Mk1 Small Block Road Rally/Hillclimb Car

[mk1nova_rich]

Decided to start a new project thread for my Mk1 as i have been too undecided about which direction i wanted to go with it. Anyhow I have made my mind up to just use it as a motorsport and track car, hopefully building it just to compete in road rally events and the occasional hillclimbs and trackdays with very little road use.

I haven't put much thought into the engine spec as i want to get all the shell prep done first, but is most likely going to be a 1400 8 valve to keep within the regulations for the above motorsport disciplines.

I'm hoping to build it into a competitive little car but keeping within the regulations laid out in the MSA Blue Book for both sports, which prohibits the fitting of things like bias pedal boxes and rose-jointed suspension setups, so I will really be aiming to get the most out of the original Nova layout.

Anyway the first task is to get all the bodywork sorted and any other bits and pieces that need welding or cutting. This will include brackets and spreader plates for the cage, seats and harnesses etc.

A few pictures as it stands now:

[mk1nova_rich]

The engine bay has been completely stripped now with the exception of the gearbox which i put back in as part of my Cavalier internal shifter conversion.

Overall the shell is still a good one, but it has a few bad bits:
Front panel around the headlights (passenger side has already had some attention
Rear chassis rails need a couple of plates but still good
Passenger side sill has a 2 inch hole in it
Rear panel as seen in the photo
The floorpan is also going where it meets the heelboard (just in front of the tank)


You can probably also notice that the firewall has been cut out and the battery tray has been cut and reinforced for a Corsa pedal and MC conversion

[peester]

good stuff, look forward to progress
needs moving to projects tho

[mk1nova_rich]

Both inner wings are still in good condition with no work required. Need to get the black underseal stripped off the arches though to check nothing nasty is hiding underneath. I took my wing off and started sanding it down with my new orbital sander I got the other day. Also started the petrol tank and had a bit of spraying practice because I'm hoping to do as much of the bodywork myself as I can



Found a couple of small holes along the bottom but will probably fill these rather than trying to source another wing, plus I'm not trying to create a concourse show winner



Just had a bit of practice priming part of the tank. I may look into sourcing a better condition tank as you can see the rust is quite severe at the right hand end on both sides of the tank

[mk1nova_rich]

Cheers Spudly

[Daved and Confused]

Hi,

Not had a good look at the Blue book lately but I thought you weren't allowed to modify the bulkhead - is cutting a hole for the corsa set up not modifying the bulkhead ?
Also the bias box, what is the issue with that ?
I know brakes cannot be adjusted from the drivers seat but that's not to say a bias box cannot be fitted without the dash adjuster. my interpretation maybe wrong.
Are you running in road car class or modified ?
Good luck with the build, I'll keep a look out for progress.

[mk1nova_rich]

Im focusing more towards the road rallying, i need to have another read up on the regulations for hillclimbs as they are quite a bit stricter in terms of modifications to the body and the removal of trim. I know that a heater will have to go back in to satisfy the modified production car class

[mk1nova_rich]

Most of the parts have been stripped off the car so that i can concentrate on the bodywork but unfortunately i have nowhere else at the minute to store bigger bits like the seats, radiator, dash and bumpers which is putting a bit of a hold on the project



Removed the complete wiring loom and now stripped all the unnecessary wiring and labelled everything up ready to go back in. The main cable from the battery needs re-routing though as the battery will be relocated to the boot and will sit on a Corsa battery tray which will be welded in. This is about as far as I have got so far except for the work on the internal shifter

[mk1nova_rich]

Matt_Vaughan brought me 6 GTE teardrop alloys over last weekend in a cash swap for a homemade bike carb manifold. A lot of people dont like these wheels but I'm a big fan of them - i now have 10 of them!!!

Which means i have two full sets of 5 wheels which can be fitted with different tyres for different surface types. Going to have a go at prepping and painting some of them in next couple of weeks. What colours to go for?!

[novarally]

That's a first for me......I can't recall ever having seen a wood-effect steering wheel on a Nova before!