seam welded shell to stiff?????

[Cheeze]

as above, been told this is to rigid for a valver, and could end up splitting, what u guys think, let me know plz

[Ste_Nova]

you want stitch welded not seam welded

20 on 30 off i think... need to check in grp a book

[m.d.]

just looked at the nova prep print out i have and it tells you to stitch the car (1" slug then a 1" gap and so on)

i have seem welded the bay on mine and have had no problems at all with splitting but i think its down to personal preference really. if you are using the car to go down the shpos in etc then stitch the bay but if you are using it for track days and hill climbs then seam weld it. you get much more engine vibration when its seam welded.

if what your saying is that you have allready seam welded the bay then dont worry. just keep an eye out for cracks

[Stuart]

i seam welded mine, but its not having a valver so tis fine

[Cheeze]

the guys said it seam welded, its just the shell at the moment, looing to reshell it, its only getting used for the normal sturr, as body kit going on it

[dan16v]

if it was me personaly id only stitch the chassis legs from the inner arch and fully weld the engine mounts, as for a std 16v i rekon any thing else is over kill

[burgo]

you dont wanna seam weld ya engine bay as this mucks up ya crumple zone which aint a gd thing only stitch weld ya engine bay

[LiD0N]

i see a 20xe nova in a breakers that had been seam welded, it had a hard wack in the front, the roof had crumpled and the bay was fine.. :o

[burgo]

thank u lindon so u still wanna seam weld me finks not stitch is the way togo

[big_steve_x]

seem welded here, and harry hockley strengthening kit! (a load of plates that get welded on to make it even stronger)

[burgo]

you do realise steve-x if u make the engine bay to strong the next thing to let go is the roof if u crash and if that lets g u get an engine on ya lap have fun

[Stuart]

hmmm looks like ill not be binning the car then lol. the front end of mine is going to be a tad stiff :D lol

even though its not having a 20 xe in it. a mere 1.2 lol

[Ste_Nova]

i see a 20xe nova in a breakers that had been seam welded, it had a hard wack in the front, the roof had crumpled and the bay was fine.. :o

ians was done like this... the roof kinked...

mines fully welded... so the roof won't bend

[rgv_stu]

and youve got a cage steve

[big_steve_x]

which steve? i don't have a cage, one thing i noticed the other day was that there's a dent in the roof, and i can't figure out where its come from! weird !

[pingu_turbo]

you'll prolly find the dent is from the cross member that goes between L & R "b" pillars, mine had a very tiny (hardly noticable) dip in the roof where this was. Also my girfriends got one the same. Prolly find some have. :roll:

[_JH_]

a mere 1.2

i'm no columbo, but judging by your signature and all the work your putting in, added to a certain 1.2 project 'MC' posted about, I get the feeling your being sarcastic. :wink:

[Stuart]

a 1.2i wiv a phat cossie cone air fileter and a peco BB4 exhaust :D

[Ste_Nova]

and youve got a cage steve

yes i have

http://uploader.co.uk/images/b41c3a639a1e5d7e4e70a74d9a3d63c4.jpg

[Alex]

a 1.2i wiv a phat cossie cone air fileter and a peco BB4 exhaust :D

you forgot about the bling bling wheel trim spinners

[_JH_]

and the +5bhp LED washer jets

[Cheeze]

so honestly guys, this will be fine will it? having a cage in it also, lets me knows plz

[burgo]

ya mate a cage is fine so get on with it and bolt it in

[CP]

right a few points how i see it

1. Most novas are pretty rusty in key areas and anyway the design is old so you aint gonna have much protection in a crash anyways by comparison to modern cars.
2. Stitch or seam - maybe stitch is fine for a shell that is totally sound on all the seams but if they are rusty as they usually are then seam welding is preferable IMO else strength will be compromised by weak rusty seams in between. Dont forget all engine bay mods for these cars that we tend to use are based on rally novas running small block 1.6's.
3. If you are worried about driver safety you must surely add a proper cage.
4. Finally - if you are adding a valver - all the xtra weight, power etc kinda null and voids the comments about safety cos this small car was never designed for these conversions. If you hit something solid front end at the kinda speeds valvers do - you are likely to be heading for serious injury- the type of welding will prolly be a mute point

[Ste_Nova]

cp i assume i will be safe with the multi point cage with bits going to the strut tops... wrap around seats and 5/6 point belts

[rgv_stu]

lol

you certainly stand a better chance than most :lol:

on them SD cages is there no bracing between the 2 sides ie across the footwell / dash area ?? if not you still got a good chance of fecking your legs up..

[Stuart]

there is a hefty x member behind the dash (under the windscreen) that vauxhall designed in. it looks pretty strong.

but hey in a nova any "good" crash is gonna be good night

[Ste_Nova]

lol
on them SD cages is there no bracing between the 2 sides ie across the footwell / dash area ?? if not you still got a good chance of fecking your legs up..

it would have to push the traiglulation into the middle??

http://uploader.co.uk/images/altcutx.jpg

[rgv_stu]

yeah i suppose that helps