Inth' Garage

[ben doodar]

Ive been meaning to start a projects thread for a while now.
So thought Id finally make a bit of time to do so. Currently waiting on 400 photos to load to photobucket.

I've had 6 novas including a few I've never had on the road. Some of you may remember my old gsi.

After this I started to build a c20let nova seem welded the engine bay fitted f28 mount fitted a strengthening kit, at the time my little lad was 1 and I'd met my now girlfriend. I lost interest in the nova and my dad was sick of it sitting doing nothing in the garage. I saw a fairly standard white GTE on pistonheads with 6 months tax n test with the owner looking to swap for something vauxhall related I got in contact and a deal was done.
I thought this would be a good idea as I had a complete nova with the chance of doing a few jobs over the winter on it to make it my own, after a couple of months on the road as a 2nd car I pulled it off the road and into the garage for a proper look at it. It was very crusty underneath with plate over plate welded on to it. I was losing interest in this rapidly with more and more welding need doing, and over all the car had been Bodged together over the years, that's it! I was putting it back together for a quick MOT and to sell it on, I was never having another ****ing nova again!!!

Before selling the GTE a nova SX came up for sale in the classifieds on here it was the same as my first nova but black not white. There were no photos of it but the owner said it was very solid and original it was only in Manchester around 25-30miles away, I kept thinking about it but it was more money than I was going to spend on another ******* nova, I didn't even want another nova.. Did I?

A week or 2 later I noticed that the lad lowered the price on it as it was stored at his work and it needed gone. Curiosity got the better of me, as it was a mk2, sx, so had rev counter sr steering wheel spoiler etc and it was an sx like my first nova when i was 18! + the possibility of it being a solid car! I needed to go and look at it, to see that it was really a rotten old dog, get it out of my system and get on with my life! I managed to get in contact after some faffing and made a time to go and look at it.

so one foggy October morning in 2012 I made a travel brew and got in my car to go and have a look at another ******* nova, when I got there I was suprised to see a nice shiny, tidy, original looking nova sat on the car park, after spending 20 minutes looking around it and underneath it with a hand lamp and poking screwdriver I had to have it!!

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1926_zps96ba0e9c.png (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1926_zps96ba0e9c.png.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1736_zpsacf82674.png (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1736_zpsacf82674.png.html)

[ben doodar]

first job was to replace the steering coloumn as the car had been stolen recovered when I bought it.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1318_zps37b8b666.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1318_zps37b8b666.jpg.html)

next to do was make a start on replacing the rear arches.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1330-Copy_zps637d9597.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1330-Copy_zps637d9597.jpg.html)

with the outers removed and the inner arches repaired

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1383_zps5bfd044e.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1383_zps5bfd044e.jpg.html)

edge on the arch joggled and welded in place, I got carried away and welded the whole seem, something I wish I didn't do as it distorted so had to spend more time panel beating it straight and filling it.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1407_zpsc92d5162.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1407_zpsc92d5162.jpg.html)

got it to a point I could move on to the other side

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1460_zps16871f70.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1460_zps16871f70.jpg.html)

[ben doodar]

moved to the other side, wasnt as bad but still needed replacing so sanded up the arch with emery cloth to find spot welds

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1469_zps00fdc863.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1469_zps00fdc863.jpg.html)

chopped out with a 1mm cutting disc on an angle grinder, inner arch repaired

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1500_zpsafa7ac7d.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1500_zpsafa7ac7d.jpg.html)

arch repaired and joggled

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1502_zps45d50064.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1502_zps45d50064.jpg.html)

into position

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1503_zpsb6378783.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1503_zpsb6378783.jpg.html)

tacked in this time

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1506_zps261ef810.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1506_zps261ef810.jpg.html)

coat of fibreglass tthis time as it wasn't seem welded

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1520_zpsf3804275.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1520_zpsf3804275.jpg.html)

[ben doodar]

first skim of filler

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1534_zps72f6af45.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1534_zps72f6af45.jpg.html)

after the arches were done I moved to a repair on the rear panel

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1608_zps76c8c916.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1608_zps76c8c916.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1610_zpseefa1af0.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1610_zpseefa1af0.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1611_zps3d4989cd.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1611_zps3d4989cd.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1614_zps88fb26b4.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1614_zps88fb26b4.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1616_zpse3d29d5e.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1616_zpse3d29d5e.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1618_zps4273029d.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1618_zps4273029d.jpg.html)

[jimbob-mcgrew]

looking good ben.
nice job on the arches :thumb:

is it black or dark blue ? .. i cant tell.
id leave it as it is myself, on those sr wheels, looks good.

[ben doodar]

cheers jim it was black, these pics are from last year tho so much more to show

[Andy]

I know you have done them (and well btw) but il say this for anyone reading who is maybe thinking of having a go.
When welding NEVER keep the weld going continuously.Weld in short trigger pull bursts.A second is all it takes then move along.
this prevents the panel from distorting.
Car looks well and you have made a nice job of them arches.

[Benn]

Very nice tidy job on the drivers arch. As Andy said, never fully weld as you've learnt...
Gonna be a good thing me thinks.

[ben doodar]

cheers for the nice comments, I knew at the time I shouldn't off seem welded the passenger side arch but got trigger happy with the welder.

next i moved to a little repair on the front panel

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1663_zps27fe369b.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1663_zps27fe369b.jpg.html)

repair made awaiting to be welded in

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1705_zps8d1fc3a0.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1705_zps8d1fc3a0.jpg.html)

next was to repair the splash guard where the factory aeriel goes through

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1637_zps035728e9.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1637_zps035728e9.jpg.html)

I didn't want an obvious patch on display in the arch so joggled the piece in from behind

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1657_zpsfa49ec5f.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1657_zpsfa49ec5f.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1658_zps89b0edc1.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1658_zps89b0edc1.jpg.html)

welded and painted with kurust

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1711_zpsf10b6b71.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1711_zpsf10b6b71.jpg.html)

moving on to the bonnet slam panel this was a tricky piece to make and spent a while making various patches that I wasn't happy with, got there after a bit of messing about though.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1624_zpsf668c1ba.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1624_zpsf668c1ba.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1626_zps70338fbc.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1626_zps70338fbc.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1627_zpsb58a7ae6.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1627_zpsb58a7ae6.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1628_zpsd64806b0.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1628_zpsd64806b0.jpg.html)

[ben doodar]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1632_zpsb7055ad3.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1632_zpsb7055ad3.jpg.html)

welded in and red oxide for protection whilst I move to something else

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1713_zps6da6209d.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1713_zps6da6209d.jpg.html)

[ben doodar]

once I had most of the welding repairs done I moved on to getting the car ready for primer, the lad a bought the car from had bought it from an old guy, in his attempts to stop the car from rusting he had undersealed under the bonnet and in the engine bay! it was bloody everywhere, also he had applied some sort of varnish to the door, bonnet and tailgate shuts, I tried everything to remove it but it wouldn't budge, I tried to flat it with 400 flatting paper, it would flat down ok, then just on the edges where I tried to feather it in, it would flake up and peel off, I decided I wasn't going to risk painting over this so set to bare metaling the areas, by hand!! what a ******* of a job

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1936_zps79d3491b.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1936_zps79d3491b.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1919_zps50b4658b.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1919_zps50b4658b.jpg.html)

once down to bare metal the areas were etch primed

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1922_zps2c09bbf5.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1922_zps2c09bbf5.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1923_zps99eba501.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1923_zps99eba501.jpg.html)

the one thing I wasn't happy with the car when I bought it, something ive seen on a few non sunroof model novas is that it had a very shallow dip in the roof, from one side to the other, it wasn't something I was going to attempt to fill, so thought it would be something id have to live with,

I saw one of these paint-less dent removal guys at a garage I deliver to, so thought id pick his brains to see if theres anything I could do about this, he said it was likely to be where the roof skin is bonded on to the car theres a support beem going from 1 side to the other, chances are that the glue had dried up and shrunk over the years pulling in the roof skin, I got home that evening eager to see if the guy was right in what he was saying, I could feel the support bar through the headlining, right where this wobble was, I had a read of bazils how to remove the headlining guide and decided to have a bash at it, I didn't really plan to remove the headlining as ive heard horror stories about this, but needs must...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1893_zps21dd73ea.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1893_zps21dd73ea.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1894_zpsf124e87a.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1894_zpsf124e87a.jpg.html)

the offending item....

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1895_zps002290ea.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1895_zps002290ea.jpg.html)

so set to cutting the glue with a hacksaw blade

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1896_zps6701bc96.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1896_zps6701bc96.jpg.html)

to my delight the roof popped up about 3-5mm and was straight, I then re glued it with some stikaflex

[ben doodar]

after this I pushed it out of the garage to have a good tidy up before rubbing the drivers side door shut back to bare metal for etch, and to high build primer the whole car

for some reason I love this picture of it.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1931_zpsaedd7941.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1931_zpsaedd7941.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1933_zpsb2879369.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1933_zpsb2879369.jpg.html)

I decided before priming it, I would drill the wholes for the sidskirts

marked 15mm (ithink) from the door step and drew a straight line..

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1963_zpsae7edcbe.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1963_zpsae7edcbe.jpg.html)

masking tape on the side skirts so I knew where the clips would have to go

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1964_zps0b0248b3.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1964_zps0b0248b3.jpg.html)

other side showing the clips screwed in

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1968_zps804163e4.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1968_zps804163e4.jpg.html)

after this it was time to prime it

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1973_zps94a7fcc3.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1973_zps94a7fcc3.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1974_zpsa08cb33d.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1974_zpsa08cb33d.jpg.html)

going to leave it there for now will post more this evening..

[Benn]

Looking great,

[kevw]

Good work. Enjoyed reading

[LEWI007]

Nice metal work, looking forward to seing more.

[kingwick]

Looks good looking forward to reading more

[DAVIDKEDENS]

Loving the repair work... little bit of inspiration!

[7ova]

Great work Ben
I remember your old GSI if I'm correct it was mistral grey

[ben doodar]

Great work Ben
I remember your old GSI if I'm correct it was mistral grey


yes it was mistral grey loved the colour of that nova.

did you have the tailgate off me or am I thinking of someone else?

cheers for the other nice comments guys will try and update some more shortly...

[7ova]

I did have something from you can't remember what?
Long time ago and lots of novas ago also!
Loving your bodywork skills

[ben doodar]

once I had the car in primer I made a start on the doors and tailgate, first removing the rubstrip

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1983_zpsb6a13264.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1983_zpsb6a13264.jpg.html)

then made a plate to fit in the door lock recess.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1987_zps94595d28.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1987_zps94595d28.jpg.html)

tacked in, ground off, and a skim of fibreglass to fill the gaps between the tacks..

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1988_zps3f763b8f.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1988_zps3f763b8f.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1989_zps897b98be.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1989_zps897b98be.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/1990_zps059d6050.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/1990_zps059d6050.jpg.html)

moved on to the tailgate and bare metalling more of where the old guy had varnished

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/2007_zps596f9e6b.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/2007_zps596f9e6b.jpg.html)

moved on to the drivers side door, the original door off the car had rotted, so that was scrapped, as it happends I sold these doors 2-3 years ago to a local lad who had an sr, they sat in his garage ever since as he wrote his car off shortly after, as luck would have it I bumped in to him in town one day, got chatting n he asked if I wanted to buy the doors back, as the doors were off an sri they had the window surrounds and electric window motors in so bought the pair off him,
I didn't realise at the time the drivers door had been broken into at one point and had been bent back at the top, so I trial fitted it to make sure it would fit ok before painting.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/2033_zpsa1bae1d2.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/2033_zpsa1bae1d2.jpg.html)

started to prep the door filling a couple of shallow dents, im not completely happy with this door but something I can change in the future if I decide to.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/2038_zps510d5ad8.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/2038_zps510d5ad8.jpg.html)

the door was a little crusty underneath so peeled off the original seem sealer, wire wheeled, rust treated and etch primed

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/2061_zps3d71cd97.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/2061_zps3d71cd97.jpg.html)

[Benn]

Very nice.

[ben doodar]

once the doors and tailgate were prepd I etch primed the repairs on the panels.

around Christmas last year a friend had bought a tatty looking red 106 gti, he pulled the engine out of it, seem welded up the bay, painted the bay bright white rebuilt the engine, uprated cams pugsport exhaust solid engine mounts, lsd etc etc he hadid a real quick turn around on it and really gave me some enthusiasm to get cracking on mine,
I started to strip the sealer from the front wheel arches ready for seem welding and started to remove the engine..

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/2129_zps2bac3f1e.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/2129_zps2bac3f1e.jpg.html)

my old man (on the right) and his drinking buddy having a nose at what im up to..

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/2138_zps021249ca.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/2138_zps021249ca.jpg.html)

empty bay :)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/003_zpsa283d807.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/003_zpsa283d807.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/001_zpsc16fd41c.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/001_zpsc16fd41c.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/002_zpsc37af52b.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/002_zpsc37af52b.jpg.html)


going to leave it there for now, the mrs is moaning...

[Benn]

Nice tidy bay and arches.

[ben doodar]

Nice tidy bay and arches.

cheers benn, yh its a nice solid shell only needing a few small repairs, im currently working on the floorpan its all stripped down to the original primer, been very happy not to find any hidden nastys under the sealer any where.

[Balley]

Fantastic body work skills!

[ben doodar]

Fantastic body work skills!


Cheers balley my old man did an apprenticeship when he was a lad and worked for several years doing bodywork, so I've kinda picked it up from him and self taught bits and bobs along the way from various different cars I've had. I actually quite enjoy doing it tbh.

[ben doodar]

once the engine was out I stripped everything from the engine bay and started to clean the seems and removed the washer bottle bracket.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/0112_zpsd864eed4.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/0112_zpsd864eed4.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/006_zps5e200c8d.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/006_zps5e200c8d.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/015_zps327b9453.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/015_zps327b9453.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/021_zps2e9c779a.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/021_zps2e9c779a.jpg.html)

firewall smooted

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/049_zps5213fc89.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/049_zps5213fc89.jpg.html)

wiring grommet hole blanked.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/022_zpsd47c4bfd.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/022_zpsd47c4bfd.jpg.html)

inner arches cleaned up and seem welded.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/013_zpsa5b3fbbd.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/013_zpsa5b3fbbd.jpg.html)

found another another repair needed on the front panel.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/026_zps97dc07b6.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/026_zps97dc07b6.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/027_zps448f528b.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/027_zps448f528b.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/029_zpsfe058973.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/029_zpsfe058973.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/038_zps8c73d073.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/038_zps8c73d073.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/039_zpscae6cb06.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/039_zpscae6cb06.jpg.html)

[ben doodar]

found another bit of rot whilst digging around under all the underseal the old guy had covered everything.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/030_zps94472a6c.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/030_zps94472a6c.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/033_zpsdda78520.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/033_zpsdda78520.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/034_zps88472eba.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/034_zps88472eba.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/035_zps2c840917.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/035_zps2c840917.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/042_zps1241ef6c.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/042_zps1241ef6c.jpg.html)

original piece to go back on,

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/042_zps1241ef6c.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/042_zps1241ef6c.jpg.html)

battery tray.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/066_zps6669f9db.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/066_zps6669f9db.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/067_zps08f29ce6.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/067_zps08f29ce6.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/068_zps1e633a29.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/068_zps1e633a29.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/069_zpsda400d30.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/069_zpsda400d30.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/071_zps72ce0ff2.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/071_zps72ce0ff2.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/084_zps76922ae3.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/084_zps76922ae3.jpg.html)

after all repairs I began I to flat the engine bay for etch primer then primer and paint.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/095_zps18b4df7b.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/095_zps18b4df7b.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/097_zps4fe25d02.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/097_zps4fe25d02.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/101_zps0109381d.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/101_zps0109381d.jpg.html)

[nova_stee]

That colours epic

[ben doodar]

cheers stee I was unsure on the colour but everyone seems to like it. its similar to breeze blue I think. but its actually a tractor colour.

[scott.parker]

Nice, glad to see your uploading it to here, it's inspiring to see some good builds going on, as it keeps others like my self motivated..

[nova_stee]

Defantly keeps me going looking at other build

[ben doodar]

Nice, glad to see your uploading it to here, it's inspiring to see some good builds going on, as it keeps others like my self motivated..

cheers Scott I've bean meaning to do a projects thread on here for ages, only just getting around to it though. its nice to hear my project is giving others motivation, I've read many of the projects threads on here and it keeps you going doesn't it.

around the same time as primering the engine bay I red oxide and seem sealed the inner arches.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/052_zps2cfe804a.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/052_zps2cfe804a.jpg.html)

I bought a new schultz gun off ebay and stone chipped the arches.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/111_zps3be28af8.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/111_zps3be28af8.jpg.html)

after this the car was ready for another couple of coats of high build primer, so I set to making my own soray booth lol 4 packs of disposable dust cheets and 400 drawing pins later we had this, worked really well tbf.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/128_zpsf071d1ba.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/128_zpsf071d1ba.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/137_zpsc728bafc.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/137_zpsc728bafc.jpg.html)

the day finally came for paint..

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/138_zpsf7404f0b.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/138_zpsf7404f0b.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/139_zpsa44b4cac.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/139_zpsa44b4cac.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/143_zps458bc383.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/143_zps458bc383.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/161_zps38fbf8bf.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/161_zps38fbf8bf.jpg.html)

I then moved it to the other part of the garage.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/181_zpsb1c991ff.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/181_zpsb1c991ff.jpg.html)

and began work on the doors and tailgate, got my little lad helping out in the garage.. gotta start em young!!

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/208_zps3ca594e4.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/208_zps3ca594e4.jpg.html)

panels hung and etch primed.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/199_zps80fd7a0f.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/199_zps80fd7a0f.jpg.html)

hi build primer.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/201_zps51db30fb.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/201_zps51db30fb.jpg.html)

and paint.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/215_zps41127a6f.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/215_zps41127a6f.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/226_zps28193240.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/226_zps28193240.jpg.html)

[ben doodar]

fitting the headlining back in wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/228_zps65e5dcc3.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/228_zps65e5dcc3.jpg.html)

then painted the inner arches.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/279_zps665e31d3.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/279_zps665e31d3.jpg.html)

painted the door catches as they were looking a bit rough.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/293_zps9bf5fa7f.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/293_zps9bf5fa7f.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/312_zps1cf81d10.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/312_zps1cf81d10.jpg.html)

then painted the window trims as these also looked scruffy.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/294_zps11e8035a.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/294_zps11e8035a.jpg.html)

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/280_zpsb52f9b5a.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/280_zpsb52f9b5a.jpg.html)

jet washed and scrubbed the carpet with 1001 carpet cleaner, came out really nice considering how dirty it was.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/benduda/292_zps4ad155f7.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/benduda/media/292_zps4ad155f7.jpg.html)

[scott.parker]

Wow that colour is awesome dude, how many coats did you get on it? Looks a good finish for diy I'm impressed..

[ben doodar]

Wow that colour is awesome dude, how many coats did you get on it? Looks a good finish for diy I'm impressed..

sorry must of missed your question scott.

cheers mate for the nice comments, I gave it 4 coats of paint then flatted with 2000 and then buffed up. I've painted quite a few things in the past but never flatted and polished, it certainly makes a big difference to the finish, its not 100% tbh but I'm pretty happy with it. I'm tempted to do the roof again before its on the road next year.

[ben doodar]

so this will bring me pretty much where im up to,
same as the front inner arches i began to clean the original sealer and the old guys underseal off.
wire wheeled then kurust any slightly rusty bits.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10670125_957773364237011_2881775402241849980_n.jpg ?oh=622908e0650bbacfc016bf253de37823&oe=54C7F1D5&__gda__=1425578505_747f949925a5449294d9d898f2415b3 1

[ben doodar]

then red oxide

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10710897_957773434237004_556651176155412541_n.jpg? oh=6454f4709f88eb6009ff595f62bdc922&oe=54C90A44&__gda__=1421462586_9478387b8b02e7634669d3ce2d4ff53 a

[ben doodar]

works computer wont let me post more than 1 image at a time..

so once the red oxide was dry i seem sealed all the grommets in the floor and all the seems, going to give it a few days then go over them again as it seems to shrink as it dries.

https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10678686_957773477570333_8448520264507572097_n.jpg ?oh=ecfc48e08d8574bfc77f5e9f866a444b&oe=54B066D4


thats pretty much where im up to with it now.

i began stripping and cleaning up the axel whilst im waiting for the sealer to dry, had a morning at the local scrap yard on wednesday with my old man, got a cavalier rear anti roll bar, hopefully will get it and the axel sand blasted and powder coated in the next couple of weeks.

[Edd]

Really nice project

Great skills and a good write up

[Rab]

Nice build mate, the blue looks cracking! What type of paint did you use? I.e celly/2pack etc

[kevw]

Agree about reading other builds that it keeps you motivated. Amazing work on this Ben

[Andy]

great work.car looks awesome.very well done.

[Benn]

Wow dude, love the paint work and the colour.
Looks like a great finish on the paint. Arches look ace too, gonna be a bloody nice project!

[ben doodar]

Cheers guys nice to hear such positive comments! The paint is 2k solid tractor blue lol I wasn't originally going to go for this I wanted red white or grey but my friends dad could get this paint real cheap and after my mate had painted a classic mini in this colour I loved it. I paid £30 for 5 litres of paint, hardener and thinners so was to cheap to refuse really. It's coming together now going to stone chip the floor in the next week or so once the sealer is properly hard. I started to build the doors up last night so will hopefully get them finished tomorrow then going to flat and polish the doors and tailgate after that. Moneys real tight at the minute so just trying to get jobs done that arnt really going to cost me anything. Will post a bit more progress the next week or 2. Really trying to push on with it now. I don't want to be doing crappy jobs during the cold winter ha ha. Hopefully get it along to a few shows next year.

[ben doodar]

did a little bit on the nova yesterday, nothing major but progress non the less..

flat and polished the tailgate, n/s door and fitted the rear screen.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10689921_964339706913710_4091521691411047952_n.jpg ?oh=8eab12dc9de3d1e24904ddf003c150e2&oe=54F015EB&__gda__=1420640090_278156e5aad16f21a56a00f381c203e 2

might go up after work tonight and flat n polish the o/s door, although the weathers minging here today and doesn't give much inspiration...

[Benn]

Looks nice, carefull having it covered tho as paint like to breath for a while after painting. You dont want solvent pop or trap.

[Balley]

Amazing work, well done :)

[hotrod]

I like the look of this mate. Good to see another nova being brought back to life! :thumb:

[ben doodar]

cheers for the comments again chaps ive done a few small jobs on it but nothing worth updating just yet.

thanks for the advice benn, it was painted about 6 months ago and ive only just started putting the cover on it, so hopefully that shouldnt cause any problems.

[ben doodar]

Hi. Was just wondering if some of you could give me your opinions.

I'm going to order some paint for the door handles, boot handle, side skirts and bumpers this week.

Been looking at upol mid grey, or upol dark grey. Bearing in mind that the window trims and mirror backings are matt black. What do you think would go with the blue? i don't want to do them matt black as it would look to much.

Cheers Ben.

[Benn]

Matt black looks poo in my eyes, i'd go with the dark grey, as it would work well with the darker blue you have used.

[ben doodar]

Matt black looks poo in my eyes, i'd go with the dark grey, as it would work well with the darker blue you have used.


Yh I'm thinking dark grey Benn. Matt black does look gash on bumpers. I quite like it on the window trims and mirror bases. Just hope it won't look odd against the grey door handles etc....

[Benn]

The bases are small enough to be missed, the trims are black anyway so most wont notice.
The dark grey will work better and look great. All the best cars use grey and blue.. ;)

[ben doodar]

ah just found my projects thread!

have been keeping busy with bits and bobs on the car, have done an intercooler recess in the front panel as ive bought a Courtney manifold and t25 turbo for my c16se also made a neat little cut out on the slam panel to allow the boost pipe to fit and smoothed the slam panel whilst I was at it, have painted the steering rack, gear linkage rod etc painted my gsi brake servo and wiper motor in a metallic grey same as ill paint the wheels, base coat and lacquered lol a bit ott really but looks nice. plated the bottom arms. stone chipped the floor and rear arches. upol dark grey door handles and boot handle very impressed by this stuff no wonder its around £15 an aerosol!! its coming together just everything seems to take forever, will try to post some pictures of progress over the weekend,

Ben.

[Benn]

Pics!

[kevster]

Love the colour

[ben doodar]

As I've just vowed to post more often on here just thought I'd do a little update.

Ive pretty much not touched the nova at all this year been a busy year had a baby, moved to our own house thought I'd my mk4 golf daily driver a quick 2 week freshen up that turned in to a six month partial rebuild. Mountain biking has pretty much taken over any free time that I've had this year.

Any who, the nova is sat there in the garage under a cover. Yet to paint the wings and bonnet although I'm going to do those after the engine has gone in wiring finished etc, and I'm going to go over the tailgate again as I'm not to happy with it, also want to replace the drivers door eventually as I'm not happy with it but that can wait a little while.

The underside is completely stonechipped and painted body colour, have a brand new Gsi tank although I need to source a sender unit which I'm starting to find is a hard thing to get hold of, must check the Png Facebook pages more often......... lol I've had the axel, bottom arms, tie bars, driveshafts, fuel filler neck, tank straps, hubs etc etc powder coated also had all the bolts zinc plated. Bought new track rods, track rod ends, ball joints, hand brake cables, wheel bearings, rear drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, shoe fitting kit, and full pollybush kit.

Only thing I've done this year is built the axel up, and modded a cavalier rear anti roll bar to fit. Bought a 2nd hand set of bilstein big piston shocks and apexi springs and give those a repaint and had my speedlines sandblasted.

So as you can tell I'm ready to cobble it all together I've been waiting for Christmas and new year to be over so this week I'm going to spend a few hours in the garage, I'd kinda lost interest in it but I'm full of enthusiasm for it again.

The only thing I'm lacking is an engine, it's kind of an important part in a car i guess lol but I've been gathering a few parts here and there just need to get a plan together with my mechanic mate who's going help me build the engine.

I promise to post pictures by the end of the week. Hopefully have some nice progress to show.

[totalnova]

Sounds like youve had a busy year, I know first hand how a baby can get in the way of a project car. What engine will you be fitting?

[total_vauxhall]

Just seen your booth with the dust sheets i did exact same thing when painting mine . it works a treat also finds the leaks in the roof when it rains lol nice project