include a new Quaife diff, Safety Devices 6pt roll cage, pair of Cobra buckets, 2 sets of Koni adjustable suspension, new Magnex stainless steel exhaust, two 4 branch manifolds, disc'd rear beam etc.

We've started stripping it already:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/nov07/rally.jpg

Plan is (as usual) to make the grand back selling the bits we don't need and end up with a free Quaife diff and bucket seats :)

[Plug]

lol nice looking saloon you got there

[chubbston]

very nice m8 keep up the good work

[beef@novadose.net]

Bit of an update: we've made back our grand from the rally car, but still have the cage, the weber dcoe carb and manifold, and a few other random bits left to sell worth a few hundred quid, so the gamble has paid off :)

With the rally shell gone, and the kitty replenished it was time to get cracking on the build. We want to get the engine and box in asap, so after fitting the Quikrak and twin master cylinder pedal box, it was time to sort the brake lines.

We had originally considered braided stainless brake hoses throughout, but its a LOT of money for not a lot of benefit on a track car. After studying a few projects on the net across all forms of motorsport it was decided to use Cunifer pipe, which is similar in cost (ease of use) to copper brake pipe, but as it's a cupro nickel alloy, it's both stronger and much more corrosion resistant. Even though it doesn't show in the pics, it also has a nicer finish than copper, with a more silver colour.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jan08/b1.jpg
25 foot of 3/16ths Cupro-nickel alloy brake pipe ?8.50 plus VAT.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jan08/b2.jpg
Assorted plated brake line fittings required, including front tee piece, bulkhead fitting for rear line, reservoir fittings and all the male and female unions. About ?17 all in.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jan08/b7.jpg
To make the flares for the fittings, we'd been warned to steer clear of hand held tools, so Big Dan kindly lent us his superb ?200+ vice mounted flaring tool, which made it a doddle.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jan08/b3.jpg
Job done: 1 take off from front m/c to tee piece, and from rear m/c to a bulkhead fitting, which we can finish off later on inside.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jan08/b4.jpg
Nearside wheel arch showing join from solid to Goodridge stainless braided flexi using existing bracket and circlip.

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jan08/b5.jpg
Offside wheel arch showing join from solid to Goodridge stainless braided flexi using existing bracket (must find circlip :))

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jan08/b6.jpg
Another angle of the pedal box, with m/c take offs and bulkhead fitting for rear line. Pipe is fixed at least every 225mm with either existing tags and rubber sleeves, or nylon P-clips from eBay. 3mm pilot holes drilled and painted, with P-clips secured with stainless screws and rivets.

Quite a time consuming, but satisfying job and we're happy with the end result. Now these are done, we can drop the engine and box in.

[peester]

how its done; bit o' wheeler dealer, raise some funds.. project is very top notch- no cut corners or 2nd rate stuff.. but savings are made where ever poss..
spot on.

[beef@novadose.net]

Think you've summed it up there mate lol. This car started off as a budget, no frills track car. It's starting to get some nice bits now, yet the budget remains the same lol.

I've got a spreadsheet on the go detailing every penny spent so far on this car, we're up to ?1576.14 ;)

[peester]

^^ me too, spreadsheet.. count the pennies.. im nowhere near on a scale like yourselves, merely refitting a previously finished car..
but its cool, less guilt and more pleased with ones self..
Sound.

[Count Vaux Alot]

Top work lads! Mine is well on its way now and your project is very inspiring, I thought the roll over frame was great to so i made one....a big thanks for the plans!! keep up the good work.

[beef@novadose.net]

I thought the roll over frame was great to so i made one....a big thanks for the plans!! keep up the good work.

How did you get on with it? Ours where 10 times better when the 'feet' were pointing away from the car, rather than in towards it like the way we intended. We also found that inserting a 6' scaffold pole into one of the ends made the roll over a 1 man operation :thumb:

[paddy138]

deadly project, its unreal how yous are funding it aswell, buy a car take what we need, then sell the rest and make a profit, hats off to the both of you

[The Simps]

Excellent, neat, tidy work. Brakes pipes can be a biatch to be made to look tidy.

Hat off to you Sir.

[beef@novadose.net]

There's been no progress I'm afraid since the last update, but after organising 2 Track Days and not taking the Nova, it's going to the next one no matter what. It's on July 12th so we have less than 6 weeks to get this car done. We wanted it to be all done with all the mods straight away, but it's time to just get it built and on track, and develop it as we go.

Here is the current state of play today, Sat 31st, forgotten in the corner of the garage looking sorry for itself - basically a bare shell, with a column, rack, master cylinders and front brake lines... theres a lot to do:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may08/1.jpg

The F13 CR box with Quaife ATB diff has been cleaned up and given a lick of paint, bracket cleaned up and TAS solid competition mount installed:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may08/2.jpg

We're running the standard clutch now for teh time being, but needed a new thrust bearing. £23 delivered from MardiGras Motorsport, excellent service too:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may08/3.jpg

After advice from Dar, sourced the fuel line fittings from local Hydraulic specialists Hydra-Tec. JIC -6 bulkhead fittings and 90deg swept tails £26. Once fitted, we can measure exactly how much braided hose we'll need:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may08/4.jpg

Front fuel line bulkhead fittings installed next to brake line on this handy little panel that's easily accessible from inside:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may08/5.jpg

Dug out the GSi injection tank, cleaned it up with a wirewheel on the drill, and then The Greek treated any surface rust with this toxic looking Hammerite rust remover. It's had a coat of Black hammerite tonight and is hanging up to dry:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/may08/6.jpg

Another few small jobs ticked off, but a long way to go!

[draper]

where did you get the brake lines and fittings from pal

cars looking good so far

[beef@novadose.net]

Pipe from local motorfactors, and fittings from local hydraulic specialist.

[Adam]

Excellent thread.
Saloon looks in amazing condition

[beef@novadose.net]

Cheers :thumb:

[beef@novadose.net]

Couple more things sorted in preperation for engine in on Thursday evening.

We got our TAS competition mounts for just £20 off The Bay months ago, but were missing the rear box mount. £50 to Chris Astley Motorsport later and rear is now fitted ready... nice piece of kit, and great service again:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/2.jpg

Even though our X16XE has only done 59k, while it's sitting on the floor, it would be rude not to treat it to a fresh timing belt and tensioners on. Price from Vauxhall was unspeakable, and £82 even for a motorfactor kit, but after reading Olly's project diary we tried Autovaux and had a genuine belt and tensioner kit for the bargain price of £59.99+VAT. Ordered late on Friday, missed the courier yesterday, but picked up today, great service:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/1.jpg

[peester]

cool cool i like...

[beef@novadose.net]

The Girls went to see the Sex and the City film last night, which gave us a good opportunity for a midweek mince ;)

Big thanks to Martin for fitting the new timing belt and tensioners. Water pump is fine:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/3.jpg

Front engine mount bracket has had the top hole enlarged, and Dicky has tacked a washer on for good measure:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/4.jpg

New thrust bearing fitted on the box:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/5.jpg

Box bolted back onto the engine, and onto the hoist - she's going in from above:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/6.jpg

Twin can in at last! and rock solid on the competition mounts. The bolt that came with the Chris Astley rear mount is slightly to big to fit the hole in the bracket, so that's another little job:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/7.jpg

TAS Mount all fitted, we can actially get a 19mm spanner between the mount and the chassis leg too :)

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/8.jpg

Ok so we know we should have changed the pulleys but thought we'd try our luck after reading another project in the week. Theres about 10mm clearance between the alternator pulley and the leg:

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/9.jpg

OK, so what is the best tried and tested / definitive bottom pulley and alternator setup for small block Novas?

[General Baxter]

you will be prefectly ok with that alternator set up, the engine wont move, lol

[beef@novadose.net]

The donor Corsa had PAS and AC so we don't have a belt or tensioner for this setup, plus the bottom pulley is huge with all that rotational weight :D

Is it just a case of fitting a Nova GSi bottom pulley? What about the alternator? Does a Nova one fit straight on??

[Will F]

I have a later bottom pully off a Nova.. you will need to swap the pully on the alt too, need an air impact gun for that ideally...

Why didnt you clean/paint the engine? Seems a shame to put that dirty/rusty lump in such a clean bay!!!

[beef@novadose.net]

Is the pulley up for grabs/sale Will?

Also our alternator is fixed, so we'll need an adjustable alternator bracket of some sort?

The engine has been degreased, but you need to strip an engine to paint it properly so it can wait lol. It looks 10x worse in the pics due to the flash anyway :)

[beef@novadose.net]

There's just not enough hours in the week to spend on the car, but we're slowly making progress. Still aquiring bits and pieces as we go. Bit of a mid week mince update however, work has started on the internal gear shift setup. First job was to cut a 100mmx30mm slot in the tunnel for the remote to go through. Thanks to Dar for his excellent guide:)

After carefully measuring up and marking out, two 32mm holes cut in the tunnel:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/10.jpg

The holes were then joined up with a jigsaw, and after a quick tidy up with the file we're left with this:
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/11.jpg

Offered up a half straightened Corsa remote, but not happy with it. We'll have to get a Cav one after all.
http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/jun08/12.jpg

[The Simps]

what was up with the corsa one then? not had a chance to try mine yet.

[beef@novadose.net]

I've got a feeling the diameter of the rod is more than the Cav rod which steps down twice in diameter. I'll measure it later. The corsa one also has a knurled male end, as opposed to the Nova and Cav's female end.

[corsakid]

coming along this cant wait to see it finished

[beef@novadose.net]

If it does make it on July 12th, it won't be a looker that's for sure! lol

[The Simps]

I've got a feeling the diameter of the rod is more than the Cav rod which steps down twice in diameter. I'll measure it later. The corsa one also has a knurled male end, as opposed to the Nova and Cav's female end.


I was just gonna use the end off a corsa linkage.

[beef@novadose.net]

Just measured it on the digital calipers: Corsa is ~22mm, stepping down to ~18mm for the last 6 inches or so. The Nova one is ~18mm along the entire length.

Anyone know what diameter the Cav Rod is?

[beef@novadose.net]

Well things kind of stopped after the last post over 3 YEARS ago :(

In May 2009, Project Saloon 2 was in danger of being sold off on eBay for parts, but I decided to buy out the others and take custody of the Nov. We had a baby in March, and moved house in April so it wasn't going to get touched for a few months, but I decided to get the shell painted, so I could start building it up slowly in the garage when time allowed.

The shell as it stood outside the paint shop:
http://www.baysolutions.co.uk/nova/may2009/beforebodyshop.jpg

Being prepped:
http://www.baysolutions.co.uk/nova/may2009/inbodyshop.jpg

Painted:
http://www.baysolutions.co.uk/nova/may2009/afterpaint1.jpg
http://www.baysolutions.co.uk/nova/may2009/afterpaint2.jpg
http://www.baysolutions.co.uk/nova/may2009/afterpaint3.jpg

Decided not to paint to doors, boot and bonnet as there's some weight reduction needed there. Got a fibre glass bonnet that needs a bit of TLC, and looking to fabricate a fibreglass bootlid.

Incidently, the car would not tow using an A-Frame... would not steer. Either due to tracking way out, or the LSD maybe? Had to dolly instead.

I quit my job in Sept 2010, and started my own business, and in November 2010 we moved yet again.

It's been sat in the garage since November, but all of a sudden I have a renewed interest and am drawing up a realistic timetable of work to get it on the road.

[elgan]

i wonder what gave u that sudden burst of renewed interest? lol

[Southie]

That pictures quality lol

http://www.sw-cc.com/saloon/200%20in%20the%20garage%20014.jpg

[beef@novadose.net]

i wonder what gave u that sudden burst of renewed interest? lol

To be honest, it was watching all 14 episodes of A Car is Reborn in a row the other night :)

[scott.parker]

Cant see the pics mate?

[Will F]

Me neither!

[beef@novadose.net]

Just edited above post to fix pics... here's the current state of play when I moved house November last year:

http://www.baysolutions.co.uk/nova/may2009/afterpaint4.jpg

10 POINTS to whoever spots the one thing I have done to the car in the 18 months since it was painted!

Any stone chip gen?

[Asa-James]

rollcage...

watching this now :)

[scott.parker]

Exhaust manifold has been fitted?

Did you sort the pulley/alt issue?

Looks ace.

Scott

[beef@novadose.net]

rollcage...


Exhaust manifold has been fitted?

Nah, driver's side door rubber :roll:

[beef@novadose.net]

Did you sort the pulley/alt issue?

Not yet, need to collect some bits off Will F :)