Project: Gold Snowplough Turbo

[Nova_Tek]

:d The time has come!

After speaking to the bodyshop owner last week and sealing a deal that was too good to turn down, it was time to start the long awaited project.

We agreed on: boot & doors delocked, GSi spoiler painted and fitted, door rust cut out and welded, both rear arches cut out and new ones in place with them rolled up, dents sorted, engine bay stitch welded, Harry Hockley fast road kit fitted, strut top plates welded on, full exterior respray, colour coded door handles and snowplough and rear bumper resprayed. There's probably a few more things but I can't remember lol

So I got cracking.

I stripped the interior the other day, mainly the rear half as most of the weld work is going to be in the rear arches. I was also very pleasantly surprised that the floor was so clean.

https://images2.imgbox.com/86/e1/dOZe5LGc_o.jpg
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMWVb7291JWxmfcSispR0w8ggAQfc-HdwVCfablMtAr1mUx-jTnE5f4-6Z4X92BSQ/photo/AF1QipMnSkY3IhvD4fb5G1JGU4-pQkKETFbcE4Rn5LQE?key=YUhBby1GSUxJeVF5dUlrWGd1d1BO QkxWNjU5UjhRhttps://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMWVb7291JWxmfcSispR0w8ggAQfc-HdwVCfablMtAr1mUx-jTnE5f4-6Z4X92BSQ/photo/AF1QipMnSkY3IhvD4fb5G1JGU4-pQkKETFbcE4Rn5LQE?key=YUhBby1GSUxJeVF5dUlrWGd1d1BO QkxWNjU5UjhR
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPp0udo0_G_2UvN1eM7kokt5-SSPgIBimfG6Z4c/photo/AF1QipMnSkY3IhvD4fb5G1JGU4-pQkKETFbcE4Rn5LQE

Next day, I took it to a mate to get the engine removed (sorry no pics d'oh) and then the tow truck came to take her away.

https://images2.imgbox.com/54/c0/4N4HlX1P_o.jpg

Today I got some important parts through. The Harry Hockley fast road plating kit (thanks to SR-Rally for checking that out in person at HH :thumb: ), the strut top plates and the boot popper kit too :d

https://images2.imgbox.com/7f/ab/TOnErPso_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/6e/c8/bZjZOaGN_o.jpg

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/9875/dsc00530rv.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8092/dsc00529k.jpg
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/4205/dsc00532ec.jpg

[Nova_Tek]

Went over to the bodyshop, which conveiniently is half a mile away from me, to drop off the strengthening stuff.

Only very minor work has started as the guys were working on an old school Ferrari resto and a '75 Merc two door coupé (will try grab some pics if I can).

Some minor work on the door corners
https://images2.imgbox.com/00/cb/MKSbAmdU_o.jpg

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5674/dsc00543os.jpg
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5872/dsc00540uo.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/5839/dsc00539g.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/33/07/qIXREeSz_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/7a/20/c92akDxN_o.jpg

While there I thought I'd get before shot of the arches for old times sake :)

https://images2.imgbox.com/64/8d/KwwdQZ9A_o.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/4862/dsc00538m.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/3959/dsc00542z.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/32/32/Thq6Q0ra_o.jpg
Can't wait for them to go ^

They also took off the locks ready for welding. This is how she stood as I left.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/564/dsc00544xf.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/ea/c3/OcLha7RK_o.jpg

Rusty old School V DUB next to it!

Got home and found these on my table

https://images2.imgbox.com/6e/24/INLS9xME_o.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/3119/28012010291.jpg

Absolute bargain at £44 all in!

That is all for now. Hoping to see them start with more major body work in the next few days, so untill then...

[Nebbz]

wow i wish my arches looked like that.....u should see mine Crikey! MOT failure for norman!.

Be nice to see this finished, i do like the gold ones!

[Nova_Tek]

I can get them to keep the old arches and I'll send them to you if you want ;) lol

Can't wait for this to be finished either but still a while to go. Should be special as the colour seems to be rather rare. :thumb:

[sparkie1401]

will this be the home for the heated screen?

[Nebbz]

I can get them to keep the old arches and I'll send them to you if you want ;) lol

Can't wait for this to be finished either but still a while to go. Should be special as the colour seems to be rather rare. :thumb:

lmao ill get a picture tomorrow to show u the state of my arches..If your donating them carry on!!!!! lmao!

else ill be getting a mate to weld it crappily but mot worthy b4 mot! lol (if its possible...there awful! i own a ford with less rust on it! :eek:

[Nova_Tek]

lmao at a Ford with less rust. I'm sure you wouldn't want butchered arches sent to you :)

Feel free to post up some pics, will make me feel a bit better about my one lol

[burgo]

hmmm may well subscribe to this one

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks for the enthusiasm Burgo ;) lol :p :thumb:

[nova_saloon]

looks good, love it when the goodies start to arrive in the post!

[Nova_Tek]

will this be the home for the heated screen?

Certainly is Sparkie my man :thumb:


looks good, love it when the goodies start to arrive in the post!

Yeah me too mate, very satisfying. Got a few more goodies that came through recently will be getting them up too.

[Connor]

loving the gold colour and the car in general
going to look spot on once out the bodyshop,
whats the name for the colour??
also what year is the shell?

ps. suscribed :thumb:

[vaughanmc]

You putting new doors on it mate or fixing the old ones ?

[Mazz]

Looking good...where did you get the bushes from? Rally Design?

[brucer]

Finally a WIP thread! Cant wait to see this come together after all the questions and queries you've asked.

Keep up the work.

[AlexW]

^ What i was thinking. Plans sound good and i hope by now you've got everything figured out.

Are you sure you want to repair those doors? Your probably get them rusting again between the seams where you cant get to.

[Nova_Tek]

loving the gold colour and the car in general
going to look spot on once out the bodyshop,
whats the name for the colour??
also what year is the shell?

ps. suscribed :thumb:

Hi Connor, The colour is Metalic White Gold, the only one I know of and seen.

1985 shell mate and in very good condition, was well chuffed with it being so solid. Battery tray is clean and no rust, not even bubbles. Just a bit of bubbling just below the rad but nothing major. Apart from that all clean. Really do need to get pics of the bay to show you guys. She really is solid, she's done well to come this far.

Looking forward to see it out the shop, not gona say too much as I don't wanna jinx anything but if it does come out like I plan then it should be nice.


You putting new doors on it mate or fixing the old ones ?

At the moment no, the doors are very clean apart from those 3 small areas. The geeza was very confident that they can be saved as the rust is actually not that bad. When he saw the arches he said 'they're getting cut out and replaced', which I was very glad as a lot of other places I spoke to said 'Yeah they're ok, some grinding and filler should be fine' :wtf:

I mentioned that we could get lower door skin etc to remove the rust off the door but he reassured me that the doors were fine enough for some cutting, grinding, and welding. Anyway if not he'll advise me otherwise. We agreed that anything that crops up during the repair process he'll get it sorted.


Looking good...where did you get the bushes from? Rally Design?

Yep from Rally design. Really can't go wrong for that price.


Finally a WIP thread! Cant wait to see this come together after all the questions and queries you've asked.

Keep up the work.

Yes mate about time for a WIP thread. It's been a long time coming.


^ What i was thinking. Plans sound good and i hope by now you've got everything figured out.

Are you sure you want to repair those doors? Your probably get them rusting again between the seams where you cant get to.

Got 90% planned mate, as always no matter how much you plan you always will make small adjustments here and there. But all the important areas have been covered.

Again, I discussed the doors with the guy, but obviously all he's curently done is just push out the weak bits with a screwdriver. He said they are easily save-able but I guess when he does some cutting around the door bottoms that's when he'll find out how good/bad they are.

I'll be visiting the shop every 2/3 days or so to see the progress in more detail so I'll be asking him questions and discussing it with him all the time as well as taking plenty of pics ;)

[mayhem]

somebody has been a soundsystem banger lol all that deadining in the rear arches.

i'll keep an eye on this thread.. ;)

[Nova_Tek]

Yeah lol you the first to notice that.

Aswell as keeping the wings from rattling and the sub being heard from outside, it also does a good job to reduce road noise coming into the cabin and makes the doors sound more expensive when shutting. Gets rid of the tinny noise of the door skin and actually sounds like you're knocking on glass and not a metal shed lol.

I was never one for playing stupidly crazy bass but it's nice to raise the volume a bit and not be heard much from the outside. It's amazing how much they isolate. You can't tell I'm palying at higher then average volumes, only when the door is open.

I might subsitute the floor deadening in the front with the stuff I put in the wings.

[Connor]

Hi Connor, The colour is Metalic White Gold, the only one I know of and seen.

1985 shell mate and in very good condition, was well chuffed with it being so solid. Battery tray is clean and no rust, not even bubbles. Just a bit of bubbling just below the rad but nothing major. Apart from that all clean. Really do need to get pics of the bay to show you guys. She really is solid, she's done well to come this far.

Looking forward to see it out the shop, not gona say too much as I don't wanna jinx anything but if it does come out like I plan then it should be nice.




1985 B reg?? either ways its :cool:
Plans sound good
Whats spec LET you going for in this then??

[mayhem]

I might subsitute the floor deadening in the front with the stuff I put in the wings.

anti stonechip spray? i used a 3m version of that on the inside of my mk1 astra, works great.

[Nova_Tek]

1985 B reg?? either ways its :cool:
Plans sound good
Whats spec LET you going for in this then??

It's a 85 on a C.

Spec wise: Standard LET, only mods I'm plannig are induction, XE inlet cams and custom stainless steel exhaust. Want it to be reliable basically. Going crazy from the beginning is silly really as you need to learn the cars driving characteristics as there will be 150bhp increase from the 1.2. So it's also the more sensible thing to do.. lol there's me talking about sensible but putting in a LET!

I don't plan to do any further mods when it's a daily driver maybe if I get a bigger car in the future and hae the Nova as a weekend toy.


anti stonechip spray? i used a 3m version of that on the inside of my mk1 astra, works great.

Contemplated using that. I only thought that was for external use.

[Nova_Tek]

Small update:

Got these in the post today, Eibach EZ camebr adjustment bolts

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/3672/29012010298.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/1e/a3/BHswUcBO_o.jpg

Thought I'd start on the little jobs that normally make the biggest impact. So first things first... time to clean them bottles!

https://images2.imgbox.com/99/5a/8NJB2foE_o.jpg
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/8167/29012010299.jpg

They aren't overly dirty, but I wouldn't want to stick them back into a fresh looking engine bay. Thanks to Colin (Novarally) for the washer bottle :thumb: Stuck them in the dishwasher, will see in a bit how they come out :)

[Edd]

Colour is cool and plans sound good.

[Nova_Tek]

Cheers Edd :thumb:

Update soon...

[Connor]

never tried the dishwasher trick,
saying that i have never been fussed on what my
engine looks like, but meh interested on how well they come out

[novacabrio]

Dish washer FTW!!

I stick all sorts in my dish washer, inlet manifolds, washer bottles etc etc!

[Nova_Tek]

never tried the dishwasher trick,
saying that i have never been fussed on what my
engine looks like, but meh interested on how well they come out
Dishwasher is the best mate. Does really well cleaning up stuff. You yourself could never wash anything at 70degrees even with washing up gloves on, so that alone helps remove so much muck.

Will get you some snaps of the bottles tomorrow as I moved them to the garage.

Went and visited the bodyshop today to give them the GSi spoiler fitting screws and sealant. Whilst there we had a chat and he showed me the replacement arches that he got in and said that he would be starting on Monday to cut and weld the arches and weld up the door locks. So it should be an interesting and fun update.

In the meantime I got some snaps of the engine bay so peeps can see it's current state which is pretty much solid (well chuffed obviously)

First up the battery tray which is solid

https://images2.imgbox.com/3a/f6/QaOXWVwk_o.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2544/dsc00545p.jpg

The bay in full
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9168/dsc00546v.jpg
You might ask why the gearbox is still in? The bodyshop said to remove the engine as the gearbox was something they could easily sort out, just so they didn't mess around with removing an engine.

https://images2.imgbox.com/de/4b/BGphKAQO_o.jpg

Driver side turret
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/1772/dsc00547.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/12/79/2TCfoFZZ_o.jpg

The other side

https://images2.imgbox.com/53/35/WF4tH7io_o.jpg
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7278/dsc00548.jpg

Opposite side of the battery tray, mint!

https://images2.imgbox.com/8b/a7/RSiDisww_o.jpg
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/2295/dsc00550j.jpg

Behind the left headlamp

https://images2.imgbox.com/9b/fa/hRYjaqNe_o.jpg
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/9607/dsc00551h.jpg

Behind the right headlamp

https://images2.imgbox.com/14/3e/IbvEwylz_o.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/4482/dsc00552b.jpg

That is all for now, next expected update should be Monday ;)

[Angus Closier]

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2544/dsc00545p.jpg



Opposite side of the battery tray, mint!



Watch out for that battery tray mine was the same and appeard to be mint however when i removed what looks like sound deading stuff it was rusted to anything..:thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

I have no worry mate, had a look under ther dash and it's mint.

[novacabrio]

Nice project, is it not worth removing the loom etc? From experience bodyshops dont take the same care and have the same eye for detail as owners do, worth spending half an hour taking the pipes and cables out fora better finish

[bazil]

Dish washer FTW!!

I stick all sorts in my dish washer, inlet manifolds, washer bottles etc etc!

do you get THE DIAMOND STANDARD lol

nice colour of nova:thumb:

[Count Vaux Alot]

Nice project, is it not worth removing the loom etc? From experience bodyshops dont take the same care and have the same eye for detail as owners do, worth spending half an hour taking the pipes and cables out fora better finish

Agreed - i would try and get up their during prep as well just to make sure they are doing exactly what you want, don't be affraid to tell them exactly how you want it!

[Nova_Tek]

Nice project, is it not worth removing the loom etc? From experience bodyshops dont take the same care and have the same eye for detail as owners do, worth spending half an hour taking the pipes and cables out fora better finish

I was actually thinking about that today as I was taking the photograph. I will have a chat with the bodyshop next week and mention it. I'm sure they'd appreciate that as it'll make things a bit easier. The guy is very cool anyway.


do you get THE DIAMOND STANDARD lol

nice colour of nova:thumb:

Not quite diamond maybe more cubic zircona lol after all they are only plastic.

Think the colour is the more unusual aspect of this project, really can't wait to see all the panels in the same shiney gold :d


Agreed - i would try and get up their during prep as well just to make sure they are doing exactly what you want, don't be affraid to tell them exactly how you want it!

I've been waiting for them to actually start proper work before I start showing my face more frequently. Like I said the guy is well cool and he even said, before I had a chance to say it, to pop down and see the progress.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE:

Went and visited the shop today and finally the car was in the shop getting some work done. They'd done all the exterior weld work.

Anyway less chat more pics (excuse the quality left the camera in my brother's car, so I had take it on my phone)

Boot lock
https://images2.imgbox.com/fa/3f/2wSrR4xh_o.jpg
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/9514/02022010034.jpg

Passenger lock
https://images2.imgbox.com/bb/5f/NNFHa4pV_o.jpg
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/917/02022010027.jpg

Driver lock
https://images2.imgbox.com/9d/71/xSVC5R7O_o.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/1547/02022010031.jpg

Drivers side rear arch
https://images2.imgbox.com/1f/7e/X4pz1TtY_o.jpg
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/3651/02022010032.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/2637/02022010030.jpg
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/6171/02022010029.jpg

Passenger arch
https://images2.imgbox.com/84/40/PYFyEEqJ_o.jpg
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/1811/02022010026.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7328/02022010025.jpg

We had a quick chat and he said that he had to do some extra welding on the inner arch as it had rusted more than he expected when looking at the exterior arch. That is all for now, he couldn't finish it off completely as I hadn't given him my locking wheel nut :roll: , soon as I do he'll get the arches rolled up and finalised.

:thumb:

[Count Vaux Alot]

Good to see progress already - are those arches but welded or over lapped?

[mayhem]

how wide are youre arches going to be rolled?

mine are proper euro flared (7,5j et-1 banded steelies) and i found it was much easyer to roll before the inner and outer wing where connected.

[Edd]

Nice to see arch repair panels fitted well and retain the original arch line, far to many people fit them incorectly.

Keep the pics coming.

[Nova_Tek]

Good to see progress already - are those arches but welded or over lapped?

The passenger side is a normal weld but the drivers side looks to be a slight overlap. Tomorrow will see the arch work finished as he couldn't due to the wheels still on. So I will be spending more time with him and picking his brains.


how wide are youre arches going to be rolled?

mine are proper euro flared (7,5j et-1 banded steelies) and i found it was much easyer to roll before the inner and outer wing where connected.

When I said rolled arches I meant the lips rolled up for clearance, nowhere near your euro arches :). My tyres (well the rear drivers side) very slightly rubs the lip of the arch as they are ET43. That's Nova tollerances for you one rubs the other doesn't

As for the doors, on the previous pics they only removed the rust to see the extend of rust. They will be cutting away more metal to weld in a bigger plate to get a better finish and to make sure the inside of the door is solid.

As for the rest of the rear, apart from two spots the size of a 5p piece behind the bumper, the body is clean and I think they've stumbled upon a job that's easier than expected :)


Nice to see arch repair panels fitted well and retain the original arch line, far to many people fit them incorectly.

Keep the pics coming.

Same here, I was very pleased with the actual finish so far even though it's far from being smoothed in etc but it does all seem straight. Will hopefully get my proper camera with me when visiting tomorrow.

[Connor]

progress is good :)

[craig green]

Nice rare SR to be using there. I would have put in more spot welds tbh, but hey I'm no bodyshop man.

I look forward to the progress.

[Nova_Tek]

Not an SR Craig, just an early Merit with the SR Front from factory.

[saloonwoody]

not sure about that welding bud :(

[Nova_Tek]

Why's that dude?

[Count Vaux Alot]

not sure about that welding bud :(

lol

[Nova_Tek]

Small update:

Went to the shop today to give the guy my locking wheel nut so he can finish things off. He's planning to get all weld work done by this weekend so that as of next week he can start filler, smoothing and primering.

So, fingers crossed, some more tasty pics should be available tomorrow.

:thumb:

[Rick Draper]

Good to see progress already - are those arches but welded or over lapped?

Look just wanged on TBH. with no folding of the standard arch or the new replacement panel :confused:

[auzzy-b]

Coming on well! Looking forward to new pics!

[Nova_Tek]

Look just wanged on TBH. with no folding of the standard arch or the new replacement panel :confused:

They're not 'wanged on'. I double checked today when I went there. He cut the original panel and then fitted the new panel on but put a slight overlap of the two panels. He did do cutting as the inner arch was in worse shape than the outer arch so he did plenty of cutting and cleaning.

Expecting all wedling to be done by Monday.

[shy witness]

this has the makings........of a crakin wee car.


look forward to seeing more progress mate.

very cool car in that colour

[Nova_Tek]

cheers dude, thanks for the comment. Hope to get some more pics in the next couple days.

[Nobby]

looking good pal

[Nova_Tek]

No real update. I haven't really had much time to go visit this week but should be visiting tomorrow and hopefully with my new GTE rear bumper :d. So no pics as of yet but I just remembered that I hadn't posted the pic of the bottles I stuck in the dishwasher. For those who haven't seen the 'before' pic, here it is:
https://images2.imgbox.com/99/5a/8NJB2foE_o.jpg
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/8167/29012010299.jpg

The after pic:
https://images2.imgbox.com/9a/ac/XAilDvJL_o.jpg
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6938/09022010307l.jpg

Not bad hey? The washer bottle has some dirt in the top corner areas as the dish washer couldn't get to those areas. But they are still very clean none the less.
:thumb:

[Rickyb]

liking the washer bottles cant wait to see it done itll be a stunner

[L14MNP]

Hope it comes out well mate, but it's worth bearing in mind that no matter what the body shop promises you, I can almost gaurantee you not all of it will be done.

Unless you pay really really top dollar then little bits of rust will be painted over, even dirt in some cases. I agree with Cabrio, should have gutted everything.

I would have had the bay spotless too, or at least cleaned 20 odd years of sh!t off. As he says, body shops don't have the same eye for detail or level as care as you, the owner (should) have.

At the end of the day it's your car, and whilst it may look good initially it could begin to flake where they haven't keyed up or they blow bits of crap into the paint that you don't notice at first etc etc.

Hope not though! :)

[Edd]

IMO it's depends on the bodyshop.

The place i use has a real eye for detail. Allways asks if im happy or if I can spot anything I think needs doing again etc. Although Iv known him since school he is like this with every one.

He allways like me to strip the car tho.

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks for all the comments people, I'm open to all comments and concerns.

I went and visited them earlier on and they had completed all exterior weld work.

Here's the pics:

Passenger door: (sorry for the out of focus shot, was rather dark)
https://images2.imgbox.com/00/07/iFwKkqkQ_o.jpg
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7295/dsc00603k.jpg
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/7739/dsc00604wl.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/5152/dsc00605f.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/c6/cb/waLZGoPE_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/6d/ec/2U2pAxDM_o.jpg
Driver door:
https://images2.imgbox.com/0a/f4/q2ExBQVb_o.jpg
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/3083/dsc00601f.jpg

For the drivers door the rust seemed a small hole but just behind the paint it started to go so they cut away more skin to weld a bigger plate for a neater job and get rid of any chance of corrosion starting over.

He said aside from that the doors were fine and the door bottoms were clean too. He said after paint he will waxoyl the doors.

He will be starting filler work for the whole body. He said that the car had been repainted in it's life and it was done rather badly as the paint finish was fairly rippled when looked closely. So he will be doing extensive smoothing and filler work to get it 'glass' smooth :)

As for the concerns. I do understand what you are saying, and yes other people are never as detailed as we enthusiasts are. But I've visited every two days and on some occasions everyday when possible. The body shop even rings me to say that they've done something for me to come check and make sure it's fine. So I have no concerns of corners being cut.

That is all for now :thumb:

[vaughanmc]

Aslong as your happy with it mate that's the main thing :) It could be a crap paint job aslong as they take extra care with your bonnet and make it shiney lol

I LOVE a shiney bonnet:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/vaughanmc/NovaReflections15.jpg
My Mk2 ^^

[Nova_Tek]

^ That looks shiney!

They had a black crash repair golf and a black Audi Q7 in there for some colour coding treatment. I couldn't fault their work but I have seen and know of their previous jobs and if I had any doubts then I wouldn't have agreed to get it done by them. So at this moment in time I've got no worries, the proof is in the pudding as they say.

Should be getting my GTE rear bumper tomorrow :thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

Small update:

I went and got my GTE rear bumper:
https://images2.imgbox.com/c2/b8/ZOgeqqFq_o.jpg

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5222/dsc00607a.jpg
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/9053/dsc00610s.jpg
Got it off G-Mans off here (cheers bro :thumb: ), a top bloke. We had a good chat, talked about Nova's (obviously) and admired his MINT Nova! Ignore the fact that it's a bit dirty, all the important bits are straight and in good condition and I got it for a great price too. Not worried about the colour as it'll be getting sorted at the bodyshop.

Tomorrow I will be dropping off the bumper taking my pov spec one home :) Hopefully there will be some filler work done too.

Until then...

[Nova_Tek]

Small update:

No real documentable progress this week. The bodyshop has had some fairly important insurance jobs on a deadline to sort out which has sort of pushed the Nova aside. No biggie really as the car is in the shop and safe.

I did go there begining of this week to discuss what colour to do the bumpers. I have been thinking for a good few years what colour would look good and came across a few Gray's that looked very cool. I currently have Ford Graphite Grey as some of you may have seen (currently in all photos)

We had an in-depth discussion with the guys at the shop. Colour coding was a no no as the gold isn't a great colour for the bumpers and tbh we all said it would look cheap and tacky. I know that for most MK1 Nova's a contrasting colour looks best (Just look at Andy_017's 16v build)

I opted for an anthracite then I had a RedBull which seemed to have made me a bit braver. After looking at some more GM colour chips and examples I opted for GM - Carbon Black.

I picked the Carbon Black for a few reasons.

1) I though I'd be a bit brave and different (RedBull)

2) It seemed to have a very slight tint/hue of a Brown/Gold and wasn't as dark as other black when compared to each other. Obviously I will only see the real deal when painted but I'm still very confident that it'll look sweet.

3) It's not something that is seen everyday on a MK1 Nova as most bumpers are either standard grey or an Anthracite of some sort, especially on a Snowplough.

4) Except for the bumpers, everything is black, window surrounds, rubber seals, petrol cap and door mirror frames.

So the plan is for the front bumper and the snowplough to be entirely Carbon Black, the rear GTE bumper to be Carbon Black (If you look at the pic of the GTE bumper I picked up in my previous post, the red area will be in Carbon Black). As the Carbon Black will be laquered and therefore shiney and glossy I opted for the bottom lip of the GTE rear bumper to be in Matt Black to help break up the colour and to give some sort of emphasis to the GTE lip. The petrol cap will also get a nice coat of Carbon Black.

I'm expecting to see some new progress on Monday as the insurance jobs will have gone and my car can start to get finished off.

[Connor]

i think you made the right decision
Carbon Black bumpers :cool:

[Nova_Tek]

Proof is in the pudding mate, we'll have to see how good it looks when painted :)

I spent absolute ages picking out some colours though. Never thought is would be that difficult.

:)

[Connor]

Proof is in the pudding mate, we'll have to see how good it looks when painted :)

I spent absolute ages picking out some colours though. Never thought is would be that difficult.

:)
dont worry i would be the same
No point rushing,
as you will only regret it once its all sprayed

[Nova_Tek]

Update - No Update!

Thought I'd quicky just make an update as some of you maybe be wondering what's happened. It started off fairly fluently and now has slowed down.

I had to nip off aborad end of Feb to get a few things sorted (work related) so I had a chat with the bodyshop to just bring it down a notch (obviously I didn't want them to do loadsa work without me checking it out every step), which is why there has been no update since the last.

But we should see things pick up again in the next week (probably end of next week). Shall be speaking to the bodyshop to prepare to step things up again. I'm aiming for an end of March completion date for the bodywork.

:thumb:

[N.I_Nova]

can't wait to see this finished its gonna be a cracker :thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks dude. Said it once and I'll say it again... can't wait :d :d

[maddogdaz666]

im looking forward to seeing this painted, i do like retro cars in gold. i think its cos you never see a car in gold anymmore. Keep up the good work!!

[Nova_Tek]

Cheers pal.

Tis true, aren't many old gold cars on the road and there are far fewer gold Novas around. The colour is probably half the specialness of the build.

:thumb:

[dj_wudgey]

good work mate will look top when its done!!

[Nova_Tek]

Cheers DJ :thumb:

[Damo]

Keep it up mate love the colour of the car those shafts should be with you soon too so thats another step closer to the finish :thumb: .

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks Damen, the shafts were one of my main concerns as I never saw much of them on sale. They are now ticked so another essential part of the build sorted.

:thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

Update time...

23/03/10

It was time to get a move on, went and discussed with the bodyshop and I gave them a deadline for the car to be completed to which they agreed.

24/03/10

Thought I'd make a start on cleaning and refurb/painting the bits that I received from fellow PNG members.

O/S engine mount fabricated by total_vauxhall (good job mate)
https://images2.imgbox.com/45/13/0YYsrOKE_o.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3238/1000581.jpg

22 Spline GTE Shafts from Damen
https://images2.imgbox.com/e5/5f/0gn9V0U1_o.jpg
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/6173/1000582k.jpg

Bosch 2.0 Fuel pump, M-Tech gearbox spacer & GTE/GSi Rear ARB from Colin
https://images2.imgbox.com/ff/5f/8J22EtnD_o.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/5829/1000583.jpg

The mount was mint so obviously that needed no attention but the shafts and bits from Colin were a tad grubby, so I set off into the garage from some power tool fun.

Started off with the easiest part, the M-Tech gearbox spacer. Gave it a good clean with some washing up liquid, then a light rub down with some very fine wet n dry to remove the tougher dirt and polished it up with some t-cut.

Still has some slight corrosion around the mount holes but no biggie, still looks clean.
https://images2.imgbox.com/96/b5/mfBpRf8u_o.jpg
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/4742/1000578.jpg

^ Vaux Technology … V-TEC?? ^

The rear ARB was next on the list as that was quite flakey and dirty. Attacked it with a power drill with a wire brush attachment. It was going well but after a while didn't seem to cut through the paint very well. So I flicked the rotation direction to counter clockwise and boy did it shift the crap off it.

After some power tools treatment
https://images2.imgbox.com/cc/7c/p9qOACVm_o.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/4451/1000580k.jpg

Couple coats of acid etch primer
https://images2.imgbox.com/da/33/Z5aCYOOv_o.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6735/1000579.jpg

Let that dry for a bit......................................

Then I thought I'd smooth it out a bit with some filler primer and once that had dried, it was time to give it some good few coats of enamel black. I chose this as it's a very tough wearing finish, which can be easily recoated and has a rubbery feel to it.
https://images2.imgbox.com/8d/d4/Oj5x3U7K_o.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/9230/1000576.jpg

Let it dry off in the garage overnight.

Was gonna attack the shafts and give them a good clean but, all that paint made me a bit high so I thought I'd leave it for another day.

Today I will be cleaning up the shafts and the fuel pump.

[brucer]

Good progress tek, cant wait to see the fresh paint on this!

[Southie]

Coming together Mr Tek :d It's amazing what a fresh lick of paint does to second hand goodies. Could do with doing that on a few bits on mine really.

Looking forward to seeing the car get a fresh lick of paint. http://www.board4all.cz/images/smilies/taz.gif

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks lads, sure is amazing what a few quid of decent paint & a wire brush does to rusty bits.

Just about to go start working on the shafts. They're only grubby, so a clean, light rub down with wet n dry and some lovely sliver Hammerite should make them look mint again.

I assume it's only best to paint the dirty areas of the shafts (if you look at the pic).

Off to sort them out...

[dj_wudgey]

good work fella!!

[Nova_Tek]

YESTERDAY

So I started cleaning up the shafts, at first I thought it was just a bit of road dirt, grease, but soon found out that wet n dry and a cloth weren't going to clean anything... so out came the drill and wire brush again. They were nowhere near as bad as the rear ARB and the wire brush cleaned them up rather swiftly.

Long shaft
https://images2.imgbox.com/bc/7b/tYaVLvAE_o.jpg
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8730/1000584o.jpg

Once that was cleaned up, I masked it up and started giving it some coats of Hammerite direct to metal paint.
https://images2.imgbox.com/9f/66/IrDWsSGc_o.jpg

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/5871/1000586n.jpg

Between coats I went back to the shorter shaft and cleaned that up, it took no time at all
https://images2.imgbox.com/1e/00/0zWX2H31_o.jpg

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/954/1000585.jpg
Before masking it up, I went back to the other shaft and gave it another coat of Hammerite. Once finished coating it I returned to the shorter shaft, masked that up and got it ready for painting.
https://images2.imgbox.com/6f/e7/ns0ehriH_o.jpg

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/8535/1000588n.jpg
I alternated between the two shafts and once I had applied 3/4 coats of paint I put them aside to set.

I then started on the fuel pump. Again, wasn't too dirty just needed a quick clean. I undid all the rusty jubilee clips (one had actually snapped whilst unscrewing it), removed the fatter rubber hose and then the smaller rubber hose.... oops! Dunno how or why but as I pulled off the rubber hose from the smaller end I also pulled off half the nipple where the hose clamps on to :cry: It will now mean I have to improvise a connection so that it doesn't leak :mad:

Cleaned up the pump then thought 'hmm why not give it a light coat of silver'. 'Tis what I did.

Unfortunately, no pic of the pump as my camera is really doing my head in.

I left the pump and shafts overnight in the warm garage for them to harden. With some fresh batteries I shall be taking some after shots of them.

Plans for today: clean up the bolts for the rear ARB and gearbox spacer (although for the rear ARB I'm consideringg actually getting a new set of nuts and bolts as they are fused with rust) and probably go visit the bodyshop and strip the engine bay further to remove as mush as poss.

Oh and as I had forgot to put these up previously on the thread I thought I'd do it now:

Mocal oil cooler
https://images2.imgbox.com/c7/92/txCqNIBV_o.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/561/28012010292.jpg

More switch-a-roos. These will be used for the heated screen and manual cooling fan override.
https://images2.imgbox.com/a3/99/HIT7afGn_o.jpg
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/6650/28012010293.jpg

[Nova_Tek]

And the finished product (please excuse the blurry photo looked great on a 2" screen)

https://images2.imgbox.com/c6/f3/cxa94ZBV_o.jpg

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/1325/1000590.jpg

[Nova_Tek]

Small Update

On closer inspection the ARB bolts will only do up to a certain point as the rust is fairly bad and one of the gearbox spacer bolts is slightly damaged. Looks like I'll be off to B&Q and the like to get some replacement nuts and bolts. Hopefully I can find some.

[L14MNP]

Looking good mate. Please don't buy your bolts from B&Q! Go to a specialist supplier that deals in appropriate fasteners. They're usually just a few quid for a handful anyway!

[Nova_Tek]

Cheers dude. Any reason for not buying it from B&Q?

They're the closest to me and I've bought most of my bolt shizzle from them before be it automotive or general and haven't had problems.

[L14MNP]

When it comes to things like suspension components you need to ensure the bolts are the correct shear strength for the application. Some bend, some snap. It depends on the loads they are experiencing.

It's just a fail safe TBH. Read this (http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Screws/Bolted_Joint.html) I'm sure there's a much more simplified version around though! lol

[Nova_Tek]

I see what you're saying. I'll go have a look anyway and ask some questions.

[auzzy-b]

looking good tek! i like how much care seems to be going into this:)

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks Auzzy.

Further Update

After finishing the bits I was sorting at home, I thought I'd go pay a visit to the bodyshop. When I arrived I was confronted by a satisfying site. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Passenger side rear arch, door lock and door corners have been fiberglassed over and door dent pulled out
https://images2.imgbox.com/d0/c0/0rUMt03l_o.jpg
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/1450/26032010068.jpg

Plastic gutter strip removed. I've decided not to replace them.
https://images2.imgbox.com/34/09/wA624h1W_o.jpg
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/8823/26032010073.jpg

Other side
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/9756/26032010074.jpg
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3898/26032010075.jpg

Rear O/S arch fiberglassed
https://images2.imgbox.com/f4/c2/K3bbe8lD_o.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5890/1000596.jpg

Close up of petrol cap fiberglassed
https://images2.imgbox.com/e5/c6/g24UUN5H_o.jpg
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/8384/1000597c.jpg

Drivers door lock fiberglassed
https://images2.imgbox.com/5c/1f/zroPSMLW_o.jpg
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/3238/26032010069.jpg

Driver lower door weld plate fiberglassed
https://images2.imgbox.com/72/f4/878Fndqk_o.jpg
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/994/26032010070.jpg
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1755/26032010071.jpg

I'm expecting to see all the welded area filler work to be sorted most probably by Monday. Then there is the rest of the filler work to smooth out the panels. Cannot wait to see it smoothed should look sexy.

Will be visiting the shop tomorrow to hopefully pick up my dads b'day present, if I'm luck I may have see a bit more progress, hopefully.

[vaughanmc]

Some work going/gone into that mate :) Will be well worth it when it's done :)

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks Vaughan :thumb:

[vaughanmc]

Your back arches skinned over the originals mate ?

[Nova_Tek]

No, the panels aren't welded over the originals, they were cut out. He had to cut them out as he had to cut out the inner arch as that had started to go too. The inner arch has been welded to the inside of the arch skin. The guy left a few mm over lap of the clean skin and on the drivers side rear arch left the bottom part of the arch to line it up, from what I understood.

[vaughanmc]

Ahh right :)

[Nova_Tek]

Went out to try source some new nuts and bolts for the rear ARB and gearbox spacer and also copper fuel pipe. The copper pipe only came in rolls of 10m which cost £24. Couldn't find the exact nut and bolt sizes. Will probably have to source the copper pipe online.

After coming home somewhat disappointed, I decided to go have a closer look at the existing nuts and bolts. Got out the manual wire brush and it seemed to clean it up ok. Thought I'd try it with my good friend the drill and wire attachment.

The bolts cleaned up well, and after applying some 3in1 oil, I was able to do them all up at least 3/4 which is ample enough for them to fasten.

[Nova_Tek]

Update

Paid another visit to the lads at the bodyshop. Caught one of the guys at the right time as he was grinding down the drivers side panels which were fiberglassed to prepare them for some filler.

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/9083/29032010079.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1466/29032010081.jpg

Once he did that he started rubbing down the drivers door to prepare that for a skim of filler. As I mentioned previously, a few panels had a ripple effect on the paint. The dude reckons that it was most probably resprayed by the last owner (some 17+ years ago) and either the paint was done badly or the filler wasn't rubbed down properly leading to a ripped look. So a good few panels (mainly rear wings and doors) will need skim filler to get them straight and unrippled.

Tomorrow, I will be going to Vauxhall, a couple motorfactors, halfords etc to get a few bits n pieces for the car. Was hoping to go today but, as always, the unexpected seems to crop up, which threw the plans out the window.

[brucer]

its getting there, will all the glass be coming out before its sprayed?

[Nova_Tek]

Yeah, 'tis what we discussed.

[craig green]

uhoh. Patina'd/rat'd bus FTL.

She's coming along though.

[Nova_Tek]

lol yeah exactly what I thought. Was quietly laughing away when I saw it in the pic I took, knew it'd get commented on. The guy must've thought I was smoking some serious shizzle :)

[Mags]

looks good so far will keep an eye on this one

[Connor]

Good to see some progress ' Tek
will you be having interior or will it be stripped?

[Nova_Tek]

The car will be a daily drive when it's done so the interior will stay. I'm aiming more for a GT style car (as GT as a Nova will get lol) rather than a racer. But a few years down the line I plan to go for a bigger family ride and use the Nova as a weekend toy, so I'll probably strip it then.

[Nova_Tek]

Went out today to get some bits as I mentioned. Typically the motorfactors local to me were absolutely useless, couldn't get anything.

So I'm going to get all my miscellaneous stuff off the net. Vaux wanted £44 for for metal fuel pipe, B&Q wanted £25 for copper pipe, motorfactors and Halfords wanted £10+ for a fuel filter and couldn't find any shaft-tec inner cv's from any of the motor factors in my area :( :mad:

Just been on ebay and found them things for well cheap.

Having a look at this copper pipe, it only mentions water, oil and gas but I'm assuming it'll be fine with fuel too:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BUY-ME-8mm-MICROBORE-COPPER-PIPE-SOLD-BY-THE-MTR_W0QQitemZ370246139834QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Cam pervan_Caravan_Accessories?hash=item563463bfba#ht_ 2700wt_941

Also ordered my slimline fan.

[brucer]

Yeh that copper pipe will be fine. :-)

[waynes sri]

looks like your at the same point as me as mine went to the body shop yesterday you having it de locked then mine as this done.keep up the good work

[MattBrown]

Thats very cheap for 3?8th pipe that!

Normally £4 a mtr!

ERM, i have the cv's at the garage, ill find you the part numbers:thumb:

[auzzy-b]

Also ordered my slimline fan. yey! Lol what size did you go for?

[auzzy-b]

Having a look at this copper pipe, it only mentions water, oil and gas but I'm assuming it'll be fine with fuel too:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BUY-ME-8mm-MICROBORE-COPPER-PIPE-SOLD-BY-THE-MTR_W0QQitemZ370246139834QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Cam pervan_Caravan_Accessories?hash=item563463bfba#ht_ 2700wt_941
i was goin buy some fuel injection hose and run it straight from the tank/pump to the top of the bulk head, using p-clips to mount it! But taking this route probably works out cheaper! Cant decide now Lol

[Nova_Tek]

Yeh that copper pipe will be fine. :-)

Cheers Brucer.


looks like your at the same point as me as mine went to the body shop yesterday you having it de locked then mine as this done.keep up the good work

Thanks Wayne. Benn looking at your project too. Will be visiting the shop in a bit to see if there's anymore progress and to pick up some refurbed wheels.


Thats very cheap for 3?8th pipe that!

Normally £4 a mtr!

ERM, i have the cv's at the garage, ill find you the part numbers:thumb:

Very cheap mate, especially if you compare it to the prices I got. If the plumbing centre near me can't beat this price then I'll be buying it tonight. Thanks for checking the cv part no's.


yey! Lol what size did you go for? I was goin buy some fuel injection hose and run it straight from the tank/pump to the top of the bulk head, using p-clips to mount it! But taking this route probably works out cheaper! Cant decide now Lol

Went for a 12" fan dude, was thinking to go for 2 smaller ones but it'd cost double the price and use up more power. I considered running a rubber hose but they can perish and the pipe would look a lot neater too.
:thumb:

[auzzy-b]

Went for a 12" fan dude, was thinking to go for 2 smaller ones but it'd cost double the price and use up more power. I considered running a rubber hose but they can perish and the pipe would look a lot neater too.
:thumb:
12" Fan ftw! Good stuff & good thinking, think ill do the same and renew it with the copper stuff:)

[Nova_Tek]

Did the fan come with a fitting kit? On the ebay ad, it said it had fitting clips/kit included. I also made an offer on it so got it a tad cheaper too :thumb:

Went and checked the local plumbing centre and they didn't have the stuff, smallest was 12mm pipe. So ebay it is.

I bought some acoustic cloth which is foam backed and some spray glue. Will be lining the inside of the glove box with the stuff, hate shizzle rattling in the glovebox, this should quieten it down and give it a quality feel lol

Pics of the bits soon.

[auzzy-b]

Did the fan come with a fitting kit? On the ebay ad, it said it had fitting clips/kit included.
Mine didn't, but then it never included a fitting kit in the ad! so i would imagine yours will if thats what it says..

[Nova_Tek]

Coolio.

[Nova_Tek]

As I had bought some acoustic cloth I thought I'd start on the rear shelf and the side panels. These were previously re-finished in black acoustic cloth but they have been subjected to sunlight and have badly faded.

Side panels
https://images2.imgbox.com/5e/a6/weont53y_o.jpg
Rear home made stealth shelf, again faded quite badly
https://images2.imgbox.com/60/21/QTqAOYJt_o.jpg
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/4460/dsc00672h.jpg

I originally glued the acoustic cloth onto the carpeted side panels. I removed the plastic trim from the panels and proceeded to remove the acoustic cloth. Some areas of the original carpet glued to the metal frame started to come off. On further inspection it looked like there was some corrosion on the panel. I removed the original carpet from the panel and found another area of a Nova that rusts lol.
https://images2.imgbox.com/81/2d/Zoy1e5Xp_o.jpg

^ Up top - the metal side panel (rather rusty), below that - the original carpet trim, bottom - acoustic cloth which has faded
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6111/dsc00675l.jpg

I couldn't retrim the panel when I knew it was that rusty. So I took it to the garage, took out my trusty drill and wire brush and proceeded to remove that surface corrosion.
https://images2.imgbox.com/96/40/zhlnAac6_o.jpg
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8665/dsc00677f.jpg

I found an almost finished can of primer. So I decided not to be wasteful and made sure I put it to good use and finished it off
https://images2.imgbox.com/6e/b4/D80GALhe_o.jpg
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4676/dsc00678j.jpg
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/7498/dsc00679h.jpg

By this time dinner was ready. So I hung up the panels in the garage to dry and retuned once it did for a coat of filler primer
.

http://www.pngclub.com/forum/ajax.php
https://images2.imgbox.com/72/54/1GYzL2QN_o.jpg

Once that had dried I had a look through the cupboard and found a couple cans of black paint about a 1/4 full. So I used them and gave the panels a coat.
https://images2.imgbox.com/e1/76/wsM1VTsK_o.jpg
http://www.pngclub.com/forum/ajax.php

Also forgot to mention that I paid a visit to Vauxhall to ask about the driver door window strip. Luckily they still have the parts available and after parting with £17 I bought one. Should be arriving this weekend. My passenger one is mint but the driver one had split and looked about as straight as a circle!

Tomorrow should see the glovebox, rear shelf, and panels retrimmed.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE


http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1795/dsc00684nu.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/e5/3e/tonYxYVd_o.jpg

I got home and remembered that my replacement ash tray was grey and my dash is black. I grabbed that, headed off to the garage to prepare it for paint.https://images2.imgbox.com/9b/0e/osrLerOn_o.jpg
Rubbed it down with 800-1000 wet n dry and gave it a coat or two of plastic primer
https://images2.imgbox.com/cb/fd/Ugz4gshX_o.jpg
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/3762/dsc00688rv.jpg

Raided the paint cupboard but didn't find any stain black So I left the ash tray to dry and tomorrow I'll go grab some satin black.

As the rear trim panels had dried I took them in and got all the bits together for them to be retrimmed.

Acoustic cloth, spray glue and velcro for the rear shelf.
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/7549/dsc00689s.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/93/32/7by2c2Ep_o.jpg
As the rear trim panels started to rust, when I took off the original fabric it also ripped off the rust and paint. I had to clean the back of the fabric in order for them to adhere to the metal panels. Quickly ran to the garage, got out the wire brush and brushed all the crap off them.

Got back in and started to cut out some new cloth using the original fabric. First I cut making sure I left a border around the original size and then trimmed further until I got to this point
https://images2.imgbox.com/b2/6d/hxqejJHu_o.jpg
http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/6151/dsc00691f.jpg

Once cut, I was left with a bit of a dilemma. Should I put back the original fabric then the new cloth on top, or should I just skip the original fabric and stick the cloth directly to the panles... After lots of thinking I opted to stick the original stuff on then the new stuff over. Reason for this was that the new cloth, although foam lined, it was a bit thin. So I glued back the original fabric cover.
https://images2.imgbox.com/b5/99/G2hdubJH_o.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/8743/dsc00692i.jpg

I then got the cut out cloth and glued it on top. I took a hell of a lot of adjusting and fettling to get it to sit right especially at corners where it would crease.

One side covered but holes for the plastic trim not yet cut out
https://images2.imgbox.com/f9/66/iTWPb0bn_o.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/7205/dsc00693j.jpg

I then cut out the holes for the plastic trim. some of the trim I didn't refit as they need a lick of paint, but the seat belt slot trim was in mint condition. I moved on to the next panel and did the same.

Here's how they stand
https://images2.imgbox.com/33/c5/J6LBK0XQ_o.jpg
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2520/dsc00695q.jpg

They look even better in the flesh but it was a fiddly job and my fingers are all sticky with this damn spray glue

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE

Nipped out to Halfords to get some paint and wet n dry. Came home and continued on with the rear panels.

I first started on the ash tray. Gave it a few coats of satin black
https://images2.imgbox.com/d6/dd/vpARmTIE_o.jpg


While that was drying I masked up the rear panel plastic trim ready for some plastic primer and paint.


Coat of plastic primer
https://images2.imgbox.com/32/62/JH2B2wQU_o.jpg


Let that dry... then gave it a couple coats of satin black
https://images2.imgbox.com/2f/63/FbWwvpcP_o.jpg


Whilst they were all drying I clocked my parcel shelf in the corner. I originally sprayed the dash and parcel shelf many years ago and the paint was still in good condition. As I had the satin black out I thought I'd freshen it up by giving it a few more coats.
https://images2.imgbox.com/f9/cb/Cyi2QJ4s_o.jpg


I left all the bits in the garage to dry for a while. The ash tray and smaller plastic bits dried so I took them in to finish off the rear panels
https://images2.imgbox.com/88/67/mpvLpAPa_o.jpg
It was a right ball ache trying to fit the larger clips which secure the rear shelf to the rear panels, but i managed it in the end and the outcome is lovely
https://images2.imgbox.com/6c/b0/tNUl5geT_o.jpg


I thought I'd try be smart and use the reverse side of the old rear shelf cover, which I made about 5 years ago. The rear side was not faded and looked new. When I offered it up on the shelf and put the two retrimmed side panels next to it, the fabric was very different and therefore would look pants. So I decided to make a new cover for the rear shelf using the leftover fabric (was gonna use the leftover stuff to do the inside of the glovebox).


I first added some more velcro to the backside of the shelf, then measured up the fabric by placing the shelf over it making sure it would come up to the velcro.

https://images2.imgbox.com/83/6c/JPsTtgjO_o.jpg


Got a bit hungry, so went and made a sandwich!
To be continued...

[brucer]

good work on the retrimming!

How durable is the painted dash? I was going to get mine flocked but the black looks decent. Be cheaper too.

What was the deadline you gave the bodyshop?

[brucer]

good work on the retrimming!

How durable is the painted dash? I was going to get mine flocked but the black looks decent. Be cheaper too.

What was the deadline you gave the bodyshop?

[Nova_Tek]

Very durable. I originally never used plastic primer, used normal satin black paint and I painted it whilst in the car lol (about 5+ years ago). Hasn't flaked at all and you really can't tell that it's been painted.

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/4083/050520080041qy3.jpg

I was thinking about flocking but I'm in no rush. TBH you could probably get a really nice fabric (like the one in the pics above) and cover the dash in it.

I gave the bodyshop till beginning of next week (12th April) to have it done. Let's see if they do it.

[brucer]

its something ill definately be considering, looks good.

hope they get cracking on it for you. whats the first thing you'll be doing to it?

[Nova_Tek]

its something ill definately be considering, looks good.

hope they get cracking on it for you. whats the first thing you'll be doing to it?

To what?... Engine? Interior?

Sorry man, had a late night and only just got up. Things aren't making a great deal of sense at the mo lol

[Balley]

Very good fella :D

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks pal.

[Mags]

good work mate cant wait to see it when its painted

[brucer]

To what?... Engine? Interior?

Sorry man, had a late night and only just got up. Things aren't making a great deal of sense at the mo lol

1.03pm? must have been a late one! lol.

the car in general tbh, ive got an order of how im re-assembling etc. next on my list after paint is have all my suspension powdercoated, fit coilovers/bushes/brake lines and then interior blah blah. obviously you'll be taking pics for all us to admire.:thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

Yeah mate was a late night for sure!

Oh right, yeah got ideas of the order of things. This week, if the weather actually gets less wintery, I will be going over to the bodyshop to do a few bits n pieces. Mainly remove some more stuff out of the bay. I'm probably gonna things like the interior pillar trim and get them retrimmed in the stuff I've done the shelf in. Expecting the heated screen to arrive also. If the weather is good I will get the copper fuel line fitted and swap the return line for the plastic feed line.

When the car is out of the shop I'll be getting everything back in the car and most probably take it to a mate's garage to start fitting the engine in. It's all dependent on the shop really, if they finish it this week then things will be on schedule.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE ... continued


Took a while, mainly due to taking many tea breaks and other breaks in between and having a late one last night, but I finished off the shelf cover. It was actually quite fiddly as I had to make completely sure that the cover was in the correct position before trimming the cloth and stitching the velcro strips on to it.


Anyway, here's the pics:

Positioning the cloth on one side of the shelf
https://images2.imgbox.com/d3/7f/vvh7CEqb_o.jpg


I also used sticky back velcro strips attached to the sides of the cloth and made many minor trims and adjustments till it was perfectly in place.

Then secured all the sides.
https://images2.imgbox.com/a5/dd/DcHtV3AR_o.jpg

Finally, I made two small holes in the cloth for the rubber supports which hook onto the boot and lift the shelf when the boot opens.
Placed the side panels next to the shelf and et voilÃ*
https://images2.imgbox.com/da/bc/Y6vfHKtx_o.jpg

Excuse the dark pic. The pic does it no justice, it really does look good in the flesh. Should look mint when back in the car. Will deffo get a shot of it for everyone to see.

This week should see progress by the bodyshop (I hope) as this is the last week as the deadline is next Monday.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE


Whilst on the was to go pick up the door weather strip from Vauxhall today, I stopped at a local motorfactors, to enquire about the accelerator cable and the inner shafts. I gave them the Shaft-tec model number PJ16. the chap checked on the system and rang up a supplier, but nothing came up. He then dug up a couple parts catalogues. There were quite a few shafts listed for the MK2 Cav 1.6, I explained that I wanted ones suitable to use 22 spline shafts.

I left it like that as the car was parked and the ticket was about to expire so I told him I'd pop in a bit later.

He was looking at Borg & Becker IIRC and XL parts catalogue. Was just wondering if anyone has been supplied by either of the above manufacturers and if anyone knows the part number.

I left from there and went to Vauxhall, picked up the door strip and enquired about a LET accelerator cable... £58. SO I obviously left it
Here's the drivers door weather strip, so glad Vaux still do these
https://images2.imgbox.com/4a/0d/ftMJLudP_o.jpg



Got back home and popped down to the bodyshop. The guy was fillering the rear arches and driver door.
https://images2.imgbox.com/22/73/sQXnj9Y0_o.jpg




https://images2.imgbox.com/a9/48/MCmRsPcm_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/39/1f/T6E8R45Q_o.jpg



https://images2.imgbox.com/fa/70/7AvcbcbR_o.jpg


As the weather was pleasant, I managed to take off a few bits to clean the bay of clutter. I'll be going there tomorrow to remove more stuff.

[dj_wudgey]

nice its coming on now when you hopeing to have it finished??

[Nova_Tek]

Well I told the bodyshop that I wanted it completed for Monday, so we'll see if they go for it. I will be there tomorrow for a good few hours so I'm sure they'll be working on it when I'm there :)

[smithy64]

nice work mate.keep it up

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks Smithy :thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE

I was awoken by the sound of the delivery guy smashing the letter box at about 9 am.

This small box arrived....
https://images2.imgbox.com/99/6d/s0jgi1Qs_o.jpg

It only took up half the width of my hallway and the length of the staircase. Anyway, couldn't hang on, so I started to unpack the thing.

Those blue bags were quite cool. They're filled with foam which moulds itself to the shape of the item.
https://images2.imgbox.com/40/75/nQkmTP5H_o.jpg



There was a lot of plastic padding in there, probably enough to fill 2 black bags.
https://images2.imgbox.com/39/c6/SZNhwPMr_o.jpg

As you can guess it's a new windscreen. So with the help of my dad, we pulled it up to check for any damage, doing half of the windscreen at a time. This was a good opportunity to take a couple snaps. As I had thought, the windscreen is also lightly green tinted (as they are on many Vaux's from that era)


Tried to get a shot of the bare wall and through the windscreen.

https://images2.imgbox.com/3a/3b/aNOTEVXk_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/97/2d/BboNbN5m_o.jpg

The actual element in the windscreen is very faint, you can tell it's there but only if you go right up to the glass. All in all a quality screen, very pleased with it and cannot wait to get it fitted after the car comes out of the shop.


Will try pop to B&Q a bit later to get some of that no curing sealant.

[auzzy-b]

Cool were did you get that from? Mines not in great nik! So i was guna use my spare but if i can get hold of a new one i will:) O and before i forget to mention.. If your going to mount your slifan the same as i have you have to remove the fanblades from the casing and flip it around so it blows/sucks the air in the correct direction! Ive just found out so i ordered another fixing kit and im guna have to wiz it back of this weekend,tut! Lol

[Nova_Tek]

Got this from the group buy on here. You must've missed it (it's a massive thread too lol)

I thought you could reverse to polarity by fitting the wires opposite way round and that would suck out hot air.

[auzzy-b]

Yea but it didnt feel all that great when i tried it? So im guna flip it and have air being sucked throu the fan and into the bay..

[Nova_Tek]

Oh right ok, will keep that in mind mate.

UPDATE

Popped off to the garage to get a few more bits sorted. I originally sprayed the centre console in black to match the dash. For some reason it started flaking so I had to get it refinished to match the rest of clean dash.

So I first started off by rubbing down all the flaking paint using water to jet it off then 800 wet n dry to get it off and smooth.
https://images2.imgbox.com/54/f2/kIRgUBhF_o.jpg

Dried it up and wiped it clean with some spirit, then gave it a good coat of plastic primer
https://images2.imgbox.com/41/dd/XE5eFeyi_o.jpg

While that was drying, I prepped and painted the little bits from the console. These didn't flake but I wanted to recoat them so they looked new.
https://images2.imgbox.com/0b/35/Dmd3idBt_o.jpg


Had a short break and went back to paint the centre console in satin black
https://images2.imgbox.com/24/47/oqV1bDi3_o.jpg

I then let those dry properly.

It was getting on, so I made my way down to the bodyshop to get the bay stripped. I arrived at the shop to see them rubbing down some filler. I'll let the pics do the talking, but there were more little uneven spots than I expected...

Full shot of the O/S
https://images2.imgbox.com/35/13/cJ5KVTf5_o.jpg

Close-up of the driver side rear arch, looking pretty smooth
https://images2.imgbox.com/83/8a/MbDoFBi1_o.jpg

Door filler getting sorted. The doors themselves are the worst panels for rippled paint. The guy was saying how the doors will need a bit of filler work to sort out and get back to smooth
https://images2.imgbox.com/95/80/ljoVDJgB_o.jpg

Low spots even on the roof skin, must've been that low bridge I scraped
https://images2.imgbox.com/5b/33/sbEB2kmF_o.jpg

No low spots on the bonnet, just high ones lol
https://images2.imgbox.com/79/b4/Lp0sVjRh_o.jpg

Passenger door getting some filler work. Again this door was fairly rippled and the rear passenger wing had some ripples too
https://images2.imgbox.com/3a/d2/iqeshnfv_o.jpg

Passenger side rear arch also looking pretty smooth too
https://images2.imgbox.com/84/93/vBU4e23O_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/de/f5/u06Wik2K_o.jpg

Finally the boot. Had a couple dings that I never even noticed
https://images2.imgbox.com/2b/0b/OsIM0OmU_o.jpg

Will be going again tomorrow to remove the accelerator cable, clutch cable and remove other miscellaneous bits so that that can start work in the bay without obstacles.

[let_nova]

good work, are you not meant to put filler on bare metal?

[vaughanmc]

good work, are you not meant to put filler on bare metal?

Some fillers yes, some also work with a good key surface (College patter)

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks peeps.

Areas that were fillered had been rubbed down to metal mate, I checked. They just skimmed over the painted area too whilst applying the filler.

[L14MNP]

good work, are you not meant to put filler on bare metal?

That was the first thing I thought of too mate.
I'd only ever put in on bare or an etch primered surface.

I hope they do a good job for you mate. :thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

Anything I don't like will be done again mate, so I'm sure they won't be tryna cut corners else it'll backfire and the car will be there for longer than they wish.

It does look like the filler has been put directly on painted surface (it's actually what I thought when I saw the roof and bonnet), but like with all the other areas in the photos, the areas have been rubbed back and then applied. On the bonnet and roof, the low/high spots are no bigger than a 10p piece so they would unavoidably apply a bit of filler to a painted area when spreading it on making it look like it's just been wanged on.

[waynes sri]

looking at these pics makes me wonder what mines looking like he did say i could go down when he rings which would be as its ready for paint guess he int that far yet :cry: said two week tho soshould be back next week.he did text saying had sandblasted archers and that..yours getting there now cant wait to see it done what colour you going for???

[AlexW]

All novas seem to have a dent above the drivers side B pillar, at least my last 3 have.

Good progress though, not long before its ready to start bolting things back on?

[Nova_Tek]

looking at these pics makes me wonder what mines looking like he did say i could go down when he rings which would be as its ready for paint guess he int that far yet :cry: said two week tho soshould be back next week.he did text saying had sandblasted archers and that..yours getting there now cant wait to see it done what colour you going for???

I'd go down mate, I really doubt I could wait for the car to be finished without seeing it, I'd end up cracking lol

Mine isn't going for sandblasted arches but the rear arches were ground down for obvious reasons. I'm going for the original colour, what you see in the photos, Metallic White Gold. I think the original colour are the roof and boot lid, as the other panles were resprayed 15+ years ago.


All novas seem to have a dent above the drivers side B pillar, at least my last 3 have.

Good progress though, not long before its ready to start bolting things back on?

'tis possible AW06 as I was a bit surprised with the dings on the roof skin. Haven't had another Nova so I don't know if they all suffer from this.

Will be popping down there again today to remove a few more cables and get the wiper motor out the way. Next week (if all goes to plan) should see the car resprayed and finished off with things being bolted back. This all depends on a couple people I'm waiting to contact me regarding the engine and gearbox.

[waynes sri]

[quote=Nova_Tek]I'd go down mate, I really doubt I could wait for the car to be finished without seeing it, I'd end up cracking lol

Mine isn't going for sandblasted arches but the rear arches were ground down for obvious reasons. I'm going for the original colour, what you see in the photos, Metallic White Gold. I think the original colour are the roof and boot lid, as the other panles were resprayed 15+ years ago.

i dont want to be too pushy haha.wont want him to rush it and make a **** up,i might text him tho now lol.i didnt think mine were going to be sandblasted but guess it int a bad thing as he found one arch was mint and other not so good but they both looked mint guess ya just cant tell lol.ye mate keep it that way im keeping mine more or less how it looked.

[Nova_Tek]

If I had the extra cash I'd have got the exterior blasted just to be more thorough and make sure all is ok. They ground back the arches and they were solid, but still would be nice to return it to bare metal.

UPDATE


Was a lovely sunny day, for once, so I made my way down to the bodyshop to strip the bay as much as I could to help make things easier for the guys there and also to guarantee that things get painted better.

The hardest thing to remove was that loud, flimsy, plastic cowling which covers the blower motor.
https://images2.imgbox.com/87/9a/AHhpWQXP_o.jpg


A nice shot of the battery tray area right to left
https://images2.imgbox.com/ff/72/Tm9gfDSu_o.jpg


And from the other side
https://images2.imgbox.com/b0/50/5FgOiQb6_o.jpg


Found out that my wiper linage was bodged on with silicon sealant, now that I've un-bodged it I'll probably have to get a new joint for it and my accelerator cable was on the brink of snapping as when I removed it from the pedal it snapped, not the connection but the actual cable.

Some rubbing down of filler on the roof skin (excuse the dust in the photos, took these pics whilst they were working on the car)
https://images2.imgbox.com/2b/0b/AiLAYLDV_o.jpg



https://images2.imgbox.com/94/07/NMZoDd2m_o.jpg

Passenger side door with some more rubbing down
https://images2.imgbox.com/8b/7f/StEMQSaq_o.jpg


Bonnet high and low spots rubbed down

https://images2.imgbox.com/a0/0e/H1JSm1iO_o.jpg

Fairly long dent in the O/S front wing covered up
https://images2.imgbox.com/46/4b/zbzjsasB_o.jpg


Lots more rubbing down of the driver door
https://images2.imgbox.com/1e/ab/VMXmpS3v_o.jpg


Some rear arch rubbing down
https://images2.imgbox.com/6a/0b/LEr2dAtx_o.jpg

Boot lid filled in. I removed the rear wiper motor and the wiring for the number plate light
https://images2.imgbox.com/99/45/BRMfySND_o.jpg

The view as I left
https://images2.imgbox.com/0a/ba/2knbruCg_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/8e/9f/lVHqOvfU_o.jpg
Glimpse of the Ferrari Mondial on the right.

[vaughanmc]

Getting there mate :)

[discoinferno]

making some good progress with this

[Nova_Tek]

Yeah it's starting to make some progress now. Really cannot wait for the body to be smoothed over with filler and in the booth for paint.

Thanks disco, if it has half the power than your LET I'll be very pleased lol

[discoinferno]

Yeah it's starting to make some progress now. Really cannot wait for the body to be smoothed over with filler and in the booth for paint.

Thanks disco, if it has half the power than your LET I'll be very pleased lol

tbh 210-250 is all a nova needs 420 is well ****ing ridiculous lollollollollollollol

[Nova_Tek]

lol tell me about it, only right nutters go for crazy power like you have (see what I done there lol lol lol )

The Nova has been getting quite a bit of attention whilst at the bodyshop. Almost everyone that's been there ask me or the lads, what's this one then? Obviously not having any lights, badges etc no one knows what it is and the snowplough does give it this old school mean look. Then you tell them it's a Nova :)

There must be about 12 cars there and the Nova gets probably the most attention from customers followed by the Clio 3.0 V6. That's the difference of driving a rare and unique car in my eyes.

[Mags]

got to love the snowplough car looks like its coming along nicely mate

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks Mags.

Can't beat the snowplough (except if it's a GTE or GSi :))

[maddogdaz666]

Filler doesnt have to be applied to bare metal, as long as its been sanded/etched its fine.
Its looking good fella, im subscribed and looking forward to the progress! keep up the good work!
Whens the deadline then? will it be out at any shows this year? PV?

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks for the comments maddogdaz666 :thumb:.

Deadline is meant to be beginning of next week but somehow I think it may be delayed a tad. As long as it's a top notch job then a few day delay is manageable.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE


Another sunny warm day, so I got cracking with the bits I removed from the engine bay the other day.


First up was the grubby blower motor... As it came out the bay
https://images2.imgbox.com/1d/1f/W0EnTSdS_o.jpg



https://images2.imgbox.com/fe/6a/hkfNGXjJ_o.jpg
Started taking it apart
https://images2.imgbox.com/3a/d1/uqoGetYc_o.jpg



https://images2.imgbox.com/7f/74/Jtm0uH53_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/7d/a6/RoM2PAmN_o.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/96/b3/0evgSZL0_o.jpg
^ You don't see that often

Then gave the plastic covers a clean up in hot soapy water
https://images2.imgbox.com/a8/fc/iycand8N_o.jpg


I cleaned up the motor as there was some dirt and fluff that had wrapped around the motor spindle. Also cleaned up the blower fan. I left the bits to dry.

Meanwhile, I moved onto the wiper linakages. As they came off the car
https://images2.imgbox.com/2d/c8/Ij2TDLQM_o.jpg

Cleaned them up with some spirit and WD40 and rubbed down the arms with fine wet n dry.
https://images2.imgbox.com/34/05/KTvGmnRg_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/9e/e2/obhC3Pol_o.jpg

The blower bits dried so I reassembled it
https://images2.imgbox.com/22/d5/nrAESfhE_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/2e/c8/0svp4LPr_o.jpg

As I was assembling the blower I thought about protecting the wiper linkages, so after about 5 seconds of thinking, I decided to paint them.
Started off by coating the arms in a bit of etch primer.
https://images2.imgbox.com/c6/d7/cRRxB8DB_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/62/bb/oocspKqE_o.jpg
...

[Nova_Tek]

...
Left them to dry and moved on to the plastic wiper trim. First rubbed them down with 800 wet n dry.
https://images2.imgbox.com/92/c1/cyeinEF6_o.jpg



Then gave them a coat of plastic primer
https://images2.imgbox.com/1c/87/606ldXcN_o.jpg


As they were drying off, I went back to the wiper linkages and gave them a few coats of whatever I found almost empty in the paint cupboard, in this case gloss black.
https://images2.imgbox.com/8c/ef/3C7vxkxe_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/e1/5c/LmYzFHDw_o.jpg



I let them dry on the washing line and moved back to the plastic bits. Gave them a few coats of satin black
https://images2.imgbox.com/9a/10/gQKSlAIs_o.jpg

Left them to harden and moved on to the wiper motor. Didn't bother with the rear wiper motor as that is as new.


As it came off (far too mucky for my liking, couldn't have this go back like this)
https://images2.imgbox.com/b6/96/bZ9NnAsA_o.jpg

Took it apart
https://images2.imgbox.com/78/d1/0Cr3iHCG_o.jpg


Cleaned up all the bits using good old hot soapy water, 400-800 wet n dry and some spirits.
https://images2.imgbox.com/20/37/xByQSW9r_o.jpg

Decided to give the wiper motor plate a coat of Hammerite
https://images2.imgbox.com/d5/dc/cOZQIWfF_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/ea/28/NpCTUtGG_o.jpg



Then gave the exposed part of the motor housing a good clean and a matching coat. First, rub down with wet n dry and a wipe with panel wipe.
https://images2.imgbox.com/83/38/pPhiZLMS_o.jpg

Hung it on the washing line and gave it a few coats of silver Hammerite smooth
https://images2.imgbox.com/4c/8d/Ua8ffiZi_o.jpg


Left all the bits to properly dry, then went to visit the bodyshop. The Nova was outside being blocked.


Back end with some more filled in bits.
https://images2.imgbox.com/e4/68/ld8cm5gu_o.jpg

Offside - some more finer filler work on the rear arch and door
https://images2.imgbox.com/2a/37/3xmp4u04_o.jpg


Offside front wing, some more filer work
https://images2.imgbox.com/97/19/27IFX1uK_o.jpg
...

[Nova_Tek]

...

More work on the passenger side
https://images2.imgbox.com/d2/8e/0l3YThjV_o.jpg
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/4056/1000682.jpg

And the bonnet
https://images2.imgbox.com/35/83/arCidQQC_o.jpg
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/6422/1000683q.jpg

Had a chat with the lads there and they said the major filler work was pretty much over with most of the little dings and dents filled in. They were gonna get it checked in the booth as the lighting there helps to bring up imperfections better than natural light. Then tomorrow/Monday should see them getting the bodywork skinned over with with some stopper and blocked down as smooth as possible.

[brainsnova]

nice work now you have the linkage out you should dismantle the bits the wiper arms bolt onto and copper grease the spindles and the wiper will sweep the screen like new :thumb:also why dont you remove the front bumper and save them sanding it by mistake.

[Nova_Tek]

Yeah will be greasing them up mate once the paint properly hardens. Already cleaned quite a bit of crap off the linkages, joints and splines.

[nova1992]

Top project mate, Keep it up.

[Nova_Tek]

:thumb:

[burgo]

get the snowplow off whilst doing filler work as filler dust and water equals screwed bumpers, trust me i know

[Nova_Tek]

They will be coming off and will have the paint stripped off them before they get repainted.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE

So the wiper plate and motor dried which meant they could be reassembled. I took off the black tape that was partially wrapped around the motor housing and wrapped with some new stuff. I then took it in and put them back together. (I will paint the electrical contact area eventually)
https://images2.imgbox.com/56/d8/RzJNKz2J_o.jpg
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3563/1000684i.jpg
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1300/1000685t.jpg

I then grabbed the wiper linkages as they also dried and took apart the plastic covers around the splines. I cleaned up the splines and oil/greases them up including the ball joint. Now they are very smooth :)
https://images2.imgbox.com/bb/df/4GfuMYbO_o.jpg
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/7756/1000686t.jpg

I had a box of miscellaneous stuff removed from the engine bay. Decided to give them a clean.

First lot, batt cables and horns
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/3916/1000687x.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/21/ed/IaIJJX5u_o.jpg

And the final bits n bobs. Grommets, engine bay clips, nuts and bolts, washer pumps etc all cleaned up.
https://images2.imgbox.com/7c/41/pDvDIan8_o.jpg
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/741/1000689a.jpg

[AlexW]

PLEASE clean up the bit on the wiper motor, looks silly having it all clean/painted and then leaving that bit because its hard to do

[Eck]

That was a similar colour to mine before the previous owner gave it a crap Laser blue respray.

Strangely its a snowplough turbo.

[Nova_Tek]

The colour code is E421. You got any pics mate. Would really like to see it if it's he same colour.

[novasportc550]

good progress......:thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

Fank yoo :thumb:

[dj_wudgey]

nice mate!! i like this motor you dont see many gold nova's you need to hurry though as i want to see it finished nice progress again though!!

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks DJ.

lol I'm going as fast as I can. The car should be out of shop this week (HOPEFULLY)

[Eck]

The colour code is E421. You got any pics mate. Would really like to see it if it's he same colour.

Can't post pictures yet as I'm a newbie.

showthread.php?t=61329

Or any URL.

That's my car, although it is now polar white.

[The Simps]

Good work.

As said previously, you can't leave the wiper motor like that, will stick out like a sore thumb in the bay. Get a motor off a corsa B or C. Its a straight replacement. Just cut off the plug with the motor as they are slightly different (more modern). Its a colour matching exercise with the wires tho iirc.

[Nova_Tek]

Cheers Simps, gonna go buy a cheapo toothbrush to clean that part of the motor up.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE... Only a small one.


I decided to refinish the calipers I painted a while back. This time I painted them in Hammerite silver just to give them the 'new' feel.
https://images2.imgbox.com/cc/78/RhelO1q8_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/84/3b/6YRlEm3j_o.jpg

I left those to dry. Once dried off, I'll be fitting the caliper refurb kit.

Visited the bodyshop and as I arrived they were working on it. No huge difference, but one of the guys was going over the body very carefully checking for any unseen dents/uneven areas. He actually found a couple more spots, which even I only just about noticed. So there is a lot of thorough work going into making sure the body will be as straight and smooth as possible.

Didn't take any pics as the chap was hard at work, but tomorrow I will.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE
Another lovely, sunny day, so I put it to good use.


I took out the refurb kit to start working on the caliper. All the bits in the caliper kit (Note: the piston, bleed nipple, guide bolts and fluid line bolts are the original bits).

https://images2.imgbox.com/0d/78/du6OSOax_o.jpg

Cleaned the inside of the caliper, it was proper full of crud. Refitted the new o-ring seal just visible. (spent some more time getting rid of those blemishes you can see)
https://images2.imgbox.com/7a/10/RwiF6ZRr_o.jpg



Then came the ball ache to end all ball aches. Fitting the rubber dust boot, over the piston for it to sit in the ring inside of the caliper, and for it to fit around the end of the piston. I tired so many methods and it didn't work. I then took a break and came up with a method which finally did it. In the process I damaged the paint ARGH! I ended up repainting the caliper after it was fitted, no biggie.

The second caliper, now that I figured out how to fit it, was so much easier and no damage was done, pheww!
https://images2.imgbox.com/c1/af/u0Fgj3Mf_o.jpg



Because the caliper was slightly sticky from the paint I didn't fit the remaining rubber bits. I'll be finishing off tomorrow.

Made my way to the bodyshop again, as you'll have noticed I go there everyday now as things have started picking up. They had applied stopper to the fillered areas
https://images2.imgbox.com/d3/fe/0imDlrPX_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/47/57/8ADMG3oS_o.jpg















https://images2.imgbox.com/db/75/2skREsyl_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/80/58/ZI1Mw2V7_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/9a/b6/SIcPJLch_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/fd/3b/cKXVAK0l_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/e6/53/lKjimHCC_o.jpg

Then they rolled it in the shop and continued to machine it down.
https://images2.imgbox.com/d4/e2/zMS2UmLD_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/6d/12/ueGk1nCG_o.jpg




Left the chaps to it. All the glass will be coming out for the body to be properly machined down smooth. The current paint has aged quite badly so will need a good rub down to prepare it for primer.

[dj_wudgey]

when you hoping to have this in paint?

[Nova_Tek]

TBH mate I'm gonna stop saying when I think it's gonna get painted cos when I do it doesn't lol Stopper has been put on and tomorrow should see the car with some more stoper and a good machining. So not long till it's primered.

[vaughanmc]

Looks so much fun, can't wait to see my Mk1 Nova going into paint :)

[dj_wudgey]

TBH mate I'm gonna stop saying when I think it's gonna get painted cos when I do it doesn't lol Stopper has been put on and tomorrow should see the car with some more stoper and a good machining. So not long till it's primered.

nice matey!!!

[brainsnova]

its coming along nicely but was there a reason why you never stripped all the glass, interior and exterior parts prior to dropping it off.

[Nova_Tek]

You could say fun but it's painful waiting for the car to go into paint. I think if I were doing the bodywork it'd be fun working on it etc coz I'll know when it's ready for paint but being a customer and trying to anticipate when it's going into the booth is a different story. Still it's nice seeing the Novas body get less and less rust and looking smoother by the day.

UPDATE

A tiny one for now. Weather is, for want of a better word, sh*t! So I grabbed the calipers from the garage as they are now dry, again, and brought them indoors.

I started fitting final bits of the refurb kit. TBH this was a piece of pish, just a load of rubber bits. Inserted the rubber guide bush, greased up the guide bolts and slid it into place and fitted the guide bush dust caps. I then fitted the rubber bleed nipple cap (very important bit as the bleed nipples were full of crap when I got the calipers).

Done the other one and hey presto.
https://images2.imgbox.com/94/fc/Rfg12i9G_o.jpg
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/9589/1000713.jpg

As I was finishing that off the postman arrived and I got my fuel filter and 4m of 8mm copper pipe for a bargain price off eBay, all for £15.
https://images2.imgbox.com/8c/ba/jtlIAcQt_o.jpg
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/3893/1000712r.jpg

Will be going down to the shop a bit later...

[Nova_Tek]

its coming along nicely but was there a reason why you never stripped all the glass, interior and exterior parts prior to dropping it off.

There was no real reason why I didn't take out the glass but it's a good thing I didn't, as whilst the shop was full of other cars being worked on, the cars not worked on wait outside. With the lovely weather we'd been having the interior would have got wet on occasions.

Before it goes for a primer it'll get removed, which will be a excellent time to swap the rubber to the heated front screen and maybe attempt fitting the light smoke tint ;)

For the exterior bits, it was a case of get the car to them asap whilst they were quiet. I knew the guys were gonna sort out all the rust panels first so I knew I could pop down and remove the rest after. Just a case of getting it to them quickly. As for the interior, the front could stay as the door and arches would be welded plus I don't thing the full front interior would fit in my house it's packed full of Nova bits.

[mayhem]

looks good! loving the retro colour.

why did you remove all locks, but kept the rear wiper and jet? early mk1 boot with all the loose stuff removed looks great.

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks Mayhem, I was waiting for someone to ask that . Dunno what it is but I like to use the rear wiper in the rain, kinda annoys me with a blurry rear screen. Plus it helps keep most of the exterior more original. Some may think it's a bit pointless when wheels and lots of other bits won't be but I like certain details.


So I kept it.


UPDATE


Went down to the shop and one of the guys was removing the side windows. He then moved on to the rear and front screen. I was able to give him a hand with him in the car and me outside. Got all the glass back into my bros car to take home.


Here's some pics of the windows removed.
https://images2.imgbox.com/0c/83/9qn2D9hp_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/b7/ac/msEQntYb_o.jpg


^ Only a tiny weenie bit of surface corrosion at the bottom of the boot under the windscreen rubber.


Thought I'd take a pic of the front screen sealant, It was some major sticky stuff and was still soft. I assume it's the same stuff as what Ricky recommended, non curing.
https://images2.imgbox.com/27/39/zF1alI7Y_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/41/cb/pqAm4qke_o.jpg

Here's some quick pics of the stopper smoothed over from yesterday


https://images2.imgbox.com/42/24/7od5FSBA_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/09/ff/y0qxaOtk_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/8a/0e/vdcMiH7h_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/80/5f/GlVeVBla_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/b9/84/cTgksIeF_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/33/7e/BgFeVpnD_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/e9/d9/FE00yVpk_o.jpg


As the windows have been removed the car will be thoroughly DA'd smooth. The snowplough will be removed too, ready for some primer.


Jumped back in the Cav with my bro and come home. Unloaded the glass into the kitchen, really don't have much room in the house now.


Started to clean them up.


Rear side glass as they came out
https://images2.imgbox.com/54/47/nLWzSd5n_o.jpg


After a bloomin' good clean with hot soapy water and then glass cleaner using microfibre cloth
https://images2.imgbox.com/1d/31/U5jF9PUb_o.jpg




Problem I had was tryna remove all the roughness from the exterior part of the glass. Seems to be a lot of grime/dirt fused to the glass. Need to try get all that off. I have some pvc/glass polish (ultra fine abrasive) from Halfords or Autoglym Glass polish. Wondering what one to use.


I took the rubber and gave that a good clean using hot soapy water. They came out a right treat, look almost new. All the rubbers look very good and strong. May go invest in some rubber spray to help nourish and soften them a bit.
https://images2.imgbox.com/a2/f1/hFqDdEfS_o.jpg




I started cleaning the rear heated screen but my arms were totally aching. Left that for a bit and will resume a bit later. Will also be cleaning the front screen rubber to fit around my heated front screen.


As the glass is out I'm really thinking about fitting the tints I got a while back. It's super light smoked and all my glass is totally untinted clear too, so it won't look silly at all imo.

[brainsnova]

t-cut should take the dirt of the glass. if it still wont budge you can use a brand new stanley blade sideways as a scraper.

[Nova_Tek]

Cheers Brains, will give that a go. Some seriously tough stuff on the glass.

[maddogdaz666]

lol at the shadow puppet!

[brainsnova]

lol at the shadow puppet!

i thought he was pointing to another dent lol (joke)

[Nova_Tek]

lol was waiting for someone to spot that

[waynes sri]

looking good mate cant wait to see it all done bet your same lol

[Nova_Tek]

Same mate, really can't wait.

[waynes sri]

im goin to get my pics on in a min lol

[Nova_Tek]

nice one.

[waynes sri]

done:thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

wouldn't you like to know ;)

[waynes sri]

lol;)

[Nova_Tek]

post fail, was meant to stick that on your thread :tard:

[auzzy-b]

Progress is good Tek! Looks like its guna be spotless when done, cant wait to see it finished:) have you been given a date for when the paints going on?

[Nova_Tek]

Umm no but I'm expecting it to go primer today-ish :d


UPDATE


I finished off cleaning the front and rear screen last night, I went over all the glass with a stanley blade and then with a abrasive glass polish and a final clean with spirit, glass cleaner and microfibre cloth. Boy are they clean now.


And I found out they are actually tinted. You can hardly tell when they're fitted, unlike my bros Cav which is obvious that it's tinted green.


Anywho, the pics...


Rear screen, great condition
https://images2.imgbox.com/42/1d/GfRE55zs_o.jpg


Front
https://images2.imgbox.com/38/ba/LAZFqYXM_o.jpg


The front glass is in real good condition, much better than I thought it'd be. Only blemish is the slight scratch marks at the top. Looks like one of the wipers had lost it's rubber and the metal must've rubbed against the screen (this was done before my family bought the car).


Front and rear rubber
https://images2.imgbox.com/8c/12/5TWWb6js_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/de/24/PV9Xr49i_o.jpg


It was nightmare on ball ache street trying to remove the non curing seal on the front rubber, got it absolutely everywhere. Not 100% removed but its cleaner than before.


Will be popping down to the bodyshop in a bit.

[waynes sri]

even if not 100% still your making a go of it thats glass is like new! will we be seeing it at any shows this year then?

[Nova_Tek]

True mate, at least I had a go, but I'm still suffering. This sealant is still on my fingers lol Really dunno about shows this year mate, would like to attend but cannot guarantee much atm.

Went to the bodyshop. They had some delivery van to sort out, big company so they had to get that done and out asap. I should see primer on it tomorrow.

I did however spot my boot lid rubber seal so I grabbed that to clean it up and took off the brown vinyl on the A pillar. Thinking to refinish them in black fabric. Will have a play with that tonight. If I can pluck up some courage then I may have a bash at tinting the side quarter glass.

[novacabrio]

You taking the front bumper off for paint and the B pillar stripes? Looks like theyre going to town on it.

Whats the clio V6 in for?

[waynes sri]

its crap when you think its going to have more done when you get there haha like mine he kept doing rush jobs like all grey was going to be done today but dint get round to doing bottom till tomoz lol

[Nova_Tek]

Yep, snowplough should be off, most likely tomorrow, B pillar vinyls too.

I'm pleased that they are doing a lot of work on it. TBH I wasn't expecting them to go over it with such a fine toothcomb. I mean, they found stuff that I never realised was there.

The Clio is in for a front end, it got smashed up. New bonnet and passenger wing and no pattern parts available for it, genuine bits :eek: . Plus it was resprayed by someone else and wasn't done well so they'll be blowing over it. Sounds great though, only thing I like about it :)

[waynes sri]

I'm pleased that they are doing a lot of work on it. TBH I wasn't expecting them to go over it with such a fine toothcomb. I mean, they found stuff that I never realised was there.

that is so true he found dents in my roof and boot that i never sawlol

[Nova_Tek]

Coincidently mate, I too had dents on the roof skin. Pretty much where the B pillar is. Think Mowgli may be right in saying many Novas suffer from this.

[waynes sri]

yes mine was there but u would never have seen them

[Nova_Tek]

I could see them once he pointed it out to me. I thought I saw a dent in the roof a while back but then I thought 'naa probably just seeing things' lol

It's the one on my passenger front wing and on the boot that I totally missed.

[waynes sri]

mine were around the grab handle bet its from been slammed

[Nova_Tek]

I don't have a grab handle so no ideas as to how it got a ding in it.


SMALL UPDATE


Seeing as I ripped out those bits from the Nova today I thought I'd get them sorted.


Firstly cleaned up the boot lid rubber, was in pretty good condition with no rips or tears in the rubber seal.
https://images2.imgbox.com/43/73/heBzkigL_o.jpg


Then made a start on the A pillar vinyls. gave them a quick clean
https://images2.imgbox.com/36/40/vcbKuoUb_o.jpg


Got out the material I had left over from the rear shelf re-trim and lined them up
https://images2.imgbox.com/e7/a0/As1iJVSu_o.jpg


Once happy with their position, I spray glued the fabric and placed the vinyl trim over it. Hey presto
https://images2.imgbox.com/d0/c0/OXLifBnG_o.jpg


My scissors weren't great so the edges didn't come out 100% straight, but no worry as the door seal will hide them very well.


Simple yet effective.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE


Made my way down to the bodyshop before they shut for the weekend. It was a very nice sunny day so I knew they'd be hard at work, and I was right


B pillar vinyls stripped
https://images2.imgbox.com/cd/27/v8xM6zWM_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/e7/67/cHjMGgSP_o.jpg


Then I noticed the Snowplough was off
https://images2.imgbox.com/ab/1b/6EjFCrzl_o.jpg


Was expecting a lot more nasty surprises behind the plough but it was pleasantly clean, not perfect but clean.

https://images2.imgbox.com/41/e1/2NOz9iex_o.jpg


Corners of the front wings, the passenger side was a bit crumbly in the corner but the drivers side was clean
https://images2.imgbox.com/5f/e3/D4GCbDsP_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/34/d1/js9eK8RC_o.jpg

Some corrosion on the tie bar mounting points. It seems to be a bit flaky, but hasn't gone all the way through. Had a quick word with the guy and he said he'll be cutting it out and plating a section on to it.
https://images2.imgbox.com/63/b7/Ipd7YNaq_o.jpg


As it stood at that point
https://images2.imgbox.com/df/b2/n90pVoc5_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/2f/16/c37USgO3_o.jpg

He then started some work on the front corner, it seemed to be bubbly only but after some grinding a few holes had appeared. Stuck my hand round the back and removed a load of rust flakes. Luckily it was only confined into that small area but some good old treatment won't go amiss.
https://images2.imgbox.com/a1/84/s6BGgmZ3_o.jpg


Spot of grinding on the front section, only surface corrosion on this one.
https://images2.imgbox.com/49/83/yJbitP8W_o.jpg


Rusty spots then treated with Jenolite (pro version of Kurust, apparently the army uses these on their tanks and jeeps, nice!)
https://images2.imgbox.com/51/a1/2nd2iUIb_o.jpg


Round the back, little bits of rust, ground back and Jenolite treated. These areas have had the most mud and dirt build up directly behind the rusty spots.
https://images2.imgbox.com/54/bc/1yk8y7tg_o.jpg


We were discussing these rusty spots and the fella suggested next week for me to come round, get it up on the ramps and have a good old clean out of the mud and dirt. After getting it spotless, we'll be treating the underside with waxoyl using his proper applicator and airline. I said I was planning to do just that but obviously only with a brush or a rattle can. So will be popping down next week when the weather is bearable.

[brucer]

cars looking good, good job you got a good bodyshop thats helping you out rather than just hiding any surprises. even though your deadline date has been pushed back it will certainly make your nova even better with all the extra niggles you/they are having to sort out.

keep up the work kidder!

[Nova_Tek]

Yes, very true. They've been great and have given me good advice and they're deffo tryna help me out as much as poss. The underbody clean and pro waxoyl help from them is invaluable especially on an old car, so I'm well pleased even if it's been pushed back a bit. Mind you they've found little extra bits that need sorting so that's probably helped delaying it a bit.

[waynes sri]

not too much rot there mate which is good least you know it will be sound

[Nova_Tek]

Yep, very little rot but it's all been found by the looks of it.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE


Not much to report on.


I've not had much to do as I've sorted most of the stuff, but I was left with that dirty wiper motor connection plate. So I got on with that. I bought some el-cheapo toothbrushes, 4 for 20p. First I brushed my teeth with one of them, then I started on the task lol


Cleaned up the area and masked it up
https://images2.imgbox.com/ee/c1/qLPFdfwj_o.jpg


Gave it a few coats of Hammerite and let it dry
https://images2.imgbox.com/07/cb/wOBLhwaM_o.jpg


All dried and assembled


Should be popping to the garage tomorrow to clean all of the underside and apply some pro grade underseal as the little rust spots on the front wing and the back side were due to dirt on the other side. Was also told by the bodyshop that they were gonna go full steam ahead with the car and should be finished by mid next week

[The Simps]

Wiper motor looks better but I still think for the extra pennies you should get a corsa motor on there. I'll see if I have a spare one you can have.

Here's mine with a different plug added...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/TheSimps/Nova/Nova%20Coupe%20Project/27-03-09.jpg

[Shaun]

whats the difference of the corsa motor simps?

Does it go straight on aswel?

[The Simps]

Straight on, just might need to chop and join wires depending on plug type. The corsa has an earth wire too but its not needed on the nova as it earths through the mount (from memory). From the corsa B to mk2 novas it may even be plug n play. Either way its very simple to sort.

[Shaun]

superb! will look at this later as will be alot cleaner!

:)

[craig green]

Wiper motor looks better but I still think for the extra pennies you should get a corsa motor on there.


whats the benefit/advantage?

[Nova_Tek]

whats the benefit/advantage?

Seconded.

Thanks Simps.

After all this work to the wiper motor it'll be a shame replacing it with another one. My motor works really well and I've never had issues with it, or with any of the wiper system. It'd have to be a big benefit over the standard motor for me to swap over. Plus chopping wire, although I've done hundreds of times, I really don't want to do.

The weather looks very nice, as it has been for the past week, so I should be going down to the shop later today to make a start on the underside, clean it all up and apply some fresh underseal.

[AlexW]

Corsa motor i wouldnt be going for, MK2 nova looks exactly the same but dont sit at an angle, I have a corsa motor on my nova and it sits at an angle which looks silly, Standard MK2 wiper motor sits straight. I know its a bit messier but i prefer it.

Your standard mk1 wiper motor does look better now though! Just clean up the bolts and the bits where the bolts go through.

Good luck up the bodyshop, hope they have made good progress.

[The Simps]

Corsa motor i wouldnt be going for, MK2 nova looks exactly the same but dont sit at an angle, I have a corsa motor on my nova and it sits at an angle which looks silly, Standard MK2 wiper motor sits straight. I know its a bit messier but i prefer it.


We fitted a corsa one to Shaun's old nova now Nick Js. Does sit at a different angle but I feel it looks more modern and the chrome bit polishes up nice. Each to their own.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/nj_photo/novaturbowip415.jpg?t=1269892916

[Count Vaux Alot]

Coming on well :)

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks for the comments.


Think I'll keep my motor Simps, no point faffing around with the motor just coz it'll look a bit better. If it fails in the future then I'll consider an upgrade. :)


UPDATE


Went down to the bodyshop and started on the arches and underside, brushing off loose dirt, mud etc. The general condition of the under seal is actually very good bar a couple areas where they started to peel. Due to it peeling, water has gotten underneath the stuff and started eating away at the metal.


Found a small hole under the drivers arch, about the size of a elongated 10p piece, another hole near the factory hole behind the drivers arch (size of a 5p again), but the main 'surprise' was under the driver seat, about 5cm towards the front on the floor. That will need a bit of cutting out and plating with a new piece. It's not drastic but it was saddening to see ime. All this was due to the factory rubber under seal starting to peel and water just getting under it.


On the flip side, apart from a total of 4 areas behind/below the body the good news is that the rest of the car is very good.


Couldn't grab any pics. I was extremely dirty, filthy even, and I didn't want to get my new phone dirty . I think most of the sh*t I scrapped off the underside ended up in my hair and/or face

[vaughanmc]

Can't complain at that for an old motor mate :)

You taking it all back to bare metal then sealing it up or just the bad/loose bits then sealing on top of whats there ?

[Nova_Tek]

Very true Vaughan, tbh it was expected but still more than I anticipated.

We've removed all the loose areas and peeled off the bits that started to.

The rest of the underside was checked and the factory underseal is literally welded to the floor. It's plainly clear the areas that corroded were due to the seal letting go, funnily enough right on the corners of the metal.

The guy at the shop will wipe down the floor with panel wipe to put a final clean on the underside and then apply sealant to the entire underside properly, he's got a proper airline applicator and some pro stuff.

This'll be a topic which will be debated as I know some people would want to see the old stuff removed and new stuff applied, but tbh I'll be more than happy getting the little areas cleaned, cut out and plated then the full underside recoated. The guy there is also very happy to do this (not that he's lazy but the overall condition is very good).

[vaughanmc]

I'm thinking about doing that to my Mk1 as well mate but just wanted to see how other folk in the same situation as me are going about it - My Mk1 had 2 bits of rot underneath (behind the back shockers) and that was all the corrosion it had but the usual round the drainage holes on the chassis legs the Underseal is coming away so that'll all be cleaned up and Kurusted etc then blattered with Schutz or Stonechip then maybe painted red

:)

[L14MNP]

In the long run you would be better off removing all of the rubbery factory sh!t mate. Even where it looks fine, trust me it will be hiding more surface rust.

Remember, I have an S reg car that has been SORN for 5 years so is effectively a 2003 lol. That was hiding a few surface surprises beneath the underseal, and that's on a galvanised body!

[Nova_Tek]

In all honesty, every corroded/rusty holed bit I found was due to the underseal being damaged one way or another, which had allowed water ingress. From there it made the underseal flake or peel away. I wire brushed all the arches and underside with no further flaking or damaged areas coming up. So according to that I concluded that the rest of the underside was good. The guy confirmed.

If I had noticed these little areas earlier then I wouldn't have allowed it to go like that.

One question: Why does the drivers wheels well have a great big hole in it? Is this to be able to maneuver the aerial into position? if so, then I'll tell him to plate that up, as I have no aerial. I can see it causing problems in the future.

[vaughanmc]

Aye it will be the aerial inspection hole mate...My Mk2 Nova rotted that bit out and the aerial dropped out the car lol

[Nova_Tek]

lol

No aerial means no hole.

Thanks ;)

[AlexW]

I know you wont change your mind, but on my mk2 i stripped the arches bare of underseal, Behind the underseal was loads of very small rusting marks where it was just starting, Not visible from the other neather, so it was just behind the underseal and there was no peeling underseal at all
After seeing that i would never leave old underseal on now.

[Nova_Tek]

UPDATE


It's been a few days since the last update, but this'll be the best update I've done, so far


As I arrived the guys pulled the Nova out of the oven, after giving it a few good coats of 2K primer. They wanted to let the primer dry for about a day and a half. So once it had dried in the oven they'd let it sit outside at room temp. This was to make sure that the paint adhered to the filler and the old paint underneath.


Here are the pics as I went round the car:
https://images2.imgbox.com/25/1a/UG7VWWZI_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/39/96/FceiBEhz_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/1a/03/Q66Ukkcb_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/db/7f/9s5mqc1S_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/a4/27/JVAzz83c_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/ec/2b/KbkfUmyU_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/67/ea/YwdmEPdA_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/71/45/gmpqrohC_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/ee/0b/mbfBHP1U_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/ce/65/V4cwFPL2_o.jpg



Pics of the arches rolled up. The guys left a few mm gap between the inside of the arch and the lip. This was to reduce the risk of the arch lip cracking where it folds and to be able to seal the lip to the inside of the arch better.
https://images2.imgbox.com/02/38/MHajATeb_o.jpg


One thing is for sure, there's miles more clearance now, yay! ^ Not the best pic but you get the point!


As I left the garage
https://images2.imgbox.com/83/d9/MqqdVlQX_o.jpg


The bay hasn't been done as it'll need the stitch welding done and strengthening plates to be fitted.


The lads said some very minor stopper was needed in a few areas as the primer had showed up some slight imperfections. Once that's been done they'll go ahead and apply primer to those areas and any areas missed, then flat the primer down ready for paint.


It looked so nice in primer, was a nice sight.

[brainsnova]

its looking :cool: nice progress :thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks :thumb:

[waynes sri]

looking good mate cant wait to see it painted...what rims she having on

[Nova_Tek]

Same here mate.

Ones I currently have. I know they're not perfect and the best out there, but my main aim at the mo' is to get everything solid, painted and engine fitted and running.

Will save up and find the best looking wheels I can in the near future once my bank manager is happy with my account lol

[waynes sri]

thats right mate can get rims anytime where you from?

[Nova_Tek]

North London dude

[brainsnova]

my bank manager thinks im dead lol

[Nova_Tek]

lol

Hope he's not a member of PNG

Was actually looking at Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's in Black. Tryna visualise if they'll work with the Nova but I have a few ideas floating around my head. Just need the cashmoney.

[waynes sri]

North London dude damm ill not be poping round for a look then lol

[Nova_Tek]

lol

[vaughanmc]

Looking very good mate :)

[craig green]

A nice bit of progress. Seems odd to do the bay seperately & risk weld burns etc, but a small detail.

[Nova_Tek]

Thanks lads.

I thought the same but it's no biggie. I think they just wanted to get the primer down for it to cure properly and it would allow them to see any imperfections.