Engine Bay Strengthening

[Tim]

hi all,

im just about to start re-modding my nova after at all went wrong the first time.

This time theres gonna be an engine conversion and im going down the 1.6 running t40s route. The Engine Bays got really tatty and needs painting and a bit of welding. Whats the deal with strenghening the Engine bay up, i know it nessary for a red top conversion but im planning to do that when i can afford it, so might as well have it done now so the next time thers no farting about with it,

do u buy the plating kits or make it up myself, am a little confused any help would be greatly appreciated, cheers boys keep up all the good work.

tim

[Stuart]

you dont "need" the plating kit...

just stitch weld the seams (ALL of them) maybe put the alternator mod in as it will save hassle later/mild selling point in future lol

[NovaBen]

Although, if you do want to buy the strengthening kit go to:
www.hh-ms.com
Harry Hockleys wesite, they do loads of bits for Vauxhalls! Give them a try.........

Ben 8)

[Stuart]

and get a huge loan lmao
mostly overpriced there..

[Mike]

Make your own shell/bay strengthing kit!

Just get some sheet steel and then go in search of the piccies on the net of where the plates go! It's a piece of pish :!:

I'd never pay ?100 odd for a load of metal brackets! fook that :|

Mike

[Chris Astley]

*nice try*

**ADMIN**

(strike 2)

[loggyboy]

*nice try*

**ADMIN**

(strike 2)

I take it as the harry hockey link wasnt removed - this one wont be???

i recommend for plating kits.
http://www.chrisastleymotorsport.co.uk

[C-S_Cormac]

Stitch welding the engine would be enough for fast road use wouldnt it?? Im trying to keep costs down...

[loggyboy]

Stitch welding the engine would be enough for fast road use wouldnt it?? Im trying to keep costs down...

yes i would. - keeps weight down too ;) lol lol

[Chris Astley]

stitch welding the front will indeed keep cost and weight dont, will stop the front end falling off too which is good, but it all comes down to how hard you drive your car and how much flex from the shell you want to eliminate, the more flex you get under hard cornering/braking/accelerating which cause your wheel geometery to alter.

people get under the illusion that because they are not running a 2.0 xe they dont need a plating kit. as all the xe does is make you accelerate fast, you still have the same braking and cornering stresses of any other nova.

[lj]

people get under the illusion that because they are not running a 2.0 xe they dont need a plating kit. as all the xe does is make you accelerate fast, you still have the same braking and cornering stresses of any other nova..............


how can a car like a 1.2 nova get the same cornering and braking stresses as a xe nova? one does 98 top and and one does 140 ish?


think ur find theres loads more stress on a nova with xe power! think about it....faster car ...more stress!

[Tim]

thanks for all your help,

, rite then does anyone know where i can find the plans for the plating kits??? Dont fancy spending a ton on some bit of metal plate.

and, wots stictch welding , is it where u run a bead of weld down each side of the existing weld,

cheers boys

[Stuart]

sticth welding is say 1" of weld then a 1" gap then another 1" of weld.. you go along the edge of the steel in the bay. EG allong the two inner wing lines at the top of the arches etc. im sure we can dig dans pics out.

and Li you can get the same cornering forces from a 1.2 sa you can from an XE if setup right ;)

[Tim]

that would be wicked mate, if u could sort those plans out for me id be really grateful. ive got the steel sheets and the welder warmed up ready to go

cheers tim

[loggyboy]

how can a car like a 1.2 nova get the same cornering and braking stresses as a xe nova? one does 98 top and and one does 140 ish?

think ur find theres loads more stress on a nova with xe power! think about it....faster car ...more stress!

Because there arent many stressful bends that can be taken at 140mph.

with identical set up a 1.2 nova would be under similar stresses to a XE nova simply beacuse its not the power of a car that decides how quickly it can go round a bend, its chassis/suspension setup does.`

[sickrabbit]

On the subject of bay strengthening - if you drop the motors suspension , regardless of size of engine - would it be necassary ? Surely the stress factor must increase.

[Stuart]

if you could be arsed to then yes it would help, but not vital...

[lj]

how can a car going slower get the same stress as a faster car? hence why the bigger cars have bigger brakes, stronger engine bays etc etc...


if a nova was ok to put xe engine in and everything else be ok with it they would of built them in the factory....


and if the car was ok why does everyone have the front end seam welded....due to more stress on the front.... and the added weight...creating more stress

[Stuart]

so your saying a corner that you coudl take at say.... 30mph in the XE nova would be taken at 15mph since you have a lil ole 1.2 ... even if you had equally well sorted suspension...

Think about the vehicle dynamics!!! you can corner jsut as hard in a 1.2 as you can in a 1000bhp nova, provided you setup the chassis to do so!

[lj]

theres gonna be more stress on the car sitting still never mind driving it. so therefore the cars under more stress from the moment u pull away regardless to the set up. the car has more weight and the weight of a xe is a a bit more than the 1.2

the faster the car go's through a corner the more stress

the heavy the car the more stress...


think of it this way...pick a 1.2 engine up... then pick a xe up... if u can.

heavyier item...more stress...

[loggyboy]

how can a car going slower get the same stress as a faster car? hence why the bigger cars have bigger brakes, stronger engine bays etc etc...
and if the car was ok why does everyone have the front end seam welded....due to more stress on the front.... and the added weight...creating more stress

Yes, the reason y seam welding is recommended is due to the weight, power, extra stresses the car will be under.

However you can subject a 1.3 rally nova to the same/similar stresses by ragging it down a dirt track over jumps n thru ditches.

However there have been several people who have not strenghened the chassis and not experienced problems. IF you dont drive it hard then shouldnt be an issue.

Better to be safe than sorry tho.

[Mike]

^^The above argument boils down to

A) Do you want to run a risk of your Nova essentially snapping in half due to XE power etc or a strut firing out thru your bonnet

B) Do you want to eliminate that risk

Some people on here have done XE convo's with no strengthening, but they drive sensible, while other have had strut tops give way etc.

Basically, its down to user preference.

Mike

[Ste_Nova]

i used to give mine death... after 12months of hard use the seam sealer was starting to split on the struts

[loggyboy]

^^The above argument boils down to

A) Do you want to run a risk of your Nova essentially snapping in half due to XE power etc or a strut firing out thru your bonnet


the xe is a powerfull lump - but the most its gonna do is spit a few spot welds - snapping it in half is a lil OTT
fair enough a split spot weld that would be disasterous to the chassis in the long term, but 90% of owners would probly not notice - till it started to show and failed an MoT

[madanimal]

if needing a plating kit fitted is mainly because of the increase in weight, then why doesnt a nova crack up when you get passengers in e.t.c.

i used to find that novas began to crack chassis legs e.t.c from fitting of big brakes and grippy tyres just as much as giving it an extra 50bhp under the bonnet.

[loggyboy]

if needing a plating kit fitted is mainly because of the increase in weight, then why doesnt a nova crack up when you get passengers in e.t.c.


Because it was desgined to carry passnengers - it wasnt designed to have a big block lump with 50 more horses than the fastest standard car.