View Full Version : Reece & Craig's C20XE DIY REFURB PROJECT
The project Nova started back when reece bought the car back in July 2006. Big plans were set for the Nova, as it was in great need of reconditioning. The plans were:
New Bumpers
Full respray (inc de-rusting and bodywork treatment)
Electronic Boot release
Flushed tailgate
Bonnet Vents
Re-wiring dash looms (they were in a state from various old alarms etc)
General restoration
With a few performance tweaks on the way
The project took off in March 2007 when the paint and materials were purchased for ?250 Including a crappy electric spray gun that was a waste of time!! Lol.
We got our hands on a nice size compressor and some decent spray guns, and then work began stripping the Nova down to the basics. We spent around a week stripping down, cleaning, sanding and rewiring. The sanding was a painful experience, all done by hand, we found it more precise and less harsh
The work continued with reconditioning all the body work, getting rid of rust and treating delicate spots like welds and arches etc etc
The painting started after we took off the boot, bonnet, all the glass panels, lights, bumpers, engine auxcillaries, interior inc carpet, all the seals, sunroof ....(and the list goes on) and continued for around two weeks..we masked for around 5days making sure nothing was going to be painted that we didnt want to be
The car was painted (you know how it goes- lots of layers of primer and colour, then laquer) as well as all the parts that were taken off e.g bumpers and boot etc.
We then spent more long evenings putting the car back together (very carefully - dont want any scratches)
This whole process took around 4 weeks, their was the odd argument that hasnt damaged our friendship. We worked on it from 8pm-2am everynight after work and uni. This includes all saturday and sunday evenings. Girlsfriends suffered and so did our health. Comittment and deadication were our starting mind set. We wanted to take our time and do the best job possible.
This short insite really does not do the hardwork justice, its not a job for the light hearted. Here are some photos...what you all really want to see. This was our first major project and are relitivly pleased with it. We are not pros, Craigs a plumber and I am currently studing at univercity. we are London based. Now for the photos
The first photos you see are not how i brought the car, a lot of work had already gone into such as flushboot, body repair, wealding, fiberglass, and a new windscreenhttp://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/Image_one.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/Image_two.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/n1.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/n2.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/n3.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/n4.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/n5.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/n6.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/n7.jpg
pics aren't working mate.
Try using a different browser, if not then can other people let me know also if they can't view the photos. Thanks
craig green
06-07-07, 06:17 PM
cant see em here.
Welsh Dan
06-07-07, 06:39 PM
You have to be signed in to see those photos. Try photobucket or imageready instead.
Sorry guys, we really wanted some feedback on the project but unfortunatly as you say, the photos are not working which sucks. And as for VB, who uses it anyway its crappy i dont understand why HTML code isnt accepted, this whole site should have been HTML coded insted makes life so much easier. Crappy microsoft VB and visual web developer are so useless, im still to find a positive reason to use it.
Rant, rant, rant
oh yeah. the pics are on my MSN space obveously dont use this guys because it causes conflict.
If you host the pics on www.photobucket.com (http://www.photobucket.com) and then just paste the URL's in they'll then appear :thumb:
i dont understand why HTML code isnt accepted, this whole site should have been HTML coded insted makes life so much easier.
Certainly does, especially for hackers. Use your noggin.
As for pics, no one else seems to have a problem, just use an offsite picture host such as photobucket as was mentioned. :thumb:
I can see them... Nice effort for a first time. however i'd have done everything properly myself.
matthew172
07-07-07, 01:08 PM
looks horrendous
All fixed now guys! Comments welcome! :D
looks horrendous
i can see why you said that becuase its clear you are an absolute perfectionist with a large enough garge, unlimited time scale and a fat wallet. 3 things that we did not have.
yeah ****ing mint car, sorry but the colours too...look at meeee!!! lol
ChampagneSuperNova
07-07-07, 01:33 PM
I'm Craig from 'Reece & Craig's C20XE....' bla bla bla lol, R49 is Reece. Be glad to hear some feedback about how much the car has changed.
turbojolt
07-07-07, 01:35 PM
We are not pros, Craigs a plumber and I am currently studing at univercity.
no worries we can all se that lol
i think you should take the front bumper off and put it back on again and try and line it up propley this time
oh and take it to get a full respray
well, i say top effort for a pair of "first timers" so to speak. Yes, ok there is room for improvement, however as you said, time & money & space etc so TBH hats off for the enthusiasm side of things.
A little more pratice at spraying etc and think you could get it spot on.
looks shocking, theres a reason people leave paint spraying to the pros, you didnt even repair the rear arch!
Yes there are imperfections, defaults, errors made, ect. Time was a big issue we was given a garage to use for originaly 2 weeks which turned into four or five. The garage was big enough for the car with the parts of placed on the walls with about 1.5 meters of space to paint, and prep the car. This ment pushing the car outside and turning it around manually every time so we could work on the other side. The garage was wooden and filled with dust.lol.the only light sorce was a 80w lightbulb and a floresent 6" tube lamp. Time was such a major factor we only had this short period to do all the work and parts, processes, and focus did get neglected due to this. As we said the whole job was completed for very little cost. The imperfections are clear and styling is a personal prefrence but for what has been achived within our restraints credit is due and thanks for your feedback.
I agree, by the sound of the conditions you were working in, the finish you got was pretty impressive lol. But not dealing with rust such as the rear arch is just silly, as in a few months it'll blister through and make all your graft pointless.
Theres no inbetween with paint. You either get a good finish or a bad one. Despite all your effort, and lack of experience, thats still a pants finish at the end of the day, and it goes to show why painters can charge so much for what they do.
Fair play for having a crack though.
ChampagneSuperNova
07-07-07, 06:05 PM
My god, its not that horrendous, and its not only the paint we done. What about other things, such as flushing the boot, delocking, new bumpers, meshing, rear number plate recess, vents in the bonnet etc etc etc.
Dont know why your all so intent on being so negative. It is definately a lot better than how it started out, shame we dont have any pictures of when it was first bought.
We didnt have ?10,000 to spend on the nova, more like absolutley everything cost less than ?2000. Some of the members on here cant even change a pair of brake pads. let alone all that we've had a go at.
Thanks man. For you guys who actually do your work yourself like us, keep it going, my idea of true modifing is doing the work yourself, you put the time in, the hard work, the pressure and expence from your daily life and thats what modifing is all about. For all the guys who pay other people todo the work, i cant give you any credit.
lol calm down chaps.
Firstly, lots of people on here do their own work, building cars from the ground up on low budgets such as you have. I get the impression you feel you have done something amazing, which is exactly what it feels like when you complete a project like this, hell I did when I built my first car.
However, dont expect everyone to start cracking one out over your handywork. You asked for opinions and your getting them.
I wouldnt have bother remotely doing the meshing, mesh this day in age belongs on a barbecue, especially wide mouth bumpers like that one! unless its got a IC sat in it, i just looks daft
I have to agree with bottlethroddy that is a pants finish but with that c20xe under the bonnet who cares if anything it will make people think its crapper than what it is
why do you keep banging on about how you dont have loads of money to do the car?? i did mine for about ?500 as it stands now and imo its pretty damn mint. the trick to a good paint job is all in the prep and fair enough if its the first time youve done it but again mine was the first time i had prepped a car. you just have to not be afraid to ask if your not sure and take your time, even if you dont have it. mine took a month to get painted and i did all the work myself so that was the same timescale aswell. so i dont get what your moaning about when you get negative feedback because it is possible
big gra
08-07-07, 02:06 AM
looks good for a diy job!
turbojolt
08-07-07, 05:21 PM
look guys you messed up the paint imo you should have keepet it the standard collour and just sent the bits out that needed painting to a pro or done them your self you could have ended up with a lot better finish than the one you have now
and yes we can see you have tryed hard but its just a shame the paint and front bumper let down most of your hard work
good try tho guys just keep in mind about the paint next time
(you know how it goes- lots of layers of primer and colour, then laquer)
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z19/e4fiesta/n3.jpg
what happend to the laqure then ??? ???
What a an awful paintjob, wasn't worth all the work stripping it to a shell to do a paint job like that, might as well have just painted it built up, it looks like you did.
Think most people do their own work on there cars here but most wouldn't attempt a DIY paint job as this is what happens.
Not without a GNVQ in Burgo anyway lol
samuelfraz
08-07-07, 11:02 PM
i think you nova is looking pretty good who cares what the paint looks like its nice enought to see the 2.0 in it. looks good for a first timer. well done you can always paint it again and again for practice. practice makes perfect the say.
more like absolutley everything cost less than ?2000.
this was built for less than ?2000,
it had new back arches - both sides, new front wing, new door's - both sides, full respray, gsai front, gsi skirts, shorty mirrors, suspension, wheels, exhaust, and engine conversion...
near enough all work was done buy me, bar the spraying, which a mate did.
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/5031/arty.jpg
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/5031/PICT0060.JPG
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/5031/PICT0066.JPG
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/5031/PICT0065.JPG
but fair play for giving it ago yourself..
Its a shame I dont have a photo of what it looked like with Rust on every pannel and holes in the bodywork. Thinking about it now, what i payed for it was a bit of a bump. The first time i went out in it I just thought it was so amazing and wanted it. I felt the power and didnt care what it looked like I love taking people out in it who are not car enthusiasts, its the best part. The reactions range from hystricly laughing, pure silence, seat grabbers, screamers (my personal fav,lol) and one girl cryed lol. Im not upset with the outcome I just wanted to give it a bash and make it look more presentable on a tight budget. A big garage helps along with the correct equipment sooo much. Its nice to see some people say its an acceptable finish for the cercumstances, thanks guys. Iv got to say, our story really dose not do it justice, we were unbeliveable unprepared. I was originally planning to paint it with an electric gun, dont not go anywhere near them, i cant believe how crap they are.
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