View Full Version : my nova WIP past to present and LET conversion
My nova started life as a white 1.2 expression but had been fitted with a 1.4sr engine, gsi skirts, colour coded bumpers, laguna splitter etc. and lowered 60mm n standard shocks when i came across it, swapped my 98 megane coupe for it. drove it for about a month then took it off the road due to being bored with it, suspension was past it and the sr engine with 4 speed box was a bit lame. Thought it was a clean shell until i started stripping it, front crossmember hade a hole in (repairable but had a new one anyway) and front panel was past it, as well as one of the splash guards, front of inner wings and rot on the rear arches. I repaired all of this and seam sealered, prepped, primed and painted the bay. the car sat like this for a while as i injured my wrist in a motorcycle accident and was out of work. bought an XE from a friend with a porous head from a corsa for 250 with the corsa conversion parts which i sold for 130, then used a spare head i had in the garage which i had already rebuilt.bought the mounts off here a while ago pretty cheap and a set of shafts off adam d from his gsi which i assumed were 22 spline (doh) so i set about putting the engine in. had this fitted in a few hours but lost interest a bit due to lack of funds. Bought a few other parts with what little cash i had over the next few months (spax rsx front coilovers for 30 quid, interior from a 7k mile mk2 nova spin, 50 quid etc) then never touched it until 3 weeks before pvs when i decided i was going. everyone i know told me i was nuts, it would never be done etc. etc. but i had my heart set on going and even paid for the tickets (optomistic i know) at this point the car had no wiring at all, no dash harness etc. and was half sanded down. i put the dash harness back in and put the rear mount onto the engine, then went to fit the inner cv's to my shafts. b*stard! 28 spline shafts. after much searching i ended up paying 140 for a set of motorsport shafts from colin smith (cheers) and set about wiring the engine loom into the car one. with 2 weeks left i tried to fire the engine. nothing. no spark, no fuel. took me a good 4 days to figure the fault (thanks to the help of a few guys off here, cheers) i'd used the wrong ignition live. this was with about 10 days to go, no M.O.T., exhaust, cooling system, paint, interior, lights etc. etc. so i set about prepping the car for paint and painted it over a few days with my mate rob (was a great help throughout the build) and my long suffering girlfriend who was out with me sanding 'til 11pm one night. I made the exhaust and fitted an SBD group N manifold which i had lying around from my carb'd xe, fitted all the cooland pipes and began fitting the interior. the car went for M.O.T the friday of PVS weekend (also the first time i'd drove the car), passed with no advisories at 4 30 and cut out on the way home. kidnapped the g/fs 1.0 corsa to go and tax the nova and buy a rotor arm. fitted that and drove it home, then was up until 2am fitting blower motor, finishing the interior and a few small parts then made the 220 mile trip to santa pod with only a loose balljoint bolt holding us up for 5 minutes while we tightened it in the services, got 3 runs up the strip, had a good, but wet, weekend then drove home. After this the nova saw a good month of solid abuse on a weekend before i started getting a bit boreds of it and craved more power, so i sold my xe for 350 and have bought a LET engine which i collect on saturday, i've removed the bulkhead firewall and done the alternator cutout as my alternator was catching with the xe in and had actually cut a hole in the chassis leg and plan on fitting a plating kit.
some pics, more to come:
as i got it: http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/novabeast1.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/DSC00304.jpg
brainsnova
26-08-09, 02:18 PM
thats some essay lol but full of all the details and good luck with the let conversion and i look forward to the progress with pics :thumb:
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/DSC00370.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/DSC00389.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/DSC00406.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Image000.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo040.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/astraanthracite.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/novapvs.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo031.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/DSC00407.jpg
cheers brains, collecting the let on saturday, gonna do timing kit, clutch, sump gaskets and weld strengthening kit in then try and get it running ASAP before i stick new rear quarters in and get it resprayed properly. current paintjob looks fine from a distance but its a mess when you get up close, was done in the back garden lol. wiring under the bonnet was the same, still had the spi loom lol so will get that cut out too.
collected LET yesterday, has a coscast head which i didn't know and the turbo has no bearing play so big bonus, saves on an expensive turbo rebuild. need a vernier pulley as i intend running an xe inlet cam which i already have and a set of head bolts as it has the wrong ones in. all in all looks like it should be a really good engine to start with, looking at a ph5 chipset and a decent FMIC with solid boost pipes then drop the engine in and get it running. more pics to come when i get time
bit more progress this week, not much though as i've done over 50hrs at work, trying to get the cash to have it finished by crimbo. got the inlet, head and sump off, swapped the rod bolts for ARP2000 items and checked the shells, look perfect and not very old, looks to have had a bottom end rebuild at some point as the pistons barely move in the bores, it has non OE mains bolts and sealer round the crankshaft oil seal housing. Still need to torque the rod bolts up, paint the block, rebuild the head then wait 'til payday to get new gaskets/head bolts. was kindly supplied with a 3 layer elring head gasket with the engine but i think i will go with a 1.9mm item instead of the 1.3 i have to lower compression a little. sticking with the standard rods for now, have another bottom end with new mains already fitted so plan on building that with H beam rods and lower comp. pistons later on. the shell hasn't been touched all week apart from having the headlining removed, still need to buy chassis plating kit and weld it in/ seal the bulkhead where i've cut the firewall out and finish the alternator clearance mod. also think i've found a guy to paint it pretty cheap, gonna go orange but not sure what shade yet.
bit more progress on this, got the bulkhead out/sealed, block has been cleaned/painted, got new sump gaskets, head bolts, water pump, vernier pulley, xe inlet cam, wallace performance ph5 chips, a pair of cobra monaco s' in red with harnesses, cosworth intercooler with a few random pipes and a pair of arch repair panels. still have to torque the rod bolts up, fit sump, replace valve stem oil seals and bolt head on then its just a case of bolting the manifold, turbo and box etc., paint the bay then fit it.
All these threads with the same title as mine are confusing me lol lol
Plans sound good though mate :)
looks quite nice does that
All these threads with the same title as mine are confusing me lol lol
Plans sound good though mate :)
I wondered why you'd started yours again tbh, and thought the LET choice was odd since you were thinking of breaking it partly due to lack of funds lol
looks quite nice does that
cheers fella, gonna be keeping it looking pretty similar apart from the fmic, lower at the rear and possibly a gsi front bumper. Like the rear end without a spoiler so not fitting one
bit of progress with thi, pics to come. not quite at the pace of my 3 week bare shell to xe build before pv but its going to be a lot better quality this time. made a chassis plating kit and welded that in, got myself an iveco FMIC which fits much better than my cosworth item and the car is getting new rear arches fitted next week, will post some pics up in the next couple of days. havent got much in the way of progress but i now have a mountain of parts so just a case of finding the time, which is the biggest problem at the minute due to work. will definitely be ready for pv again though
been busy on this today. removed the dash and the old brake pedal setup, cut the holes out and mounted the corsa brake servo/pedal etc. got it trial fitted with an old servo and lined up, just needs welding on now. next job is the rear arches and polybush/paint the rear beam.
some pics:
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo098.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo099.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo104.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo105.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo106.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo107.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo111.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/Photo109.jpg
cut the false floor out above the tunnel, ordered a pair of vernier adjustable pulleys for the LET, an inlet temp. gauge, may have a chargecooler kit and t34 turbo/tubular manifold coming for it. looking into megasquirt management as well. hoping to have all the engine bay welding finished this weekend and astra shifter in then i can concentrate on getting it running and painted
krobinson
03-03-10, 08:23 AM
Nice progress :)
cranney
07-03-10, 09:01 AM
you got that saying from me didnt ya he who dies with the most toys wins still a good one though
LEWI007
07-03-10, 10:36 AM
Yeah cant wait till you get this on the road Alan, youll either end up dead or in jail because of it lol
thanks lads. got a lot more done at the weekend. engine bay just needs a few welds cleaned up, little bit of filler then painting. rear arches are halfway there as well so will be ready to paint soon, gonna have a trial fit of the engine first to get the bumper/x-member cut out for fmic and downpipe first. i'm on lateshift all week (hence the 2am post) so not much progress until the weekend again. will try and get some pictures up tomorrow
Danny s-p
19-03-10, 12:25 AM
i like this alot mate
dave watson
19-03-10, 08:12 PM
alan you are a pikey like mate
mooooobit
20-04-10, 04:44 AM
you got that saying from me didnt ya he who dies with the most toys wins still a good one though
shut up ya puff
hows that fat lad? done more to mine than you have to yours. bay is now painted ready for engine, starting fittin ancillaries this weekend. R1 is keepin me a bit busy at the minute though
and cheers danny, you have a car on the road atm?
dj_wudgey
20-04-10, 11:21 AM
looks quite nice does that
I agree mate looks good! Some good work in there aswel!
I agree mate looks good! Some good work in there aswel!
cheers mate. more updates soon, need to get my a** in gear if im gonna make pv again.............
havent updated on here but got a lot of progress with the car, will get pics when i get the chance. between moving in with the gf and playing on the r1 i havent had time for the nova much
all the wiring now works, engine is on all its mounts and most of vac pipes etc. are done, modified front panel to take the fmic off an iveco truck, moved the radiator toward the centre of front panel, further forward and a little higher up. modded coolant pipes to suit. corsa brake servo conversion is finished, welded and flushed the old hole as well as one for blower motor, hoping to have it running in the next week or so so hopefully be a vid or to to follow also
dazlister
07-11-10, 11:03 AM
hi alan wen we pickin mine up i want it now get it lol
well we have life, wirings done, engine has spark, opening injectors, clicking fuel pump relay etc, just need the snow to kindly f*** off so i can connect fuel pump and get it fired. need to get more pics too, going back in the garage once weather clears so will be pics galore then
LEWI007
03-12-10, 08:15 PM
Alan ffs you need more pictures like lol
Next time i come down yours and to paint it im gonna take loads of photos and update this thread for ya lol
To stop LEWI twisting i've got a few updates, the intercooler i have mounted in the pic is off an iveco truck, gonna buy a new version of that or something similar size as it sits inside of my gsi bumper without much trimming at all. Engine is in and turning over, sparking etc. just need to connect my nice shiny new walbro fuel pump up to get it fired, then dropping the engine back out to fit the verniers, new gearbox etc. and get it painted. considering cutting the seat mounts out altogether and welding new ones in to accept universal runners so my fixed bucket seats will fit. also got a cage coming to use as a template, gonna make my own custom weld in cage as i have a pipe bender, welder etc. also added pics of my weld in rear brace (big thanks to mike, your guide in 'articles' is awesome) and a pic of me destroyin 'ash' off club calibra's 270bhp LET calibra at PV09
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/novaletbay.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/novafront.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/novawirb2.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/wirb2.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/novakillingcalibra.jpg
Danny s-p
06-12-10, 07:38 PM
hows that fat lad? done more to mine than you have to yours. bay is now painted ready for engine, starting fittin ancillaries this weekend. R1 is keepin me a bit busy at the minute though
and cheers danny, you have a car on the road atm?only just seen this post i do now mate i have a new astra well it in for warranty work so i have a punto lol
Danny s-p
06-12-10, 07:40 PM
ps are they gte clock in the back of the car
ps are they gte clock in the back of the car
gsi IIRC, got them off dave watson. Rev counter only goes to 7k though so not connecting that up, will be running an aftermarket rev counter instead. FIAT FTL!! lol, least its only temporary while yours is in getting sorted.
Danny s-p
06-12-10, 07:49 PM
gsi IIRC, got them off dave watson. Rev counter only goes to 7k though so not connecting that up, will be running an aftermarket rev counter instead. FIAT FTL!! lol, least its only temporary while yours is in getting sorted.year it good to have petrol back for a bit but i do miss all the torque of the derv
LEWI007
06-12-10, 08:18 PM
gsi IIRC, got them off dave watson. Rev counter only goes to 7k though so not connecting that up, will be running an aftermarket rev counter instead. FIAT FTL!! lol, least its only temporary while yours is in getting sorted.
Use that Big AutoGauge one with the shift light i gave you !!!
it lights up and you can change the colour lol
its going in the garage tomorrow :D should get some proper progress over the next few weeks now. I have an autogauge boost gauge as well lol
LEWI007
06-12-10, 09:04 PM
Lets get it painted man !
i know, finger out time. going to release rear brake thats ceased on and get the tank off, finish welding in the rear arch around filler cap and prep the filler back off the rear arches, maybe a layer of stopper and flat that back too. I reeeeeeally want this finished by march/april
just in the house warming up, been clearing all the snow off the nova and getting it back in the garage. going back out in a bit to remove the fuel tank and filler neck ready to do the last bits of welding around arch repair panels and start cutting the old seat rails out. pics to follow....
spent about 8 hours between yesterday and today cutting out the old seat mounts fron the o/s floor and welding in spreader plates/box section to make some that will fit my universal frames a lot better. seen a few done using std nova runners modified but always seem a bit pikey and the seat adjust is always inaccesible or in an awkward place. no pics as it was dark when i finished but have some of the snow that was on it on monday before i cleared it off and put it back in the garage. got the fuel tank off as well so i can get underneath and strengthen around the rear axle mounts/rustproof the tank. will try and get another few hours on it tomorrow and finish o/s seat mounts and get a start on making the new rear arches look presentable. Really got a burst of inspiration lately with the engine turning over/sparking etc., looking forward to getting it driveable now
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/IMAG0103.jpg
new addition to replace the vectra wheels
http://1.2.3.12/bmi/i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh57/LEWI007/Nova/260620101183.jpg
dj_wudgey
24-12-10, 09:01 PM
spent about 8 hours between yesterday and today cutting out the old seat mounts fron the o/s floor and welding in spreader plates/box section to make some that will fit my universal frames a lot better. seen a few done using std nova runners modified but always seem a bit pikey and the seat adjust is always inaccesible or in an awkward place. no pics as it was dark when i finished but have some of the snow that was on it on monday before i cleared it off and put it back in the garage. got the fuel tank off as well so i can get underneath and strengthen around the rear axle mounts/rustproof the tank. will try and get another few hours on it tomorrow and finish o/s seat mounts and get a start on making the new rear arches look presentable. Really got a burst of inspiration lately with the engine turning over/sparking etc., looking forward to getting it driveable now
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii227/alanhughes87/IMAG0103.jpg
the snow is a right pain isnt it lol and i used teh standard rails to fit my buckets and i didnt have any problems with the adjusters ect ect!! my dad took them to work and modified them though lol
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