Nova track day build history (56k warning)

[nova---chris]

Ok alot of people already know the car. But ive not done a full progress thread on how the car came to life.
Firstly i owned my first ever car Nova 1.4 sr which after only 12 months turned into a 2l 8v twin 45 nova. Then had all the usual upgrades until i found a nice place called velos. Rolling road place which i then paid to build my first ever valver. Ran 200bhp once done. not bad considering id only been on the road about 3 to 4 years. . But after so long the shell started to have its problems coping and a few mates cp/dan/stu kept having to peice it back together. After so long i decided to break it. Someone pointed me towards a very mint shell which already had a roll cage fitted. a few phone calls later and it was purchased. Went up to fetch the shell. It was totaly bare. no running gear nothing. completley naked! the nova project was born! Went and fitted my old rear beam and front struts and transported it home







As you can see the base was perfect for the project i had planned. No rust on the shell. It had the HH kit already plated in. Also seat rails had been pre welded and all boxed in. Just had to finish a few ends of which my mate did quite easy with the welder.

The roll cage is 6 point and has been tagged to the car body for extra stength. Also rear brace was pre welded . nice!

[nova---chris]

Next was deciding which way to go with the car. Decided it would still be a 2 litre so the engine was kept. (come back to that later) Decided a fully stripped out racer was on the cards due to the nature of the shell. So work started.

Firstly decided a dash was going to be needed due to the wiring that needed to be hidden. So opted for a corsa dash. We had the luck of finding a nice nova gte in a scrap yard and decided we needed the full loom. Only problem being car was on the top pile. but we wasnt to be beaten. We also opted to go with the corsa epas column. So we purchased those and set about fitting them.

[nova---chris]

Fitting the epas is a bit of trouble as the cylinder on the column sits where the nova fuse box is. So decided we would relocate the fuse box to cancel this problem out.

The column bracket had to be cut of and re welded with extra support. Bit of hassle as you need to get the dash in to make sure it all fits well and lines up. But we got there in the end. (also the corsa epas needs a modded ecu to work correctly on the nova) Again this will be mentioned later in the thread. We also made a start on the loom wiring ect.

[nova---chris]

As you see above the dash fits just right after much messing about. Alot of the dash has to be cut out and also reshaped to fit against the nova window line.

We also started bolting in the seat brackets. Made sense at this point so everything could be tested for reach ect and correct heights. Oh the joys of mods. nothing ever fits !

Anyhow the wiring started coming together. A new fuse box was orderd and lots of crimp bits ready to relocate the fuse box.

Anyhow with the dash fitted and fusebox re wired this was how it looked. we used a acewell motorbike dash for a display. works quite well tbh. had to modify the fuel tank sender but not that hard.

[nova---chris]

On the inside i also opted for a hydraulic handbrake instead of the usual cable operated. Should make for a touch more fun in those tight twisties.



On the suspension side i opted for front leda coil overs with camber bolts and stuck with my avo rear ajustable shocks ' Had some custom springs made to 90mm for the rear.




On top of this i opted for solid top mounts (concenctric)
The rear beam has the rear disc conversion fitted so that didnt have to be touched. Brakes were piped in using internal copper brake lines with end flexi hoses. And stuck with a standard master for now until a bias box becomes available.

[nova---chris]

The next step was to sort out the brakes . what calipers to use and what pads and discs.
Decided to go with the v6 setup but use some ferrodo DSC-2500 race pads and went for some fiat coupe 16v discs which were grooved. All together it worked out quite well.



goodridge braided hoses were used with the calipers too.

[nova---chris]

Anyhow with suspension fitted and brakes all on the shell was rolling. complete with dash in and column.
We also used a quaife quick rack with the epas column. 2.5 turns lock to lock i beleive.

So next the attention turned to the engine bay. The engine was fitted and car ran for a short while but the engine was later pulled out for a rebuild and decided to alter the bay as you will see.

first things first the battery wall was removed. But carefull not to cut to far. saved having to weld it back together.
Grinder did it fine and quick. then just a touch of smoothing. Then it was of round the unit to blast over the engine bay. this was done around midnight. !

[nova---chris]

so the bay was blasted clean. And decisions to be made on the engine were next. Rebuild it / what spec / xe or let / but to be honest it just sort of happend . And cost me more than i ever imagined !



so first the engine was taken out and stuck on the stand and work started. Strip the thing to death first and see how it was.







When the engine was stripped we found the bores had shined and the previous rings hadnt bedded. looked like bore wash had taken place. The engine had previously given of oil smoke which looking at this isnt suprising. But everything else had held up well considering. So the rebuild started.
We stripped the engine right back and got a new block. Block was bored out to .5mm larger and re honed. The carbs were sold on with the dta ignition management leaving me without any induction! !

[nova---chris]

The block was taken to the engineshop in birmingham for the work. Also the head was taken to be overhauled and tested. Anyhow the block was fitted with accralite 86.5mm intruder pistons and rings. The rods were already shot peened and deseamed . All shells and seals were replaced. The crank was checked over and seemed fine. That was balanced of.






As you see the engine came together rather quickly. Vernier pulleys were purchased .
The Head was machined earlier on by velos (no longer going) and ported ect ect.






To be continued

[Martin]

Mint,


Nice shiny block what paint isit?