Liam's Nova X16XE Project

[Liam]

Some nice parts there mate, similar to what I'll be buying for my underside/front end rebuild

Good stuff of parts, im waiting for the rebuild

Seats are very nice. Very nice collection of parts too.

Looking good Liam!

As always Liam, The cars looks absolutely mint! I still regret selling you those wheels! they look awsome!
Keep up the progress dude..

Dion.

Cheers for the positive comments guys! Don't worry, i'm about to update now and there should hopefully be a fair few more in the coming weeks!!

Stonechipping the underside after paint! Sounds scary! Nice collection of parts, I like the cage gusset things

Cheers. It shouldn't be too scary. I'll make sure all of the exterior paintwork is covered up beforehand. I would have liked to have done it before it was painted but it was all a bit of rush! That's the only thing with it being a daily! But since October it hasn't been so I can spend more time on it. My only deadlines are the summer shows and a sneeky 'little' photoshoot...

Nice little collection. Are you planning on doing the whole underside and up in the arches with the Gravitex? If so you will need a bit more. I used 5,5l on mine.

Also, trial fit both of the seats. I bought and sold a set of Pro2000's as they were too wide for the car.

I shall only be doing the underside so hopefully should be OK!! The arches were hammerited last year so as far as I am concerned they're fine. I did think about that with the seats as they do look a little wide!! If they don't fit it won't be a problem as it means I'll be able to sell them on and make a hefty profit!! I would ideally like a nice set of black/red Cobra Imolas but they hardly come up for sale in near mint condition and I can't afford NEW prices.

Plans sound good

What rear brace is that?

Thanks! I'm not sure what make it is but it is for sale anyway! The bloke who welded my cage plates in has made me one out of T45 tubing so the ally one has no use now!!

[Liam]

Ok right, been fairly busy the past couple of weeks!!

Firstly, I received my Mocal oil cooler, sandwich plate and fittings.





Then it was time to get the car ready to have the cage fitted / spreader plates made and welded in.

So first I set about removing the underseal and sound deadening from the top/bottom where the cage will sit.








I then got a friend to come over and make some spreader plates for the cage and weld them all in. He's been doing rally/rallycross cars all his life and has worked for the likes of Will Gollop and Ford M Sport so knows his stuff!! He's also built a fair few Nova rally cars in his time including a a couple or 3 genuine Sports!!

Anyway, I helped him out and we set about making the plates.

[Liam]

Then, with the help of Connor (you can probably spot him ) we managed to get the fuel tank out ready for the welding and so I can paint it/underseal.







And that brings us to today when Iain came back whilst I was at work and welded the plates in including the front platforms that he had made.








That's all for now!! The Nova was booked in to have the inside and bits painted this week but the cage took a little longer than expected. So, over the next few evenings I'll spend some time prepping the inside ready for paint. Hopefully, within the next week or two it should be ready for paint. I can then get it back, get the cage painted and fitted and then tackle the underside under sealing, painting and powder coating parts!!

[L33 LEG]

Excellent progress and plans

I'm sure it'll look immaculate again soon.

[Liam]

Excellent progress and plans

I'm sure it'll look immaculate again soon.

Cheers Lee, I'm hoping that too

Or even to be able to drive it again would be nice!!

[Liam]

I had no college today so decided to get all of the sound proofing residue off. I first smothered it all in white spirits and let it all soak for a couple of monutes. I then went over it all lightly with a scraper and only needed to put pressure on a couple of bits.

Should hopefully start rubbing it down during the evening and should then be ready for paint sometime next week.

[Southie]

Nice progress it's going to look great, what college course are you doing?

[Liam]

Nice progress it's going to look great, what college course are you doing?

Cheers mate. I'm doing an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic so go to college one day a week.

I would have liked to have stuck with the web design but it's just too competitive these days!!

[Liam]

Ok, I really should update this more often but never get the time!

Anyway, the Nova is booked in to have the inside and other bits painted on the 28th of this month. Now, the first car show of the car (BHP Show at Lydden Hill) is the following Monday so god knows whether the Nova will be there

Firstly, following on from my last update I got my dashboard and other bits back from being flocked by Prey. Again, he has a splendid job and I would highly recommend him and his work!






I then tried polishing my Bailey header tank using a polishing wheel a number of times but couldn't get a perfect finish as it had pitted slightly here and there... so out came the wrinkle paint...





I then started on piecing the front end back together so set about fitting the new radiator, fan and trial fitting the oil cooler...

[Liam]

This then brings us to last Saturday where I managed to bring the Nova down to where I work, get it up on the 2 post ramp and underseal the underside. I decided to go for Gravitex black. The underside was actually pretty good with no actual rust, just a bit of surface here and there. To be honest, I only Gravitex'd it to freshen it up a bit and make it all look a little neater!

Here's some pictures of how it went: