View Full Version : Small block nova build
Come along to a trackday mate, were looking at doing one at Sneterton in April as I want to get my car out too.
Danny s-p
09-03-11, 11:38 PM
wow how did i miss this
comptoncj
09-03-11, 11:45 PM
Come along to a trackday mate, were looking at doing one at Sneterton in April as I want to get my car out too.
Will do, what are the dates?
MARTIN KELSON
10-03-11, 08:10 PM
Whats the balljoints for in the last picture?
Almost finished, your mate may have a spare few minutes :)
Exhaust manifold hanger Martin ;)
I'll have a word over the weekend.
Ben did his back in a few weeks ago so works been slow whilst he gets all his actual work related jobs finished.
I got some pics last night though of the dash setup and how he measured up the shafts
Adjustable driveshafts ! :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/2011-04-10163203.jpg
Plate for the dash :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/2011-04-13115809.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/2011-04-131440172.jpg
He will be making me one of those now !
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/2011-04-131526582.jpg
Back panel with very bright alarm light :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/2011-04-131646152.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/2011-04-13164829.jpg
He is just waiting on the shafts and cam cover to come back now, a few bits of wiring to finish and the sensors to install for the dash and that I believe is the lot done !
M Sutton
14-04-11, 06:17 PM
Stunning build! Be great to see the car in action.
Is this a Corsa C or MK4 Astra rear beam?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/DSC01027.jpg
Adjustable drive shafts... Awesome engineering.
NOV4_SPORT
23-05-11, 06:35 PM
Amazing Looking, Everything looks really good matey.
iain
Rear beam is a modified Nova item but on drums still, he can't see the benefit of going onto disc brakes.
Shafts are now finished, they are off to be powder coated along with some bits off my car.
Thought I'd posted this pic but obviously not !
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/IMG_0141.jpg
Its not had some more work done on it and only needs a couple of things finishing before it can be bolted on at last !
Car will be at PV, unsure if its going to be running by then, will be bloody close to running thats for sure but time is against him at the moment.
Thanks for all the nice comments :)
Well no appearance at PV but then that was a bit of a wash out so wouldn't of been worth the mad rush to get it there !
Just one update !
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/IMG_0414.jpg
Off to Glastonbury this week and then its getting finished I'm told !
MARTIN KELSON
19-06-11, 10:16 AM
Looks fantastic
What is machined on the side of the cover? On my iPhone so can't make it out.
Looking forward to seeing it done. When you looking now for it's first public outing?
NOV4_SPORT
19-06-11, 10:19 AM
That cover looks epic buddy.
iain
Written on the side is the company name for the guy that made it
, Insignis performance engineering.
Ben said if he had a full day in the car it would be finished, he has his boy every other weekend though which limits what time he has, on top of that he is also preparing a mk2 golf shell, a Corsa shell for me, bits on my Peugeot and various other bits so with Glastonbury out of the way hopefully he will get a weekend on it and it will finally fire up into life :)
Once it's running it will get a few miles on it then a trip down to track and road for a mapping session :)
gsigav85
09-09-11, 10:50 PM
any news on this yet
Sadly not mate, it's sat covered up since I last posted on here
I'm sure he will finish it soon though
Minor update although I believe the next one will be that it's up and running :)
Spoke to Ben earlier and he spent the day on it yesterday, everything is wired except for 3 engine sensors, brakes bled, shafts are in. The dash is away being flocked at the minute so hopefully once that's back he will put done fluids in the engine and get it running.
No pics but sounds like it's nearing completion at last
boomtings1
03-10-11, 09:06 PM
This puts my 1.6 16v to shame lol
peester
04-10-11, 08:45 PM
Glad to hear some news, that its nearing completion.
Level of workmanship on this is amazing!
womble sri
04-10-11, 10:10 PM
Absolutely love this build! Will good to see it done, hopefully he gets it going in the new year! Would love to see it at Bedford not to far from me!
um...any pics of that rollover jig? lol looks like one i could knock up at work
Absolutely love this build! Will good to see it done, hopefully he gets it going in the new year! Would love to see it at Bedford not to far from me!
It was fine there before, might sadly be a touch on the noisy side when its back out but he loves that circuit so will no doubt do what he can to get it quiet enough.
um...any pics of that rollover jig? lol looks like one i could knock up at work
Only got the pics as posted in the thread
w_wall_2001
06-10-11, 09:29 AM
a work of art, a real credit to the lad. cant wait to see it done
OllieKing
08-11-11, 10:25 PM
love it! i live in Warboys, whats the company this guy works for??
OllieKing
14-11-11, 04:24 PM
ah i see, thought he may have a car prep bussiness or somthing on similar lines, wish he could prep my car for me...............................for free!
He does do bits ( slowly ! ) but his work is superb and I fairly well priced.
If I could get him away from Scania I'm sure he could do quite well for himself, just not exactly the right time to be starting up a business when you have a secure job IMO
Well 2012 is here, Happy New Year to everyone. As Ben is on call until tomorrow night he has been busy today finishing off the last few bits.
Progress at last !
Flocked dash back from Autoflock and fitted
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/P1010969.jpg
Last few bits of wiring
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/P1010958.jpg
Wheels back on, turns out the hub flange on the N/S was drilled wrong as the stud is slightly off centre so this is on the list of things to change, Autovaux were happy to change the flange for free which was good, shame the new one has to then be machined and the bearing needs replacing.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/P1010963.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/P1010962.jpg
Cam cover is now finished and fitted, engine has running oil in, all primed up too, just needs a nut and bolt check before startup.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/P1010960.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/P1010961.jpg
So with any luck it will run tomorrow, I popped over today just to calibrate the dash, got a few issues trying to sort out the formula for the sensors he is using so I'm trying to sort that now and I'll pop back tomorrow and load those onto the dash, as long as that works so he can monitor the oil pressure then it will be run ! at last lol
MARTIN KELSON
01-01-12, 09:50 PM
Stunning James as expected.
Good luck with the start up tomorrow :)
M Sutton
02-01-12, 09:14 AM
Awesome build!!
auzzy-b
02-01-12, 03:26 PM
What a little beauty:thumb:
wish there was a LIKE button, this will do...
http://itmustbemonday.com/files/2011/10/facebook-like-buton.png
that rocker cover is awesome
matthew172
02-01-12, 09:46 PM
very very nice, them brakes look the tits
Well sadly due to all sorts of problems getting the dash to communicate with anything we didn't get it running today.
I only popped over yesterday as I knew he didn't have a laptop and the dash would need calibrating so he could monitor a few things as they come through the ecu via a interface cable which is either faulty or won't communicate with the dash, fook knows but after 6 hours of head scratching and googling I'm no further forward than I was yesterday lunchtime.
Hopefully a call to them tomorrow will sort out a few things, it needs the cams bedding in as soon as it runs so it needs a minimum of rpm and coolant and ofcourse oil pressure which were not convinced is calibrated correctly so he is going to make up a mechanical gauge tomorrow.
Apart from this wiring issue and the hub flange that needs changing the car is done, I can imagine he wishes he just kept the original dash bits in there now lol
shed-on-wheels
03-01-12, 01:21 AM
wow truley beautifull peice of kit here!!!
And it now runs :)
Still struggling with getting the dash communication to work as it should but that's was less of a priority.
Just a few jobs to finish then it should make it to the rollers
krobinson
08-01-12, 07:03 PM
Awesome!!
Southie
08-01-12, 07:16 PM
It's a stunner is this motor, I bet he's chuffed it's running though :cool:
Love that rocker cover that's fitted.
MARTIN KELSON
08-01-12, 08:21 PM
Congratulations mate.
Time now to crack on with other things! 👍
Lol, nice one Martin. It's not quite finished finished but the fact it's all running is a good start.
He is on the case with the other bits.
Well after 2 years ( I think ) the car has finally been driving about ! still a few bits to finish but very minor. Decided to scrap the interface lead for the MBE simply as there are very few benefits of having any ecu realtime data, well that and the fact SBD are a nightmare to deal with so getting the information required about the 967 software is just toooo time consuming.
Only major niggle, although not exaclty a big issue is that the alternator doesn't appear to be charging, he is looking into that today though.
I got a ride up the ind est and the gearbox is very smooth, changes gear smoothly, obviously its extremely noisy ! The engine is quite quiet, possibly as the billet cam cover contains the noise of the solid lifters etc, induction noise is ofcourse immense, certainly not looking to be Bedford Autodrome friendly but a air box of some description may quieten that down a touch.
As usual a few pics now its been outside, hopefully a date for mapping will be sorted soon :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/photo13.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/photo16.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/photo15.jpg
The man himself trying to replicate the Lord Dewis pose ( those on VS should know what I'm on about lol )
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/photo14.jpg
Some excellent work gone into that, love the front number plate!
M Sutton
24-01-12, 04:16 PM
Looks like it will be a weapon! When is he planning on take it to Bedford Autodrome? Id love to watch it in action as i work in one of the hangers near the track.
Looks like it will be a weapon! When is he planning on take it to Bedford Autodrome? Id love to watch it in action as i work in one of the hangers near the track.
I very much doubt it will pass the soundtest there. We will take his and my Peugeot along there to be tested though as we both like the circuit.
Count Vaux Alot
24-01-12, 04:57 PM
Great work thats something to be really proud of!
peester
24-01-12, 05:01 PM
awesome stuff well done. The build has been inspirational (and helpful).
That does look awesome dudes.
BRoadGhost
24-01-12, 09:29 PM
It needs a proper bumper FTW.
Small update, Ben has been a bit busy so the car has sat in the corner for a while but he is finishing off the last bits this weekend so it's ready for mapping.
As well as tidying some wiring up and a few other bits he has also made this :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/329a2261.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/971ae4fb.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/428a300d.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/7eb51434.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/dddfc4e7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/9c6fa2b5.jpg
That should hopefully keep the front end nice and tight.
scott.parker
14-06-12, 06:56 PM
Nice and tight! crikey it needs to be wide track and on slicks to stop under steer now surly?
peester
14-06-12, 07:20 PM
tis an awesome machine isnt it. Great work, yet again.
Nice and tight! crikey it needs to be wide track and on slicks to stop under steer now surly?
It needs to be used first lol
Hopefully it will see some good use soon
MARTIN KELSON
14-06-12, 07:38 PM
Ooh i do like that :)
Looks swish, how much does it weigh?!
He is yet to find that out. It's likely to be in the 600's though
mate im loving your car . just read the lot . :eek:AN MAN :wisewood: that is sick
It's not my car buddy, just a good friend of mine who isn't very computer orientated.
Love the brace. Love the tig welding too.
Love the brace. Love the tig welding too.
Yeh he has done alright be the looks of it, I know he hasn't had much time on the tigset yet but seems like he is getting on well with it.
Brace is away being powder coated at the minute, I think he is making a upper strut brace as well next.
t45_ste
14-06-12, 10:27 PM
Lovely bit of fabrication.
What bolts has he used on the gearbox?
Not alloy ones ;) their just for the flywheel cover.
I would imagine the box itself is just on some new original bolts
BRoadGhost
14-06-12, 11:07 PM
Making the front stiffer doesn't reduce understeer Scott. Brilliant strengthening :)
More bracing finished today :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/ff704fcc.jpg
James is it T45 he is using ?
Not a clue Jez, he just sent me that pic earlier. I have just noticed its not even welded yet too lol
James is it T45 he is using ?
CDS for the lower braces and ERW for the strutbrace
Can he make a lower one in T45 it would be ideal for me to suspend an undertray to ,which would hopefully stop the gravel getting into my timing belt when i go in the gravellol
I'm sure he could Jez, only issue is the way he mounts the front part off his tie bar bracket which you won't have, well not unless you want a kit ;) lol
I all ready have custom tie bars etc but im sure that my tie bars would fit his front bkts if you get what i mean
corsamaxi
18-06-12, 10:41 PM
Small update, Ben has been a bit busy so the car has sat in the corner for a while but he is finishing off the last bits this weekend so it's ready for mapping.
As well as tidying some wiring up and a few other bits he has also made this :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/329a2261.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/971ae4fb.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/428a300d.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/7eb51434.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/dddfc4e7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/Engine%20build/9c6fa2b5.jpg
That should hopefully keep the front end nice and tight.
Hi Jonlem
What a professional job you ve made of building your car. I was with Colin Smith (NovaRally) today and we had a conversation about driveshafts with inner Lo Bro's. I run a nova rally car and have had some issues with Cvs and had thought that there maybe a way of acrrying out this mod. Apologies if you ve been through this before as I have had time to go through the whole build, but what have you used to fit them, we had previously thought about trying to match VW/audi parts.
e mail me on pipnwal@btinternet.com with your mobile number and I ll call you if you are happy to discuss it.
Cheers Walt
Hi Walt,
Thanks for the kind words, the car is owned and built by a friend of mine, its been a long time coming but is actually ready for mapping now so he is quite excited.
The output flanges are specific to the Hewland differential the gearbox uses, there is no reason why you could not have some made up to use a a joint of your choice, it would just cost a fair bit, I seem to remember someone else saying the output flanges are £300 a side, that may of been a pair, I'd have to check but bespoke ones I'd imagine would cost more again.
The shafts that came with the gearbox were for the Vectra Supertourer it came out of, he has since had some made to suit the nova which are the correct spline for the lobro inners and big block Vauxhall on the outer, he also runs the Grp A type knuckles with Audi bearings which hopefully should be more than strong enough.
I know a few people that could make the output flanges for you, they would be made to suit whatever lobro to choose to use then you would need a custom shaft, I'd certainly go with the larger outer cv's and flanges as well.
I'll fire you over a email tomorrow with my number
Cheers
James
Jez, I'll speak to Ben on wednesday and see what he says for you.
And finally @ 22.15 tonight it pulled this :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/169b0907.jpg
Understandably Ben is over the moon and so he should be !
Now time to get it loaded up and get back home as its been a long day
Oh obviously there is a video
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/e891322c.mp4
Good power, sounds mint too!!
Whens the first track day :d
Please post details before hand, might be tempted to come if its a track not millions of miles away.
16xe_chris
27-07-12, 11:38 PM
That's a fair power figure for a small block.
I can see him embarrassing a few people on track lol
Yes it certainly is ! Still more left in it but I think 9k is plenty !
Next mods will almost certainly need to be some sort of air box arrangement as its mentally noisy lol
Great result James ,what was the torque figure ?
BRoadGhost
28-07-12, 08:04 PM
Fappin' awesome darts
137 Lb ft Jez.
Thats a good result ,its going to fly
I did speak to him earlier after he had just driven it for the 1st time, he said its extremely quick, gearing is spot on too.
I'll make sure I get a video when he takes it out next.
peester
29-07-12, 07:49 PM
awesome result. Icing on the cake indeed.
nowt wrong with mentally noisey.
BRoadGhost
29-07-12, 11:00 PM
...Well unless you plan on certain track days.
Oh and go too mad on the exhaust & Mr MOT will also fail you ;o
MOT isn't a issue as its not a road car anymore
Exhaust note is easy to sort although it's the induction noise that would probably cause the biggest issue !
A air box and something like the pic below would help
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/PF%20Ring%20Trip%202008/DSC02937.jpg
That's some nice figures... hahaha what is that box^
It's a carbon Air box but covered in foam egg box type stuff as it kept getting black flagged at the ring
Kev Turbo
31-07-12, 07:47 AM
Thats a good idea as long as it is not flamable
The stuff he used isn't but I'm not actually sure exactly what it was !
Not sure if he will go with that idea anyway, probably a bit in your face for his liking
Off to Sneterton in the morning, its not actually as loud as we expected so hopefully wont get done for noise.
Fingers crossed its a problem free day, videos to follow
peester
21-08-12, 10:32 PM
did he go to sneterton or brands in the end..? Seen a bit mentioned in lee303's thread..
Went to Snetterton but broke a driveshaft on the 2nd lap !
It's already in bits and he is having some better ones made
BRoadGhost
22-08-12, 10:13 AM
Gonna get them hollowed & peened?
I believe they are being gun drilled yes.
Well back to Snet today and all went well, the car certainly showed promise and sounded immense ! Only fault was a ripped CV gator so hardly much of a drama lol
I took a Go Pro with me and got some good footage but I just need to work out how to resize them as each session is several gig lol
Photobucket can resize pics now....
YouTube can take huge file, It just might want to spilt them down in to parts. But it will ask you about that when you start uploading.
Sorted the issue in the end, had to change the file type to something you can use through Movie Maker, bit of a ball ache and very long winded !
I've got a full session uploading to youtube now, I cut 3 mins out of it and uploaded that first which can be viewed here :
http://youtu.be/cdw8nSgCMSc
The full session will be available in a few hrs once its uploaded, the link for that is below
http://youtu.be/taNFGSpDQ8s
Only watched a min but that looks like it goes very well. Not caged?
Yes its caged, camera is hanging off the main hoop. You can see the front sections but they are very tight to the A posts
M Sutton
14-11-12, 08:44 AM
Very impressive!
Daft question but why are the tyres squealing so much?
I would say from pushing hard, they are also 3 or 4 years old so not exactly ideal when they have sat around for that amount of time.
Like any car I am sure there is more to be had just from some suspension tweeks but as most circuits are different you really just need to find a happy medium that works well enough everywhere.
BRoadGhost
14-11-12, 11:13 PM
Looks to be quick.
If you're frustrated a little by understeer & don't want to adapt your technique then set the rear stiffer. That said the corner at 2:22 shows a classic nova fast entry to zero counter, but they require a lot of skill / commitment / balls to execute consistently and even then you have to be going fast enough for it to happen.
It's on a quick rack, but standard track rod ends?
The car is in on standard rod ends but has a quick rack, its not something he has felt needs changing, the car is maybe a little tighter than before probably due to the lower bracing and is obviously much much faster but apart from that it feels as good as it always did, turns in brilliantly, will no doubt be bonkers when he goes out on slicks.
In regards to the slide he said it didn't even phase him, the plated lsd makes a huge difference over the Quaife unit it had when it was a 1400.
BRoadGhost
14-11-12, 11:23 PM
You can reduce the amount of wheel work by inverting those ends if don't wanna be crossing hands.
Do you know what castor values it runs?
Personally inverting the TRE's ruins the feel, I have tried that on several cars and never been happy with the outcome so even if you go for rose jointed rod ends I advise they go on top.
Castor wise not sure, a lot, in one of the pictures you can see how much further forward the wheel sits, its been setup to his own settings, I have no doubt there is maybe room for improvement but in the same sense you could easily spoil it ( like inverting the tre's ) IMO ofcourse ;)
BRoadGhost
15-11-12, 06:15 PM
Was / is it because the steering felt too fast / direct / scarey at / above certain speeds?
Full video not working?
Sadly not, it failed mid way through and I cant seem to resize it and keep any sort of picture quality.
Was / is it because the steering felt too fast / direct / scarey at / above certain speeds?
From memory the steering felt overly sensitive, not like when you fit a quick rack but more scarey than anything, either way its not something I think works well on them at all, using the joints in OE position is fine but there isn't really any need for that when the oe track rod ends rarely fail
BRoadGhost
15-11-12, 09:42 PM
Yes it can be unnerving if the wheels aren't large enough and the back is too high.
Even then it's an interesting feel that makes it exciting even at low speed, but one you can very much get used to if you're an accurate driver.
Surely though really you want to keep the steering arms running on the same plain as the tca's, if you invert them they are not and you are going to induce bump steer.
BRoadGhost
18-11-12, 10:14 AM
The only thing that will greatly effect distance on the z plane is angle. Irrespective of lower arm's position; the closer the steering arm angle is to 90 degrees at rest, the less variation in distance there will be under compression and therefore less bump steer. So if the arms at rest are closer to horizontal when not inverted, I'd bring the front end down some more.
Like the race boys, I want a setup where all the turn in I ever need can be achieved without taking a hand off the wheel.
Finally managed to get a lengthy video uploaded
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dyyAu3zgfs
M Sutton
17-12-12, 09:09 AM
Good video! The car looks very quick.
It looks like its been worth all the time and effort put into it!
Yeh it's definitely worked out as he hoped. Slicks next and a rear ARB but it won't be out again till next year.
Watched the full video and I was going to say slicks then saw your comments.
Tyres are fine in the beginning but when they're getting hot towards end of the video car doesn't start gripping same as before.
Yeh the tyres are really old now and that was one of the last sessions of the day, not bad for a shakedown day though.
He still isn't using the full rpm but until you have something chasing you at a similar pace it's not really worth using.
peester
17-12-12, 11:36 AM
good showcase those suspension parts you make/sell :-)
masseyk@deeside.ac.uk
17-12-12, 08:34 PM
Hi Jonlem, I love this thread, it sounds brilliant, is there anything it didn't get past!!!!!! Any problems afterwards?
Top job mate
Keith
And finally
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/3D0579E2-AE5D-413F-AE88-2EE728317170-1377-00000182A102D25C_zps538c5439.jpg
MARTIN KELSON
12-02-13, 08:54 PM
Looks like it may be the first copy of TV i buy in about 5 years!
You happy with the write up James?
I don't know mate as I haven't read it yet lol
I'm sure Ben will be chuffed with it, it's such a well built car.
BRoadGhost
12-02-13, 11:07 PM
She's a cover car
Great write up on a fantastic car well done to all involved.
Another issue I will have to purchase :-)
peester
14-02-13, 06:40 PM
it got like a double page spread feature - 8 pages in total, at least one pic on each side overlaps onto other page.. pretty epic.
Great feature, well pleased for Ben as he thoroughly deserves it.
Well done to Dan too for the write up
chris gsi
14-02-13, 10:31 PM
Awesome build and now one of my favourite novas and very nice feature picked up a copy of tv just to read it did have to look twice when on the first page it said nova 20xe
Hi Jonlem, I love this thread, it sounds brilliant, is there anything it didn't get past!!!!!! Any problems afterwards?
Top job mate
Keith
Hi Keith. The car has been faultless since its 2nd outing, initially it suffered a broken driveshaft but now it's on some custom ones its been fine. As a precaution he had a spare set of shafts made as they are a specific design to suit the gearbox output flanges.
jimbob-mcgrew
18-02-13, 01:25 AM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/P1010298.jpg
when the 1st picture of a w.i.p thread is a bare frame upside down on a jig, you know they aint messing about !
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Bens%20Nova/P1010169.jpg
did this make the steering alot smoother, or was it done for the relocation of the wheel position ? or both ? lol
aint red many pages yet, but its decent so far, good stuff jon :thumb:
just read the whole total vauxhall write up, and wow, what a car, hats off to you!
The steering column mods were done to central everything and Lower the steering wheel as the seat is very low in the car. I see Ben ( the owner ) mentions it in the TV feature.
I'm out of owning Novas these days, bens just a good mate of mine who I have helped out with some parts for the build, I can't take any credit for the finished article as its all his own work.
M Sutton
18-02-13, 08:29 PM
Well deserved feature. Stunning build and has spured me on to finish my red small block Nova on tbs :)
Won't be quite as insane as this though lol!!
just re read the whole thread, this car is something else! hes done a **** hot job on everything, very inspirational!
So a few years have passed, many trackdays later and the car is still going well, I thought I'd kept the thread a little more updated but clearly not.
More recent modifications have been a pair of custom bladed roll bars front and rear and a suitably modified rear beam which have all made the car very capable in the bends.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/187CBE71-0508-43CA-9F10-FC4E0CE596EB_zpsjadufu9k.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Jatec/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/187CBE71-0508-43CA-9F10-FC4E0CE596EB_zpsjadufu9k.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/FCB52193-41E9-439D-8ABC-0990F0646B92_zpsoafc5cg8.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Jatec/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/FCB52193-41E9-439D-8ABC-0990F0646B92_zpsoafc5cg8.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/1E4B73A6-C637-46E7-8229-A324FF441FDE_zpsmrjmdtwp.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Jatec/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/1E4B73A6-C637-46E7-8229-A324FF441FDE_zpsmrjmdtwp.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/8707024C-D2ED-4999-87B9-3F1018F08C17_zpshpcluune.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Jatec/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/8707024C-D2ED-4999-87B9-3F1018F08C17_zpshpcluune.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/C90A6D20-2CE8-4FA4-88E5-7D40119A6A03_zps6qbe27fh.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Jatec/media/C90A6D20-2CE8-4FA4-88E5-7D40119A6A03_zps6qbe27fh.jpg.html)
We were at Snetterton on Friday with both Bens nova and the Corsa turbo I built a while ago, lap times were identical by the end of the day but the nova could destroy the Corsa under braking and in the bends, you can't compare the two on the straights though lol
Corsa ;
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Jatec/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-06/4C125CE3-DD38-4649-9E1A-6E4E9AFADA3C_zpssohw4eer.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Jatec/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-06/4C125CE3-DD38-4649-9E1A-6E4E9AFADA3C_zpssohw4eer.jpg.html)
short video from the 1st session on Friday, I'll hopefully upload a longer one later
http://youtu.be/ReeWYFVYSYo
Uploaded a longer video last night, pushing quite hard in this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvMVHH3MX0
Love the bladed arb, that's very nicely done. Jelouse of the chrome body coilovers too. Fantastic car. So many awesome bits.
HE's getting very nice speeds and can corner very well. Looks great.
The Gaz golds now come in a black finish. I've just fitted a set to the Corsa, a good upgrade from the GHA for sure
Yeah i bet they are. Don't get the black finish, guess its more dulable. I just want mine more shiney..lol
Kev Turbo
19-08-15, 11:09 AM
Great build Jonlem - Any build threads on the corsa?
I have some pics on the work page and on my own Facebook profile.
James Middleton if you're on FB
Kev Turbo
19-08-15, 01:33 PM
Thanks James
krobinson
19-08-15, 05:36 PM
Love this Nova... I wanna be friends with it! LOL
M Sutton
20-08-15, 09:01 AM
Awesome Nova!!! The ultimate 1600 16v around at the moment! Wish mine was built to that standard!
8valve-craig
20-08-15, 10:06 AM
It's a quick car, as I found out once upon a time. It's also about as close as you will get as a comparison in the tuned Big block / Small block debate.
saloonwoody
20-08-15, 06:35 PM
ahhh jb you just cant kick the nova bug can you ;)
boffer8
20-08-15, 09:28 PM
The front ARB location is a great idea, who made them/calculated them?
Ben who owns the car designed and built them up, cornering force supplied the roll bar and blades etc. a very nice installation and they work brilliantly.
boffer8
24-08-15, 11:03 AM
Yea, cornering force sure know there stuff.
Attended a very wet trackday at Bedford saturday, got one reasonable session out between heavy showers, no footage from the nova but had 2 cameras in the corsa so you get to see the nova in hot pursuit !
Corsa seems down on boost, not looked into why yet although considering the conditions slightly less power than normal was no bad thing !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMgvRc1BeSc
boffer8
28-08-18, 04:42 PM
Any update on the nova?
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