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Thread: k reg mk2 nighthawk black sri soon to be 2.0l 16v (with a bit of luck)

  1. #131
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    I've not been on here for a while and was having a little look round my old posts and I can't believe it's been 3 years since starting the conversion project,
    i finally got there (well apart from the occasional alternator rubbing the chassis leg which can be really annoying) but its driveable hense seems why there hasn't been any update recently, in the last 6 months it's become my daily work horse, doing 40miles a day so nicely run in now ,
    But is starting to show a few signs of age now though, don't get me wrong it's still tidy and regularly gets passing comments and the occasional offer of buying it which gets turned down every time, (I've become attached to it after 7-8 years of owning her) but when you look closely there are a few bubbles coming through the paint on near enough ever panel and I think it's getting time to decide what to do with it come the end of summer, the decision being do I have the small bits of body work painted to tidy it up and prolong it a little while longer maybe a couple of years or do I get myself a garage and another workhorse to replace it something cheaper to run (I've toyed with the idea of a cheap base model nova so I don't get nova withdrawal symptoms ,)and sorn it so I can do a full restoration on it, I know this option would take a lot of time and effort not to mention money and would be a slow process doing jobs as and when I could afford. but I have always wanted the perfect nova as just a weekend/show car.
    Hmm toughy
    i will see this summer out though I think before making a final decision

  2. #132
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    The last month or so ive been giving the full resto idea some serious thought I've contacted a couple of chemical strippers and got prices on that and e-coat it ain't cheap but having weighed up other options and hearing horror stories about all methods of stripping from acid rotting the shell to sand blasting finding sand hear there and everywhere for years after and have decided that the chemical option is the one that I will go for when I do it as I have been win over now I've had the process explained and there is little to no chance of there being acid left in the chassis especially with the e-coat as it is also an Emersion process so the primer/coating gets back in where the acid has stripped.
    So I'd best get saving,
    i have however ordered a GM passenger door and wing from a well known Netherlands Opel specialist so should be getting some shiney bits for photos soon, I've gone for Gm wing as I've heard the non Gm ones can be a bitch to fit sometimes,
    im going to get the drivers side door and wings to when I've saved enough pennies.

    what are people's thoughts on rear arches are the lower repair panels any good or would it be better with the full panel or they even do one up to the window frame, baring in mind I'm not brave enough to weld it myself so I'll have to pay someone to do it.

  3. #133
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    Good to see you're (or have) decided to keep it and restore. I've only read the last couple of posts and don't know much about the method of Emersion stripping that you seem sold on, but can recommend soda blasting. Basically, soda acts differently to sand, acid, and even Emersion. It is blasted as a medium, like sand, but doesn't come with the drawback of containing moisture. In fact despite going everywhere (and I do mean everywhere, as in making a total mess), as it is the exact opposite of sand and contains no moisture at all, it acts as a barrier in coating the bared metal once blasted in preventing it (given certain circumstances, such as being dry stored) from oxidising, which is a great advantage in affording you the opportunity of time whilst restoring each panel at a time without feeling as if you're fighting against the natural (and inevitable) process of rusting.

    Furthermore (though don't quote me on this), I'm almost certain that soda blasting will come out at a fraction of the cost of other, more insidious, methods of stripping away paint and rust. Obviously I'm not saying it is the gospel of car paint removal, but I certainly found it effective and cost efficient. I also can't see it ever causing problems in years down the line.

  4. #134
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    Hi thanks for that bit of info I was having a quick look last night and there is a place in the Staffordshire (where I am) that does soda blasting and yes it is supposed to be less harmful than bead or sand as it doesn't need as much air pressure so deffinately will bear that in mind, even if I decide to stick with dipping for the shell there will be other panels and things I want cleaning so would save quite a bit I reckon as anything over a bare shell and bonnet is 80 -100 quid extra with dipping And the same again for the e-coat where on bolt on stuff and things easy to get at etch primer will probably be more than God enough to be honest.

  5. #135
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    You're welcome - just thought I would share my experience with it, which was a good one Also sounds like you've got a good plan in terms of spending the money on emersion and e-coating on the big stuff, and using soda blasting for the smaller panels etc.

    Will be interesting to follow your resto. All the best with it.

  6. #136
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    well hello again, its been a while since my last update, this is mainly as the car became less of a project and more of a daily, or more to the point a van, lugging a toolbox around for 12 months.
    ive now bought a combo van and got myself a small garage to keep the nova in although i could still do with somewhere bigger to work on it but it can go back to getting some TLC.
    while Ive been using it daily Ive had time to think about what i actually want it for in the future and with this in mind i have decided that the redtop is going, it was a good project at the time and i still love the way the 16v engine looks in a nova but for me personally its too uncomfortbale at low speeds round towns (accelerator and clutch to sharp so i find myself kangarooing a lot or purposely slipping the clutch to compensate) also it hunts a lot constant speeds (probably just down to the carbs needing setting up properly) the biggest annoyance though is when the alternator grinds on the chassis leg on hard left bends.
    so with all that and the double fuel costs, double insurance and double tax, ive decided im going to be a boring old fart and put an c14se engine back in it, i used to love it when it had one before so hopefully i will again, also with sri's getting rarer it will as daft as it sounds be more unique than yet another redtop nova.
    ive been looking for one for a while now but they are proving difficult to find without buying the 800 quid one off fleebay, which i wasnt desperate enough to change it at that price, but one came up out of an astra with gearbox for 200, its a bit rough but im going to strip it and start from scratch anyway and i still have the original gearbox and manifolds etc off mine to put back on, i will however be needing a distributor as its on coil and a v pully as its on multi rib but im in no hurry, and will buy anything i need as and when funds allow.

    for the time being though i might as well make the most of the car as it is while the mot is still in force, so you may see me at a couple of shows through the summer.

  7. #137
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    Cant believe its been nearly two years since I last updated anything on here, although to be honest the car has been laid up in a lock up since the Mot ran out in 2016,
    I am however starting a new business and so have a new unit with a ramp in it so I am planning to get back on doing something with the Nova in february, hopefully getting the engine in and running do a bit of welding in the rear wheel arches and generally tidy it up and then get it mot,d and back on the road for the summer then hopefully use it for a couple of years in ‘tidy but not immaculate’ form for a couple of years before then have a rethink about restoring it properly which was my original intention but situations change and all that.

    With it being laid up for a couple of years ive not actually done anything to the car itself, I have however rebuilt the C14SE engine i bought it was a rusty heap when i bought it but had the block shot blasted and the head soda blasted, and so is looking a lot better now.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  8. #138
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    It seems all my previous pics have gone walkies so just to jog memories ill ad a couple of pics of the car.


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    Well looks like the plan is going to be changing again, I got my nova up to my works unit, and got it on the lift to have a quick look what I was going to do, hoping that it would be a simple engine out, tank off weld up the rear inner arch which i knew was corroded from the last MOT, a couple of years ago, and then hopefully put the new engine in re-register it and then get it mot’d and drive it for a couple of years while i save up to do the job properly,

    however it is pretty badly corroded and needs more than just the arch welding so i think Im going to have to strip the underneath completely and see what im dealing with as i suspect when i undersealed it in 2012 that I have sealed the rust in and its spead up the corrosion, so might have to look in to how much it will cost to soda blast the underside so I know how deep the corrosion has gone and repair what needs repairing. I suspect its not going to be cheap but i love the car too much to get rid.

    just goes to show that you cant judge a book by its cover though because when i pulled on the estate with it the security gaurd said this looks tidy

  10. #140
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    This is what happened to my sr I started to strip the underside and what looked good was rotten in the chassis legs inner sills inner wells ect was gutted..

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