First Nova, what shall I do to it?

[Jonesyboy]

Hi, This is my first post. I've just got a 1991 1.2 Merit and was wondering if it is worth modifying it to get it a bit quicker and what I could do without blowing the little engine up. I really want to do an engine conversion but this won't come for at least a year due to finance and expertise. For now i was thinking sports suspension, air induction, anything I could do with the carb?, would new belts and clutch make any difference? I know it's a 1.2 so its never gonna be mega fast but was hoping i could at least beat my mates 1.6 standard fiesta off the lights every time lol. Any help or suggestions will be much appreciated, Cheers

[Plug]

dont waste money on any thing on the 1.2 engine its just not worth it, service it regulary(sp?) and thats about it

Save pennys until you can afford the insurance and do an engine swap.

Welcome to the PNG by the way :)

[blue_peg_16v]

get a 1.4 bottom end 1.3 cam and a pair of 40s and use the 1.2 head, for a scrap yard screamer of an engine (1.2 head increases the compression massivly due to combuustion champer shape and so increases power of the 1.4)

[Connor]

Lower it. Stick some correct offset wheels on. Exhaust maybe?
Dont go too crazy untill you know what you want to do to it

[Graeme]

Welcome and I wouldn't was any money on the 1.2, maybe and service and cam belt at a push, just get the car handling and stopping first

[Mike]

A decent alarm is top of the list.

[Paul]

Strip it out, buy an XE/LET motor away you go!

[Jonlem]

Strip it out, buy an XE/LET motor away you go!

This man speaks sense. :thumb:

[Paul]

All Novas should be 'big blocked' its the law!

[Jonlem]

All Novas should be 'big blocked' its the law!

I will remove the rep if you can carry on like that lol

Its the law for people who are tight lol and yes that does include me :d

[shed-on-wheels]

lower it nice set of wheels maybe cav slabs or fan blades even speedlines if you have the cash i wouldn't really bother with a full system on a 1.2 as it coulde be really loud but no poke but i do have a 1.4 sri full car splitting soon

[Jack]

If insurance is an issue, there's not a lot you can do to make it faster.

Best bet is make it go round corners (suspension, wheels, tyres), make it stop quicker (brakes, again tyres) and improve the bhp-per-kg (lose any weight you don't need).

I think you'll struggle to make a 1200 Nova whip a 1600 Fez off the line, but at least you can batter him round corners.

[Liam]

Where abouts in Kent are you from??

[shed-on-wheels]

agreed jack

[Jonesyboy]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I won't bother doing anything to the engine then just the handling and brakes. That way it's already done when I put a XE/LET in it :) and Madcapnova i'm from maidstone.

[novadose2009]

my 1st car was a red mk2 more door loon and it was 1200cc carb and i fitted front and rear strut braces lowered on spax coilovers and polished mk3 astra gsi fanblades 288mm turbo discs and a 5speed box which really made it shift.

at 18 no NCB 1st policey was fully comp with co -op £1300 mate

and yeah also get a alarm as it does help on the insurance front dont need big engine if you can hold the speed and out brake and turn everyone.

i once raced my mate in my 1.2nova and him in his tuned clio 172 down back roads and he couldnt loose me til the final long straight lol

handelling FTW.

[Jonesyboy]

i'm 20 now so i got 3 years NCB but the insurance is still quite bad, i paid 2800 on my first car and that was a new clio and a 1.4! i'm looking at 700 for the nova standard god knows what if it had a bigger engine in it

[Jonesyboy]

Also, is there anything to stop me putting gsi or gte suspension on it?

[novadose2009]

Also, is there anything to stop me putting gsi or gte suspension on it?

no point matey as its not lower and still very soft mate depending on how low you wanna go but 60 - 80mm is low enough when you wanna have good handelling and thrashing car about depending on budjet either get shocks and springs or if you can stretch to it coilovers,

but you need to sort brakes and wheels and tyres also matey

[L33 LEG]

Like people have said, no point messing with your engine. I would maybe put an exhaust on it and it leave it as that as they are bullet proof and can be alot of fun.

I would just lower it with some nice wheels and make it your own style and enjoy it and hopefully next year you will still love it and ready to put a bigger engine in.

[lee-loon]

Up the interior spec, I once paid £10 for a full Sri interior!
Suspension
49mm offset wheels
maybe gte/gsi bumpers (not sure if yours is a mk1 or 2)
bigger brakes from a astra GSI etc
Wheel brace- security!

[Royston]

Learn how to drive it properly first before considering anything else ;)

[dannyb]

Learn how to drive it properly first before considering anything else ;)

Haha, good advice. Drive it about and see what you think needs doing. 256mm discs and ATE calipers on decent standard pads will be fine for what you need. A 40mm or 60mm drop is sufficient on shocks and springs. Strut braces and anti roll bars are a matter of opinion, but just remember, they'll be adding weight. Most important at this stage is to get a set of 15" ET 49 offset wheels in at least 6J shod with DECENT 195 45 15 tyres (cheap fitment too). Then your 256mm brakes will fit behind them no worries.

[Jonlem]

I have a 16v brake setup here, well 2 sets actually.

[MattBrown]

C20let, cage and buckets.

Or put 1400 head, and MPI injection on it.

(I am not condoning doing this uninsured)