1983 Nova Project

[elgan]

Ive owned this car a couple of years. not done alot with it. front wings, and doors are now showing scabs of rust, small hole coming in battery tray. Car is now sat in storage.
Here is the car when i bought it parked with both my xe gsi and h16 vtb..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/02Feb08/Novas081108.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/DSC00129.jpg
Besides cleaning it, M O T'ing it annualy and occasionally using it, i stuck a mk1 SR bumper and grill on, clear front lenses, GMAX lowering suspension kit, some 15" Tigra alloys on low profiles and pressed plates.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/ForSale/IMG00217-20090811-1303.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/ForSale/IMG00218-20090811-1303.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/ForSale/IMG00219-20090811-1305.jpg
Underneath, its a very clean shell. structurally very sound.
Here it is being rolled into a garage, now on some corsa std suspension and wheels to keep it mobile.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/StorageJan10/IMG00254-20100109-1445.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/StorageJan10/IMG00255-20100109-1445.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/StorageJan10/IMG00256-20100109-1446.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/StorageJan10/IMG00257-20100109-1446.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/StorageJan10/IMG00258-20100109-1447.jpg
Very brief outline plans are..

SPORT replica (id love to own a genuine sport, but with the engine etc i want to run it would be a shame to do it to a real one, this wont be a bang on replica by any stretch)
1.8 Small Block Turbo

Theres alot of things undecided, such as interior, wheels, etc etc..
Have already started collecting parts, and i have lots of various parts already in my collection.
Fibreglass Bonnet
Fibreglass Boot
2 Stripped and light weight doors
Alloy Header Tank
Pace Intercooler (from H16VTB)
SR Rear Bumper
SR Front Bumper and Grill
Poly Bushed Lower Arms
Injection Fuel Tank
Disk Rear Beam
Litres of Polar White :D

[moffat]

looks like it will be a good project

[peester]

hi mate, seen your z18/x18xe1 turbo idea on migweb.. ive been a fan of that car too, like the colour and interior spec. although its all going all white lol..
apparently these 1.8 small blocks gonna be all the rage lol..
a turbo should work just find on it. Corsa vxr uses same head, must be similar engine..

[vaughanmc]

Should be interesting, a very early Nova :)

[moffat]

seems to be loads of early novas popping up :D

[bazil]

hi mate, seen your z18/x18xe1 turbo idea on migweb.. ive been a fan of that car too, like the colour and interior spec. although its all going all white lol..
apparently these 1.8 small blocks gonna be all the rage lol..
a turbo should work just find on it. Corsa vxr uses same head, must be similar engine..

my S3 is a 1.8 and it can get up to 340 bhp before any major engine work so a 1.8 aint a bad size of engine.

[Edd]

looks a good base to start from.

plans sound good too.

[SRimon]

Nice one, nothing at all wrong with a sport rep IMO!

[elgan]

First job is to get the front end stripped down and the bulkhead removed.

Want to fit a corsa pedal box and ive got an ax wiper motor somewhere too.

[peester]

my S3 is a 1.8 and it can get up to 340 bhp before any major engine work so a 1.8 aint a bad size of engine.

yeah but these small blocks are 1.0, 1.2 size- engines..
Think the 1.8 20vt is more a big block size engine..?
Youre not wrong tho.


corsa C pedals elgan?

[Plug]

another Y reg nova and both are the same colour. one vxr and one 1.8 turbo :)

good plans mate and a tidy looking motor

[elgan]

thanks for the comments. its a good shell. corsa b pedal ive got. i also want to know if i can get sport decals without boot luck cut outs and possibly without the door handle cut outs.

[sport]

thanks for the comments. its a good shell. corsa b pedal ive got. i also want to know if i can get sport decals without boot luck cut outs and possibly without the door handle cut outs.


Try C95MAN on here for uncut decals there were made like that buy the old PNG. I sold a set last year.

[Rick Draper]

What happened to your red car Elgan?

[elgan]

still here. needs boost pipes making, engine mapped, few changes around and about the outside. its not a million miles off. just too many distractions!

[burgo]

now theres an old name. loving the plans for this early one :D

[krobinson]

Subscribed :)

[octagonalpaul]

nice that, I prefer the earlier ones

[The Simps]

Judging by previous builds this will also be a great car done to a high standard.

Subscribed.

[Annie]

I know S**t all about engine mods but I like the number plate lol

[scott.parker]

nice to see your back, and nice new project mate, will be watching this closely.

Scott

[elgan]

thanks for the heads up on the stickers. ill have the boot panel and bonnet decal off C95 when he replies with his paypal address. ill take pics of the bonnet and boot in daylight. doors will be with me this weekend. most will recognise the panels off a legendary old nova. looking forward to getting some spanners onto the car this weekend time permitting!

[elgan]

bonnet and boot decals paid for :)

still waiting on the doors to be removed and sent :(

had a good bit more research into turbo'ing the 1.8, reading through countvauxalots progress thread etc. almost tempting to go with a 1600cc to save hassle with pistons (there is not alot available for the 1800 yet!).

[Count Vaux Alot]

Hi elgan - some interesting plans you have and it will be good to see how you get on.

[elgan]

Still collecting bits..

Still waiting on my doors and SR rear bumper

Got some Sport boot vinyl and bonnet stripes ready

Bought a brand new Corsa VXR turbo charger

Still looking for a X18XE1 engine. i know theres a few corsa c's with the Z18XE making 240ish bhp on stock internals, so im considering turbo'ing a std motor with some omex management or similar. constantly looking into this.

Will try get some pics up soon.

[elgan]

Almost a year on ill dig this one up again!

I went to sell it as it is (car still looks the same as it did when it rolled into the garage last year) but not having the right interest yet. id rather keep it as a spare shell than give it away.

Anyway, for time being plan is to use up lots of spare Nova parts ive already got to put together some sort of project.

Parts Ive got:
5x 15" Tigra 5 Spoke wheels (picutred earlier)
SR Front, Rear Bumpers and Grill
GSi Tailgate Spoiler
1.6 GSi engine, Gearbox etc
Rear Roll Cage
New Front Wing
Corsa B Pedal Box
Monterey Bonnet Vent
mk2 GSi Dashboards

Now purchased some Dellorto Twin 40 Carbs to suit the GSi engine.

No silly builds with this, but its likely to end up white with grey bumpers and matching wheels!

Im keeping the budget tight with this one!

[shed-on-wheels]

looks verry clean indeed fella will be good this

[elgan]

Strip down time! Car removed from eBay, time to get cracking.

Front end complete
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00702-20110113-20311.jpg

I pulled the grill, headlamps and bumper off to find a very clean front panel..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00705-20110113-2043.jpg

Look at the headlamp sockets :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00703-20110113-2043.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00704-20110113-2043.jpg

I then got the front wings removed. These are the original wings from 1983 and i can tell they have never been off before!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00706-20110113-2115.jpg

Wheel arch shots..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00707-20110113-2115.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00708-20110113-2116.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00710-20110113-2116.jpg

There wont be any welding required along the front end, drivers side wing was rotten through at the bottom, but the passenger wing is spotless besides a dent near the wheel arch.

Any surface rust will be cleaned, treated and primed.

[Graeme]

Whats the plans for this then? When will the pink one get worked on?

[elgan]

plans are kind of outlined in a post above. lots of spare parts to put to good use.

pink one currently has the engine bay and under arches all done and painted, c20xe fitted, complete gsi wiring loom fitted, f20 with lsd fitted.

its got no spark, tried the usual crank sensor etc, need to spend some time looking further into the electrics. once its up and running it can go in for paint, then be put back together. not enough hours in the day :) still got my red one half done, been fitting a gt28 turbo to the van, and got a c20let ready to drop into a corsa c once ive been to collect it from kent! ha

[scorge01]

update the pink one please want pics.lol

[Graeme]

Good work sounds like you've got a lot on your hands, pictures of the pink one please?

[greeny89]

not a fan of the pink one ha

[elgan]

Pink nova today
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/NovaTurboPink/PinkWiringProblems/IMG00719-20110115-1712.jpg

[nn-vaux]

Liking the plans for the (HEY) nova elgan lol :thumb:
Give me the front bumper and grill lol

Pink one looks awsome too :thumb:

[LEWI007]

Love the colour.

Whats up with your join date ? lol

[nn-vaux]

Love the colour.

Whats up with your join date ? lol

O'yeah i just noticed that too!! lol lol lol

[scott.parker]

Love the colour.

Whats up with your join date ? lol

He's one of the true old NL member from when it was first formed, Stu Kev Dan all had it on theres too..

[Nobby]

want this on egay?

[elgan]

yeah i stuck it on ebay, but decided it wasnt worth me parting company with it. hoard it if u can afford it is my new motto. so many parts and things ive sold over the years because id didnt think id need them again, to only go and have to buy again later.

never noticed my join date, ha. ive been using this site 10 years plus.

as regards to 1983 hey, i dont know whether i should paint it white or leave it red??

no updates this weekend as i tried (and failed, see electrics forum) to get the pink one running again!

[elgan]

bought some Ford RS recaros on ebay today. Not sure whether to put them in H16VTB or have them trimmed cream or brown and fit them into this one. Will they look out of place with a stripped out rear and cage? :s

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/recaros.jpg

[LEWI007]

I used to have that full interior in my XR3i, very nice seats they are i think theyd be nice stripped with cage mate.

Out of interest, do you still have that all red nova with 'ELG4N' on the reg ?

I have a few photos of it in my old school folder :)

[elgan]

still got ELG4N yeah. its got a LET on Omex management, GT3071R, Steel rods, nortech manifold, 3" system! not running and not mapped tho. Got 5 stud rear end, once i source 5 stud front end i might get it back together and freshen it up a bit. breaks my heart to see old pictures of it, most enjoyable when it was first built on a slightly modded XE. spiralled out of control one the tbs and the big spec started! still got that engine, not in any cars though. big spec xe now, should be good for 280bhp!

[LEWI007]

Its a very nice car mate, i always love to see an old school car thats still the same as it was back in the day though.

Would be nice to see some up to date photos of it, you not got a build thread on it ?

[elgan]

Picked the recaros up and they are mint! will be a shame to retrim them. ive got a grey mk2 dash spare, so i think ill fit that with the grey seats!

that would mean ill have beige door cars, brown dash, and brown carpets to sell :)

[elgan]

Spent a little time down the workshop today.

Dug out some Cobra subframs i had spare..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00734-20110123-2131.jpg

Mounted one of the recaros onto these to try.

Unfortunatley it sits too high and im 6 foot 3, so the frames have to be cut down in height by an inch or 2..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00733-20110123-2131.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00732-20110123-2130.jpg

Nice seats in excellent condition, so instead of changing them to suit the brown interior, the brown interior will have to be changed to suit the seats lol

I now have these 2 front seats.. not sure if anyone wants them, if anyone wants to collect them before friday they are welcome.. SA18 postcode.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00735-20110123-2138.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00736-20110123-2138.jpg

To add to my bits to sell is this wing mirror too. early mk1.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/elg4n/Nova1983/IMG00737-20110123-2139.jpg

[gunny]

PM'd about the mirror

Cool looking project mate, same year and colour as mine :p be ineresting to see the outcome :thumb: