which nova to buy?

[kiddo]

right guys if any of you are bored enough to give me some information on possibly the best nova to buy to have specifically for track days. id like to know which model is best, and why im planning on doing a full engine swap so i need to know what is a necessity to be changed after an engine conversion. any help would be great as i really don't have a clue as where to start :roll: :tard:

cheers in advance :thumb:

[Mike.]

i'm not good with engine conversions unfotunately lol, but the best nova to buy for track days would be a clean 1.0 or 1.2 preferably a non sunroof model, there are more clean 1.0's and 1.2's and as your planning a engine conversion anyway, you won't be to bothered about what engine its got

[Timmy]

track day car as in circuit or drag? buget? what engine you gonna run if you have an idea

[kiddo]

alright but what year should i be looking at buying? is there much variation in available panels and the the prices vary much?

[kiddo]

track day car as in circuit or drag? buget? what engine you gonna run if you have an idea

well, budget isnt too much of an issue, as this will be a car for a long term project preferably for circuit. im wanting to do a 2.0 calibra conversion :tard:

[Mike.]

mk2's are more comman than the mk1's so a mk2 is your best bet, and panels are cheap enough, but they are pattern parts, vauxhall rarely stock body panels for novas now

[srs1]

its a simple answer.

the cleanest shell you can find for as little money as posible.

as mentioned, no sunroof is the best way too.

with engine change. i would hope that means no interior and also no dash either. so it really makes no odds to what shell you buy as long as

its the cleanest shell you can find

[Welsh Dan]

Find one from an old granny that's kept it garaged since she had it and driven 4 miles a week to the shops and back. Apparently most of the "miami blue" ones are minters (or so legend has it lol).

The gsi's have thicker metal in the engine bays, but good luck finding one that hasnt been neglected or badly modified.

What to change: the engine bay needs strengening either with loads of stitchwelding or welding in a kit of plates you can get, one or two of the engine mounts need moving also. The drive shafts and some parts of the front hubs need changing for ones that will handle the torque, the suspension needs uprating to 300lb springs or so, and of course the beefiest brakes you can squeeze on (a conversion to fit discs on the rear is an option too). If the shell had a carb engine then you need an injection fuel tank and an mpi(multi point injection) pump. (All this assumes a C20XE, 2 litre dohc engine, or a C20LET, the turbo version). If you're fitting the turbo one then you'll be cutting the front cross member to allow access to the turbo and to allow for fitting a fmic (front mounted intercooler). Some people such as joff (http://www.novaload.net/forum/showthread.php?t=43066) fit the electric power assisted steering column from a corsa, which should help you to cope with the torque steer. A decent rollcage, bucket seat and harness are a good idea too :thumb:.

Have a poke around through these forums and you'll pick up the knowledge you'll need :thumb:.

[kiddo]

alright cheers for the help guys :thumb: i will keep reading as i try and save some money lol

[Stuart]

as has been said base spec models with no sunroof. so the initial weight is kept down. Then strip any unessecary mounts/brackets etc out of the passenger compartment.
Cage it obv.
engine.... hmmm depends what kind of tracks you want to do really. Eg if you only want to do coombe, silverstone and bedford then really you do want the 2.0 xe, but if you may only stick to smaller tracks (cheaper days too ;) ) then id go 1.6 16V on TB's.
Brakes, no real need for rear discs as that can cause more trouble than they are worth on light fwd cars (i know the 205 had them but they were seup right from the factory) but ATE 256*24mm discs with appropriate pads etc seem perfectly fine for most uses.
sus, coilovers and as has been said about 300lb front springs (regardless of the engine conversion or not)
15" wheels seem to be a good compromise for size/brake clearence/tyre costs. then get some nice slick/semi slicks for them.

[Chris]

want to buy one already done at a decent spec?

[kiddo]

no thanks mate, im looking to do the whole thing myself as a project over quite a few years :) cheers anyways