What should i do??

[shanehandley]

right im 17 and got a 1l nova which is gradually starting to look the part, but ive always wanted a 2l turbo mint nova! i no i cant insure it tell im at least 21, so what i was thinking is should i keep my 1l then invest in a decent nova shell and engine and start building it from scratch e.g exterior, interior,install etc!this way ive got me one 1l as a runaround but in a few years fingers crossed have a good looking car!

would this be a good idea or should i keep my 1l?

any help advise?

[?Marty?]

I would say that what you do depends on how much money you have/will have available to you.

Keep the 1 litre for a bit and build up your no claims bonus and etc for a few years first.

Also, it's best having a run-about when starting a project like fitting a 2 litre LET, esp if you want to build the whole car up from a bare shell up. And having storage facility - i.e lock-up/garage too, would come in very useful. A driveway at the very least!

It depends, you can start now and gradually work your way up to your ideal car - doing everything but the engine now, and then do 'the final step' when your insurance is more favourable (tho can get the bay prepped whils you have the car as a shell). It's only worth starting now, as good shells will be harder and harder to find as time goes on. But there's no rush, wait for a few years and build the car up over a year or two after that.

[Ben3042]

Or you could build the 1.0 up to exactly how you want it to be and put a C20 LET engine when you can insure it.

If you dont want to have a 1.0 till your 21then simply put a bigger engine in such as a 1.4 or even a 1.6 which cost next to nothing to buy and fit.

[novax]

Do you think your perents will live with a shell on the drive for 5 years? The idea is sound but you'll need a mint shell, later the better. Once it's stripped you'll need the Harry Hockley plating kit to stop it pulling itself apart, Oh and about ?15,000 to do it right. Now before somebody post saying "You don't need to spend that much!" I build engines and mine has just cost ?5000, forget all the rebuild of the car itself......

Don't be dis-heartened, you are talking of a long term project, but this modding lark costs big bucks. Write a list of what you want then get quotes from several companies, that way you'll know what to start saving for.

[Ste_Nova]

make sure that anything you buy now is future proofed.... bolt on parts, retrims, steering wheel, etc are all transferable to your next car...

[Mark]

Well said Ste, all I have gets transfered between cars, my wheels, suspension, carb, steering wheel, seats etc, etc. loads cheaper and if you have stuff you like why not keep it!

[Ste_Nova]

also allyways keep the standard parts so they can be refitted if you sell the car

[Lee H]

Sorry Nova-x but I don't agree with the ?15k engine conversion bit, unless you are paying Courtenay to do it!! Please can you give me a breakdown of where the ?15k is spent and then it may be a bit more believable?

Also bear in mind I have done this conversion myself and spent less than ?2k including Harry Hockly kit etc.

Lee

[Ian]

15k does seem a bit ott

[novax]

Noooo, ?15k for the whole car. In 2 years I've spent ?12,824.62 (Excel) Those of you that know my car know it's really nice but not like it's gold plated or anything, yet :wink:

Original engine/tuning ?1,073.75
Bodywork/interior ?3,745.83
Styling ?2,125.66
ICE ?974.41
NEW 16v engine ?4,904.97 inc. TDs, MBE ecu, rebore, balence etc

[rob_wilkinson]

is that including labour for various things as mine is a shell project without labour costs(inc spraying) and when its done will cost nowhere near 15k and thats with a grand kit, ?700 wheels, 2k ice, full leather retrim, ?700 alarm, and big engine mods so probably be about 7-8k.

[novax]

No all labour was by Vaux-MD (of which I'm the founder member) so no cash just friends getting the job done. In there is ?1400 for new Konig seats and retrim, ?1300 for 2 paint jobs (first not up to much), every nut, bolt and screw. Originally the total was a more normal ?7k but the 1.6 16v on throttle bodies has gone a little wild........

0.5mm overbore means new pistons (?220)
head work ?300
REC valves ?200
steel head gasket ?100
just getting the head and block remachined, balanced etc was ?1,782.36 I know it sounds a lot (and it is :o ) but if you look at it 1 by 1 it's all ?60 here, ?100 there.

All mounts up.........

[General Baxter]

lo mate

i have a little 1L as well and what i am doing is (if i dont crash touch wood)

build up the 1L in to a fine looking car (novadoes & 15's, lowered ect) and a few years down the road when i got some NCB but a cheap 1.4i and take all the bits off the 1l and stick them on the 1.4i, then scrap/sell the rest

[rob_wilkinson]

What head did you use or did you do it with a astra lump?

[_JH_]

sorry novax but i'm a bit confused. first you say

"I build engines" and "all labour was by Vaux-MD (of which I'm the founder member)"

then
"head work ?300" and "getting the head and block remachined, balanced etc was ?1,782.36"

so do you actually build engines or just pay for the work and put it all back together?

[novax]

The last one is nearest the truth, I/we do "build" them. Machineing is a skill we have tracked down to a company we deal with, likewise we have another guy that balances cranks and flywheels etc. We have another guy that can do great headwork so we give that to him. Finding reliable people to do this without fcuking it up for you is hard so we've done that for you. What I can do is build the engine you want with the money you can afford, think of me as a project manager, LOL.

Vaux-MD is a group of friends so we're not going to charge ourselves are we :wink: Plenty of people are not able to build an engine or don't have the time