My First Nova - Project

[gtachorley]

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[gtachorley]

Hi all,

This is my first nova got it when I passed my test few months ago, its a Mk2 1.0 Merit with 40k on the clocks, a few bodged repairs, a few battle scars and 1 months MOT left.

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/16062008056-1.jpg

Here is the beast when I picked it up.

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/16062008057-1.jpg

And the battle scars also mentioned

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/16062008059-1.jpg

Some pikey trying to break in had led to a novel attempt at de locking!! :thumb:

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/16062008058-1.jpg

So this was how the car stood when I took 2 weeks off work and decided to get started (with the help of my dad a Morris Minor nut)

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/05082008129.jpg

Taking off the rear bumper gave me a nice introduction to the world of hidden rust.

Despite telling myself we were just cleaning it up so we could do a basic respray my Dad was having none of it (not as lazy as me) and got on it!!

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/05082008132.jpg
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/05082008133.jpg


With a silly amont of metal cut out and plenty of fresh put in I ended up with
this

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/05082008134.jpg

When it came to looking at the scrape down the arch me and dad realised that there had been previous bodged with filler (repaired before the last accident) removing this revealed (on both sides of the car ??:tard: ) loads of welding near the arch badly done with super thick metal, seams welds and loads of slapped on filler. So no real choice but to take the plunge.

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/07082008135.jpg


Here goes

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/07082008137.jpg

And again loads of nice fresh metal and a skim of filler (getting it to shape was a blag took ages and my side of the deal was to do any hard labour so got to it lol)

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/13082008150.jpg

[Riggy]

good progress , sounds like you have a top dad lol :thumb:

[michael squeak]

good work so far. :thumb:

[meritlover]

very nice work so far. this is to be commended. please do not violate this nova. treat your nova well and it shall treat you well.
it is in clean condition. you should be a proud man.

[turbojolt]

with you dad into old cars you will have a expert when it comes to the rust worms that infest all novas lol


keep up the good work

[vaughanmc]

Cool project mate, keep it up :)

[Mike.]

some good work there, but one question, why has the tow eye been cut off?

[krobinson]

Good work :)

[gtachorley]

And the other side

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/13082008148.jpg

I then bought 2 new front wings (pattern parts came with free scratches and dents!!!:eek: )

Also got new door, GTE skirts, GTE spoiler, new coilovers, electric windows and central locking :thumb:

Wanted GSi kit but I was in a hurry and decided to just smooth and colour code the standard front and rear bumpers.

More sanding then I ever thought possible (honestly had phat w**king cramps off sanding down layer after layer of filler primer) got me some smooth bumpers

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/07082008138.jpg

Then went round the car filling dents, endless sandind and eventually it was good enough to prime haha

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/16082008151.jpg

Really tempted to leave it in primer it looked so smooth and clean

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/16082008152.jpg

Then the painting started decided to stick with the Magma Red, I was only going to be using my garage and my compressor and gun to paint the car so not expecting a flawless finish (good job as I still aint got that ha ha). Mates of mine sprayed there cars in a lockup few weeks before and were well cocky about it so the car had to be as good as theirs so I could hold my head up high

This is how it began (really difficult to avoid knocking freshly painted parts over in the quest to get at others)


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/18082008153.jpg


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/18082008154.jpg


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/18082008155.jpg

Note the novel use of garage furniture ha ha

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/18082008157.jpg


Getting there bit by bit !!!

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/18082008156.jpg


Well with the painting job done it was a simple (read painstaking battle) job of remebering where I put various screws and bits and bats to get the car back together.

I acquired some GTE Astra wheels, a full leather Cavailer Turbo interior and GTE rear interior.

So here is the fruit of my labour my shiny new 1.0 Merit :thumb:


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/31102008198.jpg


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/31102008199.jpg


So thats my project thread done! Any comments, questions or suggestions more than welcome

The 1.0 is going soon for a 1.4 16v (insurance is gonna be a bitch so sticking to 1.4 I think:cry: )

I fancy a wide arch kit and a van conversion but am worried it will cost a fortune and take months to avoid it looking chavvy and rushed ??

All opinions welcome

Rory

[Mike.]

bloody hell, does look very good mate:thumb:

[gtachorley]

Hi again done the second half no sorry about the wierd layout

Mike-
Towing eye came off as I smoothed the recess in the back bumber and it would have fouled the back bumper.

Cheers for all these comments making me glo with pride lol!!

[Southie]

That looks very tidy :thumb: Good work on getting it looking so clean. I'm also liking what you have done to the rims mate :)

[turbojolt]

that looks really really good mate nice work


did you spray it all in the garage as well

[gtachorley]

Yeah mate all in the garage in aint perfect but its pretty good (well I am happy with it and its better than my mates lol)

[turbojolt]

its better then alot of peoples on here let alone your mates lol

[Adam]

Good work, looks cool on those wheels.

[gtachorley]

Bought the wheels like that :( they are GTE astra wheels, powder coated black and then diamond cut on a lathe and lacquered up!

Getting tempted by speedlines but think its just cos I am getting used to these.

[Mike.]

Hi again done the second half no sorry about the wierd layout

Mike-
Towing eye came off as I smoothed the recess in the back bumber and it would have fouled the back bumper.

Cheers for all these comments making me glo with pride lol!!

fair do's mate :)

[Riggy]

does look very nice matey , well done :thumb:

[Spudly]

That looks mint bud im really liking that and especially as its your first one mate keep it up and keep it shiny:thumb:

[Steve]

Good work mate, re-spray looks good and you cant go wrong with those wheels.

Personally I think its too red maybe black side skirts to break it down a bit?

Have you re-trimmed the rear bench in leather? may look funny otherwise.

[Rickyb]

loking lovely mate keep up the good work :thumb:

[gtachorley]

Been thinking about the skirts going black not entirely sure (any opinions anyone)

Oh and as for keeping it shiny, I cants stop cleaning it its like OCD lol

Will get some pics of the interior tomorrow its black leather Recaros (cav turbo) rears are leather and rear cards are Gsi, front cards are leather with Kicker tweeters, Kickers speaker and Kicker independant crossovers looks pretty good :p

Oh my little bro says i have to give him a shout out for the Camera work!! (and the brews)

[turbojolt]

how hard was it to fit the cavalier rear seats mate

[gtachorley]

Oh just spotted a problem with one pic, lets play a little game can anyone spot the tool in one of the pics thats for keeping chavs at bay?

[gtachorley]

Bought the full interior ready made for a nova was well easy just needed to fit some brackets at the rear to hold the 60/40 split bench

[Cle]

that looks realllly good with the respray :thumb:

Air Rifle = Anti /Chav devise ??? lol

[gtachorley]

Yeah not really for defending from chavs (yet) just hangs about in the garage looking sad for itself, but just spotted it in a pick and thought i would mention it before anyone else lol

[gtachorley]

Got some pictures of the interior -
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/12112008205.jpg


Was completly done for me cant claim any credit:(

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/12112008206.jpg

Except the dash with I made black with dye (few people said cant dye or spray em it looks naff, but think mine looks good?)

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/12112008204.jpg

Cheers

[draper]

does your dad want to adopt me :(

car looks good :thumb:

[Shaun_O'Donnell]

Does look good mate, a nicer steering wheel would just set that off perfectly.

[Steve]

Interior looks sweet, also wanted cav turbo seats for mine.

[Graeme]

Can't fault that at all mate, like shaun said a nicer stering wheel would look a lot better, I sure you intend on changing it, keep up the good work and I think black bumper stripe would break up the red a bit

[Jim Mcrae]

Looks amzing, not 100% on the red skirts but other than that its dead nice.

[Connor]

thats come out really nice mate
i'm hoping mine is goin to look as good!??

[vaughanmc]

Steering wheel looks a wee bit out of shape lol

Looks awsome in there though, they heated as well ?

[Shaun_O'Donnell]

Steering wheel looks a wee bit out of shape lol

Nova steering wheels are out of shape to compensate for the not centred steering column, if you know what I mean.

[vaughanmc]

Aye lol the amount of people who've sat in mine and said its well weird

I haven't noticed it that much really but I know about it

[Spudly]

A nice momo steering wheel and a snap off boss kit would finish that interior off nicely mate, thats really impressive and i like it a hell of a lot, keep on top of it and enjoy it:thumb:

[gtachorley]

Yeah does need a new steering wheel will get paid soon so was gonna get a momo one and a gaiter for the hand brake and gear stick.

Been trying to get these seats working for ages definately wired up right but not working, have taken them out to look at the wiring but it all looks fine, gonna try and look at the heater pads but not clue how to strip the seats and but em back together any ideas??

[Spudly]

Have you earthed them to a good clean earth bud, they only need power (through a switch) and earth, over on cavaliercrazy when i enquired about wiring my leather in they told me they need a live earth (one directly back to the battery not just to the chassis) so that might be worth trying.
But having said that they do take a good few minutes to warm up, if youre expecting them to get warm straight away then they definately wont, give it till late on tonight (if theyre still wired in) and go sit in your car with them turned on for around 15 minutes and you should know 100% by then:thumb:

[~~joycey~~]

Luvvin the astra gte alloys mate :)

[gtachorley]

Cheers Joycey

SRSpudly- Cheers for the info been looking into it for a while on all the forums, have the correct switches is all working ie can check and the seat is deffo getting a live and earth and have a calibra haynes manual so have double checked.

I recon the wiring has burned out somewhere (looking about it seems to happen often but no guide on sorting it), I have checked the pad in the base as it is easy to have a look at and there are no apparant probs but the seats are wired in series and I cannot look at the pads on the back rest unless I get the leather off a little bit to get at it. That is where I am struggling cant find any info any ideas anyone??:cry: .

[Novaboi_1991]

nice ride mate, how the hell is it so shiny? i spraying my bumpers red but its not workin how id like it to

comes out dull when dry...

[gtachorley]

Just plenty of filler primer coats and sanding down for me, just use loads of primer and flat it down before spraying (if your using tins just make sure you use lacquer when you have put the paint on).

[1.6 8v turbo nova]

I've seen this in person, v.tidy! Changing rings in mine, keep the nova's going lol.

Wouldnt think it was same car on before and after photo's, nice job.

[gtachorley]

Cheers lad i will come over and have a look at yours next time I get chance :)

Determined to take those seats apart tomorrow :(

[Ernie]

Only just noticed this thread and it looks good mate.
Keep it up.

[peester]

good work there, has come along way.

[Shaun_O'Donnell]

The heated seats in my Calibra didn't work even though the switch would light up, everything connected and fuses intact, just put it down to one of those Vauxhall flaws and didn't persue it further. Happy to admit that the heated seats in my ovlov work a treat and get used all the time in this orrible' weather.

Good luck mate, keep us posted...

[gtachorley]

New Pics of the car got some speedlines and bits and bobs, have a little front end crash but made a start of fixing that up and got a couple of weeks off next month for the engine change.

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/26042009254.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/26042009253.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/26042009255.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/26042009256.jpg

[krobinson]

Looks really really well :-)

[Gemima]

Looks really nice! Where abouts from Chorley are you? Never seen it before!

[gtachorley]

Near Fredricks off Bolton Rd. Do come to leyland quite often lol

[NovaBoy1992]

thats a awsum first car mate
wish i will get one like that lol

[sparkie1401]

looks great bud, some nice work gone in to the build

like the seats, they from a calibra? heatd to nice touch! they were an optinal extra on my Luxe +

Like the door pods to, did you buy em or build em yourself?

[L33 LEG]

awesome build, paintjob looks really good!

the interior is nice aswell, hope uv put some black handles in and a new wheel since the last pics?

was hoping the skirts would of been black by now aswell :( other than that though uv done a really good job!

[gtachorley]

Thought it would be a good idea to update my project thread.

Last summer I bumped in to a girl in a Ka in front of me, setting off from standing traffic she braked it was like 3 miles an hour and did no damage to me and a 50p size split in her back bumper. She of course claimed for whiplash loss of earnings ect after being fine at the time and agreeing to get a few quotes and get back to me, my insurance refused her so she took them to court :( I lost my no claims so could'nt insure the Nova anymore (it was registered as a 1.6 16v) so I took it off the road to changed the engine as the 1.6 was knackered and change the paint scheme.

The Engine bay was a bit of a mess and I fancied stitch welding it so I sanded it back welded the seams and fibreglassed and filled the seams.

Messy

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/33890_1603734530013_1135613746_1699291_5994143_n-1.jpg

Ready for paint.

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/69310_1603735010025_1135613746_1699293_457953_n-1.jpg

Painted

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/DSCI0076-1.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/68310_1603735410035_1135613746_1699295_1167284_n.j pg

I am going to use the Corsa B Servo for brakes and a hidden wiper mech and get a carbon fibre cover for the battery area.

I bought an X18XE1 to go in the car along with a 421 manifold, and ARP rod bolts.

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/67651_1603736530063_1135613746_1699301_3005143_n-1.jpg

And got a friend to make me a manifold for FJR 1300 Throttle bodies whic I will run with Megasquirt.

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/40159_1603736330058_1135613746_1699300_4533300_n-1.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/72592_1603736210055_1135613746_1699299_6989064_n-1.jpg

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/73647_1603736890072_1135613746_1699302_4744819_n-1.jpg

I then made a spray both in a friends lock up and we resprayed the shell and added Graphite Gray GSI front and rear bumpers and side skirts.

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/IMG_20110409_135131.jpg


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/IMG_20110420_212354.jpg


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/IMG_20110420_212421.jpg


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/IMG_20110528_171314.jpg


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/IMG_20110528_171357.jpg


So as it now stands


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/Hond123/IMG_20110420_213330.jpg


Got a few less hours this month and a few weeks off end of August so gonna crack on and get it finished.