nova 1300sr engine swap 2 1600carb engine from cav mk3

[projectsr]

Right ive had my 1989 f reg nova sr 1.3 for a year and a half.its been re-sprayed black(and not very well!!),lowered 60mm on springs and few other bits n bobs.4 or 5 months after buying it i blow the head gasket! doh! although i dont admit to being the most sympathetic of drivers! so eventually got round to sorting the head gasket used a different head from as the head had cracked with the heat!got it back together and it flew.for a while the knock knock knock and the big end bearings have gone!!damn it.presumably they were damaged when the gasket went.so replaced the bearings only for them to start knocking after a few miles!!oh then the water pump gave up aswell!great.its been sat on my drive since!currently got a pug 205 gti which is very nice!but something about my nova won't let me get rid of her.so its time to get stuck in.first job is an engine swap! looking at getting a carb 1.6 cav mk3 89,90 for the swap as they are more available than a mk2 astra.i need any info on the swap. will the nova driveshafts fit the engine?can i use my sr gearbox?these are my two main questions any other help would be very useful too!!thanx for reading my novas story!!im new to this site so thought i should tell all!! hoping to get my car done asap and go to some shows etc!

[Dod]

Sorry mate, a whole lot of reading i couldn't be arsed with. Dont Cav it, stick in a 1400 Bottom end with a 1200 or 1300 Carb'd head, a decent cam and Carb, or T40s as are so popular on here and you'll be far better off Power wise and weight wise.

[Stuart]

im 90% sure that the 1.6 carb engines are the big block variety, threfore you'd ahve to do all the same work involved with fitting a 1.8/2.0 engine....

jsut get another 1.2 engien from somewhere. theres loads about.

[SKoob]

im 90% sure that the 1.6 carb engines are the big block variety, threfore you'd ahve to do all the same work involved with fitting a 1.8/2.0 engine....

just get another 1.2 engien from somewhere. theres loads about.
The cav 1.6 is a small block, its got a crap head though, very similar to the 1.4SR head on a nova. :wink:

[Snowface]

i'm under the impression that the early cav 1.6's were Big Block engines.

I got sent a wrong top gasket set when i was rebuilding my engine that was for big block 1.6.
It had Kaddette (1.8) and Cav (1.6) on the front. iirc it was pre 86 it said.

[Riggy]

mk2 cav 1.6 were big block - hence why you need the cv joints for an XE conversion

[nathan.]

Mk3 cav 1.6's are small blocks. Same bottom end as Gsi's/GTE's
They use a F13 gearbox WR. Your driveshafts will fit fine.
You may have too swap all the ignition from the cav to the nova. The dizzy's are totally different.

[projectsr]

cheers nathan!thats the most helpful reply i had!i thought the mk3 cav 1.6 would have same bottom end as gte nova.thats good news cheers.so will i be able to use my 1300sr gearbox without any trouble? like your pics! is that at a track day somewhere?

[dunova]

I know this may not be what you want to hear or 'usefull', but the cav 1.6 is a really bad engine! A.)It may be a big block, B.)They're spi and dont produce much bhp, C.)It's a load of work for a crap engine!

You'd be much better off putting a 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 or 1.6 from a nova in. It'd be much easier and better power.

[Aragorn]

the carb 1.6 cav motor produces 85bhp

the 1.4sri nova engine produces 85bhp with its Cat attached and prolly a bit more without

the sri motor is cheaper tax and MPI so much more reliable etc too

and your F10 from the 1.3 wont fit, u need an F13

[nathan.]

Only mk 1 & 2 cav's had big blocks. As Kev said your gearbox won't fit.
Just use the box with the cav.
Check the engine is 16sv. Thats the carb type not spi.

Its a good, cheap, easy conversion in my opinion. It was my first conversion.

[projectsr]

yeh im well aware of the big block small block engines.Also the spi,mpi and carb variants thanks! i have read some where that vauxhall made all the small block bottom ends with the same bellhousing and was under the impression that gearboxes were interchangeable?!

[leemh1234]

it'll fit straight in then get a wild cam an laugh all the way.is it the old sr gear box cuz my mates got a wide arch nova with 1.3sr polished and ported head and at 120 he drops it into 4th and gets up to a good 132mph.then he put a cav engine like urs in with a piper 300 cam and it pi*sed all over his mums turbo technics escort cabbie it went off the clock.so i know that works well.

[maxpaine]

1.6sv and 1.6sh i hava a sh for my nova it has 90 hp standard :D
on one carb

[nathan.]

it'll fit straight in then get a wild cam an laugh all the way.is it the old sr gear box cuz my mates got a wide arch nova with 1.3sr polished and ported head and at 120 he drops it into 4th and gets up to a good 132mph.then he put a cav engine like urs in with a piper 300 cam and it pi*sed all over his mums turbo technics escort cabbie it went off the clock.so i know that works well.

Lol. :lol:

[leemh1234]

nathan wot cam u got in urs cuz if its a 300 i know its gonna be quick dont idle tho :D

[Aragorn]

bruce has a 300degree piper in his GTE an it idles sweet as a nut once its warm

and it only idles crap when its cold cos they folk that mapped it didnt map cold start

and funny that a standard GTE producing 100bhp will struggle to get to 130mph that your 1.3sr tahts prolly making 80bhp if your lucky managed 132? methinks your speedos overreading just like every other nova speedo does over about 90mph

[leemh1234]

no 132 was up the side of a td 8)