project ruthless

[jimbob-mcgrew]

right.. got to work strippin her out:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0042.jpg

couldnt get the steering wheel off, so i cut the dash in half and ling'd it.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0047.jpg

out with the rear wiper, arm and wiring.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0043.jpg

proffesional bodywork to finish off.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0044.jpg

noticed my merit badge that i pulled off for a m8's nova, chillin in the passenger footwell when i took this shot of the matrix hole.. plays tricks with your mind that one.. power of illusion.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0041.jpg

again another pro bit of bodywork sealing the matrix pipe holes.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0049.jpg

in true ruthless styles, i hacksawed one of the pipes off the old matrix to use as a join for the 2 dissconnected coolant pipes in the bay, temp fix only, just to stop fluid leaks.. pipes are kinked to **** as they are, will replace the two with a single one when i can afford it, or if im lucky i might be able to steal a bit of pipe off a m8.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0052.jpg

prety happy with this one, pulled an old microwave meal box out of a m8s bin to use as a seal to keep rain and damp out of the matrix hole left behind, its a prety tight fit, so will do nicely for now untill i can weld a plate.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0062.jpg

pulled out some sound deadening behind the rear door cards, with a little persuasion, they practically fell out.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0046.jpg

battery tray looks better than i thought, one minor hole around the small rust patch, easily fixed, if i can be ****d.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0054.jpg

probably gonna re-situate the battery here in the footwell, for a bit better weight balance.
will construct some sort of strapping out of the passenger seat belt to hold it down securely, then run some leads thru to the bay, is it possible to solder the chunky leads ? or do you normally block connecter them together ?
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0055.jpg

what fkin idiot at vauxhall put these in with big ass torx bolts, didnt think i was gonna be able to get them out.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0057.jpg

a tight fitting allen key soon sorted that problem out, if you ease the pressure thru, it wont damage the bolt, but if u go hefty straight up it usually strips the inside teeth.
can see the roof lining out in that shot too, was a bitch around the windscreen, held behind the black sticky **** they seal the screen in with, you need the strength of ten bears to pull it out without tearing it, not that i was trying to keep it in once piece, just not tear it to make it easier for myself. i shredded it to bits.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0059.jpg

thas about it for now, doing some more tommora, got plenty more to take out, stage 3 and 4 next, carpets and all that crap gotta come out, then ill move onto un-needed wiring, strip that outta the loom, not looking forward to the sound deadening on the floor pan and backseat, that might take a while by the looks of it, any suggestions ?

[Jim Mcrae]

Ok!

[Iain]

Wooooooooooooooooooooo.

[Rickyb]

cant wait oh wait i will have to lol

[jimbob-mcgrew]

pulled out the drivers seat and ripped up the carpets with the padding/front end sound deading, plus the passenger side lower seatbelt rail, centre console and the front mud flaps. man.. mud flaps are weighty.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0064.jpg

another 10 kilos or so out
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0063.jpg

planning on manufacturing some sort of panel on the right of the steering wheel here for leftover switches and the fusebox. ive got some old aluminium mess tins that im gonna cut and flatten into shape for it probably, not sure if they'll be quite big enuff tho, might need to get hold of a sheet of the stuff and do it properly, we see.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0065.jpg

still plenty left to come out, mainly sound deadening, ****ing loads of it too - on the floor, the back seat, inside the front doors and a bit behind the firewall if i can be bothered, gonna take me a while, plus chasing un-needed wires out of the loom.

should be gettin some 'crappy' door handles soon (as i call them) (im fairly sure there the lightest ones u can get in standard nova form), as soon as i can get to the post office when its not closed :tard: to pay alexius maximus for em.

and providing i can afford em.. with a bit of luck some 16v brakes in the near future.
and a steering wheel in the pipeline.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

edit: drunken jibberish

[mowgli]

And here's me thinking it was a badly spelt convertible project thread...

it appears to be a blue peter project, the amount of boxes & sticky tape used so far.

What it the final objective??

[NovaLad]

And here's me thinking it was a badly spelt convertible project thread...

it appears to be a blue peter project, the amount of boxes & sticky tape used so far.

What it the final objective??
He has 1 he made earlier apparently.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

blue peter... ppftt

final objective, hmm.. i havent thought about it really, im just focusing on loosing as much weight as poss at the mo, then move onto brakes and a bigger engine, then depending on whether i take it down the rally or track route.. some suitable suspension to suit.

[djshaggeh]

Ill lend you the welder to seal up that hole for the heater matrix mate, no worries. Looking good some far. You just need to get your hands on some suspension, brakes and engine.

Ill tell you what, im sure it will go better in "blue peter" form now, then a 1l gsi look-a-like.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

hope so, suprising how much difference there was when i only had the back seats out and emptied my tools out of the boot, so now, maybe 50 kilo's lighter than that with everything else out, should fly even with the 1.2, which is a sweet runner, when it comes times to upgrade, dont think ill be able to pick up another engine that runs quite as well, i may even stick with it, we see, havent driven it since i pulled everything out, depending on whether i keep it for rally, sliding past trees at god knows what speed, a 1600 might be too much on the brown trousers front lol

[jimbob-mcgrew]

edit: more drunken jibberish

[Sturge]

Are you sure the gte wheel isn't too heavy? :wtf:

[jimbob-mcgrew]

heheh, yeh i was thinkin that - "damn, im gonna gain weight installing that bitch".
but fcukit, it'll be a much better feeling wheel, so should benefit the drive, in theory :tard:
what u reckon sturge ? i know u wont have a prob selling it if i dont take it, should i stick with the orgional ?

[mowgli]

you will miss the heater/demister. especially when it is rainy & you can't see out the screen

[jimbob-mcgrew]

yeh tell me about it, took half the interior and the matrix out of an old escort i used to have in a bid to speed it up, engine was so lame, it didnt even do anything, come winter time, had to wipe the screen constantly, apsolute piece of junk that thing was, slid out on wet roundabouts at 15/20 mph, can you believe that, im there struggling to keep up with citroen 2cv's practically drifting round roundabouts ffs. i hear the rs-turbos are better, but stay the hell away from standard mk.4's

nova will have to be strictly a dry runner if i dont get a heated front screen.

[Sturge]

even with a heated screen you'll still want a blower!

[jimbob-mcgrew]

probably lol, anyhow, whats done is done now.

had a go at the sound deadening today, up to this point it was prety easy.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0071.jpg

rest of it was a fair bit harder to get off, but i persevered and it all came off eventually, the small knife was by far the best tool, slide it in underneath and lift it up, large flat head was fairly good for opening long channels up, pushing and wiggling in a clockwise to anti-clockwise motion underneath as u go.

left of the knife and the screwdriver ive scraped all the little bits left behind, just need to do the same on the right of the knife and screwdriver before the petrol/meths goes down to clean it up, then a few coats of hammerite to seal the deal.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0075.jpg

gonna tackle the rest of it over the next week or so, its taking longer than i thought, but the weight loss will be worth it.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

bit more sound deadening off, ****ing stuff.
got this far before i gave up and moved onto the back seat portion, soon called it a day after the tip of my knife broke off ! opinel from france that was, decent blade.
gotta look on the bright side tho.. itll be done soon enuff.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0079.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0080.jpg

[mowgli]

I just did a quick sum. the 50 odd kilos you have saved is worth about 3hp. a good service will get you that. & buying some bigger brakes will actually make the car quicker a-b because it will take less time to slow down.

[djbrowney]

what sort of weight you hoping to get it down to lol

[AlexW]

Just read through this... Never been called that before! And if you want you could cut the insides of the handles out iirc.

i remember this being for sale and me saying "Damm wish i had the money"

[jimbob-mcgrew]

yeh i might chop the passenger side, after ive done the sound deadening im gonna get to work with the grinder and cut out chunks of un needed metal here and there.

djbrowney - not sure m8, as much as i can take really - if the total was 735 as it says in the haynes manual - would be nice to knock 100 kilos of that to 635, im gonna gain a little bit installing the 256mm brakes so it might end up at something like 640.

[djbrowney]

djbrowney - not sure m8, as much as i can take really - if the total was 735 as it says in the haynes manual - would be nice to knock 100 kilos of that to 635, im gonna gain a little bit installing the 256mm brakes so it might end up at something like 640.[/quote]

imo i think you will do very well to get the car down to 640 , me and my mates green one weights 680 and thats fully stripped with plastic windows, but the best of luck to you mate, will be good to see it when its finished :thumb:

[jimbob-mcgrew]

what engine and box u guys got in there ? does it have 2 seats ?

[jimbob-mcgrew]

picked up some 256mm brakes earlier today to go on after the deadenings out, the calipers have seen better days, could do with a good cain of the wire brush and some vht paint, hopefully they aint seazed. cheers to ( dan-f ) for these, nice one m8e :thumb:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0082.jpg

[AlexW]

If you have any probs with them im getting more at the weekend maybe.

[djbrowney]

what engine and box u guys got in there ? does it have 2 seats ?

just standard xe mate on an f20, only one seat and a fuel cell lol

[Rich]

You got a nosey german shepard too? Cant do nothing with them around lol

[jimbob-mcgrew]

yeh i tried to get him out the way, he wouldnt budge, stubborn ol' wolf creature thing lol

did a bit more sound deadening, im starting to get abit tired of this.. 'abit' he sais...
im over half way now tho, thank ****
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0096.jpg

started on cleaning up the brakes
come up allright, spotted a few dints, will these be ok for hard braking ? crappy picture soz
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0086.jpg

i dunno what happened really, i found myself cleaning em, and then after a fair bit of faffin about i had one side on for testing. these were a little bit weird to fit, couldnt put them on bit by bit, had to assemble the 2 part caliper with the pads in at the caliper ends and slot the whole lot into place over the disc and screw in the caliper to hub bolts, think that mighta been because i didnt have a small allen key for one set of the caliper bolts, only the emporers champion, (10mm allen key on half inch ratchet) for the hub side of it, and im guessing the caliper normally swings up over itself when changing pads ?
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0092.jpg

you see that black bucket ^ under the car, after id finished everything, i lowered the car down onto that, heheh that was funny.

right.. in this shot i need some help: with the wheel bolted in place, the calipers come fairly close to the 14"s, they astra gte wheels if u recognise em, that red line ive drawn in, is where theres a balancing weight on the inside of the rim, to the left of that is the caliper, and the gap at closest is 1.5mm ish, between the two.
reckon itll be ok or will it possibly catch under heavy driving ?
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0090-1.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0091-1.jpg

check the aged in a whisky barrel vintage door handles out man, there sick.
cheers to alex for these :thumb: ( aw06 )
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0093.jpg

i got some clocks with a rev gauge too, from ( dan-f ) same time i picked up the brakes, not too keen on the corsa style banana shape that much, but theyll do as a nice replacement untill i can get hold of some 6 dial clocks from a mk.1 sr or gte. ill probably wire that in last after ive sorted the more important stuff out. never had a nova with a rev gauge, should be a laugh.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0098.jpg

[djshaggeh]

Looking good taf.

Got a sweet cav sri in the workshop at the moment 2l 8v, thought of you when i saw it. Re-build my 1.4 you fool.

Its a free engine - get an engine stand (approx 30 quid). That will give you a few donkeys.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

hah, cheers, i might just have to do that, youve had hold of it tho lol altho saying that, the amount of punishment you normally give your engines, this ones managed to stay in one piece :D - its gotta be a veteran

edit: note to self, when youve got some proper money, buy a fibreglass bonnet and wings, and perspex rear quarter windows.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

did a little bit more inside the car on the deadening while it was chucking down yesterday - drivers footwell almost there, was a pain around the pedals and repeatedly kept nutting the steering wheel which was fun.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0101.jpg

and i spotted this after i dropped my knife on it, it sounded hollow as anything, im wondering if you can chop this piece right out, doesnt appear to do anything, its attached at the bottom with spot welds by the looks of it, whats the best way of attackin the spot welds, if not ill take a grinder and chop it out bit by bit
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0064-2.jpg

also the wiring by the handbrake.. thats for the handbrake 'on' dash warning light no ? is that required for an mot, will ditch it and the switch if not.

[djbrowney]

yes mate that piece can be removed :thumb: buy a spot welder drill bit from you local motor factors, will just drill the welds and not the metal underneath

[djbrowney]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6MM-COBALT-SPOT-WELD-DRILLS-BOX-OF-5-NEW-DRILL-BITS_W0QQitemZ160259194384QQihZ006QQcategoryZ30923 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[jimbob-mcgrew]

nice, thatll save a bit extra weight, dont have any money for those drill bits, but ive got a grinder ill have a bash at wearing down the spot welds and pullin the metal up.
i shoulda called this ' project skint '

[Dar]

Thats the idea :thumb: just grind down where the spot welds are and pull it. That part is only there to support the carpet I think.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

edit : pointless drivvle

[jimbob-mcgrew]

got a bit more done today.
i was in a prety ruthless mood and went ton on the remaining sound deadening, did it in a quarter of the usual time. the floor pans clear now. weighed all the gathered shrapnel, another 6 kilos.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0105.jpg

found a spot of rust at the back side of the passenger where the floorpan meets the upright for the backseat (circled in pic) - i know rust can be deceptive, but it looks fairly minor and im hoping i can just sand it back to metal rather than any welding.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0112.jpg

next step is petrol scrubbage on the floorpan to clean the whole lot up. then im gonna move onto choppin out any un-needed bits of metal i can find like the dash supports and a fair bit at the back to do with the seats among the rest. i had to stop and think for a minute before desiding this, to mod the shell so theres no turning back, some would class it as criminal.

and thanks to ( djshaggeh ) for sorting me out with this 4-1 manifold. he actually gave this to me a few months back, but i gave it back to him as i hadnt any plans for the car as i was trying to sell it. youll notice the ends missing on the pipe, we did a bit of a bodge and chopped the end off to use in the making of his exhaust for his xe, had a m8 of ours dad weld the end bit to his centre section so we could mate it to the xe manifold, it works, but needs a bit of heat on it to mould it into shape lol. no biggie re-fitting it to mine tho really, ill just bodge it on with a welder.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0114.jpg

[jimbob-mcgrew]

just a quick one today, cant be ****ed typing.

slapped brakes on t'other side:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0124.jpg

mullered the steering lock off:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0126.jpg

ave it sound deadening:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0127.jpg

[Benn]

Thats loads of clearancew on the brakes, they wont move at all. I only have a gap of a fag paper.
If you wanna save weigh, bin the door handles.. no need for them.

[Martin]

nice one mate keep it up

[AlexW]

Aye nice to see those things again. Thats how i had them fitted without the doorcards when ive had problems :D

Looks good. With the boot handle you could get a couple of bolts and get rid of the grab handle and leave the lock/button thing.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

im glad someone mentioned about the brakes, some peace of mind in that area now.

cant get rid of the door handles man ! there the life and soul of the car !
heheh, nah there just there for convenience more than anything at the mo, gettin in and out of the car constantly, im sure this project's gonna take me quite a while, so there a must for now.

yeh may ditch the grab handle, every little helps.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

done a bit more today :

rocker cover gasket has been slowly pissing itself over the last 6 months i was using the car so i treated it to a fresh one while i was getting some brake fluid to bleed the brakes. after taking the cover off i was surprised at how clean the innerds are, looks factory fresh in there compared to all my other cars, run my nail across bits of the cam while i was there, felt like a quarter to half a millimetre of wear, prety good for 7 owners on 66 thousand.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0136.jpg

while the airbox was off i decided to do a proper job on the matrix pipes i disconnected and slapped together temporarily, managed to get an almost perfect loop using the existing pipes, prety much cut one of them in half, and snipped a few inches from each end of the other pipe, chopped a bit more of pipe that i stole from the matrix so it was a good fit, and bobs yer uncle. prety happy with that.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0138.jpg

decided to rip the front of the air housing off with the exhaust heatshield as the hot air feed wont hook upto the exhaust manifold that im gonna put on, and its a bit more weight gone, gave the inside of the airbox a good clean, it was covered in a layer of grime, surface is prety smooth now.. so air should flow better in theory. cable tied some ali mesh round the intake hole, just so the air filter doesnt get choked by leaves etc. also found a fuel filter in my tool box thats probably about 5 years old, never got round to using it, and i dont think this nova's ever had one, so i chopped a section of pipe out and jubileed that in, gave the rocker cover a good scrub with petrol to reveal a metal looking surface underneath the blackness that it once was, i fcuking love the cleaning qualities of petrol, its brilliant stuff, no messing about, gets in there and shouts " ave it ya f0kin c00nt! " like a medi-eval scotsman weilding a claymore on the battlefield. put the rocker cover back on with a fresh gasket and gave the bolts a clean while i was there, same gungy blackness all in the threads and washers on those.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0140.jpg

not quite sure what im gonna do with the exhaust at the moment, its gonna require a bit of a jimbodge special to stop the 4-1 manifold thats going on from blowing, i got an idea for a bodge, but will have to wait and see whether its strong enough to hold the 2 cut edges together. (dont have access to a welder u see, and cant drive the car anywhere to get it done).

drawn a line on the pic where im gonna be cutting it, so it can mate to the downpipe section of the manifold going on. prety much on the backside of the sump.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0144.jpg

stopped at a small metal works factory earlier thats fairly local, i was asking for a small bit of aluminium that they could sell me or if they had any scrap bits that they didnt mind letting go of. after beeing past over to the boss man, he sorted me out with an almost perfectly sized piece from the scrap pile and he said he thought i looked like a student and that i probably needed it more than him ! lol anyhow i just laughed, shook his hand and thanked him, free bit of metal for the mini dash ill be making - result :thumb:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0143.jpg

it still has the anti-scratch film on it too which is a bonus.

dash should look a lil something like this when its done : fusebox/relays at the bottom and leftover switches up top.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/dashpanelblue-prints.jpg

and to finish off, altho i didnt get so far as i hadnt slept the previous night and was on my last legs getting cooked in the sun trying to grind in the echo'ing rattle of a tin can lol
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0145.jpg

its gettin there slowly, once this and a few other bits are out, i can hammerite the floor and get the seat back in, make a start on the battery wiring then strip some of the loom and sort switches out etc.

[AlexW]

Getting there man. Nice progress.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

aint posted for ages as my daily runners fcuked and cant go far, but did a bit more earlier today:

bit more butchering with the angle grinder:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0152.jpg

yellow circles are bits that i went into the body, but not too far luckily, apart from that, fairly happy with it, panels fairly smooth now, not bad for first attempt at getting spot welded metal out.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0150.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0151.jpg

just gotta get this last remainig bit of leftover deadening poo out with a bit of petrol, then i can hammerite the front floorpan and under the drivers seat, gonna leave under the passenger seat for now.. cos i need to grind out the seat rails still and sort some form of battery tray thats secure.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0155.jpg

riding fairly high with the weight out so far:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0157.jpg

[djshaggeh]

whoa its on stilts

[jimbob-mcgrew]

managed to get a bit more done today, first time in ages.
got the last of the sound deadening leftovers off from under the pedals, then sanded down the bad bits and prepped the drivers side area for first coat of hammerite.
then desided to have a break and chop some metal out of the passenger door for a laugh. (wasnt gonna do this origionally, to keept structural strength for the window winder mechanism, but i spotted a way that i could get away with taking a bit out)

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0171.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0173.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0174.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0175.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0176.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0177.jpg

door still needs cleaning up around the edges. do that on both sides and its a bit more weight gone, plus now i can get to the sound deadening behind which i couldnt get to with my knife, plus that area's stuck down like a mother****er compared to the rest of the cars deadening.
an added bonus!, while i was clearing out a m8s loft for his mum, i found a heatgun in there which im gonna borrow for that, whats the chances i bubble the paint on the outside of the door lol.
spotted a nice chunk of metal that can come out of the inside of the bootlid too, that'll be next, still got loads to hack out, really need one of those spotweld bits for majority of it, but ill keep on butchering with the grinder. not so bad on the ears anymore, picked up a cheap pair of ear defenders from my local market for 3 quid, apsolute fkin bargain, so far, best buy of 2008.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

slow progress at the mo, but were getting there.
gave the drivers side a second coat of hammerite, looks like the 2 coats will do it, unwrapped the whole dash loom up and out to the heater fan wiring in the bay, been pulling random wires out here and there that are un-needed, hope i havent messed anything up lol, i thought it was gonna be a nightmare, but it was a piece of piss really, just track each wire one at a time to its source and chop it out. while i was investing the layout of the loom ive got a good idea what to do with re-wiring the battery to the inside now, if im right.. prety simply the only wire i need to extend is the power for the starter, the other power lead that goes into the dash loom and splits into 3 can just be pulled into the inside of the car and shortened for a good fit, then earth the battery on one of the rear seatbelt mounts, think ive got it sussed.
one thing im unsure of is the earth on the heater fan thats linked to the brake resevior, atleast i THINK its an earth, im hoping i can just chop the fan connecter out totally and recconect the broken connection to the brake resevior, ive tracked the yellow, blue and grey back to their sources and chopped them out, but theres 3 wires left, one of which is the heated rear screen which i wanna keep on a simple toggle switch.. not 100% sure how to go about that.

after id finished messing with the wires i desided to get the angle grinder out for another bash at ditching some more weight, not finished that bit yet, more spot welds to grind out yet.
hoping again .. lol this project is running on hopes and dreams it seems, nothings definate lol, hoping that the drivers seat rail will be structurally sound in its modified state, ive left 2 spot welds on after the curve of the metal, im no scientist, but it looks like it should be ok, wouldnt want the seat rails breaking off in a possible crash. if i had a welder i would take more out and weld it on the far drivers side, but in theory it should be ok like this.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0183.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0185.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0184.jpg

[Ernie]

Looking good fella keep it up.
As for the wheels they are what i use on my track car with the same brake set up and never had a contact problem.

[djbrowney]

any more progress on the car fella ?

[jimbob-mcgrew]

fair bit man, mass electrics and a custom dash, more weight reduction.
didnt seem like anybody was taking any interest tho, so i couldnt be fcuked to post anymore. i may do one more, as u asked.

[LEWI007]

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/PICT0185.jpg



The beef lasagne must add like 86 more hp ? lol

[Ernie]

Hows this going or has it died over winter.

[AlexW]

Il update ya, taf wont mind.

Ernie the car still lives and is going to be used on the road for the next couple of weeks before the tax runs out. Then it will be stored at a friends but will still have work done to it. Atm taf is working on changing as many things to switchs.

[meritlover]

you must have some door cards of some sort mr McGrew. if you are ever in an accident the first thing your hands are going to hit will be the door...where theres now loads of razor sharp slices everywhere. the passenger will be worse. and if it rolls, then there will be blood everywhere.

[Pistol Pete]

Cars looking good. Some serious eight saving work going in to this!! Great. Get it lowered mate, weight saving wont lower it!!

Good luck with it all.

[BRoadGhost]

Removing the heater is one of the worst decisions you can make on a car.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

everyone says that come winter time, gotta be ruthless about these things

[BRoadGhost]

TBH it's just a few kilos that not only defrosts, but more importantly demists when you get in the car after you've been rained on.

[almond]

Removing the heater is one of the worst decisions you can make on a car.

got to agree. just take a dump before you drive it to lose the same weight

[jimbob-mcgrew]

yeh its true, aids cooling a bit too i can imagine, ah well, next time ill know better

[jimbob-mcgrew]

havent got much time so ill keep this short.

its difficult to explain as much as i'd like cos theres so much missing since my last updates, but ill try fill it in short form.

mass wire strippage from loom, un-needed relays & fuses. slapped the loom back together temporarily just to tidy it:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/29.jpg

still loads of metal work i havent got round to finishing, but chopped a chunk out the boot lid when i had time. ditched the lock too, and filled the grab handle. its in primer grey at the mo.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/26.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/27.jpg

ditched both of the ' classic ' door handles and opted for a super light weight custom handle on drivers side - thinnest piece of wire i could find that wouldnt snap when u tugged it lol

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/28.jpg

made 4 custom ali dashes in my quest for one i was happy with, this is the mk.4 installed with sidelight, dipped beam, fog, ignition and starter switches, with lower mounted fusebox. vertically mounted choke, and gte steering wheel i bought a while back, courtesy of ( sturge ) cheers bud.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/25.jpg

ditched the origional washer bottle, re-routed the wires inside the car from under the bonnet and shortened to fit, made a custom washer bottle which is unmounted yet but will go in the passenger footwell via a few cable ties.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/30.jpg

and one shot of the car from the outside, needs lowering big time

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/photon_09/24.jpg

[Nas71]

Great progress mate, ive just read it through, i didn't realise removing the sound deadening would be so much of a task!

[Dar]

Love the water bottle mod, looks like a bong.

[meritlover]

i think youve destroyed what looks like a really solid and clean nova. you've wasted 2 perfectly good doors and a boot.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

lol meritlover... i love you too buddy - heheh

nas71 - yeh it was a right pain untill i got my hands on a heatgun which made the job an apsolute piece of cake in comparison to gettin it off oldskool, shame i got my hands on it as late as i did, i only got to use it on the deadening on the front doors and wheel well, still a bit left behind the firewall i might attack if ive got time, and ive noticed 2 tiny bits inside the front doors right next to the door handles. there proper small, but hey, every little helps. if i could afford to keep it i would consider ditching alot more electricals and shaving down long bolts to save some grams.

lol dar - yeh i thought that at the time ' bong mod ' i was calling it, i guess the practice ive had making them in the past has helped out with this mod lol

[skidmarkz]

lol :) defo need a heater blanking plate like that, its bespoke!

[Rickyb]

is this thing still going or what?

[meritlover]

it wasnt until you dragged it up again. lol

[Rickyb]

lol i was thinkng about it so i thought sod it lol.

[AlexW]

It was broken and the shell scraped.

[meritlover]

It was broken and the shell scraped.

such a waste of what was a perfectly good car


edit: perfectly good BEFORE it was violated and turned in to a 'track-car

[AlexW]

In all fairness, Taf no longer had a car, he did put it up for sale but had no intrest at all.

No good for anything else as so much had been cut out.

Edit: When taf started he had 2 cars and seemed a good idea. Dont blame him at all.

Edit2: Also it had a lot of welding, would of needed more for the MOT. And hes now buying my bros 5dr.

[meritlover]

even perfectly good doors and a boot were hacked up in search of 'loosing un necessary weight' the wiring loom was butchered so its little wonder no one wanted it.

[The Simps]

shame. loved the pikey washer bottle!

[AlexW]

Doors were rotten. Wings are going on my miami blue.

[Rickyb]

ah well you win some you loose some.

[djshaggeh]

meritlover - you make it sound like it was your car!

[jimbob-mcgrew]

lol dont mind meritlover, he's just jealous and loves to kick up a fuss.

big man - yeh, i had to get rid of it as i had nowhere to live and was staying at a friends place at the time, so didnt have anywhere to store it.

after my crappy escort died on me, i was going to use it as my daily runner, but it had next to no security, bar a door lock. and round here.. woulda got joyridden for sure.
so after unsuccessfully trying to sell it, i desided to break it and scrap it.