On with a new challange ... the wife's corsa!!

[joff-turbo-nova]

Hi all,

Now that the Nova 888 is finished (nearly) and I have some time one my hands the wife has been nagging me to sort her corsa out.

Its an N reg Corsa 1.4 16v CDX and over the last 9 years since we've owned it has been a great little car . However the paint work is now looking very tired and rust had started creeping into many nooks and crannys!

Last weekend I changed the following panels :

Driverside side front & rear door
Passenger side front door
Tailgate

All had serious rusting issues and I managed to get some replacement doors from a local scrappy in the same colour which was a bit of a bonus. Still need sparying as they have some scuffs & scrapes on them.

The Corsa is due in at the bodyshop in the morning so I have spent the weekend prepping up the shell.

Got the front bumper and wings off to find lots of scabby rust patches across the slam panel and cross member. Remarkably the chassis legs were almost like new (unlike nova's!!!)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0244.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0245.jpg
Here's some pics of the crusty mess.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0246.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0247.jpg


I then set about wire brushing (with a wire brush drill attachment) and grinding all the rust off. I hammerited the lower parts and crossmember which can't be seen and once rubbed down primered the bare metal.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0251.jpg

Then it was on to the back. Now I thought I had kept the arches free of mud but between the plastic colour coded part and the back bumper must have been half a kilo of soil per side ......

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0248.jpg

The rear panel was a bit scabby in places and needed grinding and wiring again!!!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0250.jpg

Again a liberal coating of hammerite and it will be good for a few years to come.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0252.jpg

I am having the bumper colour coded as normal but the bits that are normally grey plastic (which fade very easily) I am having painted a dark grey (including the wheel arch trims).

Alloys wise I have a set of Ceasro 15" rims to go on. These have been acid dipped as they were in poor condition and I will have these sprayed anthricite , same colour as the wheels on the nova.

The corsa is getting 2 new wings, a new bonnet and a new spoiler for the tailgate.

Here it is ready for the sprayshop in the morning.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0253.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0254.jpg

[krobinson]

You must be the first person to start restoring a 5 door corsa!! lol.

Good work Joff, should look like the freshest 5 door corsa B around when complete!

Keith

[John]

same colour again joff?

[joff-turbo-nova]

Yes - same colour - Satin Red although its actually metallic burgundy!

Joff

[Lee]

Oh sweet bejesus, we all know where this is going.

Put the tools down Joff, or your marriage will be over! Im sure she wont be able to do without transport whilst you shoehorn a V6 into it lol.

[Ste L]

cool project..


i see it's got's the rare pre 97 irmsher bumper cover's

[draper]

is the missus running round in the nova then ??

[Ste L]

is the missus running round in the nova then ??



lol lol lol lol lol lol lol


cant see that somehow

[Paul]

probably the veccy?

[joff-turbo-nova]

Oh sweet bejesus, we all know where this is going.

Put the tools down Joff, or your marriage will be over! Im sure she wont be able to do without transport whilst you shoehorn a V6 into it lol.

I''ve got a garage full of stuff for the vectra! I was thinking about an engine upgrade but thought better of it !!!

A nice 1.4 16v will do her fine!!! I have warned her about not getting near any kerbs though with the new alloys!

Joff

[joff-turbo-nova]

is the missus running round in the nova then ??

Errrrrr ............. no .


She won't even get in it let alone drive it anywhere ... she recons its too low, too noisy , too stiff suspension , too loud a stereo (there is a volume control!) and knows that if she pranged it I would be looking for the divorce papers !!! lol lol lol

[wilson_sri]

5 door corsas are awesome! Get a let in there, few pics of my old one

http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/4980/marks_car_140.jpg
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/4980/100_3055.jpg
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/4980/100_3118.jpg

Im sure your missus would love one lol

[SRimon]

is that a let in there?

[TonySR]

Cool Project!

There's a 5door in the same colour local to me, with gsi front bumper & cav gsi rims, looks very smart.

[Mrs Joff-Turbo-Nova]

OK! Just to clear up a few points:

1. I have NOT been nagging him to sort out my car. (I MIGHT have been nagging about painting the bathroom and our bedroom and taking some stuff up into the loft, cutting the hedges and replacing some planks on the decking, oh and fixing the water feature and repainting the woodwork in the hall and helpng me to sort out the study and putting some software on an old laptop for our son and ... well you get the picture. But nagging him to do something that means he's spending even more time in the garage - get real!)
2. He's NOT going to do anything else to it other than the respray. That's the final word on the matter! (Unless of course the work that needs doing means that the car stays on the road, passes MOT etc!)
3. No reason why I shouldn't drive the NOVA, except perhaps that it's on laid up cover ... I used to be allowed to drive it when it was red!?! He drives my car...
4. Yes I have been driving the Vectra and will probably drive the courtesy car as well.
5. Yes I'm quite happy with the engine size etc at the moment. There is no need to change it. So yes you had better stop having all those ideas of what you could do - NO!
6. Alloys - don't need warning. Just because I just grazed a little wall before Christmas and slightly damaged the corsa doesn't mean I won't take care of the car. My parking isn't that bad!!! Perhaps you'd like to tell everyone why it needs a new bonnet?

Seriously, looking forward to having the Corsa back and looking resplendent. Think I still prefer the old alloys, but the anthrcite(?) colour's good. Please can I have some new car mats for my birthday? Perhaps a really strong air freshener thing as well - the smell of wax oil far takes your breath away still!

Thanks Joff,

The Wife

[Mike]

lol lol lol hello there Mrs Joff quite a splendid list of "ground rules" above

[Mrs Joff-Turbo-Nova]

Yes well, Joff needs guidance! Can't do with the car off the road for four and half years. Originally the Nova was "only going to take a few months" and would be done "before the baby came." Yes exact quotes and the "baby" was nearly four when he had reportedly "finished". Hmmmm!

[Mike]

Originally the Nova was "only going to take a few months"

Hahaha i said that to my other half some time back in September...... im not even at the halfway stage at present :D must be a man thing lol lol lol

[craig green]

lol

All is well at home then!

How come the bonnet was dented?

[Mrs Joff-Turbo-Nova]

Think Joff can explain about the bonnet. While you are at it you might like to ask him about his trip up to the spray shop and what happened to the nova on Saturday evening!:)

[J4MES]

OK! Just to clear up a few points:

1. I have NOT been nagging him to sort out my car. (I MIGHT have been nagging about painting the bathroom and our bedroom and taking some stuff up into the loft, cutting the hedges and replacing some planks on the decking, oh and fixing the water feature and repainting the woodwork in the hall and helpng me to sort out the study and putting some software on an old laptop for our son and ... well you get the picture. But nagging him to do something that means he's spending even more time in the garage - get real!)
2. He's NOT going to do anything else to it other than the respray. That's the final word on the matter! (Unless of course the work that needs doing means that the car stays on the road, passes MOT etc!)
3. No reason why I shouldn't drive the NOVA, except perhaps that it's on laid up cover ... I used to be allowed to drive it when it was red!?! He drives my car...
4. Yes I have been driving the Vectra and will probably drive the courtesy car as well.
5. Yes I'm quite happy with the engine size etc at the moment. There is no need to change it. So yes you had better stop having all those ideas of what you could do - NO!
6. Alloys - don't need warning. Just because I just grazed a little wall before Christmas and slightly damaged the corsa doesn't mean I won't take care of the car. My parking isn't that bad!!! Perhaps you'd like to tell everyone why it needs a new bonnet?

Seriously, looking forward to having the Corsa back and looking resplendent. Think I still prefer the old alloys, but the anthrcite(?) colour's good. Please can I have some new car mats for my birthday? Perhaps a really strong air freshener thing as well - the smell of wax oil far takes your breath away still!

Thanks Joff,

The Wife

Thats brilliant!!!lol lol lol

[joff-turbo-nova]

lol

All is well at home then!

How come the bonnet was dented?

600 yards from home ....

doing 50 mph ......

deer jumps out from a hedge .....

the rest is history (well it was for the deer !!!)

One dented bonnet , mushed bumper and smashed headlamp later and a dead deer ..... corsa 1 - deer 0

Oh - that was 2 years ago !!!

Joff

[Dave.]

http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/4980/100_3055.jpg


yeah.. lovely and legal that numberplate :thumb:

[draper]

600 yards from home ....

doing 50 mph ......

deer jumps out from a hedge .....

the rest is history (well it was for the deer !!!)

One dented bonnet , mushed bumper and smashed headlamp later and a dead deer ..... corsa 1 - deer 0

Oh - that was 2 years ago !!!

Joff

women never, ever forget - FACT

edit - unless its the price tag on her new shoes/bag/etc

[Big_Chap]

Please can I have some new car mats for my birthday? Perhaps a really strong air freshener thing as well


novaload wip round anyone?... lol :thumb:

[joff-turbo-nova]

The spray shop have been busy this week getting the corsa prepped up ready for some spray action.

The gash in the sill has been cut out and plated, the bodywork has been rubbed down and the new bonnet and wings have been fitted.

Here it is ready for a coat of primer with all the car park dings filled and smoothed out!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/Spray1a.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/Spray2a.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/Spray3a.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/Spray4a.jpg

The wife seems happy progress is being made!

Joff

[lee coley]

looks good.the same body shop as '888' Nova?

[joff-turbo-nova]

looks good.the same body shop as '888' Nova?

One and the same - Austin the guy who does the spraying is a top bloke. The facilities may be a bit basic (there's no proper oven) but the results are excellent.
He's not one for bodging a job - he takes care and pride in his work.

This is him in the background with the blue overalls on :-

http://www.elsamak.karoo.net/blue2a.jpg

Joff

[lee coley]

nice 1.I havent got a oven (yet) still building the double garage on my mates back yard,

To be honest the work that comes out of the garage is A1.

[DW-Nova]

Looks like good progress, Many people belive that you need an oven in order to be able to paint well, this is not the truth at all, the only benefits an oven gives is speed of drying, when you think about it somewhere that wants to get your car done as quickly as possible is not the best choice at all hey as you simply cannot rush bodywork and obtain nice results, so long as you have somewhere as dust free as possible, dry and relativley warm you will get good results so long as you take your time to do the preparation properley and know what your doing, good luck with the rest of the mini project, look forward to seeing her painted.

[shy witness]

the main issue with painting is dust imo.

you can have all the ovens in the world.............but if theyre dustry ...yer fooooked.


a good..bright ...well lit......painting only room with a reasonable heat and extractor fan is good enough.


preparing and painting in the same room/garage isnt going to produce the best results.


nice project once again joff.

[fearless]

Looking good so far Joff :thumb:



The things you do to keep the other half happy

I'm at the same point with this little project - just painted this morning

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/fearlessmotorsport/SP_A0040.jpg

A few weeks ago !!!



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/fearlessmotorsport/Photo-0081.jpg

Today !!! - with new door in background (due to rust !!!)




Should get me a few browny points when it's back on the road !!!



The things you do for a quiet life lol


Dave

[DW-Nova]

any progress been made yet mate?

[joff-turbo-nova]

any progress been made yet mate?

Yes mucho progress ......

Car has been sprayed and laquered and is in the process of being rubbed down and then polished up .....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0001.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0006.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0005.jpg

Front bumper has been sprayed - the grey part is sprayed as well , looks lighter than it is in reality due to the flash ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0003.jpg

Back bumper and rear colour insert has been done as well along with the rear spoiler, grab handle and arch trims :-

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0004.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0002.jpg


Should be ready to pick up tommorrow after work , the alloys may be a while as I'm awaiting a couple of tyres off ebay (you can see them in the background above)

Joff

[saloonwoody]

should look shweet when its all flated n polished :thumb:

[lee coley]

nice 1 dude

[joff-turbo-nova]

Well its back from the sprayshop and now on my drive!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0007.jpg

I need to spend some time rebuilding various bits (front bumper, rear bumper, rear hatch and spoiler) and waxoyling behind the bumpers and in the arches. Got a nice long weekend to play in the garage !!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0008.jpg

The cesaro alloys have not been touched yet but these are getting done next week. Still await two tyres from ebay and then I can get them fitted and put on .

Should be sorted in a couple of weeks.

Joff

[DW-Nova]

Looks good, been done really quickly too. you all happy with the paintwork?

[ade]

thats a really nice job!

[burgo]

top stuff joff

[joff-turbo-nova]

Looks good, been done really quickly too. you all happy with the paintwork?

Yep - they have done a really good job - can't reall fault any of the panels , even the slam panel which was really scabby with rust to begin with.

Just about to kick of the rebuild as I have been side tracked into "House" jobs in the last couple of days.

Nice and snowy here today so I will be in the garage all day!

Joff

[Mrs Joff-Turbo-Nova]

You said: I have been side tracked into "House" jobs in the last couple of days.

Who's bright idea was it to move our son into the bigger spare room???:p

Enough of that ...

Paint work looks superb! Austin's done a fine job. Joff's just found a few patches of rust. Major patches around the petrol cap and in the spare wheel well. He's not a happy bunny (despite our easter egg hunt this morninglol !) So in good taking care of the man in the garage tradition, I've made him a nice cup of tea so that he can chill out:thumb:

Mrs JTN

[joff-turbo-nova]

Update on todays work putting the corsa back together.

Firstly I got the two clusters out as I wanted to waxoyl in the inner wings and I am glad (in a way) that I did !!!

Found round the filler neck area that there was a large crusty patch of rust which was letting water from the wheel arch into the inner wing and causing more rust!!!

After lots of poking, grinding, rust treatment, hammerite and waxoyl I think I have the measure of it - it won't be leaking again !!!

Also found some of the wheel well drain holes had rotted so I cut these out and as they were quite near the petrol tank I fibreglassed the holes up and then hammerited which should give a good permanent fix as long as nobody tries to jack the back end on the wheel well !!!! ( I don;t and would expect anyone else too!!!

Splashed waxoyl over the rear panel and put the bumper back on and both arch trims and waxoyled in the arches to prevent any further rusting!!


Rebult the tailgate - got the grab handle colour coded whilst at the spray shop. Also attached the rear spoiler using some sikoflex (not good at coming off your hands!!) and held in place with a polystyrene tube and maskin tape whilst it bonded...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0021.jpg

Also got the tint spray out on the rear clusters as I thought the indicator and reverse parts were a bit on the bright side ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0023.jpg

And here's a pic of one of the rear arches all sorted , even got some hammerite on the rear drum !!!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0024-1.jpg

Will be working on the front tomorrow - hopefully no suprises here !

Joff

[RYAN16V]

H Mate

Where did you get the car painted?

I need someone good to do a full paint including cutting and welding 2 ull Sills and 2 Rear Arches?

Price ??

Regards

Ryan

[joff-turbo-nova]

H Mate

Where did you get the car painted?

I need someone good to do a full paint including cutting and welding 2 ull Sills and 2 Rear Arches?

Price ??

Regards

Ryan

Austin at Bridlington Car Care Centre did the work - same chap as my Nova 888 - 01262 401000

Located here : - Birdlington Care Care Centre (http://maps.yell.com/client/yell/?&nat_id=1017270&qs=YO15+3DT&sl=false&storePC=YO15+3DT&ssm=0&companyName=Bridlington+Car+Care+Centre&clarifyIndex=&clarifyOptions=&replayURL%2Fucs%2FUcsSearchAction.do%3FcompanyName %3Dbridlington%2Bcar%2Bcare%2Bcentre%26M%3D0%26ssm %3D0%26location%3Dbridlington%26scrambleSeed%3D909 96975%26potential%3D0%26NSL1%3D%26NSLINDEX1%3D%26N SL2%3D%26NSLINDEX2%3D#)

Cheers

Joff

[joff-turbo-nova]

Righty-o ,

Started on the front end this morning - stripped the headlamps and bonnet off as I needed to put the lower grille in and needs to waxoyl behind the headlamps ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0031.jpg

Got all the bumper built up and put in the headlamps with the HID's now fully working on a H4 hi/low kit (very bright!) and the slatted style grille (don't like the V grilles any more!) ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0033.jpg

I started to tidy up the arches ready for waxoyling - the passenger side wasn't bad - just a few scabs of rust which wire brushed off and I then treated with rust eater and then hammerited .

However the driverside was a different story , here's what I found .....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0035.jpg

Basically on at the bottom of the chassis leg a large bulge of rust had appeared - on digging out the rust most of the chassis leg disintergrated and on further investigation this went all the way round the leg to where it meets the floorpan - here;s a better pic.....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0036.jpg

Well , out with the grinder - cut out all the bad metal - got some sheet metal cut to size and welded in a new plate ......

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0037.jpg

I then rust treated and hammerited all the other areas and then gave both arches a waxoyling to stop this happening again for quite a while!

Put it all back together and that was it for the day .......

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0038.jpg

Will need to put the arch liners in once the waxoyl has hardened off a bit and also need to put the 4 door cards on and give the whole interior a valet (as its covered in dust) and the exterior paintwork needs a good polish!

I'm off for a week from this Saturday coming so will have some time to sort it then!

Joff

[DW-Nova]

Good progress mate, a nasty little bit of rot in there though hey. at least it's sorted now, out ouf interest why didnt you weld a plate into the boot floor instead of fibreglassing it?

[ade]

as above - lucky you spotted that hole - good fix!

[Ash]

Also found some of the wheel well drain holes had rotted so I cut these out and as they were quite near the petrol tank I fibreglassed the holes up and then hammerited

Im assuming welder + petrol = big bang and no more Joff

Good work Joff, nasty little suprise there tho.

[Adam]

New paint looks well.

Nasty rust there, Corsa's always rust there too.

[joff-turbo-nova]

Good progress mate, a nasty little bit of rot in there though hey. at least it's sorted now, out ouf interest why didnt you weld a plate into the boot floor instead of fibreglassing it?


Im assuming welder + petrol = big bang and no more Joff

Good work Joff, nasty little suprise there tho.

Yep, correct, I didn't fancy having to drop the tank and all the fuel lines and as it was in a non-structural , non-critical area, 6 layers of fibreglass is sufficiently strong enough .

My back really aches today :wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

Joff

[DW-Nova]

Not trying to cause an argument here but you would have been fine with welding up the boot floor without stripping fuel lines or the tank etc, plenty of clearance. Nevermind, upto you eh. So is it all back together and driving now then? any more plans, or just put back to use as the daily driver again?

[joff-turbo-nova]

. So is it all back together and driving now then? any more plans, or just put back to use as the daily driver again?


Just need to sort out the following at some point over the next week or so :-

- Arch liners to put back in
- Rubbing strips on the sides
- Corsa badge on the back
- Cesaro alloys to go on
- Door cards to put back on
- New wiper & indicator stalks
- Full valet inside & out

It will be a daily driver for my wife so won't be changing the suspension or engine.

Joff

[RYAN16V]

Austin at Bridlington Car Care Centre did the work - same chap as my Nova 888 - 01262 401000

Located here : - Birdlington Care Care Centre (http://maps.yell.com/client/yell/?&nat_id=1017270&qs=YO15+3DT&sl=false&storePC=YO15+3DT&ssm=0&companyName=Bridlington+Car+Care+Centre&clarifyIndex=&clarifyOptions=&replayURL%2Fucs%2FUcsSearchAction.do%3FcompanyName %3Dbridlington%2Bcar%2Bcare%2Bcentre%26M%3D0%26ssm %3D0%26location%3Dbridlington%26scrambleSeed%3D909 96975%26potential%3D0%26NSL1%3D%26NSLINDEX1%3D%26N SL2%3D%26NSLINDEX2%3D#)

Cheers

Joff

So what sort of price we talking fully painted?

Regards

Ryan

[DW-Nova]

Yeh if you dont mind me asking, how much did they charge for the respray?

[joff-turbo-nova]

Yeh if you dont mind me asking, how much did they charge for the respray?

With the extra work cutting and welding the sill up plus all the prep work on the panels full customer should have been about ?1100 . There was 30 hours labour plus ?250 of materials.

Update

Put all the door cards back on today and gave the interior a full valet - wet vaxed the seats (you wouldn't believe how much muck was in the seats!) plus cleaned all the dash and carpets.

Awaiting some new mats and some stainless steel sill trims off the 'bay'

Gave the outside a good wash - just need to get some megs on it to give it a good shine.

Still awaiting the tyres from ebay for the cesaros - hopefully will be here this week.

Basically nearly finished - need to put the rubbing strips back on and the badges on the back.

Cheers

Joff

[Adam]

Joff-What thickness of steel did you use to repair the chassis leg???

[joff-turbo-nova]

Joff-What thickness of steel did you use to repair the chassis leg???

The steel was about 1mm thick - quite heavy duty but needed it in that area.

Update :-

Picking up the Cesaro's today - will post some pics later of the results.

Joff

[joff-turbo-nova]

Picked up the wheels today .... well three of them ..... one of my tyres had a small hole in the tyre wall so will need a replacement tyre .... so will sort this next week.

Here are the 3 ready to go on .....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0064_resize.jpg

Bit of a trade mark this .... same colour as the alloys on the Nova !

Should be on the corsa next weekend.

Joff

[novacabrio]

Vectra GSI alloys in back ground?

[sport]

Is the corsa all built back up now?

[joff-turbo-nova]

Vectra GSI alloys in back ground?

Yep , mk1 Vectra GSI alloys to go on the estate - just picked them up today from being acid dipped - guess what colour they will be lol lol lol

Joff

[joff-turbo-nova]

Is the corsa all built back up now?

Yep - just need the alloy sorted and a new arch trim for the passenger side (some git pulled the old one off) and I'll do a mini photo session!

Joff

[hendrix]

jesus joff, them wheels look amazing!!!!! Never thought they would look like that. Who did them for you?? Also can you pm me about the spare centre caps please.

[Nova_Loon]

lol nice to see a 5 door Not My Fink Really Love 3 Doors But Wot Wood Be A Sick If It Had A 3.0 V6 Put In It Have Fun Wive The project tho

[joff-turbo-nova]

jesus joff, them wheels look amazing!!!!! Never thought they would look like that. Who did them for you?? Also can you pm me about the spare centre caps please.

Hendrix,

The alloys were in a sorry state as you know. I got a mate who works at Kinnersleys in Hull to acid dip them to bring it down to bare alloy.

They were then sanded to get rid of any oxidisation and then resprayed at Brid Care Car jsut after the corsa was done.

A lot of graft and they have come up looking :D :D :D !!!

As for the centre caps, the ones I had were the wrong size - ended up buying new ones (at a discount) from a Vauxhall dealer in Oxfordshire who had some spare stock as these are NLS.

Will take some pics once they are on the corsa.

Cheers

Joff

[joff-turbo-nova]

Taken today - was washed yesterday but not polished .....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/PICT0023a.jpg

Just needs the arch trim and some badges on the back and its sorted!

Joff

[Ste L]

look's ace that..

need more pic's :cool:

[joff-turbo-nova]

December 2008 update :


Well the little scroaty scumbags round my area seem to have been busy last night - this is what greeted me at 7am this morning - it actually happened at 11pm last night but wasn;t much I could really do about it then!!
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/damage1a.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/damage2a.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/damage3a.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/damage4a.jpg
On closer inspection the door is beyond repair due to the amount of force used to pull it back. Fortunatley the OE alarm went off and scared the buuggers away without having chance to steal anything !
There has been a spate of corsa thefts and break ins in the Humberside area thanks to this article giving all the local scroats an idea :-
Hull Daily Mail (http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/environment/Car-thieves-targeting-Vauxhall-Corsas/article-406704-detail/article.html)
Anyway a quick trip to a local vauxhall breakers and lighter by £47 and an afternoon off work and things are nearly back to normal :-

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/newdoor1a.jpg
I am now installing PIR lights for the drive - gggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :mad::mad::mad:

Joff

[Plug]

unlucky mate at least they didnt take anyting thou

[blue_peg_16v]

theaving scum bags not a good feeling, never forget the day i got home from a long week working away mi dad picked mi up from the train station to give me a lift home and as we went down my street to turn round to drop me off i saw the loon an there were 2 tyres on the boot lid which were in the boot when i left they had nicked the stereo mi front bumper and smashed the wind screen when they tryed to break the disc lock off swear by disk lock now wa still on there and took me and mi dad 2 hours 2 get off cos theyd made such a mess of it, should have there fookin hands cut off

[meritlover]

i hope the old door matches the new paint ok.

iam sorry to see the theives made you sad after all your hard work :(

[joff-turbo-nova]

i hope the old door matches the new paint ok.

iam sorry to see the theives made you sad after all your hard work :(

Paint matches spot on so no problems there !

A few more maintenence problems - started running a bit rough so changed the following one by one :-


leads
plugs
dispack
Coolant temp sensor
MAP sensor
crank sensor
lambda sensor
air intake temp sensorWas stilling not running right so have put a blanking plate on the EGR :-


First job get a new gasket from Vauxhall - about £2 ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank1.jpg

Next job source some suitable plate metal .....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank2.jpg

.... and use the gasket as a template .....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank3.jpg

... and cut out and shape , file and drill so that it matches the gasket exactly ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank4-1.jpg
... or you can get them from Vauxhall .....

http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/2520/mvc789s.jpg

.... next job is to go to the car and remove in the following order , battery , fuel pipes and servo vacume pipe then coolant expansion tank and you should be left with this - the EGR is circled .....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank5.jpg

....and here it is closer up ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank5a.jpg

It has two T45 torx bolts (well my engine did!) , the near side is easy to get to, the offside is nigh on impossible - you have to do it by feel - lots of trial & error .

With the EGR now removed you can see where it sits on the inlet manifold ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank6.jpg

... and here it is closer up - you can see the far bolt hole ....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank6a.jpg

... then put the plate next to the EGR, new gasket and bolt back to the manifold.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/joff-turbo-nova/blank7.jpg

Put the plug back in the top and put all the fuel and vacume lines back on tight, put the expansion tank in and replace the battery.

I am finding that it is running a lot smoother on both idle and part revs travelling 40-50 mph .

The ECU light comes on after a period of hard acceleration when you back off, but goes back off again when you turn the ignition off.

Any questions let me know !

Joff