Nova SRI - GSI conversion

[tom_bish]

Well after introducing myself i've started this project thread for those interested to have a look at and i've also got some questions to ask regarding the conversion.

Pics of the car minus the 1400 engine

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/3.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/6.jpg

Steam cleaned, degreased then painted 1600 block and gearbox

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/8-1.jpg

Had head skimmed, cleaned, valves re-ground, new stem seals installed by a local auto engineer

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/11-1.jpg

Cleaned up the head and cam housing

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/14.jpg

Stripped, cleaned and painted the inlet manifold

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/2.jpg

I've got a complete head set from a mate who works in the motor trade which includes all gaskets, bolts etc plus i've got a new water pump and cambelt so the engine is ready to be bolted back together :thumb:

Questions i have at this stage:

1. Do i need a GSI loom and ECU?
2. Can i use the SRI driveshafts?

Tom

[Steve]

yes and yes lol

[greg1.4]

looks like a good strong shell that mate!

[Rickyb]

good progress so far :thumb:

[vaughanmc]

Clean wee shell to work on there, keep the progress coming :)

[tom_bish]

Bolted down the head and fitted the water pump and cambelt today..

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/1.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/17-1.jpg

[Steve]

Looks good so far, are you keeping it subtle on the outside? You keeping the sr bumper or you going for gsi ones?

Either way looks like a really decent shell to work with.

[7ova]

engine is looking good,
good luck for first turn of key:eek:
whats the plan for body and wheels?
good job mate

[tom_bish]

The shell is rust and weld free. It had a professional respray to a high standard 2 years ago but has a scratch in the passenger rear quarter and a dent in the drivers door which need to be repaired. Im also getting the engine bay blown over at the same time.

I'm hoping to source some GSI bumpers which i'm going to have painted black and i've got some sideskirts to go on also in black. I want to change the wheels for some vaux wheels ideally cesaros possibly also in black (the offset is so wrong on the current set of wheels hha)

[novanum1]

Im looking at doing this to my Sri il beable to see what to do now. Are you going to have to change the whole loom. i was thinking about keeping the SRI inlet and puting it on to the gsi engine. to keep the loom the same. Dont know if it would work thro.

Engine looks great keep up the good work.

[tom_bish]

Not sure if that would work tbh. The fuel and air mix might not be sufficient for the 1.6 engine?? I'm going to contact the bloke my bro got the engine from to see if he's still got the loom.

[tom_bish]

I need a set of GSI bumpers if anyone has them please let me know

[Ash]

looks like a tidy red one, just how mine started lol

Where in somerset are you? Also what rockers are they, they look quite differant to mine...?

[tom_bish]

Im in chard. Did you work at Liquid ICE?

Not sure about the rockers they are the ones that came with the engine??

[Ash]

Yes I did for a bit couple summers ago before uni. Still pop down every now and then

Just wondered about the rockers as mine (http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90663&page=4)look no-where near as chunky, hope I orderd the right ones lol

[tom_bish]

Thought so. did you fit a clifford alarm to a scooby blue SRI?

I did think that. I rebuilt my old GSI engine a couple years ago and i had a feeling they were different.

[Ash]

Oh, the one Ash Staddon painted, nice job that.

I didn't fit the alarm but I was working there at the time, what happen to it in the end? Don't think it saw it finished.

[tom_bish]

This one..

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Melan%20Nova/nova2.jpg

It got finished and then he decided to sell it for some reason :tard:. Some guy from Scotland flew down to Bristol airport and then drove it all the way back.

I'm taking my SRI to Staddons to get repaired. They do a faultless job

[tom_bish]

Couple things to check thats been on my mind.

When putting on the head one of the headbolts was a lot tighter to turn than the others. would this have affected the torque setting? will it cause any problems? Its the one arrowed below.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Conversion/bolt.jpg

Also, should the cambelt tensioner tooth sit in the middle of the fork as below.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Conversion/Tensioner2.jpg

Anyways, fitted the inlet manifold earlier today.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/19-1.jpg

[Steve]

Not sure about the bolts, but engine's looking good, strange/good to see an engine build that isnt an XE lol

Are you just re-building it or are you going for more power with it?

[chrisnovaturbo]

the tensioner should sit in the middle when its timed up. turn the engine over 2 to 3 times from the bottom pully bolt, then time it back up and check timing marks are still in the same place and then check the tensioner. if it still in the same place then its fine. hope this helps. just ask if you get stuck mate.

chris

[craig green]

Above is true. You still use the water pump to tension it within range on the auto tensioner.

I kinda fell in love with that Blue Nova when I saw it at the B/w meet.

Engine looks good Tom. Head bolt is a concern IMO. There must be a reason why its binding. Is the hole in the block free of debris or fluids? Any water in there could help split the block.

GM revised the followers some years ago (during 8v's life) to a stronger spec. This is evident from underneath them. It was to stop them snapping at high RPM!!

Keep at it mate.

[tom_bish]

Ok, i thought so i just wanted to check for peace of mind.

I made sure i blew out all the bolt holes in the block with an air compressor to free any dirt/water. Is it worth taking it all apart and getting another set of bolts and doing the job again??

[craig green]

I wouldnt want to tell you to pull it apart, however if you'd sooner do it now than have the gasket weap on that corner (possible) then yeah I'd lift the head & run a tap down the block or atleast inspect the bolt & identify why its binding. It will affect the torque depending how bad it is.

I did about 3 HG swaps on my turbo in a year, so have some thanks its not as big a ball-ache as it was for me with the engine in the car every time.

[tom_bish]

Ok i think i might as i want to get the job done right. I take it i will need a new set of bolts as they are stretch bolts? or can i resuse them as the engine hasnt been ran?

[craig green]

new bolts sadly. Just pull the bolt out & inspect it IMO. Then go from there.

[Will F]

I wouldnt worry too much, as long as it torqued to the correct setting. absolute worse case is that the h/g will leak slightly and this can be done easily in situ anyway.

[tom_bish]

Steve - I'm keeping the engine standard for the minute, apart from the skimmed head and i've got a 4 branch manifold in the workshop. It should pull well anyway after all this work..

I've now started work on undersealing the whole of the underneath and arches etc. I attempted to remove the front wings last night so i can do a good job of getting the sealer in round the front arches. I've removed all the bolts i can see but the wing seems to be held in by the door, i didn't want to pull to hard incase i bent anything. The top part of the wing was sealed to the inner arch with some sealer which i had to break by carefully pulling it up. I'm thinking it might also be sealed by the door.

can anyone tell me how to remove them?

[craig green]

Theres a panel screw accessed from the interior in the kickwell.

[tom_bish]

Ahh ok cheers

[Steve]

Yeah that caught me out as well! lol

[tom_bish]

Small update..

Travelled up to Lincoln on Sunday to pick up some GSI bumpers, doorcards, dash and front seats from Colin Smith, unfortunately he didn't have a drivers seat so im still on the lookout for one.

Also, lifted the head last night cleaned out all the bolt threads and fitted new bolts. I think there must have been some grit/rust in the thread as the bolt went in fine this time.

Hoping to get the dash and doorcards in next and then its off to the bodyshop (in the process of sorting a car trailer)

:thumb:

[craig green]

Tom are you lacking a drivers seat or just want a worn one repaired?

My experiences of body shops would urge you to leave out any interior bits & peices (esp seats & dash etc) as it will come back full of dust etc &/or overspray if they are really pikey.

I've got Red overspray halfway down on my seatbelts, from the rear quarter vents, had filler dust in my MOMO wheel leather & dash vents full of dust etc. But the bodyshop I used did turn out to be a bunch of numpties....

[tom_bish]

well colin smith said he had front seats but when i travelled up there he only had a passenger seat as a nova GSI he picked up had buckets not GSI seats, so i need a drivers.. im thinking this might be difficult as they normally come in pairs??

the bodyshop im using is very professional and would take care not to overspray anything but then again it still could happen.

[craig green]

Considering it takes a couple hours to refit a dash & seats etc I'd seriously consider putting it in after paint. Its not worth the risk IMO for peace of mind.

I know a good place to have the bolsters repaired cheap, thats all....

I've got some RS Recaro's to go in mine, but not straight away so will have a mint pair of front GSi seats spare at some stage. I've got some good mk1 SR rainbow seats in my TD which is looking like it will be scrapped.

[tom_bish]

Yea very true i'll probably take the SRI dash etc out and put the GSI in after its been painted then. I was just concerned about forgetting how it all fits back in the car lol

I could be interested in the GSI seats depending on how soon u want to sell them as i'll probs need them in the next month or so.

[craig green]

Wont be using the Recaro's until later in the summer at a guess. Using the GSi's until then. If you are stuck, I can lend you the SR seats.

[tom_bish]

Ok cheers Craig i'll keep that in mind.

[tom_bish]

Won some GSI seats on Ebay the other night for ?17.. bargain

All the bumpers etc have gone to the bodyshop to be painted. The car will be going up there on Friday, im in the process of getting the engine bay cleaned and all wiring etc out the way. I'll try and get some better quality pics of everything before it goes.

Tom

[Steve]

Pics would be good, sounds like its progressing nicely.

Seats sound like a bargain!! is that front and rears?

[tom_bish]

weekend pics..

car being transported to bodyshop on friday night

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/Image009.jpg

work begins on the drivers door and passenger quarter

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/Image004-1.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/Image005-1.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/Image003.jpg

ready for primer

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/Image014-1.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/30012008319-1.jpg

bumpers taking some primer

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/Image008.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/Image001.jpg

Managed to get a lot of work done, should all be finished this week so im a happy boy :D

[tom_bish]

Update for last weeks work..

After all the prep work the car was painted by my mate dan hartley who just recently qualified.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/31012008328.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/31012008324.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/31012008325.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/31012008320.jpg

[vaughanmc]

Looks like a top job :)

I want mine to be like that!

[greg1.4]

that looks tidy!

i fancy a red nova now..lol

keep the pics coming.very interested to see the progress of this!

[craig green]

Looking good Tom. Interested to see it in daylight off a better camera. You pleased then?

[tom_bish]

Yea i'll get some better pics asap. I havn't seen the car in the flesh but the pics look really good so i'm pleased. Now i can start attempting to put it back together!

[Steve]

Cool, paint looks good, bet your well chuffed with it.

[tom_bish]

Took some better quality pics today as promised to show how its looking. Fitted the GSI dash etc over the weekend and got the front inner arches ready for some underseal..

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/HPIM0807.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/HPIM0806.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/HPIM0805.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/HPIM0813.jpg

[Adam]

Nice work, cant beat fresh Red paint :cool:

[tom_bish]

Dont worry im planning to chuck that back box as far as i can haha

[Mike.]

wow thats going to be a nice car :thumb:

[krobinson]

Thats looking really smart now, its minty mint under those wings too :D

[SRimon]

Nice Tom, cracking on with it...

[jof2k8]

good work mate

[craig green]

Cracking paint job. Looking really fresh.

[Jay]

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Conversion/Image007.jpg

:eek: Is that a flat spot i see on the tyre?

[tom_bish]

Its just some dirt stuck in the tyre tread

[Mike]

Damn thats looking spanky as fook Tom :D

[tom_bish]

Hi all the nova project has been on hold for the past couple months due to my other car (Astra GTE) taking priority but i'm hoping to crack on with some more this weekend.

I'll be putting a project thread up for the Astra shortly..

[craig green]

I had wondered what you were up to Tom.

Any plans to have her finished for PV? Or not going?

[tom_bish]

I've never been to PV but i'm hoping to get there this year.

Does Novaload/PNG have a stand??

I doubt the nova will be finished now but i'll take the astra :thumb:

[craig green]

Due to the club having better organisation & not being Novaload, you wont be able to park the Astra on the Nova stand. Its a good weekend (or day out) though so worth coming all the same.

I'll be there, but I've wangled my car onto the Total Vauxhall magazine Nova display.

[tom_bish]

Yea thats fair enough i wasn't expecting to but i'll still bring it along..

[tom_bish]

Well i'm pleased to say that i've managed to make some progress on the nova inbetween preparing my GTE for a respray..

Undersealed the inner arches and wings and fitted them

Engine is now bolted in but needs plumbing up

Headlights fitted

Also sourced a set of 15" Tigra alloys from Craig Green.. these have been shot blasted and any kerb marks have been welded and smoothed back with an orbital sander ready to be powercoated in gloss black

I've got pictures to post up but they are a bit large, anyone know a good site to re-size them?

Tom

[craig green]

Photobucket usually resizes anyway & I'm sure there is a function on there for that.

[tom_bish]

Progress pics..

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra002.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra004.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra009.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra010.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra011.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra012.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra017.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra022.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra020.jpg

[tom_bish]

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/astra032.jpg

[ELLIS GSI]

lookin real nice!!! is it running yet?

[tom_bish]

Ok made a bit of progress over the weekend..

Fitted GSI airbox, AFM, distributor and trial fitted the leads

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/P1010509.jpg

Took a wire brush to my Ashley 4 branch, painted it and then fitted

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/P1010511.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/P1010513.jpg

Also gave it a wash as it was covered in a stupid amount of dust

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/P1010506.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/P1010507.jpg

My tigra wheels shot blasted and ready to be powder coated

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/P1010514.jpg

This one had some kerbing which i repaired. I got a mate with a TIG welder on the case and then i ground down the tiny welds with an orbital sander and sprayed on some primer to show the quality of the repair..

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/P1010515.jpg

Thats it for now :thumb:

[marS]

It promises that Nova ;)

[AlexW]

Are those Ate 256mm brakes? Dosnt look like youve taken any off the calipers?

Looks great, wish it was mine.

[tom_bish]

Okay i havn't posted anything on here for a while so i'll give you all an update

I did think about selling the car as an unfinished project a few weeks ago as i didn't think i would have the time to finish it and i wanted to buy a daily driver instead of using my rebuilt astra GTE, but i didnt get a lot of interest so i ended up keeping it. To be honest i was being a bit lazy after having just finished my astra but i've now cracked on with it and got it a bit more up together and i'm glad it didnt sell.

I've recently fitted the GSI sideskirts. I used a method i saw on here of sticking the clips on with double sided tape drilling the holes and then riveting them (i dipped the ends of the rivets in hammerite to try to seal up the hole and prevent rusting)

I had an issue with the wiring as the SRI engine and car loom was intergrated so i had to take the dash back out and strip the whole loom out. I then cut out all the SRI engine loom which left me with some wires i had to extend etc. I then fitted the loom back into the car and was able to wire up the e16 engine loom. The car now turns on the key, the fuel pump fires up and there is a spark so hopefully it should be running very soon.

Lastly i've had my Tigra wheels powder coated but unfortunately one of them was melted on the edge so i had to get hold of a single wheel and this should be coated within the next couple days.

I'll get some pics asap!

[vaughanmc]

Look forward to seeing some pics of it mate :)

[ash anderson]

Top work Chap:thumb:
will be keeping my eyes peeled for pictures

[tom_bish]

Apoligies for the delay with the pics i managed to break my camera over the xmas period however I've just ordered myself a new one so should have them this weekend.

[craig green]

Sounds good mate, will look out for the pics.

[tom_bish]

Well the camera arrived today so i attempted to take some pics but i don't think the camera was on the right setting as they havn't come out the best!?

Anyways i've made some more progress..

Firstly I managed to loose the spark whilst unplugging the loom and taping things up etc! After some thinking and help from fellow novaloaders i found that where i had initially changed the dizzy plug on the engine loom i had a couple wires round the wrong way.

After sorting this i had a go at starting the engine for the first time with no luck, it would turn over but wouldn't fire. I then swapped over the fuel lines on the fuel rail and tried it again, this time it would fire but wouldn't run. I then checked the firing order and found that i had it wrong as i went clockwise around the dizzy instead of anticlockwise. A quick mess about with the leads and hey presto the car started!!happy days

Heres the pics..

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10016.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10007.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10015.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10010.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10012.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10021.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10023.jpg

[Spudly]

Just read full thread bud looking really good and now she has been running again i bet youre soo releived you didnt part with her.

Keep at it bud looks a stunner so bolt the rest up and go play:thumb:

[S1M0N]

Considering it takes a couple hours to refit a dash & seats etc I'd seriously consider putting it in after paint. Its not worth the risk IMO for peace of mind.

I know a good place to have the bolsters repaired cheap, thats all....

I've got some RS Recaro's to go in mine, but not straight away so will have a mint pair of front GSi seats spare at some stage. I've got some good mk1 SR rainbow seats in my TD which is looking like it will be scrapped.

Where Where Where? Why havent you told me this craig? lol Ive got a lovely hole in my bolster!

Looks like a nice project matey, Be good to see this at a few meets? :thumb:

Cheers

[tom_bish]

Cheers for the comments the pics don't do it justice at all. I think i've worked out the settings on my camera now so i'm hoping to get it outside and get some better ones this weekend. I'm very glad it didn't sell and i'm looking forward to getting it finished and to a few meets etc

I forgot to add that i cleaned up some 256mm discs and calipers i had lying around, treated them to a new seal kit and a lick of red paint and fitted them.

[tom_bish]

Pictures as promised..

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10091.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10092.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10095.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10097.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10098.jpg

This is how the interior stands atm.. i'm in the process of re-fitting the dash etc. and plugging all the electrics back in to make sure everything works

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/tom_bish/Nova%20conversion/SDC10099.jpg