Right all,
I have used the bit of spare time over the this festive period to sort out, collate and put a bit of a story together of how
I am getting on with my Nova. I have been off the show scene for a while, really down to having no show car as
in February 2003 I decided that it was time to pull the trusty Nova off the road as it really needed some TLC after
13 years of use abuse and 4 different engines (1.3, 1.6, 2.0 16v and a C20LET). It hasn't helped that my wife
gave birth to our son in September 2003 and this summer I have had to refurbish my second house I rent out when my
previous tenants trashed the place prior to their eviction.
Anyway, to jog your memory, my nova looked something like this just prior to the rebuild - pic was taken
in September 2002 at Well Lane Turbo where it made 213bhp on the day - I was quite happy with that as
it was basically standard bar a K&N filter:
Well then, the story begins with the engine being pulled out:
and I started stripping all the years of crud and underseal off the front end :
On closer inspection of the front cross member it was clear that the tin worm had taken a chunk out of the offside
and a large strengthening plate was require - I have also taken the opportunity to put on a proper strengthening
kit. The plate around the tie bar holes is basically a U shape that goes around both top and bottom :-
Once I had got the cross member sorted out it was time to concentrate on the underside and floor pan, Having now stripped
the shell of all the doors, glass, wiring and suspension it was quite light, so with the aide of a few tyres and a large post,
1 person (me!) could lift the shell on one side without any problems :
Moving along the floor pan from front to rear I have welded up all the drainage holes as these seem to be attracting rust
? I had also noticed some strange bulges in the seams in the rear arches and was greeted by quite large rust areas which
were plated accordingly. I also seam welded the area around where the shock absorber and rear strut brace will be
mounted for extra strength. As I progressed the work was sealed with 3 coats of black hammerite just to make sure!
The rear outer skins of the arches are rotten from the inside out so when the shell gets to the bodyshop these will be cut
out and repair panels professionally welded in. The rear suspension pickup points also got a strengthening plate welded
on as per the group A/N spec
After lifting the carpet under the rear seats some of the floor came with it! It turned out that one of the holes for the vent
pipe from the petrol tank had been letting years of crud & salt splash up onto the underside of the floor and rotted from
the underside up ? again plated and sealed and sprayed over with primer. The general crud on the floor would be removed
at a later date.
Thats it for tonight, more to follow tomorrow! Thoughts and comments appreciated
Joff