Riggers' Nova 1.4SR Project...

[jamie rigby]

Hi all, new to the forum and the Nova scene aha, thought i'd post my car and progress on here, the last proper trackcar i built was a MK2 XR2, was standard when i got it bar the suspension -



Anyways, how i ended up with my Nova... i went to the Tatton Park Classic car show hungover one sunday, i've had a thought about buying a Cavalier GSi and building my own kinda BTCC rep but not with all the graphics and sponsors, but they're very hard to come by and tbh the more i thought about it i didn't want a project from a totally standard car like my XR2 was (bar the suspension it came on). So anyways i was looking forward to seeing some Cavaliers and having a nosey underneath one in person for suspension ideas as there's nothing off the shelf for them really that's track worthy, whilst i've been researching them and looking out for them for sale i've been searching for Novas too as theyre obviously lighter then a cavalier, parts are easier to come by (i thought, will get to that another day)... so at the show i spot this nova, and with the bonnet up i didn't really take much notice until i noticed the For Sale sign in the window i instantly got chatting to the owner and the following night i went to pick it up aha...


So abit of info the car's only on 52000 miles, both previous owners have been mature, the one before last had the engine rebuilt and fitted with the mods, the previous owner i bought it off only used it on weekends for 6 months of the year for his 9yr ownership. The car isn't as mint as i first thought but it's a lot of car for the money and its 27years old so nthings perfect mint that's that old haha...











spec -


C20xe
Coscast (cosworth designed) head
Jenvey DTH 45mm Throttle Bodies
DTA management
Kent Cams and Verniers
ARP rod bolts
Ashley manifold
Sportex exhaust
GSI fuel tank
Cortney Motorsport Driveshafts
Some Samco hoses
GSi Radiator
Oil cooler


Seam welded engine bay
Solid top mounts
Mk3 Astra Fanblade wheels
Cavalier v6 front brakes
Raceland coilovers
Full GSi interior including clocks and dash




Home, first thing i did was remove the mud guards and parcel shelf -





OMP wheel out of my integra fitted with OMP boss -





Fully low on the rear and the front to match -








new fan -








Oil cooler bolted in and rad postioned properly as they both weren't ideal -





New brake goodies -





Random pic tidying whilst tidying the wiring (chopping out bullet connectors and soldering) -





covered up stop it fading or getting wet aha -





loads of parts on order/waiting to go on, getting the map checked next sunday at EFI Parts, more soon

[torquey]

Looks a nice one! Love a mk1 sr.

[Nutty Nova]

Looks nice what brake setup is it you have purchased a vectra v6 caliper setup?

[Nova00]

hopefully you will be getting the improved car down to the local meets

[Nova00]

especially tatton !

hopefully you will be getting the improved car down to the local meets

[EwanG]

Looks good! I hope you chucked those muddys in the bin! I hate the bloody things

[jamie rigby]

Looks a nice one! Love a mk1 sr.

its mega for the age!

Looks nice what brake setup is it you have purchased a vectra v6 caliper setup?

Late Calibra turbo calipers off BrakeParts International!

hopefully you will be getting the improved car down to the local meets

will keep an eye out!

Looks good! I hope you chucked those muddys in the bin! I hate the bloody things

yeah as said above - the first thing i done when i got home aha






So, still waiting on the brake discs and new wheels that are at the powdercoaters, the track wheels i've got aren't getting powdercoated though they're not too bad plus for track i'm not that bothered about the finish anyways. I've gone for the common Cavalier Cesaros as they look decent, good for brake cooling, cheap and the same offset and width as the fan blades so loads of room for chunky tyres, test fitted not sorted tyres yet -








Got a mint condition sump off ebay, sent off to Dewis Motorsport (recommended, off MIGWEB) for baffling, ready to go on with a new sump and exhaust manifold gasket -





Was abit of a mare to swap, vauxhall made plenty of room to get access to one of the sump bolts next to the flywheel but not the other so with help of a mate he brought a 1/4drive socket and extension, was tricky refitting the windage tray and pick-up pipe too so also much easier with some help! Oil in and filter swapped and jobs a goodun -





After driving the car for the first time i was shocked at how terrible it felt around corners, not just the far too soft suspension but how much you had to turn the wheel, standard rack is 4 turns lock to lock, so after some research i ordered the rack i needed, for it to turn up and still be 4 turns - Fantastic... so sent that back and found the right one on ebay so i messaged the guy and snapped it up asap, the rack is from an Electric PAS Corsa B which is 2.7 turns L-L, only on certain models as they also do Hydraulic PAS Corsa Bs too god knows why they did both options, anyways rack ready to be attacked with a grinder -





after -





then to swap the track rods and ends as the Corsa has slightly wider track, was planning to use the ones off the nova rack but one randomly rounded off the rack when i removed it and the other was fcuked, so obviously no where stocks Nova track rods so ordered some for the next working day along with new rod ends, picked them up all ready to be built up and fitted along with some FlowFlex rack mount bushes, once i fitted the rods it taken me about an hour n half to just bolt the rack on, the lack of room with the engine in is horrendous as the Gearbox is literally the full depth of the engine bay aha -





transformed the car! more soon!

[boffer8]

pics have all gone

[Southie]

Photobucket is killing everyone

[jamie rigby]

photobuckets charging so flikr it is


so, the 3rd set of brake discs turned up, not the ones i was expecting ... so the brakes that came on the car 284x24mm discs unsure what they were off, and the calipers are cav v6, gave them a freshen up with black paint and noticed the dust seal missing, so i just ordered some new calipers from BrakeParts International as i couldnt be bothered swapping seals etc, so old setup -


20170607_111551 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


dust seal missing causing uneven wear -


20170615_172303 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


new goodies, late calibra turbo calipers, yellowstuffs, fresh fluid -
20170615_152228 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


Lotus Exige 288x27mm discs, spigot rings made from a local metalshop (56.7-60.2mm), discs fitted and carriers -


20170717_143005 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


calipers on, shaved a little for clearence on the vauxhall wheels -


20170717_143600 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


Went for mk3 Golf BBS wheels for road wheels 6j et45, freshly powdercoated -


20170708_161051 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


fitted with new michelin PE2s -


20170717_193529 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


20170717_193747 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


went to see Chris at EFI Parts last sunday, before and after, still needs more work throughout the map but its healthy and safe for now -


20170709_114620 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


New Nissens radiator vs 10yr old one -


20170712_145622 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


20170712_145551 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


20170712_165726 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


wiring tucked under the front slampanel looks alot tidier -


20170712_183152 by jamie rigby, on Flickr


Federal RSRs fitted to the Cesaros -


20170710_153032 by jamie rigby, on Flickr