My Nova 1.2 WIP

[bmw156]

hey, thanks for looking at my WIP

am new here so go easy


well i bought a nova 1.2 a while ago and know all the owners from new, it had some old dear up to about 55000 miles, nice slow driver lol. then my brother got it, and then sold it to my best mate and then i bought it back from him.

when i got it, it had some rust developing so i got the camera out and started snapping away and repairing, while learning at the same time.

have started to replace some parts with new ones and hope to get the car looking sweet in the future.

Ok enough talking let the pictures commence.
As I got it, just cleaned.
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8691/nova001bg1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Don’t you all wish you had kept your badges, bit tatty I know
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/nova004.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8872/nova003aq0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

First rot discovered
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/random010.jpg
(http://imageshack.us)

[bmw156]

which is now patched up

Some more rust yum yum
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/random014.jpg
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/random014sf1.jpg/1/w1600.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img233/random014sf1.jpg/1/)
My very own bird s**t welding, first attempt
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/9140/carwelding003ez5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Same hole as above on opposite side, welded
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/4613/carwelding005yn3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

A previous piece of welding done, filled over and smoothed WIP
http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/2618/ebay018iz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[bmw156]

More WIP
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/1020/ebay020bd6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Picked up some 3 spokes and all caps, also new tyres, 195/60/r14
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5176/notloweredcv1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Lowered by 40mm all round, very happy with results as it is subtle
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8985/lowereday6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Front strut brace and engine bay clean, also have rear strut brace
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7382/random019ue5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Thought as I could see the rear drums they needed to look nice
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8426/afterrefurbdf4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Arty farty
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/9153/artisticko0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[vaughanmc]

Good progress mate, try and make the pics 800x600 dpi :)

[bmw156]

Current
http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/192/loweredsa7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I have some new disc brakes in the post, because my others are shot. Some new HT leads as I think these ones have done their duty. Just put on a new standard rear box also.
Thanks for reading
Comments
Bmw156

[bmw156]

yeh did just notice that the pics are a tad big, sorry, will keep to 800x600 for future pics

[vaughanmc]

No problem mate, just to keep things tidy and readable :)

Looks a tidy car now!

[bmw156]

cheers man, any ideas for the future?
i was thinking about the side skirts, but are to expensive lol and might look stupid.
or maybe the orginal SR spoiler??
thoughts please

[vaughanmc]

Mk1 SR spoiler and the grey at the bottom of the doors would look cool

I'd also try and source a GTE back bumper with the bottom lip/spoiler and also a GTE front bumper - But do the bumpers grey

[Pistol Pete]

Welding looks good. Whats the problem areas in the engine bay like? Looks good lowered. What other plans you got?

[bmw156]

cheers for the welding comment.

im nbot sure about the gte, gsi bumpers, everyone has them and i think these ones look ok. plus my front one has a ****ed bolt and i CBA to hack the bolt of lol.

the grey at the bottom of the doors, how would i go about doing it, sticker or spray.

just though i would say also i did all the work my self :D:D:D
and the spraying was from a halfrauds rattle can lol, awesome match

[vaughanmc]

Personally I'd spray the grey at the bottom of the door but Ade is getting a copy of the vinyl made up :)

[Tidy Max]

smart car mate!! Yeah i think grey bumpers would look **** hot on that car! im thinking of putting them on mine :) drums came up good!

[bmw156]

cheers for the drum comment :D

and im not sure about painting or decal it, i think i could funk up the decals and then they would look poop and they might not be a perfect fit. where as if i spray them, it might look better, think i will photoshop the grey in and see what it looks like, will update soon with picture.

got my new brake discs through today, well heavy lol
hope to get them on today, or tomor.

[bmw156]

ok just knocked up the grey under doors in photoshop

is this to dark or to light

also some one asked what are the problem areas like, battery tray is like mint, has some weird "pad" stuck down on it and is stuck fast, might take a pic and show you, see if you know what it is. rear arches are slighty going, so need to catch them. is a bit under bonnet on the left seem by the suspension turret. cant think of any other problem areas
comments please

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2451/greytestgc6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2451/greytestgc6.040f2957f8.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=215&i=greytestgc6.jpg)

[bmw156]

ok so i just found some pics of a nova which has the bumper on the front, and the grey under doors, and the rear spoiler, not sure if i like the look of the car tho lol.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/425/p5130857tj7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/425/p5130857tj7.d0d4251435.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=215&i=p5130857tj7.jpg)

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8125/p5130864kf1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8125/p5130864kf1.37d104d961.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=215&i=p5130864kf1.jpg)

[maxlee]

i think your car looks good as it is might be worth wating to get bored of that look then changing it maybe????

3 spokes are for winners!!

[bmw156]

hey, just a nice small update,
i wanted to sort out the trim on the sides of the car as they had lost colour and i wanted the grey back like the bumpers.

so i went out armed with my pinstripe sticker, and scissors and other good tools lol
thought i would clean it to let the sticker stick nicer and this came up

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/4086/cars001cy4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/cars001cy4.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img373/cars001cy4.jpg/1/)

so i was shocked but happy, so i carried on and did the rest and i didnt use any vinyl. good times.

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/3016/cars009ra6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/cars009ra6.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img373/cars009ra6.jpg/1/)

ok so all the side done and i think it looks awesome.

then thought i would take some piccs of the stickers i have on my car :D

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/3189/cars006vo8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/cars006vo8.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img373/cars006vo8.jpg/1/)

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/4715/cars005gz8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/cars005gz8.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img227/cars005gz8.jpg/1/)

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/5681/cars007vc7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/cars007vc7.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img373/cars007vc7.jpg/1/)

comments please
Martin

[vaughanmc]

Some original stickers there, got to be kept :)

[bmw156]

yeh, are being kept as they are well cool :>

[bmw156]

hey people,

havent been doing much to my nova
but bought a mk2 dash of here from colin. and armed with RJ's guide and my mate i took on the challenge.

my dash:
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5199/cars011vb8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/cars011vb8.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img186/cars011vb8.jpg/1/)
first of all: take steering wheel of!
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/6975/cars010wl4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/cars010wl4.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img78/cars010wl4.jpg/1/)

get this far and no the wheel doesnt want to come of, after a whole morning of wiggling, shaking, and screaming we go to vauxhall, and they couldnt even get it off!!! but the guy says "take out the whole column its only 4 bolts"

so we come home and i tackle the sheered nut, manage to get it of and then take the column out.

dash then comes out like a piece of cake. and we undo and label all of the plugs so we know what they are and to make the next process easier

so we get the mk2 dash and wirer all the wirers up blah blah and then start to put the dash on etc.
i have to mod the light angle adjustment switch as my mk1 didnt have one and the mk2 didnt have a rear wiper switch so i put the rear wiper in the angle adjustment place
get it all on and this is the final result
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/892/cars013so6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/cars013so6.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img216/cars013so6.jpg/1/)
i do have a center console in there now as well
i probably made it sound easy but trust me its not, i had little faith that i could do it once started and i dont think i will ever do one again.

everything works apart from the horn as i need to wire it up, the inside light doesnt, which i am puzzled about any ideas?
and the blower is eaither on or off, no inbetween which i think is a bit of wrong wiring, will have a fiddel

thanks for reading

comments please

[bmw156]

hey people
cheers for all the positive comments after the dash board swap:thumb:

i installed my new grill today with the fog lamp included
enjoy
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/210/cars021vs0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/cars021vs0.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img217/cars021vs0.jpg/1/)

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/6291/cars023tl6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/cars023tl6.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img370/cars023tl6.jpg/1/)

will post up some more pics of it when they are wired in

[bmw156]

ok got the "driving" lights wired in

first of thanks to my mate adi, who helped out, was a mammoth task:p

decided to mount the fuse/relay box under the wing, on one of the bolts, as i didnt want to drill the car at all.
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/449/cars058je9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/cars058je9.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img135/cars058je9.jpg/1/)


then wired the earth to the one in the battery tray:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9531/cars060fm7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/cars060fm7.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img217/cars060fm7.jpg/1/)

p.s whats that matting thing next to the battery?


we then put the earths from the lights under the normal light fixings,

the results:
Normal
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/4310/cars055iz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/cars055iz2.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img135/cars055iz2.jpg/1/)

with high beam on
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/135/cars053iw5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/cars053iw5.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img217/cars053iw5.jpg/1/)

and justa shot standing back abit
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3530/cars052rv3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/cars052rv3.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img135/cars052rv3.jpg/1/)

o and i also found a nice present on my front cross member, yum yum

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8881/cars067wm0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/cars067wm0.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img135/cars067wm0.jpg/1/)
any ideas what to do.
comments please

martin

[craig green]

Fr end in peices, get the rot cut out & see if its worth plating or best to replace the cross member.

rather dubious looking bit of mesh visible through the hole in the cross member, anyone been fibreglassing-up holes?

Love the grille though matey.

[AlexW]

Should have stuck that earth directly to the batt, Mucho better.

That matting stuff is crap tbh lol

Lights look good, bet there a lot better in this darkness.

Front panel should be a easy fix, New panel and a bit of welding will make it 100% again.

Edit: Pm on its way to you in a sec.

[robertdevlin69]

i love the grill....whats the ''p'' plate stand for?

[AlexW]

i love the grill....whats the ''p'' plate stand for?

That will be a "Just passed" plate (His misses i belive (thread in general))

[bmw156]

ok about the stupid rust, cheers

thanks for the comments.

and yeh the p plate is an english thing for just passed as people can see you may be slow etc. and yeh for the missus

[bmw156]

hey guys and girls,

had a good day of messing the other day with aw06 little brother paul, he is a legend.

mk1 vs mk2 lol
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine061.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine063.jpg
getting ready for a digi dash.
i dont have any mnore pics of the digi dash, but i was driving home at 157 mph becuase the switch on top was switched the wrong way, so when i got home i switched it the other way, all great, put it back in and then it ****ed up and started to smoke, so hopefully a couple of wires have burnt them selves out. will find out in jan. the old one is back in for the mo. not good

i changed over my brake servo for a cleaner one.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine064.jpg

took of my back bumper looking for early presents
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine065.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine067.jpg

not to bad i think.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine068.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine072.jpg

after a bit of poking and wire wheel

then some anti rust primer
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine071.jpg

then i chucked it all back together

tonight i took my wiper motor off to give it a clean
from
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine075.jpg


to
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/engine080.jpg
also at aw06's we gunked the engine and pressure washed it. looks alot cleaner now.
i washed my dustbin lid lid today to get it super clean.

aw06's brother is a legend btw
comments please

[AlexW]

Looking good mate.

@ at that tiny hole, next month sand it back and get my bro to put a couple of welds in there to seal it up again

[bmw156]

not updated this for a while, and have bene doing wuite a bit of work with the help or aw06's little brother paul.

well we have had a few good days working on the nova.
we replaced the clutch and clutch cable. and feels so much nicer now. was alot eaiser then i thought it was, probably due to the right tools etc. thanks to paul for the help.

got my digi dash fitted and working and i love it.

took of a door card today for the first time to try and push a dent out, but was in an annoying place so didnt do much to it.

sometime soon we are going to put a stearo in, along with two speakers in the normal places in the dash and then two speakers under the front seats, which i made some small slim boxes for.

also fitted some gsi/gte or mk3 astra brakes, discs and pads as my smaller ones are pap. they didnt fit behind the 5j 3 spokes as i thought they would so we had to grind of about 3 mm of the corner. and they fit but are extremly close . like fag paper close. but they work and all is well.

got a few things planned for the next few weeks along with the ICE input. new thermostat, try and find the problem to my reverse light not working. maybe plug up a few holes that have formed.

and then start some major work on aw06's car, PAS. corsa servo.

good times.

[Essex Kid]

Im the unlucky bugger doing the work :roll:

Couple of pics i got earlier :D
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh30/AW_06/HPIM1342.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh30/AW_06/HPIM1344.jpg

The clutch and cable made such a difference - from pushing a brake pedal to pushing a throttle lol

All we need to do now is the radio loom etc, thermostat and a brake line/braided hose :D

Smiles :p

[bmw156]

cheers for pics paul

[jimbob-mcgrew]

looking good mate, sorting her out bit by bit :thumb:
not keen on the mk.2 dash, but each to thier own.
the grille's prety unique, i bet it illuminates blackpool at night lol
as for spraying / vinyling the lower half, i think it looks better how is it :) glad you havent done it yet.
keep it up :thumb:

[bmw156]

hey, havent updated this in a while so will just write what has been going on.

brought a set of SR seats, rainbow style, fitted them and used them for about 3 days and dont like them so chucked the normal ones back in.

fitted a new rotor arm and dizzy cap.

learned how to polish things, so did my rocker cover and lid and put them on.

i was gonna fit some 1.3 gear, like inlet, manifold, exhaust and carb and K&N filter and cam. but after searching i couldnt find a decent 1.3 carb so i gave up on the option

not much planned for the moment, but in the future when i get a welder. i want to start taking out the filler and putting metal back in. and also do a front panel swap.

also in the far future, probs an engine swap. my dad has an astra 1.6 so might nick his engine and change it to spi and chuck it in lol

i just want to enjoy the nova as it is for the moment

[bmw156]

ok well havent been doing much as have been restoring a bike for the last few months.

went and collected a set of wings today for the front end rebuild. started stripping them to check for rust etc. they have 9 layers of paint on them!!

so no plans are, buy a new skinny bumper. fit a new wing and check the other. buy and fit new front panel and cross member. then i shoudl have a pretty good looking front end and nice and solid lol.

o and i fitted the boot carpet which goes up the back of the seats as well, so now my whole boot is carpeted.

[bmw156]

ok so done some more work today to the nova

as my plan for the front end rebuild/replace will have to be done in a day or two no more as its a daily user. i wanna gte most of the prep work done now. things like new underseal under the wings etc. and check for any rust so i dont get any nasty suprises when it comes to do the swap. also i wanted to check the condition of the passenger side wing to see if i need to strip my own newer wing to get sprayed. ill let all the pics do the talking.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay001-1.jpg
yes there is 9 or so layers of paint on the wings i brought.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay002-1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay003-1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay004-1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay006-1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay007-1.jpg
looking solid, good times.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay008-1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay009-1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay010.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay011.jpg

[bmw156]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay012-1.jpg

more solid goodness :D:D:D

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay013.jpg bit at the bottom stil solid, just infected so to speak.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay014.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay015.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay016-1.jpg

then stripped the inside bit of the wing, which would be annoying to reach with the wing on:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay019-1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay020-1.jpg

then i moved onto the front bumper as i wanted to get all the black to black of it, and either do the heat gun or peanut butter trick on it.

so checked out the back and found this!!

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay018-1.jpg

[bmw156]

which is ment to look like this
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay017-1.jpg

so got out the hammer and gave it same hammer time lol

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay021-1.jpg

looks a lot better IMO

discovered some more rust
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay022.jpg

i need to know, is this on the front panel or not, because im gonna replace it and need to worry about it now or then lol

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay026.jpg

other side looks rough as well

general underside shot
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay023.jpg

all back together
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay028.jpg

then worked on getting all the back to black off the bumper, so got a wire wheel and had the drill going as slow as possible and worked great.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/bmw156/my%20nova/Ebay032.jpg

can kinda see where it is and isnt lol

and it all reassembled so i can drive it :D:D

comments please

[Sloth]

wow thats clean dude, looks very tidy. id zipwheel them grotty bits and weld em up. the outer skin of the crossmember looks ok. what ya using for underseal?

[bmw156]

that stuff in a spray can from halfords, comes in a tin as well. black can yellow writing

[~~joycey~~]

Looking great mate :thumb: I do actually really like this car it reminds me of my little red 1.2 i had R.I.P :( Needs clear fronts imo :thumb:


Good work tho! Rep+