Help please

[FaTe]

First off hi all,
This is my first post here so nice to see you's all :). For almost 8 Years I've owned nothing but Volkswagen Mk2 Polo`s kitting them out, stripping them down and drag racing them at Santapod drag strip.

I moved to the Netherlands almost 2 years ago now and my girlfriend bought me a car for christmas, I got handed the keys to a 1.4(i) Opel Corsa A, Now I know nothing about this car other than what I have learnt myself from prodding and poking around, It's a quick little thing and not at all disappointed but now I feel its time to learn more about the car I'm driving and what I can do modification wise etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
FaTe

[conad]

if your looking for speed, i cant stress enough about an engine transplant

[FaTe]

well I've done the whole engine change before by myself with no expeirance it was fun to do and such but dont fancy the whole hasstle, The car as it is speed wise is enough but subtle upgrades for the engine thinking cam, intake, ecu piggyback etc

The car is black and like the way it looks as it is although a 40mm drop or so would be nice.

[Novasport]

One thing you will find with Vauxhalls is most things are interchangeable so it is easy to upgrade to better spec items from the Astra mk2. Things like Astra GTE 16v brakes(Also used on Calibra & Cavalier) will bolt straight on, make sure you get the later ATE type.
All the small block engines(1.3, 1.4, 1.6) fit straight in including the Corsa B 16v engines. Big block engines likes the 2.0 16v(C20XE) will fit in with very little work and there are plenty of guides & fitting kits available.
You should be able to find the answer to most of your questions on here.

[Nick]

Swap the Engine for a E16SE... Which is the Nova GTE/GSi 8v MPi 1.6

As yours is currently a 1.4i, you wont have to change the Fuel Lines and Tank !

And then you've got a fairly good base to start adding to. Managment ? or Swap the EFi for some Carbs + Cam + Headwork !

Of course, i'm fairly biased. But it's prehaps the most hassle free way to do it on your own , Doesn't involve changing any mounts e.t.c

Oh, and change the Brakes for a ATE Setup from a Cav/Astra GTE

[FaTe]

well I'm taking it slow I can rebuilt a mk2 polo in under 2 days from subframe learning from scratch, This will be the same deal, Start small and go from there, Everything I`ve looked at on the car looks pretty easy to deal with etc and your info so far is inspiring.

So accepting Im sticking with the 1.4i atm whats the best cam and intake kits to be looking at? Also piggyback options ?

Cheers very much so far :)

very much appreciated

[Nick]

the 1400i is a SPi model. It's really not worth keeping it ! MUCH better results are to be had from aquiring a 1600 Mpi

[FaTe]

if what your saying is that this 1.4i is not worth keeping then maybe opel was not for me after all

[Nick]

Well you can keep it if you like...

Although i'm suggesting a simple swap for the E16SE would be better ! You don't have to do it, but you've asked for Advice.

IIRC Adam did quite a bit of work to his Old 1400 Spi Engine, and Got some reasonable results from it... I'l try search for the thread(s) in a bit.

[FaTe]

that would be much appreciated, Im not opposing an engine change but I have to see some results from the car first I will concider later on if all goes well.

[Novasport]

I would start with the brakes & the handling first before going for more power as they are not the best on a standard Nova/Corsa a.
As mentioned, start with a brake upgrade to 256mm ATE's from an Astra GTE(Kadett E GSi), Cavalier GSi, SRi(Vectra A GSi, SRi) or Calibra etc.
These need a minimum 14" wheel but you may be able to get them under a winder different offset 13" if you want the Euro look. I assume you may be upgrading the wheels unless you already have.
Go with a decent suspension setup, the usual quality names apply as in the VW world I assume.
You can upgrade the rubber bushes to poly items aswell if you wish.

Moving onto the engine, just go down the usual route of getting it to breath easier. Free flow filter, exhaust manifold, decat or performance cat & a free flow exhaust.
The 8v engines respond well to head work, not sure how the injection would cope with a performance cam though.

[Novasport]

One thing though, do you have any restrictions in your country on modding? I take it TUV may apply to you?

[Nick]

^ As stated... Some suspension + Brake tweaks would be a better starting place.

The SPi should respond fine to a fairly agressive cam. However, KENT do a range of NVO series which are quite mild and great for an everyday car.

Infact, i have an NVO53 Right here.. for sale too !

[FaTe]

thanks these all sound like great suggestions, Yes as mentioned above there all sounding similar to VW world so makes it easier for me.

Im used to UK MOT, TAX and insurance and your done

Here in the netherlands the weight of your car directly effects amount of TAX you pay on the car EVERY THREE FU?"?" months! so anyways massive upgrades like engine would not only effect insurance but also the amount of road tax by alot :mad: I can only grumble about it I guess.

Either way, Brakes, Wheels and intake sound like a good start, Cheers for suggestions people

FaTe

P.S. Nick - The cam you have for sale does that come with tappets and cam angle indicator? Thats what Im used to getting in a cam kit, Oh yeah how much :P lol

[conad]

^^^^ simple...... strip it lol

[Alex.]

First off hi all,
This is my first post here so nice to see you's all :). For almost 8 Years I've owned nothing but Volkswagen Mk2 Polo`s kitting them out, stripping them down and drag racing them at Santapod drag strip.

Yay!! I have a Mk2 Polo :D

[Matt2107]

So if you have a nice lightweight stripped out car do you pay less?

[Jack]

Mental note to self. Never move to the Netherlands and take the Celica.

Welcome to PNG btw :D

[Stuart]

the single point injection setup on the 1.2/1.4i engines is a bit crap tbh.

if you can change to a 1.4 MPI engine (like that in the sri/mk3 astra) then you would be laughing.
I dont believe in piggy back ECU's as they tend to be crap (and locked out so you can fettle yourself)

[Ste L]

if you really want to keep the 1.4..

change the head for a 1.4 mpi head(better port's etc) wack a lairy cam in it, and run it on twin 40 carbs


personally i'd just stick a 2.0 16v in, more power from the start, and great tunning potential

[FaTe]

I seriously like the idea of an engine but that will be later on, Yes stripping it does will make it leighter and TAX cheaper but a massive 2.0ltr engine and I would have to replace all the body work with carbon fibre replicas so I dont pay more TAX than Rent / year lol, On a serious note some of the suggestions are great thanks.

FaTe

[Stuart]

iirc an XE adds about 30Kg to the car... taking the back seats out will get you back to std weight in that case.

[FaTe]

back seats cant weigh 30kg?!? Im going to check that out first I think, I did ALOT of weight stripping on mk2 polo`s from subframe to inner panel removal to engine stripping.

Maybe I`ll find other things on the way "not needed" :P

[Jack]

Rear seats are probably only ~5kg iirc, I'm certain I don't recall them being heavy at all when I took them out my old hatch.

There's loads of other weight to be stripped out though. Soundproofing under the carpets can be chiselled off to save a lot of weight for a start.

[Iain]

Soundproofing under the carpets can be chiselled off to save a lot of weight for a start.

About 7kg. :)

I LOVE the idea of a car's tax being directly related to how much it weighs! :D

[Adam]

Rear seats are weigh more than 5Kg imo.
More like 15

One front SR seat weighs about 15kg alone.

[FaTe]

yeah a trick I used for removing sound proofing on the floor is to as you say chizzle or sand blast the sound proofing but because it serves as waterproofing against leaks and such is to refill the area with simple fiberglass resin, Leave it too settle and sandsmooth (also good to place rivit points into the resin prior to it setting so if you plan on putting removable carpets in custom wise it makes it all the easier. Anyways more ideas more suggestions nice one ppl :)

[Iain]

IMO if anything the sound proofing has a reverse effect to water proofing - when I was peeling it up I found moisture trapped beneath it.

[FaTe]

I guess its different to VW`s then as the sound sealent is attached direct to bodywork most places so moisture is not present, Thats why using fiberglass resin helps keep it that way