conversion options?

[tommy8252]

Wanting more power for the nova and was thinking about different engine conversions. Looking for power in the region of 140bhp and got a budget around 300ish quid. Currently running an e16se with port polished head, Kent nvo62 high lift cam, cone filter and powerflow exhaust and standard management.

Ideally I want reliable power, as the car is my daily, something I can chuck in and forget about.

So what's my best option?

[blue_peg_16v]

ill get murdered for this but on that budget its gonna be hard

id say with the budget the onlt way is an mot failure cav vec or astra 2.0 ecotec can be picked up full car for just over £100 sell a few bits off it then weigh the shell in and you will get ya money back so free engine then you will have the 300 to get big block shafts and mounts and any sundries

ectec has 136bhp as standard and the cat will be junk so should see over 140bhp

[fastcar1cars]

save and get a c20xe

[blue_peg_16v]

why the engine will have done moon milage and need a rebuild,

with the age of an xe now i recon a good ecorec will have the same power as an old xe now and with the budget he has its a viable cheap alternative that people seem to ignore

[tommy8252]

Currently I have thought about c20xe but as rich says most have been thrashed to the moon and back by now and for my budget its not gonna be a case of fit and forget. I've also thought about smallblock xe's but all I can find are a million miles away.

I've also thought about using my current engine and adding a big valve head bigger cam and aftermarket management but that's expensive although it is doable progressively. May not give me 140bhp but will be nippy to keep me amused while I do some more saving.

I'm pretty much looking for cheap fun.

[mowgli]

x18xe1. buy a whole vectra, get the engine swapped., decat it, decent air filter.. it'll be knocking on towards the target....

[blue_peg_16v]

a pair of 40s on the current set up would be a giggle

[Southie]

a pair of 40s on the current set up would be a giggle
Beat me too it but was going to say bike carbs, probably over the £300 mark though with needing management.

If you go big block you'll need upgraded shafts so that will eat into your budget.

[Edd]

Don't go big block IMO

40's sound good but maybe a bit keen on fuel for a daily

[blue_peg_16v]

could get away with nova 22 splines easily on a ecorec tho

[tommy8252]

40s with a mechanical fuel pump and an ast 2 cam would be viable with a few more pennies, that would eliminate the need for management.

But I have an in tank electric pump, would the mechanical pump suck fuel through this?

And if it drinks a bit more fuel I don't really mind.

[blue_peg_16v]

Don't go big block IMO

40's sound good but maybe a bit keen on fuel for a daily

meh my loon was a daily with an xe and 48s there only thursty if your giddy with the gogo pedal if your restrained there fine on a run i could get the same out the xe with carbs as with injection but i did give it a good kicking once and got 90 miles out a tank

[blue_peg_16v]

40s with a mechanical fuel pump and an ast 2 cam would be viable with a few more pennies, that would eliminate the need for management.

But I have an in tank electric pump, would the mechanical pump suck fuel through this?

just get a carb tank there cheap as chips second hand know one wants em

[tommy8252]

Could be onto a winner here, gotta pm comptoncj think he had a twin 40 1600 setup for sale and source a tank.

[Novaboyleon]

i wish i had put 40's on my gte with e16se engine, you know that noise will be addictive, and its nice to look under the bonnet and see someones spent a bit of money on the little 8v engines, every nova has seen a redtop conversion nowdays, still good though.

[tommy8252]

I know the noise is addictive used to have twin 40s on my old nova. Wish I'd kept hold of them now. :(

[matthew172]

why the engine will have done moon milage and need a rebuild,

with the age of an xe now i recon a good ecorec will have the same power as an old xe now and with the budget he has its a viable cheap alternative that people seem to ignore

but i bet the xe would still have the ecotec even if its tired

[Lewis.]

but i bet the xe would still have the ecotec even if its tired

and upon what is that incredibly predictable remark based? just 'cos itz a redtop yooo init bruv'? :roll:

a low mileage XEV from a vectra thats been driven by an old duffer and not been thrashed, has 136 ish standard, so once decatted should be close to 140
versus a 20 year old XE, thats had its c*nt kicked in for intergalictic mileage, and is probably in its 3rd nova by now. so it will be all but clapped out, and probably only producing between 130-140bhp.

i'd say its a pretty level playing field, possibly tipped in the XEV's favour tbh

[Pancho]

/\ really? a tired 1992 (example) 150,000 mile xe thats gonna have 130bhp and have been thraped versus a 1998ish ecotec 2.0 with sub 100k on it, thats prob had fsh and been treated ok. 136bhp as stock, bin the egr and cat, and put it on a f16cr and i guarantee it will kick an xe to the kerb.

ive driven a x20xev corsa with an f16cr and a 4-1 mani and the egr binned and it easily beat a mates xe corsa. and made 160bhp on the rollers. the exhaust is massively restrictive, sbd told me that.:thumb:

lewis you git, you got there first....

[Lewis.]

lewis you git, you got there first....

just proves the point more I think mate :thumb:

[bazil]

I'd go 40's on the E16

[blue_peg_16v]

i am seriously considering and ecorec on carbs for the loon once the let is in the van rather than another xe get a decent exhaust and remove the crap inlet and all the sensors that play up and have something slightly different

[Bubba]

....turbo it :p

[NOVA saloon]

2 options 40's which are frankly awaum!! Or baby xe deristricted good exhaust chip you then got a quick motor. In my opinion.

[calibra-keith]

dont mean to hijack the tread (saves me starting a new one) but in a couple of months will be looking for options with budget between £400-£800 and as close to 200 bhp as possible (track car only).

[blue_peg_16v]

what car is it going in if its a nova id say an xe with carbs but will only be about 170-175bhp on a standard good motor 200bhp will be hard on that budget the cheapest way would be 3.0v6 but it wont handle so no good for track

if its something biger like a mk3 astra id go saab turbo

[calibra-keith]

what car is it going in if its a nova id say an xe with carbs but will only be about 170-175bhp on a standard good motor 200bhp will be hard on that budget the cheapest way would be 3.0v6 but it wont handle so no good for track

if its something biger like a mk3 astra id go saab turbo

sorry yes a nova,

im not expecting to get 200 hp or above for that budget but as close as possible, i could wait a bit longer and up the budget but tbh at the moment i just want to get out in a half decent car this year and dont want to go above £800 on engine yet.

[blue_peg_16v]

if you could wait till aboutt 1200 you could go for a let

1200 would cover engine coast and conversion parts

[tommy8252]

Was also playing with vectra v6 but was unsure on difficulty of the conversion as I couldn't find a good how to guide, may just garage it come renewal time, save some more pennies and then look at options again.

[calibra-keith]

Was also playing with vectra v6 but was unsure on difficulty of the conversion as I couldn't find a good how to guide, may just garage it come renewal time, save some more pennies and then look at options again.

Would a 2.5/3l v6 be a bit thirsty for a daily with the way fuel is going or would it be similar to redtop mpg ? and amount of work needed to stop it from pulling its self apart with a v6 lump.



if you could wait till aboutt 1200 you could go for a let

1200 would cover engine coast and conversion parts

i originally wanted a let, but with having to get another shell, and also needing to buy a trailer it would be hard for me to get the £1200, it would be more to the end of the year if i did go for let and by then to late to really do anything in it.

[Andy]

imo a let would be trash on track,a 20xe on 45's or r1's would be better with an f16cr.

[blue_peg_16v]

i got 38 mpg out my veccy on a run so in a light nova shouldnt be to bad on juice sure jack gets mid 30 out of his

[Rich]

....turbo it :p

This, the only box it wouldnt tick is the 'reliable' one lol

But would make more than 140bhp i would of thought!

[calibra-keith]

imo a let would be trash on track,a 20xe on 45's or r1's would be better with an f16cr.

how much would a set up like that cost roughly ?

i have never been in a nova turbo yet and no one to ask, no idea of pros and cons, i think the only way i would find out is to do it myself at some point.

[tommy8252]

This, the only box it wouldnt tick is the 'reliable' one lol

But would make more than 140bhp i would of thought!

If I had the know how I would turbo my spare e16se, wouldn't it require aftermarket management which is expensive.

At the end of the day I'm just considering the options but twin 40s, ast2 cam, big valve port polished head, coupled with my f13cr box seems to be the least amount of work and what I know most about so will save a some more monies and get a wanted thread up, and speak to a bloke locally who used to rally novas to see how much he wants for his twin 40 setup.

[matthew172]

and upon what is that incredibly predictable remark based? just 'cos itz a redtop yooo init bruv'? :roll:

a low mileage XEV from a vectra thats been driven by an old duffer and not been thrashed, has 136 ish standard, so once decatted should be close to 140
versus a 20 year old XE, thats had its c*nt kicked in for intergalictic mileage, and is probably in its 3rd nova by now. so it will be all but clapped out, and probably only producing between 130-140bhp.

i'd say its a pretty level playing field, possibly tipped in the XEV's favour tbh

unless the xev has service history how would you know if its a 'good un' milage means funk all if its never been looked after

and tbh if i was after a xe i wouldnt be looking at putting one in thats been in its 3rd nova and had its c*nt kicked in as you say

would rather put a engine in that will make more power after a freshen up in stock form tbh