View Full Version : Not good news
craig green
11-04-06, 02:02 PM
just had a mechanic/welder come to my house & look at quoting me for rebuilding the back end of my Nova.
the chassis legs & spring seats are rotten to F**k tbh. he was quite surprised at the extent of rust. He has a business prepping rally cars & knows Harry Hockley personally so I thought it would make sense to approach him.
ive been quoted a few pence short of a grand to have it done, but he said he'd go easy on me & do it for ?800 as an agreed price.
I cant beleive it, its just not worth spending that on a shell, when a good shell could be had for so much less, let alone a cheap car.
uuuuuuuhhhhhhhh just never fookin ends does it!:(
novamadman
11-04-06, 02:05 PM
lol i think ur right that u could get something clean for a lot less - so why not go for it?
shane
But does ur car have a nice spray job n stuff that would take along time to take off? gotta weigh up the options mate
craig green
11-04-06, 02:26 PM
Yeah has full grp A strengthening kit & full ICI flame Red paint job 3 yrs ago. Looks mint, but isnt.
Quite fecked orf tbh.
Ive got a K reg Luxe that is solid underneath but body is a bit scabby. need to look into the 1st reg date regards cat etc.
Might be time to cut your losses, your shell looks so mint tho!
Quite suprising its going to cost that much.
graham kirkbride
11-04-06, 02:47 PM
hi mate!!! sorry to hear about your car mate, my nova went around the spring seats at the rear (was realy bad) and my brother welded them for me he put new 16 guage (1.5mm) plates on about 12-14" in length by 3-4" wide i needed one on either side it was a pain in the ar#e but got there in the end . and now there strong (like brand new again)
craig green
11-04-06, 07:37 PM
Thanks guys. The rear legs have been patched before. 3 yrs ago IIRC for an MOT. It failed a re-test when the tester noticed it was on a slant at the back.
I was quite alarmed at the cost, he quoted 900 odd quid without seeing it & he said he'd look at it to quote me properly. I think its a bit steep cos he specialises in shell prep & cage fitting etc, so its not like he's a cowboy welder. He said I could have it tigged or migged (tig costs more obv).
Just kinda wish I could afford it... but then again what muppet would spend 800 notes on the underneath of a Nova boot floor??
MEL on here rebuilt the back end of her car. took her a fair while but renewed the chassis rails etc.. did a cracking job considering.
hendrix
11-04-06, 07:53 PM
just had the rear chassis leg and towing eye all welded back together and the sill welded for 90 quid, good as new underneath now
luke langton
11-04-06, 08:12 PM
Sorry to hear about the chassis! That is a lot of money to rebuild the rear end but if the rest of your nova is good then you will be wasting money by getting another shell, as you said the shell has a strengthening kit & full ICI flame Red paint job and that does look mint! So you have to weigh up the options.
novashed
11-04-06, 08:31 PM
get a welder, cheap angle grinder, loadsa cutti/grinding discs and have a bash!
thats what i did when i was 17 on my first nova, not the tidiest of jobs but saved a lot of money and gave me a start. now im 23 and not too bad at the ol weldin (dont really like doing rust repairs though lol)
Rick Draper
11-04-06, 09:03 PM
Yeah has full grp A strengthening kit & full ICI flame Red paint job 3 yrs ago. Looks mint, but isnt.
Quite fecked orf tbh.
Ive got a K reg Luxe that is solid underneath but body is a bit scabby. need to look into the 1st reg date regards cat etc.
No nova needs a cat regardless on if they have one on from the factory. Also your engine you will be fitting is older than the shell and it goes off which is older, car or shell.
Thats what i've read a few times/\
Yet K-reg novas always have a cat test if they have a c12/14nz/16se etc.
Mine and a mates both had a cat test for mot.
Its something to do with the fact that all novas were made before cat rules iirc, so none require a cat, but most if not all k-reg are cat tested.
craig green
12-04-06, 11:26 AM
The issue with repairing the shell is that its been patched up & bodged before & I just dont know if I can be ****d with doing it all again. If its a rotter I just need to accept it & move on.
tbh I want a colour change anyway as Ive decided I hate Red. So it kinda presents itself as a fresh start if I want to...
I'd carry on with it as you know what the problems are and its a GSi shell, with another shell it will probably cost you nearly as much to get the bay welded and strengthening kit done if you want a nice job. I've just been in the same position and spent ?500+ on having new inner wings and turrets welded in as they had rotted through in the corners (could have had patches welded in) but want this to be its last rebuild.
craig green
12-04-06, 12:31 PM
I'd carry on with it as you know what the problems are and its a GSi shell, with another shell it will probably cost you nearly as much to get the bay welded and strengthening kit done if you want a nice job. I've just been in the same position and spent ?500+ on having new inner wings and turrets welded in as they had rotted through in the corners (could have had patches welded in) but want this to be its last rebuild.
You have a point but I cant be doing with chasing rust around the car.
Does anyone know of any chassis legs??
andybishop
12-04-06, 01:58 PM
Craig, I'm sure keith has some, sure he could be bribed to part with them....
Think he sold them on here a while back.
SuperNova!
12-04-06, 03:14 PM
I dont want to sound bad,
but tbh I would think you would be nuts if you spent ?800 on welding on any car.
craig green
12-04-06, 03:58 PM
Yeah I think he had one. he sold it on MIG IIRC.
I was just thinking if I could get 2 new legs then its something I could get done cheaper elsewhere.
Phil GTE
12-04-06, 04:45 PM
Hmmmmm.......................sounds like a no brainer really
Space frame it
keep the nice outside, and have a new underneath.
http://www.suzukisport.com/english/product/al_frame/alframe.jpg
Think of this way, you have had your shell for say 3 years or more. So you therefore know the history of it for the last few years, which is the time when Novas really began to become ****ters, rotten etc etc.
You know that the front end is structually sound, as you said it has been strengthened with a HH kit, and welded etc, it can take your turbo lump, this has been proven. It is a GSi sheel so has slightl;y thicker metal making it stronger in the first place. It just needs a bit of TLC to the rear end.
Say if you spend ?1200 putting the rear end right, and basically be brand new again, then its ?1200 to get it back to the way it needs to be.
If you go out and buy a new Nova for ?500ish that appears to be solid, then you need the HH kit again, ?100ish, welding this on, as I assum from what you said you cant weld, ?150ish. Then the engine bay painted, inside of the car, bodywork, your looking at ?1000-1500 easily, thats over ?2k. Then you have the hassle of transferring over all your bits, engine, interior, fuel system, brake lines, brakes, etc to the new shell which is a pain in the **** in its self, plus all the delays etcon that.
IMO Bite the bullet and splash out the ???? on the GSi shell, leaving it ready for show season this year.
Up to you mate, but I know what I'd do.
I was in a similar predicament not too long ago, I broke my valver lump, and really wanted a White GSi 2.0 16V, but i decided to sell the lump, have a bit more strenthening done up the front end and turbo mine, havent driven it yet, but im sure ill like the pure fact of turbo over the white GSi XE. Down to the fact that Ive owned my sheel for nearly 4 years, iv put a ****ing lot of hard work to get it where it is today, and lot of money also, even on little things like, painting 4 times, welding twice once for xe second for turbo, new fuel system throughout car, fully polybushed, new track rods, tracking done, I know these are all small things, and yes they can be transferred over to another car, but it is a lot of work and IMO I dont think id have the same appreciation for another Nova as I do to mine at the moment.
Just think of all the hours you have put into your shell, thatll all be lost, but thjere again it is a lot of money.
Take the extra step and have done with rot for the last time.
^^ i agree
get a welder, cheap angle grinder, loadsa cutti/grinding discs and have a bash!
thats what i did when i was 17 on my first nova, not the tidiest of jobs but saved a lot of money and gave me a start. now im 23 and not too bad at the ol weldin (dont really like doing rust repairs though lol)
i'd do it myself u never know it may come in later on and its not a bad skill to have, i bet a welding course isnt 800 quid!
sickrabbit
12-04-06, 05:18 PM
unlucky mate - seems to be a concern for all us owners of older cars......
mine is showing his age , and i,m certain by next spring it,ll have to go ...depends on the next mot.
In your case ( if it were me ) I,d scrap the motor selling off as much as poss at first on ebay. Slap the money on summat else mate ( another nova ?) its sad but sometimes you just have to face up to the truth and walk away.....
good luck .
If you go out and buy a new Nova for ?500ish that appears to be solid, then you need the HH kit again, ?100ish, welding this on, as I assum from what you said you cant weld, ?150ish. Then the engine bay painted, inside of the car, bodywork, your looking at ?1000-1500 easily, thats over ?2k. Then you have the hassle of transferring over all your bits, engine, interior, fuel system, brake lines, brakes, etc to the new shell which is a pain in the **** in its self, plus all the delays etcon that.
but he will still pay for paintwork anyway as wants a colour change.
start looking for a mint shell, if you cant get one then fix your own.
craig green
13-04-06, 10:54 AM
Ive got a mint shell in my 1.2 K reg runabout. I'm going to have a really good poke about at the weekend but I think its solid (the doors are rotten mind).
I dislike the rear arches on my GSi anyway after the respray 3 yrs back, the bodyshop stretched them out against my orders & Ive never been happy with the shape of the rear quarters. Its one of them things that only I could see.
Welding & fitting the HH kit isnt difficult as its fairly straight forward welding, but doing it upside down under the rear end is more difficult in my opinion & requires more than a bit of prepping & welding on plates. Its removal of large items & loads of fabricating. As Ive already said, its been bodged before & i'm fed up with it haunting me.
I'd have it done on the cheap again, but only to get another yr or two out of it.
craig green
13-04-06, 11:41 AM
Heres the 1.2. Bodywork cosmetics arent the best, but is certainly solid.
1.2 Shell will be lighter than the GSi too, oh & the sunroof works!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/Craigypics/5bc07d53.jpg
craig green
13-04-06, 11:44 AM
Heres the GSi again. 3 yrs ago this summer.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/Craigypics/CraigNova1.jpg
And the engine bay..
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/Craigypics/CraigNova2.jpg
The GSI looked great in those pics, quite a suprise it needs so much new metal and welding.
craig green
13-04-06, 03:33 PM
Yeah, you wouldnt think it.
Never judge a book by its cover !
Was it starting to rust underneath in those pics?
or has it just gone over the last few months?
craig green
13-04-06, 05:24 PM
Was it starting to rust underneath in those pics?
or has it just gone over the last few months?
Yeah. was probably in need of attention at the time of that pic.
I bought it in 99 & I noticed the passenger leg needed a small patch just to tidy it. I had that done almost straight away. By the time I was having it sprayed in 2002, the boot floor & both legs needed some patching. Then in 2003 it needed the spring seats on one chassis leg patching because a spring had pushed through slightly. Now it needs too much patching on the legs & the boot floor is starting to look like a patchwork quilt. From underneath the chassis legs have little access/breather holes, they are actually full of rusty debris & simply poking about underneath releases all sorts of crap & bits of underseal flakiness.
I'm gonna get some pics tonight or over the weekend of the boot floor & underside. I await the suggestions of 'patch it up'!!
CG
cut the underside of the back end out and put a climbing frame in and real suspension ;)
Yeah. was probably in need of attention at the time of that pic.
I bought it in 99 & I noticed the passenger leg needed a small patch just to tidy it. I had that done almost straight away. By the time I was having it sprayed in 2002, the boot floor & both legs needed some patching. Then in 2003 it needed the spring seats on one chassis leg patching because a spring had pushed through slightly. Now it needs too much patching on the legs & the boot floor is starting to look like a patchwork quilt. From underneath the chassis legs have little access/breather holes, they are actually full of rusty debris & simply poking about underneath releases all sorts of crap & bits of underseal flakiness.
I'm gonna get some pics tonight or over the weekend of the boot floor & underside. I await the suggestions of 'patch it up'!!
CG Ye, spring mounts always a weak point.
Patch it up! :D:thumb:
OR cut it out the decent 1.2 shell and weld it in the GSI shell.
craig green
13-04-06, 10:09 PM
Cant ruin my runabout! Shes mint.
Get your self to a scrappys and find a shell with a decent chassis rail / spring mount, chop it out then weld it in to yours !!
A mate done a similar thing a while ago, he crashed his AX & bent the passenger side sill & floor, went to a scrappys and cut out a big section of sill & floor then took it to a local bodyshop, cost him about ?150 fitted & painted you couldn't even tell other than where they'd burnt the carpet !!
Rich
Not sure if a corsa is the same, if it is then there are plenty of rot free ones in the breakers, would need to get the car on it's side to make the job easier.
SRi-pete
14-04-06, 07:14 PM
i would pay the 800 to get it re-done, am nearly finished my rebuild, put new inner wings, new front panel, new front chassis legs, new outer wings on the front, have a new bonnet to but it was lying about and full of dents. as for the back, it was solid, just stripped off all teh old wax etc. sprayed it with red rust proof primer then normal paint then stone chip protector then wax.
Phil GTE
15-04-06, 01:23 AM
Heres the 1.2. Bodywork cosmetics arent the best, but is certainly solid.
1.2 Shell will be lighter than the GSi too, oh & the sunroof works!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/Craigypics/5bc07d53.jpg
Like the way the front and rear arches match....cut and shut anyone, lol ;)
I'll have a look when I pop in to see you next week. If it means another nova in good nick on the road I'll camp on your drive with my mig and grinder!
andybishop
15-04-06, 10:05 AM
Craig, I've still got the quarters in the garage loft from the silk Violet GSi I stripped, will have a look today what the chassis legs are like.. If i remember correctly they were quite good.
Like the way the front and rear arches match....cut and shut anyone, lol ;)
Hmm, 5 door front wing on a 3door ;)
craig green
16-04-06, 01:47 PM
Hmm, 5 door front wing on a 3door ;)
yeah, its blatantly had a tap & someone has found a 5 dr wing for it. Its not terminal!
Been underneath to get some pics of the rust. Here goes;
Previously patched spring seat.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/RustyNovaPics/2ndpics006.jpg
Drivers side boot floor corner.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/RustyNovaPics/2ndpics001.jpg
Hole in chassis leg next to rear exhaust hanger.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/RustyNovaPics/2ndpics003.jpg
Just behind fuel pump, rear panel meets/chassis leg.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/RustyNovaPics/2ndpics004.jpg
Hope everyone can see the extent of tin worm. I'm quite depressed about iy today.
CG
craig green
16-04-06, 01:59 PM
cheers fella!
Gonna have a scout around local breakers for some half decent chassis legs this week. If I dont have any joy then the shell is gonna be broken.
CG
craig green
16-04-06, 08:54 PM
I'll have a look when I pop in to see you next week. If it means another nova in good nick on the road I'll camp on your drive with my mig and grinder!
might hold ya to that mate, look forward to catching up with you.
No worries at all sir. I'll give it a good prod and see how it looks form there.
beavy69
17-04-06, 12:15 AM
Drivers side boot floor corner.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/RustyNovaPics/2ndpics001.jpg
CG
mine started getting a bit of rust there too but I whacked on a load of rust kill and then paint when I got it and I don't think it's got much worse but having seen that I think i'll have another check. Must be a common spot!
Welsh Dan
17-04-06, 09:47 AM
Must be a common spot!
http://www.xen0phobiak.f2s.com/novaload/diamond/boot_repair1.jpg
Yeah, we had to have the other side done too.
shy witness
17-04-06, 10:32 AM
it looks pretty nasty right enough.............but still not impossible........
I cant see from those pics how anyone could charge anywhere near ?800 for welding. I had a GTE rear completely welded with all what you have listed also 2x full sills and inner wings welded for under ?400.
craig green
18-04-06, 09:34 AM
I cant see from those pics how anyone could charge anywhere near ?800 for welding. I had a GTE rear completely welded with all what you have listed also 2x full sills and inner wings welded for under ?400.
I have no doubts that it could be done a lot cheaper, but Ive already had it bodged a couple times, hence the crappy plating in place. if its not done right then it'll just rot straight back again. The chap I approached will build 2 new chassis legs & replace the boot floor & rust proof/treat all the work & underseal it all. (if I let him).
CG
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