HELP ME! Do I Reshell into a 3 or 2 door?

[beef@novadose.net]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/cliotd/pv2002/beefdriveby.JPG
Please help me. I have had my current Nova for 2.5 years, but took it off the road last August due to rear chassis rail rot. The only prob is my current GSi was never the best of shells and I should never have bought it, but I did, and have spend about ?3k modifying her. However the chassis rail was the last straw, and I decided to call it a day.

The plan was to get a Pulsar or WRX in May when I'm 25 so I bought a Cav TD as a run about in the meantime, and since then I have been unable to make up my mind about what to do. Break it, sell it, make it a trackday car, it was on eBay for ?1200 but I ended the auction. but now I need the fun back, I want my Nova back. :cry: I've decided to save for a bit more and get an EvoV in 2004.

so once again, I am drawn back to my Nova. I'm not speding any money on the current shell, so it has to be a reshell. when I was buying my Cav TD at a salvage auction, I also bought a B plate 1.2 3 dr Nova in Pea Green for ?14(!) which was like brand new save the door long and iggy barrel - there are still decent shells out there, and it seems the early ones are holding up.

It would be simple to reshell into another 3 door, but having been brought up on Saloons (my dad had 3 when I was between the ages 7-13) I've always fancied one. The recent feature cars that have been saloons have made me want one even more..... but I want to be able to sell the reshelled car easily when the time comes, and worry that not everyone shares my soft spot for the booted ones.

The car will be stripped out, not an everyday car probably and teh engine puts out around 160bhp. If it helps you decide, the 2 door saloon weighs the same as the 3 door, mostly due to the weight of the tailgate and glass of the 3 door.

So please help me decide by voting above

[Anton]

I saw that on ebay, was tempted to bid on it but couldn't get insurance. Re-shell to a saloon, be different! You just know you wanna!

[beef@novadose.net]

I went 2.0 due to a little known policy of Highway Insurance (via Flux)

GSi with 1.6 = Group 11
GSi with 2.0 from Cav 2.0 L (:wink:) becomes a Cav 2.0 L = Group 9/10

I saved ?200 a year by going to 2.0! Paid ?380 TPFT last time with Flux,

[Anton]

I'll stick with me 1.2 for now, but go 4 saloon! :D

[Chris LR]

Saloon, but in one of two forms.

Complete standard, what looks you'd get off the lights.

Pick-up, whats looks you'd get anywhere.

[beef@novadose.net]

I dunno about standard... but subtle yes. I was thinking of a 100% GSi replica Saloon..., then an 888 Saloon, blue with 17" anthracite superTs, but I just wanna replicate the current car.... so silver, GTB front bumper, 16" MOs, GSi skirts, a subtle spoiler, like a Cav GSi one and thats about it.

[carltoncrazy]

hmmm well im rebuilding at the moment.............and well...........if im honest,how bad is the sheel,seriously,because if you rebuild i can get very expensive,all those bolts etc rubber brakets etc, and what your talking about doing to a saloon?yeh it does sounds nice,
but the money you`d spend on the saloon,you could get the gsi repaired cheaper.
however gsi aint rare,and aint really anything special..........
yeh do a saloon,

[mikeoxford]

hhhmmm

tricky one this

i think saloons are my next favourite thing and sinece the hatch has been done so many times.........


BUT i think your car is sweet as is, so just reshell it!

maybe get a saloon to play with as a hobby? go another auction! thats a bargain - get a saloon and play with both!

where do u find out about auctions.........?

[Anton]

http://www.universalsalvage.com

Ant :P

[mikeoxford]

lol i can see myself bidding on the net and buying every nova in the UK :P

[mikeoxford]

GUTTED I CANT BID! do they do telephone bids!?

[beef@novadose.net]

universal salvage is where I bought the hatch and the three door. The three door wasn't for me.... but trust me you'll know all about it later next year :wink:

I'm doine with the 3 door thing, I could repair the chassis rails for nowt, but as I said the shell was never the best, and it had a repair once in its life that ain't too good. I don't open the bonnet put it like that :)

At the end of the day, The saloon shell will cost me less than ?100, and while its stripped, a respray will only cost about ?300.

I'll sell the GSi interior and bits that won't fit a saloon: flush tailgate and predator spoiler along with the rear bumper and exhaust which will cover most if not all of the costs.

I'm not going full rebuild, most of the components on the GSi are new, so they'll be going on... poly bushes, suspension, brakes, engine etc etc.

All in all I'd expect the whole project to cost less than a grand, including buckets and a cage! I have two grands worth of bits on the GSi.

Logged as a 1.2, it will appeal to a lot more younger buyers when I come to sell, as as soon as they hear its logged as a GSi they can't get insurance.

Plus, I can always swop the interior, brakes, suspension etc etc back onto the GSi and sell it cheap as a going concern with a 1.4 lump or something.

As I said, I ain't spending another penny on the GSi, its only the respray that can't be transferred, and maybe the wide arches, but I ain't putting 3 dr arches on a saloon anyway.

[mikeoxford]

:roll: *sob* thats a shame (going the saloon way)

although i dont think you will look back

saloons are different but i like them, they kick ass all the same when there done.

dont suppose you saw the blue saloon in total vauxhall a month or two back?

that had 3 door arches all round, and IMO that looked LUSH

[mikeoxford]

any real reason your not going that way?

something else maybe?

kit, or cut and shut off another car.........?

[beef@novadose.net]

Which way? I don't like the 3 door arches on the back, and just having them on the front isn't tennis, but you never know.

Yeah, I saw the blue one in TV, thats nice, just don't like the arches. The Mexico red GTE 16v saloon is also a minter.

One of the biggest factors is Novabug.com's modified saloon pics... they make you realise just how good the saloons can look. Check this one out for eg, from www.novabug.com:

http://www.novabug.co.uk/Saloon%2010.jpg

I mean just look at that, a set of speedlines, 60mm drop and clear indicators and thats an early one. Look how mint that car looks. If anything I'd say its better proportioned than the hatch.

[Ian]

personally i think saloons are minging, but from your posts its what you want to do so do it.

[beef@novadose.net]

It'll be easier to do the quickest Saloon in the UK, as my mate will have the quickest 3 door, and theres no way I'll be able to match his car.

[beef@novadose.net]

Good man

[Ric 16v]

I'm not a fan of saloons but that 1 looks nice simply coz of the wheels !!!! re-shell it to a 3 door hatch, thats what I would do (when r u going to be selling the bits if u break your car)

[beef@novadose.net]

The 2 door weighs the same as an equivalent 3 door, yet there is more metal to be taken away, and it may end up as a 1/4 miler so weight will be an issue.

Plus you can strip oyt a saloon, and still have a boot :)

[Jim]

You say your worried about not being able to sell a Saloon when it's finished? I think if you do a good enough job you'll be in-undated with people making offers on it. Saloons are very rare and a subtle quick saloon sounds like a good plan.

As Ian says, it sounds like you've made your mind up already.

One thing though, are you going to go for a Mk1 or Mk2 look?

Jim

[beef@novadose.net]

Yep, looks like 've made my mind up!

Theres nothing like a clean standard looking Mk1, but I don't like them when they are modified. To be honest I don't know yet.

It'll be a 2 door shell, and as they never made a Mk2 2 door saloon (apart from that 1999 shell the guy in TV had) it'll have to be a mk1 shell facelifted. Got all the bits to do it, but I want saloon front wings.

[beef@novadose.net]

And another reason I don't want a 3 door is my Missus drives this:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard.crosland/swcruise/pics/sullie/driveside.jpg

Its the ex Nova Rennovations Demo Car (used to be bronze), one of the Rev's top ten Novas in 1999. For sale if anyones interested ;)

[mikeoxford]

lol why have you posted asking us if saloon or hatch, youve DEFINITLEY made up your mind :P

i think saloons will be next thing, well, maybe not quite as yes they are rare etc.

i think go for saloon mate

the blue one i was referring to is on page 10/11 of sep 02

turbo saloon the article its called.

[mikeoxford]

its got three door arches front and rear. i have looked at botht the pic u posted, and this one i got in front of me, and to be fair i think both look lush.

3 door arches look nice

so do the normal ones though!

you would defo need same arches all the way round though IMO

but yeah

i think your car will be a right head turner at the coming shows next year.

[beef@novadose.net]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard.crosland/swcruise/projectsaloon/mockups/mysaloon_supert.jpg

I've had a play in photoshop and stuck a boot on my GSi. I've got 17" Super Ts to go on it. Not sure about the spoiler yet, and the rear bumper is gonna have to be something special cos it looks abit odd. Haven't done the arches on the pic, so they look a bit weird.

[Rick Draper]

LMFMO what makes you think that your mate will have the fastest nova in the UK? I have lost count of the number of peoples mates that will have the fastest nova in the UK etc I recon i know of at least 2 that will crack the 13 second barrier in the UK dont you Rob and Ian? At the end of the day thats a bould statement you are making so you had better be able to back it up or face the pisstaking! lol Rick

[mikeoxford]

my mate is putting a rolls royce lump in his saloon taking quite a bit of work - gonna be faster than velos "flying turd" brown saloon. all of the engine mounts are COMPLETELY different. itll be rear mounted as well.







did i mention its a jet engine? :P

[beef@novadose.net]

LMFMO what makes you think that your mate will have the fastest nova in the UK? I have lost count of the number of peoples mates that will have the fastest nova in the UK etc I recon i know of at least 2 that will crack the 13 second barrier in the UK dont you Rob and Ian? At the end of the day thats a bould statement you are making so you had better be able to back it up or face the p**s! lol Rick

The difference is this one is in the top 10, maybe the top 5 now, but it only cost ?2k including the car. A grand on management and TC would put him in the 12s, but then again so would a diet probably :). Fairplay tho he's cut down on the Strongbow for next year lol. How much did Jon Shields spend on the engine? ?10k weren't it? Awesome for what it is, but ?10k should get you in the 11s.

Anyway.... there is another thread about this, I wanna know what you think of my Saloon! :lol:

[pete22]

go for the saloon mate there different and i think there wicked .your picture looks nice go for it