astra 1400 engine into a nova

[willsalter1000]

hi, im new to the world of novas, ive just bought a mint g reg saloon with the 1litre? push rod engine. been doing alot of research and am i right in thinking that i can put a 1400 spi (c14nz i think?) engine out of a astra in to it? if so what do i need to do this? what engine mounts, gearboxes etc? also i want to use a weber dmtl carb instead of spi, do i just need a nova 1400 sr inlet for this to work? are these inlets easy enough to come across?
any info would be great
thanks
will

[mowgli]

hi, the best advice i can give you is to steer clear of any spi engine. hunt out a carb engine, and it will be way easier to fit. you will need the ohc gearbox & radiator, and the rh engine mount bracket. & it will fit straight in. when you find a good engine, the coil & ignition system is needed too, , as some of these can be a sod to sort out.

oh, and welcome to the jungle

[willsalter1000]

cheers, you say to steer clear of spi engines? is this just because of hassle of trying to source all the parts to convert it to a carb?

[Jon_nova1]

with SPI you will need to wire in the ecu etc, a carb doesn't have an ecu,

[AlexW]

Not at all, SPi engines are the same internaly and infact usualy make better converts due to them being newer and usualy less miles.

I converted one to standard SR spec, so i used the spi head, 1.4 inlet and 2E3 carb, and the standard exhaust setup. Its best to find the proper 1400 carb ign setup as its differnt to most otheres. They cant be bought cheap tho, usualy looking at £30-60 for a complete setup.

Best engine would be using a 1.3 head with a 1.3 inlet and 1.4 carb, but seeing as your planning on a webber theres no need for the standard carb.

[willsalter1000]

Not at all, SPi engines are the same internaly and infact usualy make better converts due to them being newer and usualy less miles.

I converted one to standard SR spec, so i used the spi head, 1.4 inlet and 2E3 carb, and the standard exhaust setup. Its best to find the proper 1400 carb ign setup as its differnt to most otheres. They cant be bought cheap tho, usualy looking at £30-60 for a complete setup.

Best engine would be using a 1.3 head with a 1.3 inlet and 1.4 carb, but seeing as your planning on a webber theres no need for the standard carb.

ye, i really want to use a 1400 spi unit as my dads got one in a astra hes breaking atm, it was post to be a pretty fit little engine

ive heard about using a 1.3 head and inlet that you mention but doesnt it create to much compression?

[AlexW]

Check the compression but it shouldnt.

[willsalter1000]

thanks for the advice, i think i can get a 1300 head and inlet from my local scrapper. What would be the best cam to use?

[AlexW]

Mild aftermarket cam usually, but a 1.4/1.3 cam would be fine. Whatever cam you pick make sure you end up running the correct dizzy etc.

[Sloth]

upullit at york has a carb 1.4 mk1 nova in with a healthy engine. £60 plus £40 removal fee.

[willsalter1000]

upullit at york has a carb 1.4 mk1 nova in with a healthy engine. £60 plus £40 removal fee.

wow, thats wierd, i was looking at that car a couple of days ago, im from york and im at upull it every weekend, so that novas definately a 1400? if so i should be able to use the inlet with a weber, ye?
thanks
will

[Sloth]

you can use the inlet, but the carb and dizzy have been rehomed. lol they get alot of older vaux's in mind, look for a mpi 1600 8v astra mk3 and it will have a gsi engine in it. im from hull so not too far away chap

[willsalter1000]

haha, thanks for the advice, fingers crossed the inlet will still be there next week, might aswell have the inlet for the cost of a couple of quid, anyway might see you there one time, what do you drive?