little engine..big ambition.

[nova_Tom]

So i have finaly got round to starting up my project page. So the story so far:
-Purchased the car on Tuesday 4th March, of private seller. I passed my driving test in january, and iv been bugging my dad about getting a car ever since then. I was told the same thing everyday, just wait and the right car will come along. And he wasnt wrong.
-When i got the car i was a bit anxious, due to the fact that i basicaly learnt to drive in a early 2000 Toyota Yaris Desiel. So you could imagine my shock when i got into the car and i notice this knobe, with a huge C on it. lol i didnt have a clue. but that last last tuesday, and almost a week on (and i only got my insurance on friday) im finaly getting used to running this old school beast.

So what is my car:
Model: Nova Trip (although it has Spin decals on the side ?)
Year: 1991
Engine Size: 993cc
Price: Cheap as chips at ?270.:thumb:

So what have i got planned:
With the car being a 1.0l obviously i have come to the conclusion to focus on the body of the car and leave the engine as it is. First things on my list are:
- A lowering kit/Springs, undecided as to how low, 40mm or 60mm?
- A nice set of alloys, nothing in your face, as i want to keep the car subtle
- A Gsi Bumper and sideskirt kit - no big plastic chav crap for me thank you
- And a nice sound system

Well thats all i have planned right now, but i no this is gonna change in a few weeks when i start to save money, and gets some inspiration of the other cars on this site.
Heres some piccys, they are a bit crap i know but i hope to get some better ones when the weather starts to look up.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/tommiboi07/2008_0308Camera0095.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/tommiboi07/2008_0308Camera0093.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/tommiboi07/2008_0308Camera0092.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/tommiboi07/2008_0308Camera0096.jpg

[Matt2107]

Looks nice and clean mate.

[Mike.]

novas in this colour seem to stay in great condition, looks really clean mate.

[nova_Tom]

Thanks guys, yeah i mean the bonnet (in the right light) looks a lil faded, but only slightly. deffo going to be keeping it this colour, love it. dont supose anyone could point me in the right direction for some 40mm or 60mm springs? on a tight **** budget lol. help is greatly appretiated. Theres a set on potn for ?63.95 i think. is this resonable?
thanks everyone

[7ova]

Hi mate
looks like you got a good nova there mate!
very clean
good luck with the plans :)

[Rich]

Looks good mate.

Personally i wouldnt just get springs, it will kill the standard shocks very quickly. Keep an eye out on ebay for a full kit. I picked up -60mm gmax shocks/springs kit brand new in box for 90quid.

[djshaggeh]

Thanks guys, yeah i mean the bonnet (in the right light) looks a lil faded, but only slightly. deffo going to be keeping it this colour, love it. dont supose anyone could point me in the right direction for some 40mm or 60mm springs? on a tight **** budget lol. help is greatly appretiated. Theres a set on potn for ?63.95 i think. is this resonable?
thanks everyone


Looking good mate. I also love the colour, its the same as mine. I got GSi bumpers and lowered 40mm.

http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91516

In my opinion novas look better with a 60mm drop. Mine doesnt look low enough at the back. However, I didnt have any back seats and nothing in the boot and your planning on having a sound system. So it may be best to go 40mm.

Also try and buy springs and shocks i.e apex or something similar buy second hand on the forum for about ?100. I have billstein rears and apex fronts and apex shocks. There about 5 years old, been on about 5 different cars and there still going strong.

The colour is miami blue as another member, Lee kindly informed me. Look out for his posts as he owns a miami blue nova.

Welcome!

[Lee]

Woot, another miami nova. :)

[ade]

Excellent find and what a bargin!

However I HATE putting a dampner on things but BEFORE you do ANY mods on the car check with your insurance company 1st!

I work in car insurance and see loads of policies voded for undeclared mods and the last thing you want to do is mod the car and have your insurer hit you with either a huge increase in premium (because youre still a new driver) OR cancel your insurance because they wont cover the car modded.

Most insurers will add a 5%-10% load on for bods mods, 10%-20% for suspension mods and check your audio excesses cover your plans for an upgraded stereo (most insurers go up to ?1k so shouldnt be a problem).

Your main issue is your making it look like a GSi so you may find they'll increase your theft excess also...

Be honest from the start and you'll be fine - dont think about not declaring your mods - a new driver with a voided policy doesnt go down well with pc plod!

[Lee]

Ade talks a lot of sence.

Oh, and i just noticed the awesome SPi sticker on the door. Someone at Vauxhall must have thought it was a good selling point at the time :)

[Iain]

It's 3/4 of a "SPIN" sticker dummy! lol

Nice little car, my first Nova was in that colour. Plans sound great too!

[nova_Tom]

Oh, and i just noticed the awesome SPi sticker on the door. Someone at Vauxhall must have thought it was a good selling point at the time :)

....lol - nice one mate lol

Djshaggeh - Thanks for the advice mate, i am looking at getting a whole new system now, considering i got half the forum telling me so (I crack under peer presure LOL) i think ill try and get a brand new one though, i no its stupid but i get really wary when buying second hand stuff (had my fair share of nock backs on fleabay:( )

Ade - I just thought id be able to get away with it, but you no i supose every body does. I will have to give the insurance a call soon then. But once again thanks for the heads up mate, i think im gonna have to sit down and work out what it is i actualy want, and then give them all the details. Thanks

Lainel - I just hope the plans go ahead as i want them to, as they say, where theres a will, theres a way.

And Lee.... well...w00t's ALL ROUND TO THE COLOUR MAAAAAN! lol. thanks for the comments, and was you being serious about the spi thingy? or was it a P-take lol.

Got out in the motor today, and it appears that the storm has left a few puddles to soak my feet in within the motor. If the weather holds up today i will try and at least work out where its coming from. Will post some piccys up, as i know for sure im gonna need everyones help.
Thanks Everyone for the comments. Will keep you up dated.

[J4MES]

Welcome, nice Nova...

Re: the water in footwells, check the battery tray...;)

[nova_Tom]

Welcome, nice Nova...

Re: the water in footwells, check the battery tray...;)

Im getting a sneaking suspition that this is common among novas?
Will deffinatly be looking at it later, the weather seems to be on my side :) Will get some pics up to show what i find. Thanks again james.:thumb:

[J4MES]

Yeah its a massive problem as is the rest of the car!! lol lol There is a drain hole there which gets blocked, water accumulates and the dreaded rust starts to munch...

[Lee]

It's 3/4 of a "SPIN" sticker dummy! lol


LMAO no sh1t lol

[nova_Tom]

Finaly got home from work and been out to look at the car. As some of you may have seen in other threads i have a little bit of a leak, well i say little, but i just picked up the mat and there was a small puddle lol. Was advised by some to look behind the battery as there may be a hole of some sort. I pop'd the bonnet and took some snaps. Theres quite a large hole going from besides the battery down into the footwell, which i think may have something to do with it, but there is also a bodged hole in the side of the door pannel where someone has wired a speaker through. thats all i could actualy see, but obviously their might be something completely differnet.Heres the piccys:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/tommiboi07/2008_0311Camera0001.jpg
993cc of pure supercar beating abilty there lol lol lol i kid, i kid.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/tommiboi07/2008_0311Camera0002.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/tommiboi07/2008_0311Camera0004.jpg
A close up of the hole i mentioned next to the battery.
So if anyone has any ideas or any sort of oppion/help, it is greatly appretiated..
Thanks everyone.:thumb:

[Leeboo]

I'm not sure why its leaking, but I'd take out the battery and grind down any surface rust if there is any and treat it:thumb:

[meritlover]

I'm not sure why its leaking, but.....

try the big-gaping-un-grommited-hole for starters :roll: :roll:



http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/tommiboi07/2008_0311Camera0002.jpg

[Leeboo]

I do know that the hole for the wires should have a gromit, but as there is no water lying in the battery tray, I am puzzled:wtf: :thumb:

[djshaggeh]

Try checking the rear washer pipe, irrc I managed to dissconnect the pipe in the passanger footwell of my mates nova by accident, thus corsing a leak and he wasnt too impressed.

[meritlover]

I do know that the hole for the wires should have a gromit, but as there is no water lying in the battery tray, I am puzzled:wtf: :thumb:

there is certainly evidence of water being in the tray.....
start with a grommit before you go replaceing door seals and welding floor pans.

[nova_Tom]

Thanks everyone for the advice, what should i use as the grommit? might sound like an obvious quetion to tell the truth. Would i need to go to a scrappy and get one or could i mock one up at home? Thanks again everyone.

[TIDGE]

nice project tom i have a 1litre trip as well

[djshaggeh]

Right, you can buy grommits from a local motor factors. Around here (about 25miles east of London) its Allparts. I know there is one in Watford coz I work for 'em. I dont know where abouts you are so I cant tell you if theres one local. But they should be able to help.

As for where its coming from, I would rip up the carpet and sound deadening where its coming from and have a ganders. Get it sorted sooner rather then later too as it will rust. Good luck!

[Plug]

Nice looking Car mate

[nova_Tom]

Another damper on the project appeared yesterday, just when i thought the leak was bad enough, it turns out the my hazard lights are broken :wtf: . I pulled out of a turning and, as you do, taped the hazards to say thank you to the person behind. Every thing seemed fine, untill i tried to turn them off. the switch wouldnt stay in, it just constantly poped out. Very fustrating. So i have turnt to using some thick tape, to try and hold it in, this works temporaraly, but it doesnt last, as soon as you break to a stop it pops out again. So you can imagin my fustration.
But what did i expect for a car that cost me ?270 ? you cant compain eh? :(
if ANYONE has ANY ideas, they are extremely welcome.
Thanks for the advice (again) lol.
Tom

[djshaggeh]

Sorry Tom not been here a while. The hazard swith is a common problem on the mk2s. Its easily sorted with a few different approaches. I found jamming a couple of coppers (coins not policemen) between the sides of the switch is a good temporary fix. Tape is good, irrc my mate kept a roll of it around his gearstick. These are just temporary, next time you have a spare few hours get yourself down a scrappy and find another mk2 nova and pocket the switch, it just pulls out. I think I have seen guides on how to wire in a normal toggle switch on these forums so have a search for that. Good luck and keep me updated!

?270 thats a bargain! I paid ?500 for mine with 52k on the clock!

[nova_Tom]

Wow so its been officaly 7 months since i last posted!?!? and what have i done? well to be honest, nothing, apart from installing some speakers and constantly cleaning her lol...
But as many a person has done befor me, i am now turning to you, the helpfull people of PNG for your friendly advice.
Ever since i have had the car i have had a small problem with my Air conditioning fans. When ever i turn them on, instead of getting a nice quiet breeze, what i get is a loud-screaming-banshy-wannabe sound comming out of the fans. Now i have a feeling that their might be something stuck, but obviously being in-experienced, i dont really wonna start taking things apart, with out some advice...
So have any of you guys suffered from this sort of thing before?
Oh and if there is anyone here with a pov spec nova, do you have a ciggy lighter in yours? now iv had some people tell me that in the poverty spec models (the trip/spin etc. ones) they didnt come with a ciggerette lighter installed??
I took mine out today, and to my amazment there is no wire connecting to the actual ciggy lighter module (which to my suprise was from a ford?? loll)
But yeah i will stop going on now, so if you guys have any advice i would greatly appretiate it!
thanks again!

[djshaggeh]

The fans always squeek its a common thing, unfortunatly there isnt much you can do about it unless you want to take the dash out and replace/clean up the fans in the heater matrix. Taking out the dash is a pain in the **** ive heard. I could be wrong though.

My ciggy lighter has never worked but i took a look at it recently and mine was the same - both the connectors werent attached.

[nova_Tom]

damn! ah well ill just have to get myself a nice big jumper for winter then lol...na but if i get the time then ill give it a go lol..
Yeah thats the thing, my motor didnt even have the wires?? let alone having them attached lol...
How you been anyways mate, havent spoken to you in a while (i havent posted since march, but i have been watching the forums lol)
p.s just noticed that the above may sound a little stalkerish lol...
p.p.s just made up a word.."stalkerish lol"

[nova_Tom]

Also just realised that i over use the expression "L O L" ...

[nova_Tom]

Ah just thought id check by on this site as i havent had a comp for a while...well the nova is officaly gone.. sold it a few weeks back, as im going uni..Hopefully it will serve him as well as it has served me..such a good car!!

Thanks for all of your help over the course of having the car, had so many laughs...

[AlexW]

:( shame

[dj_wudgey]

well looks pretty tidy mate!! look after her!!