Operation Saloonatic

[Maka]

Evening ladies and gents.

I haven't posted on this forum for many years, some may know me others may not, however I have recently rekindled my passion for all things nova. Much to my Wife's distress

So, which Club Member is going to own up to letting go of this beautiful three door E-registered Saloon?











I have many more pics and info regarding the project to come, work and family permitting I am planning on documenting the full build here 🏻

It seems the Club still has never lost the old friendly, helpful vibe which it is always thrived on.

Having said I've not posted here for I while I have however used the forum on more than several occasions for references to Vaux wiring diagrams etc for jobs for which it has always been ideal 🏻

Would be nice to get acquainted with some like minded folk with the love for novas, a few chaps around my local area are still into them, one of them is very well known with a certain Pin-Up nova from "back in the day" which he has possibly been talking about bringing out of long term storage...

So go on, who had the heart of stone / poor circumstances to let go of this old girl??

For now 🏻

Tom

[paul james]

Nice saloon, wheres all the rust though?!
Got a plan for engine choice?

[Southie]

Wow a blast from the past, hope your keeping well Maka

So what else you getting done to it? Sleeper?? Same Colour??

You should have bought a 5 door in-case family life gets bigger

[bazzap8389]

Looks good! Doesn't look like it needs any rust sorting which is a boost.

[totalnova]

Looks good! Doesn't look like it needs any rust sorting which is a boost.

I thought the same thing about mine............

[Will F]

Please keep the colour, truly epic!

[Maka]

Thanks for the replies.

Southie- I hope to find you well Chap, I saw your old D-registered hatch a couple of months ago, resprayed since the era when I first saw you coming past Skipton on the A59 that night in her... Sidelights ring a bell?....!!! Some of the things I used to do whilst driving scare me senseless nowadays...

Gents- All of the rust on the vehicle is shown on the pictures above. There is literally the last 2inches of the rear sill as it blends into the upsweep for the rear wheel arch that has been welded since the factory.
There is slight surface corrosion around the battery location itself in the tray, however no corrosive rust as such- i.e. no holes whatsoever.

A good friend of mine bought this vehicle approximately 12months ago with the intention of building a C20LET fast road / track car.
Unfortunately due to his work commitments he only got as far as stripping it to a rolling shell then it has proceeded to get in his way for 9months+ while he expands his business (and family too).
Ultimately it has ended up getting in his way for long enough, at that point he has offered it to me along with a small collection of nice parts for a princely sum.

I have owned a black G-registered 1.2merit hatch for almost five years now. It has been stored at 7 different locations, had 3 different engines fitted to the point they are usable, then taken apart again for various reasons... Components from it being needed to complete customers jobs, work related time constraints etc etc...
Cutting to the chase, I have owned it 5 years in February, and I have only ever driven it onto and off a trailer once!
It's awful really, she is a beautiful example of a vehicle which is being hunted to the point of extinction nowadays, yet I have never found the time to finish her.

Now that I have changed my line of work I find myself away from home Sunday evening through to Friday afternoon most weeks. Predominantly I will spend Friday night and all of Saturday with my Wife and Daughter at home, then spend all day Sunday riding Motocross at the local track with a group of friends.

I have a relatively good sized garage in my back yard- 18' square, in which I have been storing my G-reg, storing/maintaining my dirt bike and running my business from for the last 6 months.
This is where all Nova related works in this project will be undertaken. I served my time as a mechanical maintenance engineer, stayed on for another 6years after getting qualified then proceeded to add ribbons to my bow in areas including vehicle repairs- cosmetic and mech/elec, fabrication, civil engineering, dirt bike repairs/servicing and engine/full bike rebuilds, welding, CNC tool programming/operation/maintenance, and much more.

I learn and perform best when I am challenged with something new. Unfortunately for the G-reg, since I began working on her those 4+ years ago I have opened my eyes somewhat to what I consider is a good quality in a vehicle, what is not, and how to take the view that every project vehicle is merely a blank canvas and as to what route you take with a project is completely up to your personal choice, opinion, capabilities and determination.

What I am proposing to do with this gorgeous piece of Spanish metal pictured above has never been done (as far as I am aware) in this country.

More of that on my next update, almost time for work again now...

Following shortly are a few snaps of my 1989 1.2merit+ in different stages of progression over the years.

Will, she will be receiving a full respray in Gazelle Beige nearing the end of the build rest assured chap!! It would be criminal to paint it any other colour IMHO.

For now 🏻

Tom

[Maka]

[Maka]

Had a bit of a mild tinker this morning, she looks a little more my cup of tea now 🏻

[Maka]

Found two mind blowing documents in the service history...

This is the 14th Nova I have owned, yet I have never seen any document that comes close to these!!!!

Feast your eyes Folks;





Forget Service History... Purchase History is where it's at 🏻🏻