View Full Version : Flame Red Daily/Track car
So with the billing stand being limited on places, and cars having to be picked for the show I thought I should probably start on a project thread. Actual build on the car will start 20th may when I finish uni for the year and it's SORNed for a month. Plans are to clean up/paint the underside sort suspension and fit polybushes etc in that time. So atm it's pics of parts and engines mainly lol
But I will start with a car at least:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/Untitled-3copy.jpg
Starts a bit like this and after some C (the way i went at it with cutting compound was neither loving nor tender) it looks a bit more like:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/rednova.jpg
with a shiny bonnet!:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/DSC00270.jpg
And then after some mincing about:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00034.jpg
Engine stuff starts with this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00018.jpg
Bought from paul just before christmas, with a 4-2-1 manifold as well, quite high mileage but I was planning new bearings etc for a nice fresh engine, however when I opened it up:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00031.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00030.jpg
Scores down every bore the whole way round, big enough to fit a fingernail into :(
So searching for a new engine turns up a complete engine/gbox minus manifolds for £50, which I go collect for £40 as it had a cracked cam carrier, I have a full engine for spares anyway so it doesn't bother me.
No pics of this one because I'm lazy or something, but it starts getting stripped down for a quick clean up, some paint, and new head set/bolts etc.
Shortly after this I got an exhaust for it too:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00038.jpg
Which got shown some barbecue paint just to protect it a bit from the elements.
More recently my attention has turned to doing the odd trackday in it, so I got some adjustable rear avo's and 60mm springs, and also found some spax front coilovers cheap, some buckets from ebay and an order from rally design for a decent filter, side mounts and polybushes. Will get pics up of shiny new parts later, along with the painted engine bits if I manage to finish them :)
novalicous
09-04-09, 04:27 PM
looks like a good project +rep :)
your plans seem along the same line as mine (eventuly lol)
loving it it looks lke mne in the first pic pink lol.
May XE it eventually for track madness, but that's a loooong way off yet, will consider it about the same time next year. Not expecting the 1.6 to blitz everything but should be good fun all the same, roughly the same power as a standard C16 so shouldn't be too slow, hopefully lol Will mainly be a track styled daily runner though.
Ran round for a bit just now taking random pics of bits, first up my surprisingly comfortable bargain buckets:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00088.jpg
around £250-300 a piece new, mine for £156 the pair with harnesses, bargain lol
Controversially white engine bits:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00089.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00091.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00093.jpg
With some less controversial silver bits thrown in:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00092.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00090.jpg
And my 'parts shelf' in the wardrobe lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00094.jpg
Prizes if you can name everything in there, but I can't off the top of my head or that picture so good luck on that one :p
andrew1988
09-04-09, 06:45 PM
Looking good. We should have a race once exams are over, i need to do saloon. Who can finish their car first!
Would be interesting, you have advantage of keeping the saloon at the yard, which means welding/painting stuff but I have a little bit less to do lol Won't be on the road until 3rd july (also my birthday, good present to myself) because of insurance though. You gonna go to billing? I'm not sure about PV atm, nova will be off the road, and no way am I gonna get my dad to drive and put up with him complaining about wanting to go and pointing out v6 ecotecs as race car engines. lol
mikec123
09-04-09, 08:10 PM
Looking good:thumb:
good project mate
like the gear box
any more plans?
good project mate
like the gear box
any more plans?
Yeah it's gonna end up as a finished car eventually lol
Count Vaux Alot
09-04-09, 11:12 PM
Keep up the good work!
Will do Count lol Planned bolting back together of engine tomorrow, minus sump as I'm short a sump gasket or two atm, will be the first time I've done anything like this so hoping it doesn't start peeing out oil soon as I start it (i'll be worrying about that til mid june no doubt lol) Least I picked a good colour for oil leaks! :p
One thing that did seem odd is the inlet gasket doesn't quite match up to the ports, it's definitely an E16SE gasket set, head gasket seems to fit fine (although the waterways are just a small hole rather than the full kidney shape thing?) and all else is ok as far as I know... is this all normal or have I managed to pick something up wrong somewhere? Engine is also definitely E16, or at least the block is, and the head is definitely 16 :p
Updates!
Since I couldn't get the parts I needed easter weekend I went out today and picked up the sump gasket and instant gasket I needed to finish bolting up.
First up clean up the face of the sump:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00095.jpg
Then a bit of sticky gunky crap!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00096.jpg
Hmm, wonder whats in the bottom of here...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00097.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00099.jpg
Sump bolts! Might come in handy those
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00102.jpg
All in one piece, with lots of greasy hand prints on the white, do I regret the colour choice now? Maybe. Will I when it's on the road, definitely
And problem of the day today appears to be this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00100.jpg
For a non tensioner E16 maybe?
No pics of the head tightening etc in progress as I had a mate helping who needed to go home (Thanks Paul ) But there is a head gasket and some bolts on there, honest
Also sourced a set of carbon door cards and a predator spoiler which should both come this week :)
novalicous
14-04-09, 09:24 PM
just a gess but is the water pump in the correct place because iirc the position can vary :wtf: i may be completly wrong lol
I'd imagine so, a cam belt came off of it lol I was told to try and get it on without moving it if possible though, because they always leak and need replacing if you tension it with the pump :confused:
novalicous
14-04-09, 09:39 PM
i mean loosen the pump turn how ever much retighten then try the belt and tensioning using the tensioner if you get what i mean lol
yeah i get you, might have to invest in a new pump then if i'm gonna move it, might be worth it just for peace of mind anyway... unless of course you count the peace of mind when i open letters from the bank lol
good project dude im liking the white engine.
rick.
Id replace the pump as there well worth the £25.
and i thought E16's didnt have a tentioner? Have you tried it without the tentioner?
chimp007_uk
15-04-09, 01:33 PM
Id replace the pump as there well worth the £25.
and i thought E16's didnt have a tentioner? Have you tried it without the tentioner?
Its a C16SE engine :)
I'd replace the water pump as well, and then take the cambelt back. Even if you rotate the pump it'll be tight. I had problems with belts when rebuiding a E16SE, had to buy several and just return them... :D
One thing that did seem odd is the inlet gasket doesn't quite match up to the ports, it's definitely an E16SE gasket set, head gasket seems to fit fine (although the waterways are just a small hole rather than the full kidney shape thing?) and all else is ok as far as I know... is this all normal or have I managed to pick something up wrong somewhere? Engine is also definitely E16, or at least the block is, and the head is definitely 16 :p
:D
Went and swapped it today at the motorfactors, engine is most definitely an E16SE but it is a late one, which is confirmed by all the parts manuals etc, tensioners were used 90-93 and the C16SE 92-93 it seems, so all C16SE's had tensioners but not all with a tensioner is a C16SE.
Engine is out of a H reg so probably a 91ish. Engine code is also E16SE confirmed on the block, and the inlet gasket is the same on both of my E16SE heads, think I've heard before that if you order one for an astra E16 it fits perfectly?
Local parts place now know me fairly well, and most of the ins and outs of the E16SE parts lol They even let me off the 28p difference between the cam belts.
Gonna try it with the new belt and tensioner later today or tomorrow, and go from there if it still doesn't work. Chimp why did you had to return so many belts? :confused:
Ok so, cambelt take 2! I was supposed be doing uni work but ended up on here with no motivation to do it so I went and put my cambelt back on and went and had a moan at halifax as well.
Went on fine and timed it up according to the haynes manual, just want to check that it's right! I wasn't sure which was cylinder number one, so based on a range of assumptions like it's the same on the 1.2 as the 1.6 and the cam and pulley markings are correct I checked out the firing order and it seemed a little odd, but I did get up rather late today so I'm not entirely with it and did start off counting with the engine turning over backwards :tard:
anyway, cam belt position is:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00106.jpg
Here on the cam pulley
edit: just realised you can't really see much there because of the angle, but basically the mark is slightly off to the left hand side as it shows in the haynes manual, and the tooth to the right is almost if not exactly sat on the vertical. Theres just no mark to work to since both my cam covers were rather trashed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00105.jpg
Here on the bottom end
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00110.jpg
With the dizzy here, which assuming the dizzy/ignition layout is the same as my 1.2 (Realised just now actually I could have worked out what the firing order should be from that :roll:) it seems to relate to the cylinder on the far left of the engine looking from the exhaust/front of the car side. Which I hope is number 1 as the haynes says!
That's all for today as I need to get some uni work done now I've had a little break from being indoors in the same room!
Nice work mate, not that far from me either. Will have to see this when its done :)
Cylinder 1 is cambelt end as you said.
If the top pully is pointing upwards (i think its dirently up) then it should be fine. But OFC turn the engine over with a rachet before starting!
Id check with other people but now i think about it, im not sure if the rotor arm should point straight up or at one of the points on the dizzy cap.
Toooo tired to think now lol
Haynes said number 1 cylinder firing point on dizzy, just wanted to double check, turns over fine with a ratchet :) I also found the tensioner off my other engine is nearly brand new so I chucked that on lol On with assembly tomorrow then :D
novaguy08
17-04-09, 09:28 AM
mate so long as the top timing mark is straight up then its good, the other half of the timing marks is on the plastic cover do us a flavor and pull the fanbelt pully off so can check the bottom timing marks. im pretty sure that the 1.6 and 1.2 timing systems are pretty much the same. and the good news it 8vs have got non interferance valves so if you managed to time it out then you wont get valve piston meetings and headaches after!
calibra-keith
17-04-09, 11:16 AM
red nova white wheels :p sexual :p
chimp007_uk
17-04-09, 11:28 AM
As said, the cam pulley timingmark should be vertical, and you need the front part of the cambelt cover witht he pointer to line up the crank pulley.
Get it in a running today so you can come up and show me tonight... Give it a shake down :)
shaneyboi35
17-04-09, 11:37 AM
looks like a good little project you got urself there matey, keep up the hard work, i too would probaly regret the colour choice of the block but it will look nice for a few days !
keep it up
As said, the cam pulley timingmark should be vertical, and you need the front part of the cambelt cover witht he pointer to line up the crank pulley.
Get it in a running today so you can come up and show me tonight... Give it a shake down :)
Haynes showed the cam pulley timing mark *almost* vertical (slightly off to the left) and I just matched up the crank pulley with the screw hole for the pointer, neither of my engines have them on. Novaguy: the timing mark is on the fanbelt pulley :confused: That's why I put it on, can just about see the notch lining up with the screw hole for the timing pointer.
Won't be in and running until the end of uni unfortunately :( Which will be when my good or bad timing shows up I guess lol
I've also recently been seriously considering a respray for the faded red... and since this thought has entered my mind I've been swaying towards a respray in metallic orange, something slightly more lary than apache... we'll see :D
novaguy08
17-04-09, 03:55 PM
re-spraying the red is wise, otherwise you will spend more money on t-cut. However there is a timing mark on the bottom pully on my 1.2 not 100% with the 1.6 (your supposed to have the fanbelt pully off when changing the belts which is why there is one on bottom pully) what you might want to do is remove it, put the back cover back on to see the timing marks and mark them on the block so that you can seem them correctly
novaguy08
17-04-09, 03:56 PM
also paint your fanbelt pully black & rust = shonky!
and the good news it 8vs have got non interferance valves so if you managed to time it out then you wont get valve piston meetings and headaches after!
Only the 1.2 8v's are "Valve safe". And even then its not All of them.
Well if it turns over by hand then it will be fine to start, just might run like a bag of nails.
I've double checked the timing against the cam cover best I can and it all seems ok to me, so onwards and upwards. Had a little trip round the M25 earlier to swap one of my cobras for an extra wide version for fat passengers lol and collect some new door cards. So cheers to chimp007 and Phil GTE :)
Chimp brought up a pretty good point today on respraying actually, his was resprayed not long ago and due to a dink in the rear quarter it's started rusting again, so it doesn't last forever and due to the way mine is atm it's probably better to wait until arches start going etc to do repair panels. Which makes a lot of sense, on the other hand catching it early might mean less work... I think it could be something to do maybe towards the end of summer, or sometime early next spring/summer (It'd be resprayed in a garage/workshop that isn't heated so good weather is necessary) depending how things go :)
With regards to your cambelt, strangely my new bottom end is stamped as an E16SE and came from a mk2 GSi, but runs without a tentioner. You have a choice of 104 and 112 tooth on the belts IIRC.
You really should time it up with the rear cover in place as it has all the timing marks, but it seems you've done alright without it.
104/111 :p Cost 4p a tooth extra at my motorfactors lol They let me off and told me to drop it in next time i'm there... motorfactors and the bank manager could have a long interesting conversation I think! lol Yours could be one of the last non tensioner engines maybe, using them up before they switch the new ones in?
I would have thrown the belt cover on quick but I mashed the one off this engine up taking it off due to stubborn screws and my love of the hammer, Other one is just a bit skanky.
novaguy08
18-04-09, 11:56 AM
if your arches aint rusted then go back to bare metal and use something like waxoyl on them, that way they wont rust and you wont need to worry about them
top/lips are fine, sideskirt covers what has gone bad.
novaguy08
18-04-09, 12:04 PM
ah righto then i would see if its surface rust or gone right through, probs gone right through knowing a nova but put some repair pannels in and get the whole thing blasted waxoyled and painted bud
I would have thrown the belt cover on quick but I mashed the one off this engine up taking it off due to stubborn screws and my love of the hammer, Other one is just a bit skanky.
£20 for the back cover from Vauxhall.. £10 for both fronts ;) GM cambelt from vaux is only £8
novaguy08
18-04-09, 02:27 PM
get the kit though, i know its more expencive but you really should change the tensioner too! in theory its the water pump as well!!!
nice to know the prices of these as i need a new one too!
Student budget building! Tensioner was swapped for a new one off the other engine, and water pump wasn't moved when putting the belt on :) Cambelt has been replaced though.
novaguy08
18-04-09, 04:34 PM
well water pump is a theory practice, its not always done even though it should be (and i believe that the pump on mine is the original so shows what that theory is all about!) if belt and tensioner are new then its all good then :D
The main problem with the water pump is that when you move them to tention them on engines without tentioners the little black oring falls to bits/dosnt make such a good seal.
But ofc the inner seal could go like on mine costing me £100 on a stupid 16v cambelt kit.
novaguy08
19-04-09, 09:54 AM
well it will do if its old, need to pull it out clean up the faces and put a new one in. (not pump o-ring)
Progress today was cutting and lacquering some carbon door cards, I didn't actually get any pictures though :tard: But they do exist! lol Back to uni tonight so no more progress until the end of may :)
So, at the end of may... lol
So far I have done around and about naff all, however I did take a trip to bristol today for some new harnesses:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00133.jpg
I didn't notice til I brought them back but they're seatbelt clip style same as the old ones :( How I didn't notice I dunno :tard: But they're much nicer than the old ones and a bit more 'track' looking so I'm not too disappointed really :)
They are rather grubby though, if it was a 100% track car I wouldn't mind but this is also a daily driver so I'd like to clean them up a bit! fairy liquid and water and various 'multi purpose' spray type things aren't really doing much and it's also a bit awkward trying to keep the buckles/metal fixings dry... anyone any ideas?
its getting there slowly matey but get that engine in.
Been mincing about tidying bits up/getting parts ready to be painted, no more pics yet as it wasn't particularly interesting and I was flat out sanding like a madman lol Engine is due to go in sometime in june, haven't decided what way round to do everything yet. I think I'll be tidying up suspension components etc while the 1.2 is out and then putting the engine in last.
andrew1988
27-05-09, 08:47 AM
Pics or it never happened
pics of redtop or it never happened :p
Ok so a proper update, spent some time putting all the new bits on to see what it's going to look like, and it's now off the road ready for the engine conversion etc. The paint looks a bit 'flat' atm because the new paint hasn't been flat/polished, it's still covered in dust and the old paint is just faded and a bit crappy, will all be sorted soon enough though hopefully :) Overall I'm pretty pleased about how the new parts work together.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/DSC00142.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/DSC00143.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/DSC00146.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/DSC00148.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/DSC00144.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/DSC00145.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Nova/DSC00147.jpg
It's also still filthy inside, but I did give the outside a quick once over, still needs a proper clean off though!
looking good i mite do a road leagal track car next
This is becoming more a track viable road car tbh, not sure it will see much track action but we'll see lol
vaughanmc
01-06-09, 04:25 PM
Looking good mate, nice choice of spoiler :)
chimp007_uk
01-06-09, 08:38 PM
Looking good mate :)
How you fitted the rear strut brace?
Looking good mate :)
How you fitted the rear strut brace?
It's wedged and then welded in lol
edit: just notice the pic doesn't show that at all, might try and get a better one sometime as the brace came out quite well
Todays progress was stripping out half of the 1.2 loom, it's being an ass though and causing me hassle! details in electrical section lol
http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=122743
Well today was a pretty good day, after having an interview at a place I worked at about a year ago, which was a case of "Hi, when can you start?" I already had all the 1.2 loom sorted and labelled, as per my thread in electrical. So I set about pulling it out :) Forgot about the gear linkage but that didn't work out too badly, did manage to bend one of the heater matrix pipes though :( Gonna have to investigate that after PV but I'm hoping I can just bend it back up again and stick a hose on it.
Other than that it came out fairly easily considering I did it alone, just need to finish rebuilding the 1.6 and bolt that in, then wire it up and cross everything i can for the first turn of the key :) Have a multimeter now for when it all goes wrong too lol
So basic summary of today: money in, 1.2 out :D Not many pics as I was working alone and wanted to get it done and start sorting stuff for PV, but I did take a few seconds to get one of the empty bay... which it turns out has disappeared into cyberspace :(
lol Goodie that its done.
1.6 wil be easy. And the bent pipe will prob just need knocking back in the correct place.
Good luck lol
The bent pipe i'll put a solid rod into to bend it back up, should hold water ok then :)
jimbob-mcgrew
09-06-09, 12:57 AM
bloody hell, got the buckets and harnesses in.
what are the doorcards made out of ? :thumb:
carbon fibre :) Not ideal atm, that's the reverse side with lacquer on as the gelcoated side was funked, been grass tracked or something I think
The Simps
09-06-09, 10:24 AM
looking great in the last pic.
good work so far mate
heres a pic of the side of my engine ive just done
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/madcodling/IMG00070-20090515-1851.jpg
the bottom pulley has a little notch in it and lines up facing down.
the cam i lined up using the haynes manuel
I'll have to look for the notch on the bottom pulley, is it on the 'key' gear thing or the actual pulley gear?
and cheers for the comment Simps, after perving over your old red turbo a fair bit it means a lot :)
I was really pleased with the way it all came together, was getting properly hacked off with it while putting the seats in/painting smoothed/repaired bits etc with nothing coming out right, paint looking utter crap (bonnet still needs redoing) etc etc and putting it together for those pics has really made me want to carry on and keep it!
The Simps
09-06-09, 07:55 PM
The white wheels set it off a lot and give it the track slag look imo
I was pleased with those too, was gonna go grey for ease of cleaning but glad I went with white in the end. Wheels aren't quite finished yet, when I get chance I'm gonna go round with a little tiny paintbrush and pick out the "Speedline Corse" that's written around the centres in red. Gonna do the same with the vaux EFI thing on the intake.
The Simps
09-06-09, 08:07 PM
sounds like a good plan to me.
Main thing atm is getting it one piece/running/acceptably cleaned up to get it on the road, I left plenty of time for it then went and got a job lol It has screwed up my plans a little, doubt I'll get chance to go over the entire underside of the car as I wanted to, but it's not like it needs it, just for peace of mind and to make it look nice when on a 4 poster lol
Having issues with the waterways/vacuum piping atm, it's a maze! Took it all off the intake to paint it just before I got a job, thinking I'll remember how it all works and just put it back together straight after, few days later and it looks like it's come off the wrong engine to me lol
So today I actually had a day off, had planned to get the engine it but had no one around to help line stuff up on the crane while I was guiding it in etc... so I did it anyway.
Through the bottom ftw
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00170.jpg
And after 8 hours (from engine on stand without gearbox/clutch etc on, to in the car) of swearing, beating the crap out of things and kicking lots of stuff (It was reasonably stressful lol)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00171.jpg
Still have no idea on the coolant hoses, so they're gonna be a total pain to do with the engine in the car, but if I didn't do it today it would have been next thursday and left me roughly 2 weeks to sort engine etc and tidy up the rest of the car, when I do a 6-8 hour shift 6 days a week!
Coolant hosing problems: Here (http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123284)
So todays progress, thanks to a quick visit from jimbob/taf the coolant hoses were sorted, the hard pipe at the rear of the engine doesn't fit on a stand and I forgot to put it on while doing the gearbox, so after setting this up and having a couple pointers it only took 5 minutes :)
So this evening I cracked on with the wiring, and now have oil, coolant, alt and starter wired up. The rest just need extending onto the GSi loom plug and it should start! :D Although starter relay is effectively just 1 simple wire and plugging the battery in, it was great to see it turn over on it's own after having a lifeless engine for months.
Did have a bit of a disaster with the fuel pump though, MPi tigra in tank pumps (1.4 iirc) DO NOT fit the 1.2i tank, they have 2 outlets on top, whereas the 1.2 has out on the pump only, and a return on the tank, it is larger, and a push fit rather than bolt down. So need a trip to the scrappy monday, and pick up some wire for extending from halfrauds.
Did have an issue with the water pump though, it seems to be leaking, but from a very odd place. Circled in the picture, at first I thought it actually needed a bolt or something in and was for bleeding or something random like that! but it seems it's not threaded. Circled in pic below.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00172.jpg
Was working today but spend this evening tidying things up ready to hopefully get it starting on monday. doing a late shift 2-8 though so only have the morning to go to halfords/motor factors/scrappy, hope motor factors can get hold of a water pump quickly, then get that fitted, extend the loom, do oil/plugs/coolant, fit the exhaust and hopefully get it started! But looks like it might be tuesday before it fires up atm :(
Fire it up for about 5secs without exhaust, or coolant :D Your need oil, and the wiring and the plugs tho LOL
OH yer, i remember on the first few pages i said about the water pump :p Told ya so!
So after literally running out of work (hate buses) this afternoon, i finished the loom, changed the water pump, and changed the fuel pump for one I got yesterday (MK3 astra MPi pump) filled it with oil, put new plugs/dizzy on, found out my new leads are for a different style of dizzy, so threw my 1.2i ones on (at least I know they work) and tried to start it... and got nothing out of it :(
Doesn't even try to fire up, have spark, plugs smell of fuel (but not as strong as when I opened the tank to fit the pump) and I'm pretty damned sure theres compression as it's a bitch to turn over by hand unless you turn it til it's stiff and then wait a few seconds for it to leak a little.
So that would point to timing right? As far as I can see the dizzy timing is fixed? The rotor arm has a slot to slide into, the dizzy cap is slotted, and the whole dizzy assembly doesn't rotate. I've set the plugs to the same firing order as the 1.2i as haynes doesn't list it for the 1.6, and double checked the cylinder numbers (1 at cambelt end as said earlier in the thread)
The only thing that seems slightly odd is the fuel pump seems to always prime at key position 2, i.e if you turn the key to turn it over, then clip it back (as the fecker won't start lol) the fuel pump will buzz again. It's linked as inlet just under the fuel reg, using the fuel filter as reference to which is pumped and which is the return.
Any ideas anyone? :confused:
novaguy08
16-06-09, 10:04 PM
Timing on that dizzy is fixed buddy, no way of changing it :(
Check that the leads are in the right order as this is a common problem! use the lead rotation as per the 1.2 and go from there
Lead rotation is set as per 1.2
edit: which is starting in top right and going clockwise, 1,2,4,3
Nothing will be as strong as replacing the fuel pump, mine stank for days.
Check all the wiring on the engine. It dosnt even seem to fire?
After a chat on MSN with mr jimbob-mcgrew, I have discovered the problem, seems the cambelt has slipped miles out when I did the water pump, despite me checking it I must have put the wrong marks on it or something
jimbob-mcgrew
16-06-09, 11:37 PM
bloody useless ! hheheeh lol
sneaky edit: Quick swap over of the fuel lines just to try it as i was only 99% sure it was correct and... it runs! :D Lot of smoke off the exhaust atm, not sure it's a bit of excess oil or the barbecue paint i got hold of burning off :confused: but at least it's running now.
Less sneaky edit: Now I think about it, it does make sense that the regulator would be on the return line and the pump would supply fuel to the rail with the reg restricting flow out of it. Just for reference for people searching for E16 help :)
Exhaust smoke will be everything beeding in.
it wasn't smoke out of the exhaust, but off it, seems to have stopped now and there was a bit of gearbox oil around so putting it down to that.
Next major issue though, magnex manifold and ashley system don't seem to meet properly? Anyone running the same setup?
jimbob-mcgrew
17-06-09, 09:19 PM
car sales hillbilly matey from road house "she's a runner !"
goodstuff man :thumb: pat yourself on the back
Manifold and exhaust is a big issue atm, magnex manifold should be a replacement for standard item, which means I think I have the ashley centre to fit their manifold only (the 4-1 that they do) which means *hopefully* if I get an ashley centre to match up to a standard manifold it will bolt onto my magnex manifold as well. It's proving hard to find info on the magnex stuff though as apparently it was discontinued around 5 years ago with all their nova stuff, and they're now bankrupt too!
Another issue that's come up is the fact the engine is idling at around 2k, haven't had it running for particularly long though, so hoping that's gonna sort itself, or it's a simple problem like a dodgy ICV.
The Simps
18-06-09, 04:36 PM
Good to hear its running tho dude!!
High idle will be ICV most probs. That or a airleak or somthing of that kind.
Does it rev ok?
novaguy08
18-06-09, 06:04 PM
as AW06 says, either ICV or air leak. pull the ICV and give it a proper clean and lube, then if its still doing it get some carb cleaner and spray all the inlet & vacuum pipes.
I fixed the high idle, was looking through haynes for the vac tubing to make sure that was correct and saw a photo with "Idle adjustment screw (arrowed)" and the remembered playing with that while doing something else and thinking to myself better remember that or i'll be wondering why it's screaming on idle later lol it now idles at about 1050ish, tried to get it to 800 or so but it will eventually stall, so i'll run it like that for a bit and see how it goes, it might still be 'warming up' on high idle. My 1.2 always idled at like 1200 for 10 minutes then dropped.
Also taped up the loom a little bit to keep it tidy for now, but I have an alarm/immobiliser on the way so leaving it 'bare' atm til i've sorted that. Fixed my oil catch tank in the bay, couldn't find ANYWHERE it would fit though, so in the end I cable tied it to the battery :tard: Seems secure enough atm, but I'll keep an eye on it, at worst it will rust proof my battery tray lol
Then started sorting the gear linkage, nothing was lining up etc so it took ages, then i finally got it all sorted and adjusted drill bit style, and found out why it took so long, the gear linkage rod is bent from where i took the 1.2 out and forgot about the linkage til i started dropping it, so i took it all off again, bent it back and set it back up, it's pretty far off right atm, but it shouldn't be tooooo much hassle to sort.
Also did some mincing bits to take pictures of, but it's so late now the pics won't come out on my phone lol I'll get some tomorrow though :)
Still no progress with the exhaust, I think I need the alternative ashley decat pipe, that fits a standard manifold, but it's hard to find any info on the magnex 4 branch I have as they've gone bust and apparently stopped doing nova bits about 5 years ago!
So not really much progress atm, because of work mainly. Tried to set up the gear linkage recently, and found it didn't line up at all, then realise I must have bent it when I forgot to undo it before dropping the engine :( So I took it all out, bent it back into shape, but now have an even bigger problem, I can't seem to get anything besides 3,4,5th on the gearbox, even without the linkage in and trying to do it directly on the box it just doesn't want to drop into gear, and only seems to go as far as the 1/2nd gate, won't go near reverse. Have had a go on my spare box and I can get all 6 gears on that, but trying the same thing on the box in the car just doesn't work. Only thing is the spare box has had the rivet on the UJ link right next to the box drilled out to remove it.
Only way I can think of doing it is to use the shifter block thing on the top of the gearbox in the car, and bolt everything to that, but I have a feeling the rest of the linkage may well be funked from me battering it to get it to line up... could there be something on the linkage that stops it at the 1/2nd gate if it was battered? As far as I can see it's all free and clear though :(
novaguy08
21-06-09, 10:39 PM
box got oil in it?
A sloppy linkage will cause you to loose half the gears but make sure that the box is all together and there not something sloppy inside of it!
it might have some left in it I spose lol Shouldn't matter as far as selecting gears goes should it? And the linkage isn't sloppy, and i'm not trying for gears from inside the car, doing it directly on the box doesn't work either
novaguy08
21-06-09, 10:51 PM
hmmm, have you got shafts in there?
No shafts in atm, but again, why would that matter for gear selection?
novaguy08
21-06-09, 10:56 PM
it wouldnt, but you might have something thats not alighned proper and just needs a turn to get sorted, pop some old inner CV's in and give the box a turn, then try it again
have turned the engine over to try and get it into gear, it won't go. Turning the shafts would only rotate the other shaft around the diff, or turn the engine over assuming the clutch is engaged.
novaguy08
21-06-09, 11:00 PM
hmmm ok then, pop the plug off the end of the box and make sure that the shaft and surclip is in there ok
which plug where on which end? lol Will give it a go tomorrow, can't be arsed with it atm though, i'm knackered and it's just been constant problems recently. If anyone else has any suggestions fire away as i'll try the lot tomorrow morning.
novaguy08
21-06-09, 11:14 PM
there is a 32mm bung on the end of the box that pulls one of the shafts out so that you can take the clutch out without taking the box off just make sure you have some PTFE tape handie!! if you get a heynes manual then it will show you what i mean in there.
Its on the end if you sit in the passengers wheel arch you will see it..... if you dont it either doesnt have one or you need glasses!
Hmmm, haven't noticed that one but I'll have a look, would have thought if that was loose all the selector rings etc would feel sloppy though, it feels more like theres something blocking it between the gate for 3rd/4th and 1st/2nd.
Edit: Just realised, it feels like it goes far enough over for 1st/2nd but won't go in, if that helps anyone.
You havnt changed the selector turret or anything have you?
So with a determined to get it work type attitude I went at the gearbox tonight, took the inspection covers off of my spare to see what was going on and what might cause my problem, and then when I took off the selector turret I noticed a possible cause, the reverse selector rod is on the opposite side of the gearbox, and is (reasonably) free to move when the selector is not in the reverse gate, popped it halfway into gear and stuck the selector turret back on, and had the same problem as on the box in the car :)
So now I just had to fix it! Bit more fiddly on the car but doable, linkage etc came off, then the selector turret and I found the reverse gear sat halfway between engaged and neutral, popped it back out of gear and put everything back together (Which is harder than it sounds when you type it out, theres no coolant pipes/clutch cable/loom/dizzy etc in the way of the keyboard lol) and set it up, and I now have a box happily full of all 6 gears rather than full of neutrals lol Strangely I didn't have to cut the lug off of my gearstick to get 5th though :confused: Think it could be because the 1.2 spi sometimes came with a 5 gear box?
Your old 1.2 wasnt 5speed tho was it? the bit would have been on it. id say pop off the gator and see whats up.
Well there's nothing up, I can get all 6 gears, it's not like I had my heart set on cutting the bit of plastic.
So todays progress was mainly suspension+some fiddly bits, I took all the tie bars/bottom arms off, polybushed them, cleaned them up and gave them a quick lick of paint
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00177.jpg
And while mincing about with this with the suspension off I thought i'd do the brakes
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00179.jpg
Then wound my coilovers down and reassembled the lot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00183.jpg
lol Need winding back up as the arches are sat on the tyres, gives me around:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00184.jpg
That much ground clearance
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00182.jpg
And that much toe with the other wheel straight lol
Also did the gearbox oil, camber bolts, front braided brake lines etc etc :)
novaguy08
25-06-09, 08:57 AM
Yeah thats a little bit too much toe mk lol
not much more to do & then you can drive it to uni lol
Need to finish the brakes, polybush and clean up the rear beam, rear brakes might need an overhaul too, swap my rear springs over, and I still need to wrap the loom. Then that's everything done mechanical wise, after that I need to clean up the interior, fit my spoiler, sort the seat positionings etc and bolt them down, and raised bonnet is in the pipeline, need to talk to my uncle about making some alloy tubes, as I don't fancy jamming 30 washers in each side.
vauxboi
25-06-09, 02:04 PM
alright mate car looks wicked what spoiler are you using also what wheels are you using the white ones that is.
Did actually reply to the post above a while ago but seems to have been lost :confused:
Wheels are speedline 2118's afaik, spoiler is predator with high level brake light.
Problems continue today! NS driveshaft just refuses to go in, but I have discovered my phantom knock that has been going on for a few months, seems to be the inner cv, so I'm hoping that's the reason it won't go in too, but I doubt it tbh. Strange thing is I can't feel it 'clicking' against the splines like I could the OS, so I fail to see what it's stuck on?
The Simps
27-06-09, 09:24 PM
Great attention to details going on in here! :cool:
Just wait til it's all chucked together to make it's friday deadline lol, there won't be much attention paid to the overall let alone the details lol working a monster week at work too, including travelling on crappy buses it must be a good 50 hours, still have to sort:
Dodgy driveshaft, with a new inner cv and get the funker in all the way
Rear beam polybushes/setup rear brakes, haven't even inspected them yet
bleeding new brake fluid through the whole system
bolting down bucket seats properly/adjusting positioning
new rear springs, to be done same time as rear beam/brakes
rebuild it back up again with bumpers/bonnet etc
fit the exhaust, possibly with a flexi if i can't find the right ashley pipe in time
And that's just the bare minimum to get it on the road lol On top of that it all needs cleaning, outside needs flat/polishing, inside needs painting in parts really, bits of the underside need undersealing, that I noticed while under the car, spoiler needs fitting and wiring up, boot popper needs wiring up again, have an alarm I need to get fitted, tracking will need doing, tyres to swap over on wheels... it might *just* make it on the road but nowhere near the standard i was hoping really, job got in the way :( but then without it i wouldn't be able to pay for it all, catch 22!
edit: And it won't be at billing because yep, i'm working :(
So today progress, I swapped my springs over and changed my rear brake lines for braided, now has braided all round. Found out my springs are both 60mm drop though, it's just not doing anywhere near that with nothing in the back, so gonna have to try and find some 80mm rear springs at some point.
Also made myself an easy/vacuum bleeder to make the brake fluid change a little easier:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00186.jpg
lol
Old evian bottle with a clear hose pushed through the cut sports cap, and a small vent hose blue tacked onto the outside. Squeeze, put finger over the vent and suck fluid through! How much does an easy bleeder cost again? :D Tested it by blocking both hoses and it's air tight
novaguy08
29-06-09, 12:34 AM
coolio, but lazy!
The progress or easy bleeder? lol Brakelines were an ass to change, and i've come close to entirely buggering one before so take my time now. Also only started at half 4 after I finished work.
Easy bleeder is because there's no one around that actually understands what I'm doing to be on the brake pedal, and I'm trying to do a full fluid change, so need to suck the old stuff out of the lines properly.
With any luck I'll be able to get this on the road for friday, as I'm on 7-11 tuesday and wednesday when I thought I was doing 8/9 hour shifts. So leaves a good couple days to get things sorted. Just hope I don't hit any more problems and my new inner CV slots into the box nicely!
Todays progress! Have sorted out my diff problem, and that is all now back together and working as it should be, with shafts etc, so just need to bolt the front wheels back on and do a bolt check before I lower it and that bits done!
Need to bolt up my rear dampers again ('60mm' springs sit too high on the shortened avo's so I need to get some dead weight in the back) Bleed the brakelines the old fashioned way... I totally underestimated how much suck you need, old bottle just doesn't cut it, will work as a collection bottle/line though lol
Bolt in the seats, and fit my exhaust... then fit sideskirts/spoiler/clean it all up if I have time! Will hopefully be on the road friday, can get my tracking done in the morning and it's first trip will be to work at midday :D
Ok so this morning the nova had it's first trip out, to get the exhaust fitted properly. All went smoothly there apart from what I thought was idle problems, turned out later to be the throttle cable/mechanism getting stuck. However the list of problems just grew throughout the day a I went to get the tracking done and swap my tyres over from my old wheels onto the new ones.
Current list is:
Overheating (quite badly, boiling the coolant for a good 5 mins after switching off)
Sump leak, dripping onto the manifold and causing it to smoke like mad, looks a right wreck!
Hunting, ICV? Have checked all the hoses I can think of to see if it's an air leak but wiggling them makes no difference.
Throttle cable sticking, Think this could be the actual mechanism, seemed a little loose when i wiggled it, hopefully an easy fix.
Alternator not charging, causing me to come how with the AA following and one of their batteries hooked up
The throttle cable and sump leak is a relatively easy fix, but the hunting and overheating is a little harder! It seems to run ok, until it gets stupidly hot obviously but is hunting between 1 and 2k and the overheating is immense, guess thermostat is the first thing to check? Which would be under the top hose attachment on the block? The hunting is also new this afternoon, was not doing it this morning, and started just before the battery totally died? Continued on the new battery from the AA though
jimbob-mcgrew
06-07-09, 09:06 PM
sounds similar to mine, but a bit more extreme - fun and games :(
yeh the stats behind that attachment that the top rad hose links to :thumb:
not sure if the cam pulley has to come off to get to it.
the oldskool way of testing them is to put them in a pan of hot water and bring to the boil slowly with a thermometer in the water to see when they open, i think its around 90 degrees, or u could just take a guess as the water will boil at 100, or u could just replace it and hope for the best :)
what do you mean by hunting ?
it revs up/down at idle, that's called hunting
jimbob-mcgrew
06-07-09, 09:15 PM
ah i see ! didnt realise there was a term for that, ive always called it erratic idling :thumb:
musta sucked havvin to ring the aa up for help, nightmare when youve got no other choice.
hopefully u can get these teething probs sorted soon and unleash the beast.
How hot does a 4 branch usually get how quickly? I think mine gets excesively hot too fast, which would point to timing being too far retarded...
Edit: Also which posts do the alternator wires go to? Red and blue/white only on the alt correct? Plus the black from the little square thing that's bolted to the alt.
On the plus side I did get a pic of her out in the sun finally:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00188-1.jpg
Bonnet raise was guessed while I was buying bolts and a bit extreme lol
Spent this evening (night) sorting out a couple of issues:
Switched the thermostat for one that works a little better, altho it turns out the old one did work so I don't think that was the cause of my issues.
Spread some instant gasket around the sump to try and slow the leak up until I have time to change the gaskets and redo it all, will probably swap the sumps too as the one I have on there is most likely bent, wasn't in the best nick really.
Investigated the alternator, but as far as I can see it was wired up correctly as far as charging is concerned:tard: Will swap it for my known working one from the 1.2 tomorrow, although it's a brand new alt according to the guy I bought the engine off, and it still looks new/has the part number stickers on it so I don't think I was had, plus he's a trusted member on here lol Alt has a live to battery on it, which was tested for continuity, and a good earth on the front of the casing, also checked for continuity and the blue/white alt wire is connected to the smaller of the 2 posts, the black box thing (rectifying diode?) being on the larger one along with the live to battery. This leaves the post directly on the back of the case (no plastic surround) empty though, is this wired up correctly?
ran the car up to temp and had a good feel round the hoses, bottom hose feels empty/cold so I'm gonna rag it a bit with the cap off to try and shift what I assume is an airlock, and hopefully that will fix my overheating problem.
Fan was checked to make sure it works, not 100% on the switch but it worked on the 1.2 so should be fine.
Checked the CTS wiring, needle hits the top when it's grounded, so will clean up the cts tomorrow, or get a new one if that doesn't work, although it could be the suspected air lock causing that to read cold.
Left to sort is:
Speedo, think that's the drive on the gearbox not clicked in properly, didn't feel right when I did it.
Battery light, could be a bulb out on dash could be something else, really not
sure what to check though!
Timing? Gonna try it a tooth advanced and see if it improves, as it could be causing the heating, it doesn't really like idling much atm, to keep it running it takes ages to sink back to idle as the idle adjust is all the way out.
AFM screw, fuel mix could be off-not sure how i'd do this without a RR and a wideband lambda though
And I think that's it for mechanical bits! Everything else seems to work.
Updates!
Overheating is now fixed, runs fairly warm with the 4 branch heating things up but no boiled fluid etc like before.
Oil leak was found and fixed, couple of missing/loose bolts on the oil pump which was dripping down onto the edge of the sump :tard: Dunno why they were loose as I've not touched the pump! But now all sorted and a nice easy fix, so happy days.
Alternator I think is fixed but I left my multimeter at work! Put it on and the car idled totally differently, so hoping it's now putting out the correct voltage which is helping the car run better instead of running off the battery constantly. Which in turn has fixed the strange idle.
CTS still doesn't read although it was *trying* to yesterday, so will investigate that soon and the speedo still doesn't read but that's an easy fix and I may even do it tonight if I can make sure the alt is now working! Battery light i'll check out later at some point, not too important right now if the alt is working ok, and i'm not even sure it's broken.
Main thins are now working though afaik, no coolant leaks, no oil leaks, no overheating, and no flat battery, so it's usable daily :)
So, the alt changing didn't actually have the effect I thought it did, the tps was unplugged which made it idle high but flat lol But now the alt is fixed! reads around 13.6v with the car at idle. It still hunts between 1k and 2k revs, but only when warm. Wondering if it's something heating up which is causing an air leak or maybe the ICV?
Fixed the idle problem, a pinking problem that was starting to appear under load, and it now runs cooler, all done at once too! slipped it back a tooth on the cambelt and everything sort of fixed itself :) So no need for a new ICV now, just got the coolant dial and speedo to fix.
Also finally got my offcuts through from performance trim, so I can start making up the carbon blanks I've been meaning to do for ages. Also need to lower the bonnet at some point as it's ridiculously high (I think someone could nearly steal my battery through it) and also the back end as it's sat rather high with no weight in it.
Also need to change the oil as the cheap semi synth i bought to help clean it out a bit has already broken down with the overheating problems I had and caused it to start tapping. Trying to find a good full synth to use but every search I do just brings up recommendations to use semi synth which I'd rather not do if possible.
novaguy08
13-07-09, 10:03 PM
Try using Castrol Magnatech mate, I know its fecking expencive & iirc its semi synth but its worth it! I used it in my Nova on the last service & not had a problem with it since!
Always used it on the 1.2 and seemed alright but never heard great things about it from people who seem to be in the know. Oil is a can of worms though, everyone will recommend different. It's also fairly cheap for oil IIRC, bout £25 for 4l?
novaguy08
13-07-09, 10:12 PM
Ive got no idea on the current price of it.
Its not magic stuff mate but it will lube your engine & do the job good!
Oil change was done recently and fixed most of the tapping, a slight tap remains which I found out is the injectors squirting away! noisy little things they are lol Went over the paintwork with wet and dry this evening and repainted my bonnet, a quick going over with some wet and dry and a mop up should see it gleaming again, just need to touch up some other areas of the car with a rattle can first, results aren't awesome straight out of the can but with some flatting and polishing it should come out fine!
Also lowered the bonnet back down to standard for now until I sort the raising blocks out. Although I may leave it as it does spoil the lines of the car slightly.
Looked at fitting my spoiler too but can't see any way of doing it easily, the holes are raised off of the boot so I can't use the usual methods of marking it out. Although something that did just occur to me as I was typing this is using double sided tape, putting marks on that with a permanant marker and then offering it up, leaving the marked tape behind :thumb: Will try that tomorrow :)
Spent today wet flatting the paint back, looks much better already but I don't think it will be as good as when I first mopped it up after getting it, too many flaws in the bits i've resprayed which is a bit of a shame, but since respraying about half the car cost me about £60 and took roughly 2 days it's to be expected I guess. Also fitted the spoiler which I think sets the back end of the car off nicely, and made up some de-rubbered handles this afternoon after liking the look of them on a couple of cars off here. Also lowered the bonnet back down to standard height for now as it was pretty ridiculous but I've not noticed it running any hotter since, so I may just leave it, plan to exhaust wrap the 4 branch soonish anyway.
Currently deciding what to do next with this as the 1.6 conversion didn't exactly set my world alight, although I think it's probably the fastest thing I could insure atm lol Might see what I can save up before I go back to uni, and possibly pick up a 1.6 16v to build up over the next year, with a few more horses than standard in it, or look at what I could afford to insure and possible save up for a different car for this time next year.
May even get another nova as I quite fancy something mk1, like euro styled cars too but dunno if I could keep to a looks orientated car for long lol
Too much text not enough pictures!
Sorted the CTS earlier today (thanks jimbob) and also made one of these a little while ago:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00200.jpg
Not sure if i like how it's come out, I've done the other side without cutting the rectangle in the middle, what I may do is get another pass handle and drill out the litle holes in it that hold the rubber on :thumb: Much better than the standard handles though imo.
edit: I know theres paint on the lock will be tidied up fairly soon as it's due to be mopped next week :)
So an update of sorts, I realised recently how shonky this thread is in terms of details, in fact most of whats on the car is barely mentioned. So I'll go round it fairly soon and take some pics of where it stands etc after it's been tidied up, but for now, the current spec and later plans/things i'm thinking about:
Spec:
Bodywork/Exterior:
1.2i Expression shell, currently not strengthened/seam welded at all
Predator spoiler (my little chav-esque/non track performance indulgence :p)
Smoothed GSi bumpers (my other non track performance indulgence lol)
Astra Mk4 front splitter
GSi sideskirts (This has an excuse, they deflect air flow away from the rear wheels)
Speedline 2118 5.5j/15" alloys with budget directionals
Carbon fibre grab handle/boot popper setup
Lightweight door handles :cool:
Braking:
Goodridge lines all round to replace rubber hoses
2.0 16v ATE calipers with grooved discs and EBC red stuff pads
Interior:
Cobra Imola 2 bucket seats on aluminium mounts and steel box section welded in
Sabelt 4 point harnesses, road legal 'red' clips
Rear strut brace/harness bar, welded in to strut tops
Carbon door cards (front only)
mk2 dash with carbon blanks
GSi Steering wheel
Engine/Exhaust
E16SE
Unknown performance cam, seems lumpy though :d
Pipercross dual stage foam filter
Magnex 4-2-1 manifold mated to an ashley system
Oil catch tank
Suspension:
Polybushed front end (Haven;t fitted rears yet but have them)
Spax RSX coilovers front, std 200lb springs lowered to around 60mm
Avo adjustable rears, spax -60mm springs
Eibach EZ-cam style camber bolts
Ice:
Sony Ericsson W910i with 'earbud' components, weighs around 500g lol
Future (over the next year maybe?)
Exterior:
Fibreglass panels, where and how much depends on funds available
Polycarbs
A bloody good mop up as it looks truly awful atm lol
Braking:
Rear setup needs to be serviced/setup properly but other than that I'm happy for now, 4 pots would be too much of an outlay i think.
Interior:
Less of, headlining and some bits of sound deadening are still in, some kind of lightweight dash would be nice but it is also my daily so would have to be sensible.
Engine/Exhaust:
Undecided, if the E16SE fails to keep me entertained a well built 16XE is the logical next step assuming I want to keep the handling spot on, although a redtop might make more sense as a daily/track duo. May even tune the SE, looked at megasquirt packages.
Swap the 'soft'/oil contaminated cambelt for a good new one lol
Exhaust wrap
Move the catch tank as it's current position under the scuttle means it breathes fumes into the car a bit.
Suspension:
Get rears refurbed and new springs, faulkner coil style setup of some kind looks good as I'll know spring length/poundages.
Rear anti roll bar
maybe stiffer front springs as it still rolls a fair bit
fit rear bushes
Replace the camber bolts with adjustable top mounts as I'm not 100% on their security, especially on track.
Ice:
Phone upgrade isn't due for at least a year :(
When it's been mopped up, next week/week after I'm told, I'll get some decent pics all round it. All the plans obviously depend on finances, hoping uni next year will not cost too much as i'm living at home, but I still have the outstanding debt from last year, so will see how it goes. If I find a suitcase full of cash expect something similar to Oli D's except maybe a little more daily friendly lol At least by my slightly mad standards anyway :)
Had an afternoon off today, and finally got the money through from paypal for ebay stuff so I swapped my cambelts, and timed it up, and it's now so much nicer! Sounds like a proper car again rather than a bag of lightly wrapped spanners and goes a bit better too, and the burble when you floor it at about 2.8k in 4th-5th just before it comes on the cam is awesome :d
Have the MOT coming up soon (friday morning hopefully, uncle is a mechanic so I left a message with him to book it in for me) and all was well until yesterday when it gained a rotational grinding type noise on the back, assume it's a wheel bearing as the drums aren't getting hot or anything. Will look into that after the 15th (payday) as I was planning on polybushing the rear beam finally and sorting the rear brakes then anyway.
Also have a strange scrubbing noise on full lock right, sounds like a brake heatshield but I've checked both sides with the car sat stationary and nothing that shouldn't be seems to be touching, it will also do it more easily when turning right while moving, but it's definitely not the tyre scrubbing. So I'm a bit lost on that one :confused:
novaguy08
06-08-09, 07:29 AM
you sure that the tyre isnt rubbing in the arch??
Griding noise could be somthing hitting the wheel rim lol.
Just have check everything lol.
you sure that the tyre isnt rubbing in the arch??
It does it when moving very slowly, and the tyre is a good 10-15mm away from the arch when stationary. Also only does it on pass side and drivers is just as low.
Thats because novas are not excatly the same from side to side, rear archs, one side has about 1mm clearance and the other has about 5mm.
My nova had the passenger wheel rubbing, drivers side didnt.
it's not the tyre on the arch ;p if anything pass side has more clearance. I've check driveshafts, dampers and brake lines, there's not really anything else loose down there for it to catch on, as it can't catch on the hub it's fixed to.
novaguy08
06-08-09, 03:37 PM
if its a grinding @ slow speeds, its possibly the drive shat
Bearing or cv joint?:confused:
novaguy08
06-08-09, 04:00 PM
if its only on full lock its probs a bearing
Well theres a bit of clunking going on as well today, so I think my cheap as possible CV's have gone already, I think that's what the constant grinding is that I thought was on the back, suspect the pass side CV is screwed. Would make sense for that to go first since it's at a greater angle than the drivers side.
Got an MOT booked for tomorrow, hopefully she'll be ok, coming back home earlier the exhaust decided to part with the manifold though :eek: Exhaust clamp had been knocked back (know where I did it now :roll:) and wasn't clamping down properly, ended up fixiing it roadside in the rain, every body part I could crossed with a widowmaker holding the car up!
novanova636
06-08-09, 10:29 PM
sounds like a fun evening lol
novaguy08
07-08-09, 10:34 AM
HAHA i use the ol sisor jacks all the time, never heard them called widow maker!
Might get the hydro jack ou from now on then!
jimbob-mcgrew
07-08-09, 11:58 AM
sounds like youve been busy mate, goodstuff :thumb:
hope she passes.
It's a pass :thumb: Couple of advisories; very minor exhaust leak where she decided to spit it off yesterday evening and i fixed it in the rain lol And a slight movement in the top mount, but I've been looking at eccentric mounts recently anyway as I don't trust the camber bolts for on track, if they were to move on track it could ditch me into a wall.
Novaguy I'd invest in some axle stands lol But yeah widowmaker on wet tarmac was not very reassuring!
novaguy08
07-08-09, 01:13 PM
ROFLOL
ive got some but i never bother with them as they always munch th eunderseal but i think that underseal can be replaced where as my head cant be!
Looks like you have done some good work there!!
Should always have axle stands under a car you're working under! the extra 2 mins to set them up isn't worth risking your life, I've never seen a hydraulic jack fail first hand but mates have come close before, one had a car skim his hair as it fell down off a jack. Widowmakers are just scarily shaky at the best of times lol
novaguy08
07-08-09, 01:24 PM
meh
never given me bother i know that your supposed to, and if i spend a REALLY long time under a car i will put stands under there but if im not under it for long or at all i dont bother
Been having some issues recently:
http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128536 Here for anyone that wants to read up.
And yesterday they continued to get worse! Car started misfiring randomly at about 2400 when coasting, only once/twice in a 20-30min drive though, and also would ocassionally let out a muffled series of pops out the exhaust. When it misfires the rev guage drops to 0 so I'm assuming this is an ignition fault rather than fuelling. With it's general naff running I'm thinking it may well be the cambelt, which again has gone soft this time without any kind of oil contamination.
Current plan of action is:
Genuine GM cambelt
New set of plugs
New leads
If this doesn't fix it, change the afm as there's a sucking noise coming from that general area.
If that fails:
Fit the FSE power boost valve i got given free (free, so less of the slating) as a temp fix to up the fuelling until i can pick up a proper job.
If that fails:
Burn the ******* thing and buy a ford.
Put a new cambelt on it today and fitted the legendary power boost valve, it's definitely running better but still far from perfect, should get me to combe/trax this weekend though at least.
Think it's now overfuelling, as it hesitates a lot at low rpm/full throttle, but it's still pinking which suggests it's running lean ;/ Seriously considering buying another complete correctly running engine and putting that in. Will try and get some cleaned injectors and see if that fixes it soon as I get paid again. It may well just be the power boost valve with it's 1.7 times quicker acceleration funking everything up under load.
Plugs seem to read slightly lean although they could still be white from before slightly, exhaust seems ok though, there's no smoke or silly amount of fumes etc but it does smell a bit as you would expect a car with no lambda/cat to.
Another engine would problery end up the same, ive seen a engine work in one car and then not in another car after the conversion.
Haven't updated this in a while as I've not really done much interesting, car seems to be running better although the fuelling is a bit up/down with the max powah boost valve. Today yielded some fancy new carbon fibre bits though :) Anyone who saw my car at combe/trax might have noticed the carbon fibre covered centre vents, it was a little shoddy though as it was just a piece of carbon fibre epoxied to the vent surround, and I've been meaning to redo it for a while. Anyway:
Sure everyone knows what a standard vent surround looks like so didn't take a pic of that but heres one minus gubbings. Thanks Christian/Ernie :thumb::
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00219.jpg
And then 5 minutes later obviously and not after I've moved my hand because I forgot to take a photo, dunno what you're on about. With brackets:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00220.jpg
So now I need to find something to fill this gap, hmm this'll do:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00221.jpg
Shiiiny!
This is destined for gauges and whatever other flash things I think I need later, so the brackets were a tad big, so they got shortened and redrilled:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00222.jpg
At this point it's wise to notice that your hazard switch no longer fits, but I didn't bother retaking the pic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00224.jpg
And all fitted, little bit annoyed about the bentness of the carbon fibre but it should flatten out if I bend the angle brackets in a tad (got them from work but they're shocking, none of them are drilled in the same place or actually 90 degree angles :tard:):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00226.jpg
Next for the CF treatment is the big hole where my stereo used to be, this presents a new problem though in fixing the carbon blank, I may end up making it larger than I originally intended and screwing it to the dash carcass over the entire recess, but I'd prefer to just blank off the stereo hole. Might look for some slightly nicer/more discrete screws for it eventually but not too bothered atm.
CF panel looks good.
Get some cally gauges for the radio slot
Already have something else destined for the radio slot, not sure how exactly I'm going to do it yet though.
Mmmmm carbon fibre! No progress pics but this is the latest addition:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00228.jpg
Left enough room for something else should I ever need it in future.
Just been out to do an oil change and also had a look under the car as my drivers floor is slightly out of shape, which was a bit worrying, seemed to drive ok but obviously worth checking... got underneath it and the OS chassis leg is a good inch higher in one spot than it should be and also folded in on itself slightly :( Also thinking back a bit after I had the tracking done it did pull left slightly, at the time I thought it was probably just one of the camber bolts that had moved/not perfectly lined up but now have a feeling it was the chassis leg. Have asked a mate and he still has his mk1 shell, so I'll hopefully be reshelling into that, but I'm not sure when and how as the car is used daily.
i wouldnt worry about it i would keep useing it then use the mk1 shell when you realy break somthing
Would be much better off reshelling it into a solid Mk1 shell and taking the chance to stitch weld it up, paint it properly etc etc though. Bent chassis is hardly a good starting point.
andrew1988
30-09-09, 08:00 PM
Why not just straighten it? You clearly didnt notice when driving it. It will be fine.
It's not quite right when cornering, braking etc either though, something I put down to the suspension not yet being spot on, and the oil leak i had a while ago making one disc a lil bit slippier, but they've been cleaned pretty thoroughly and suspension wise I've checked the heights and it's been tracked and ended up pulling left afterwards. Shell needs repainting properly and arches need redoing anyway so I don't really see the point in spending that kinda money on a bent shell. Did you get my text earlier about the other shell?
edit: new shell is also XE ready which was something I was planning on doing at some point in the future before moving onto something else so saves money there, and reshelling it ends up pretty level after I've sold wings doors bumpers etc off of mine.
djshaggeh
30-09-09, 08:13 PM
I think you should get it looked at on a hunter tracker system or something similar. Get all the suspension geometrys checked out and get underneath it and have a proper look. I'm unsure that damage to the chassis leg, at the opposite end to the engine bay would mean a bent shell. It would have to be a hefty force to shift the chassis leg into a position where its effecting the suspension setup at the front. I could be wrong though. Or are you just using it as an excuse to buy a new shell?
Or are you just using it as an excuse to buy a new shell?
Sort of, cost of getting this one all checked out, then possibly straightened, repainted, arches redone etc, vs the cost and hassle of buying a new shell which is also XE ready and nearly spot on. It just doesn't add up right.
djshaggeh
30-09-09, 08:26 PM
I will ask the bossman tommorow if you can run it down to my work and use the hunter system to see if its straight, mates rates of course. Probobly 20 quid.
andrew1988
30-09-09, 10:59 PM
Could get the XE shell and XE it. Then once its running swap everything else over. But remember it could take a lot longer than your expecting
expecting it to take a couple weeks at least. Current thinking is cut out finding a runaround and do it over xmas, not sure though as that's when I'll probably have no money between the student loan payments. plus if I find something with a silly small engine cheap I can use the money off swapping the insurance to a far lower risk car on the nova. I've looked at the costs insuring an XE and it isn't pretty lol Maybe though, depends what I'm earning around july I guess, but the main thing is it's ready for one, which means less faffing later.
brainsnova
30-09-09, 11:07 PM
good excuse to not buy any christmas presents :thumb:
This is truelol
I have a few different options of when to do it, all depends how much cash I've got, may even leave it as a slow burner until just before the show season next year and finish it after I'm done for the year at uni, it's not ridiculously bad to drive atm, but I wouldn't want to take it on track.
Progress, kind of. Garage is empty ish for a bit so decided to clean it up a bit for this new shell to live in,
Smoothed out the worst of it with some levelling compound:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00231.jpg
It's not perfect and to it properly really you need to chuck loads of it down and let it flow right up to the corners, but obviously without gutting the garage that's not possible, still a LOT better than it was :)
Then some rollerin' which drew a crowd :(:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/Rollerinhatin.jpg
And half painted:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/MK999/DSC00233.jpg
Just need to move the stuff to the other side of the garage and finish that off, couldn't chuck it all outside because of the weather. Which is also why the damp patch at the entrance of the garage isn't painted lol Will do that whenever it dries up.
Unfortunately theres a fair amount of general crap that's in the garden (already got wet hence I wasn't too bothered about shifting all of that round the garage) to go back in, although I will throw out as much of it as possible while the parents aren't looking lol
chimp007_uk
05-10-09, 07:37 PM
Mark, where's some pics of said damage?!?
Think about forest rally cars the chassis legs on them get battered to hell and they drive fine.
Nova's were built with bad tolerances i think you're thinking too much about it.
Get in it and use it. get it set up properly and drive it.
***Edited***
I'll call you what ever I want... :-P
There is no mike here lol
The bent chassis leg was just the last straw tbh, for what I'm getting this other shell for, and the availability it gives me to properly prep it etc it's too good to pass up.
And you can't drive mine hard, it pulls left, I had to do a semi emergency stop at some traffic lights the other day and it felt like it was gonna go sideways. Same happens but a lesser effect when you play about with the steering/accelerate.
chimp007_uk
05-10-09, 07:44 PM
There is no mike here lol
The bent chassis leg was just the last straw tbh, for what I'm getting this other shell for, and the availability it gives me to properly prep it etc it's too good to pass up.
And you can't drive mine hard, it pulls left, I had to do a semi emergency stop at some traffic lights the other day and it felt like it was gonna go sideways. Same happens but a lesser effect when you play about with the steering/accelerate.
Mine's like that atm. Going to get it set-up properly with the eccentric top mounts and go from there.
i its cheap i guess its anot a bad move. You going to to keep the red one for everyday?
Mine's like that atm. Going to get it set-up properly with the eccentric top mounts and go from there.
i its cheap i guess its anot a bad move. You going to to keep the red one for everyday?
Depends how it works out and what parts I need off it to finish the other shell etc, but maybe... don't tell the parents though lol All depends on the money situation at the end of the uni year really.
djshaggeh
05-10-09, 08:36 PM
I bet your parents already suspect your gonna get another after you cleaned out the garage lol Looks good btw.
They know about the yellow one, they think the red one is disappearing, chimps suggestion makes sense though, if I have enough bits left over lol XE for summer maybe? :cool:
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