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Jan 25, 2014 22:15:40 GMT
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I thought I might pop up my current Nova projects, my Carlton projects are done or in line at the moment. First up with have the Nova Estate... yes estate! I have only just picked this one up off a friend who converted it. Currently it's engine-less, needs a little welding and a decent paint job. My plan is to fit a 1.5 or 1.7TD Isuzu lump (need to source one) and make it my daily driver: This car will be put on the road after the 2.0 16v GSi is finished. Next up is the RWD saloon. Originally I built it adapting the original suspension design to a RWD format, at the time I didn't know much about suspension design and subsequently the project was abandoned Here was one of my favourite pics: That was 5 years ago, after learning a shed load whilst building the Carlton estate I took a look back at the Nova saloon and realised I would need a totally different approach. To that end I purchased a Ginetta G27 kit car chassis: The idea is to build up the kit car chassis to the correct dimensions then then lower the Nova's outer skin onto that chassis. This way as long as I get the weight in the right places it's going to work like a charm! Although this is the most interesting and fun project it is also at the back of the list due to it's complexity. The last one is not really my car but one I am building for my mum!! As a family we had Novas as family cars and my first 3 cars were Novas, like me she loves them and commissioned me to build her a retirement car. After much discussion we settled on a styling design and a rather long list of goodies for it. She wanted a 3dr Hatch with GSi styling, a powerful yet economic engine, leather calibra (heated) seats, black/blue interior styling, digital dials, power steering, a decent alarm/immobiliser with remote central locking, decent stereo and speakers without the use of a sub in the boot and finally firm but not hard suspension that corners well. This project thread is in chronological order as and when I work on any of these cars starting with a back-dated log from the PNG forum. Enjoy! The story of SEFIt all started with my first decent Nova, an F-reg GTE with the number plate 'F47 SEF' (factory issued) back in early 2001: After an 8 month stint without really doing anything to him I rear ended a Cav GSi :roll: I managed to twist the chassis of the Cav but surprisingly the use of a front strut brack and a totally rotton front cross member made a sort of energy absorbing front end lol. The nova needed nothing more than a new front end. Whilst a new front end went on it was decided it was time for an XE (don't ask me why it was a good idea to install a more powerful engine considering I couldn't really handle a 100bhp 1.6 8v). Anyway it worked out for the best and a modding streak led to a C20LET and loads of mods that back then were rare (Cav shifter, electric sunroof, windows and wing mirrors): SEF went through 3 F20 gearboxes in 8 months before a major issue occurred. I was coming back from Southend cruise (ahhh memories) and I went round a corner quite hard, I straightened up and the steering felt vague. The next day I found both front suspension turrets had cracked from top to bottom and on one side the only thing holding the turret together was the factory turret strengthening tops :eek: It was at this stage decided to put the plate on retention and break the car to recoup money to pay off the credit card I used to build the damn thing Recently I wanted to revive SEF and my love for Novas. I sourced a 3dr shell in great condition and a donor XE Calibra: I am not sure the XE build will be very interesting, let's face it there are so many of the buggers about!! But it will have a few choice and somewhat unique mods that may interest people. One is the use of an Astra turbo F23 gearbox (cable shift and hydraulic clutch), Z20LET oil cooler (sits on the back of the block and uses coolant to cool the oil), Corsa-B electric power steering and the use of Corsa-C 1.8SRi rear hubs and discs.
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 22:17:32 GMT
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Update: After weighing in the calibra donor I managed to get a little prep work done on the XE, I fitted the Z20LET oil cooler, refitted the inlet manifold with modded coolant pipes and cleaned the unit up. So far the only downside is that the ICV needs relocating which to be fair isn't a bad thing Update: After moving the shell (which is quite hard when both front hubs are off at Harry Hockley motorsport being converted) I stripped the front end and got to work. I chopped off the N/S front mount brackets and popped the engine in the bay, I am making most of the mounts but I have a phase 2 corsa-b O/S front mount to cut up for parts. The gearbox was a bit of an ****, the shifter arms that the cables connect to foul the chassis rail. So after some chopping I got the engine to sit correctly but I only managed to cook up the O/S engine mount before running out of time. The rest is held up with wood blocks until next weekend. This is the N/S mount, similar to the F28 one basically. It's not actually fitted... it's wedged in place lol It's be a bit tight back there: Update: Only a days work done today as I was playing Airsoft on Saturday. I managed to get the engine sitting nicely on all it's own engine mounts: front gearbox mount: With the front mounts done I jacked the rear of the box up until the back of the box was almost kissing the rack gaiter: Cooked up the basic rear mount: Obviously all 3 mounts need bracing and cleaning up but for now this will do. Next I wanted to see how bad the shift cable length situation was Don't need this but there is something wrong with cutting good metal out of a Nova: I made a hole in the very top front of the tunnel and popped the cables in place: Tight but clears: Removed the factory shifter metal, welded the plate up and added some mounts for the shifter: Bolted up, cable length isn't too bad at all! and finally a bit of porn:
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 22:20:07 GMT
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Bit of work today The Harry Hockley motorsport hubs turned up yesterday which meant I could put the car on it's wheels and move it With the car in a better position in the unit, I removed the engine and trimmed the N/S/F engine mount bracket: I swapped the original Calibra C20XE half shaft for a Z20LET one, I would like to make out I did it because it's stronger etc... but it was purely because the C20XE half shaft bearing was worn a bit Pimpin' ICV relocation: I decided to go with a conventional alternator setup seeing as the car isn't for me anymore, instead of taking a sledge hammer to the chassis rail like I did on the original car I went all fancy: As shot of the home brew engine mounts, they still need bracing and cleaning up: A bit of artwork from Ben @ TTV racing, real shame no one will actually get to see the thing: I wanted to check that the chassis rail work was sufficient to clear the alternator and also some tweaks I made to the N/S chassis rail for the gearbox so I popped the engine back in to see: Just enough clearance! I can't say the same about the bottom pulley though: That's that scratched then! Obviously the engine sits over a few mm more than off the shelf kits offer but it was nessesary for the gearbox to clear the N/S chassis rail Update: N/S chassis all plated up: O/S rail all plated up and painted (inc the notch for the bottom pulley) N/S all painted: Update: More chopping and welding and the original shifter rod hole is adapted to carry the shifter cables: Steering rack gets a corsa-b rack mount and some modded poly rubbers: With the chassis rails and the bulkhead done I popped the engine back in to check everything fitted (getting good at this now): The shifter cable angle here is perfect: Not ideal inside though: Engine back out and some painting: Nice clear tunnel for the exhaust: Using a Shultz gun with waxoil canisters (got the gun and 6 canisters for £30 delivered!) I filled all the cavities in the forward part of the chassis - no pictures but it got a little messy to say the least!! Because I am using eccentric top mounts I needed to enlarge the top mount centre hole: Strengthening plates welded on and suspension test fitted: Painted: Grinder attacked, the chunk that flew off cracked me in the gut too: I started to work on the rear brake lines, running rear discs (Corsa-C SRi gear waiting to be fitted) meant I needed an adjustable bias valve to reduce the pressure on those brakes. I removed the factory bias valves and removed their internals, I then joined the two rear lines together (yes before anyone says it I have by doing so removed the factory dual circuit) so I can run a single line to the rear of the car: I reinstalled part of the tunnel's upper plate whatever you call it, reason being it will hold the carpet's shape, offer mounting for the bottom of the dash, centre console and the bias valve: Next up was the pedal box, I needed to mod it to take a hydraulic master cylinder: I modded the original clutch cable hole: I fitted a Corsa-B epas column, surprisingly it almost fits! It bolts up to the front bracket fine but I had to take a hammer to the upper bulkhead a bit so the motor doesn't rub against it. I then cooked up a rear bracket:
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 22:21:41 GMT
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Little update: Corsa-B EPAS steering setup and modded pedal box all bolted up: Hydraulic feed line to the clutch master cylinder: Engine mounts strengthened, painted and engine fitted Hydraulic clutch pressure line connects up perfectly: Update: Been a messy weekend, I really do hate CV joint grease!! Strut tops in place: Bolting up the suspension components: The N/S is completely bolted up and with the coilovers in place but without springs I simulated different ride heights: Lotus discs come out of their boxes, didn't order drilled ones but meh: Discs and wheels bolted on, I do need spigot rings made up - does anyone know where I could get some cooked up?? Being a tart the first thing I did was take it to the extreme: Not that this would work as the shocker is maxed out: front control arm clears the gearbox ok: Even with the stupid driveshaft angles it clears the chassis rail with room to spare: Fruity camber: At 50% of the shocker's travel the ride height is respectable: The driveshaft angle is perfectly flat, wishbone and steering arms are spot on too: The coolant pipes are coming along: Due to the gearbox front mount the Nova bottom coolant pipe fouls, the original XE calibra one is a perfect fit (I will buy a silicone version in due course):
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 22:24:17 GMT
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Update: I have built all the coolant pipes up, it's pretty mental and tight but everything clears fine: Servo vacuum line all made up and fitted, also the ICV relocation gets a bracket to hold it securely in place (I used a modified secondary water pump holder from a Z20LET): Then the heater matrix return hose goes on: Then the heater matrix feed completes silicone valley: It's the details, a p-clip to hold the hydraulic clutch line in place: New fuel lines using plastic and marine grade rubber: Intake hose: Update: The Leda coilovers are designed to be left unpainted, however these had developed little rust 'blisters' on the body so I decided to put some paint on them: Bolted up: I am running Cally turbo front brakes and am using Lotus Elise front discs which offer almost identical dimensions and the same stud pattern. In fact the only real difference is the centre bore which is 60mm as opposed to the Nova's 56.6mm. A quick nose on egay found alloy wheel centre bore adaptors from 56.6 to 60.1mm, simply pop directly onto hub: Then disc pops over them: Calipers were stripped and painted, still need to order some pads. It's a road car that won't see the track so want pads that offer high initial bite, any suggestions?? Not happy about the wheel weights on this alloy - I checked myself it's not buckled at all so I can only theorise the tyre is to blame?? I got all excited about putting her on her feet for the first time, after I set up the ride height and tracking I got the height I wanted: No idea on drop, 60mm maybe??? Anyway check out the driveshaft angle: I love it when a plan comes together! Thanks to the top mounts and the adjustable camber on the coilovers I got a healthy clearance between the tyre and the spring seat: At this point the only annoyance is the steering lock, the tyres rub on the inner arches/gearbox end plate. The only two solutions I can think of are to weld up the last tooth at each end of the steering rack (means a lot of hassle removing and rebuilding the rack) or make some sort of lock-stops like the carltons run. Updatings!! First off lets start with some pimpin' blue seat belts: O/S wing being prepped, aerial hole welded up and the rough areas painted with rustoleum which is much better than hammerite: The height of the engine was causing issues with the standard throttle cable route so I opted for this: The next thing I wanted to look at was the relationship the EPAS motor would have with the Mk2 fuse box as there have been concerns on this thread: www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?204076-Corsa-Epas-in-to-a-mk2in addition in this thread it has been mentioned that although the Nova ignition barrel does fit it's at the wrong angle for the Nova column shroud to fit. Upon bolting the dash in I was confronted by a bigger issue, the epas column is angled too high so instead of coming out of the middle it is touching the top of the column hole: Although at this stage the interaction between the epas motor and the fuse box would be minimal, however the relays normally attached to the fuse box will need relocating: Armed with a brain high on monster energy drink I devised a solution that would correct the column angle and also relocate the ignition barrel so the shroud fits! The Corsa epas column front section has 3 bolts that attach it to the drive section, I removed the front section and compared it to the Nova's original outer casing: Here you can see the mounting plates for the car was in the same position on both columns, however when turned on their side the bracket itself has a height difference: This shows why the column sits high! With the epas column front section removed I am left with this: Anyway to correct both the column height issue and the ignition barrel angle the solution is pretty obvious - make a hybrid of the Nova and Corsa columns. Chop Nova column just as the collapsible section starts: Chop the end off the the Corsa column: The two sections ready to be welded: I turned the welder up to 'So you want to play a game' power level and let rip, I had to be careful that I had the angle straight and also the 3 bolt flange seems to be off-centre: I bolted it all together and it all lines up perfectly!! The dash, shroud and ignition barrel all look factory now today I spent an hour up the unit so I take a few pics of the modded parts bolted up: Being paranoid about anything sold to me through ebay I decided to test the epas column to see if it worked: A total bodge as you can see, the wiring is too thin and all the wires are just twisted together... still better than some installations i've seen though lol It works! I only went to 50% power to prevent overload of the wiring but even at 50% I can grab the steering hub and turn the wheel with two semi-flat tyres!
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 22:26:20 GMT
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Update: This weekend i continued work on on the corsa epas column and hit a major snag First off I wanted to see if the fuse box actually cleared the epas motor, I cut off the mounts at the back that hold the relays in place. The box fitted fine, in fact it cleared it with plenty of room! The wiring out the back touched the motor a bit but it's not tight against it, here it is attached to the dash: With dash bolted in: As you can see there is plenty of room, I have no idea how others have fitted their to warrant moving the fuse box :confused: Cheeky random pic of the radiator fan, I do like Kenlowe fans: Feeling chuffed with myself I decided to fit everything including the drivers seat for final testing.... and hit that snag. The steering lock will not engage and also when bolted up tight the wheel boss indicator cancelling metal lug thingy rubs badly against the plastic column end thingy. Technical stuff! It was a real ballache, I started off fixing the steering boss issue. The central rod needed to protrude out of the end about 5mm more but I couldn't retract the outer column sleeve as it would push everything back (shroud, ignition barrel) so they wouldn't clear the dash In fact the only way to get the extra centre rod length is to keep the front section outer sleeve in the same position and move the drive section forward 5mm. I had to cut the forward section away from the 3-bolt flange and shave a section out for adjustment, you can see a small gap near the flange - at this stage the front section is 'free floating' from the flange to allow for adjustment: The rear mount was loosened to allow for movement and I positioned the motor using wood and whatever else I could find, I did take this opportunity to twist the drive section to pivot the motor upward a little giving even more fuse box clearance :thumb: Then I slid the drive section forward until the boss synced up with the plastic section at the front of the column: Problem sorted!! A nice fit all round: Next up was the steering lock, it works by having a spring loaded pin that locked into a hole on the centre rod. The hole was too far forward and moving the rod/drive section forward has only made it worse. Here is what I had to deal with: The only saving grace is that the section with the hole is twice as thick and is a kind of sleeve that is welded at one end, so it was simply a case of grinding off the welds and moving the sleeve down I remove the whole assembly and separated the drive section from the front, here you can clearly see the thicker section that houses the hole: Easy... simply grind down the weld at the front end and slide it down the shaft.... well no :tard: It turns out this is a compression section of the centre rod and the thicker outer sleeve is a bridge between the two outer rods :mad: Feeling like a bit of a dick for not realising beforehand a solution wasn't too far away... assuming I wasn't being a heavy handed oaf today.. which I was :wtf: First up I tapped the thicker sleeve down the bottom rod till the holes lined up: I then grabbed the old Nova centre rod out of it's column and chopped the end of: I milled it down till it was a tight fit into the corsa's thick sleeve.... in fact a special blend of 'I can't be arsed to mill this down a little more' and 'I will use a bigger hammer' killed the threads on the Nova's front rod.... :tosser::wall: Feeling pretty **** about the whole thing and with a few hours left I fitted what was left of the epas column into the car again and cooked up a crude mount for the Epas brain box: It bolts to the underside directly behind the motor, it's a bit tight under there but it does fit and won't be seen once the dash is in place Update: Progress is slow thanks to Xmas meals, the cold weather and general laziness. I have been working on the wiring both in the engine bay and cabin, I popped on the XE's loom and set about moving the bulkhead grommet to match the Nova... I really hate the blue tack stuff found here :roll: The +ive feed and ron plug off the XE loom is way way too long so it gets shortened down and heat shrinked up: Problem: The previous owner (or owner before that) intended to convert to XE power so cut a hole in the bulkhead already... using a fisher price 'my first power drill'... I also use the term 'hole' rather loosely as it was shape not known to this world as yet: The grommet didn't sit well at all and had no chance of sealing so it was chopped out and a new bit of metal welded in with something resembling a round hole: As you can see a weld repair has already been done here, it's not too bad so I haven't touched it. All the paint and sealant has been removed to check for rust pixies, I then put down a layer of Rustoleum: Take that RUST PIXIES I repaired the chassis loom inside the bay, for some reason the previous owner had been messing with it. I also added a 2nd main power feed into this loom to power the EPAS Last of the silicone pipes arrived, here using a OEM-sized Calibra C20XE bottom rad hose. It's a perfect fit, if you're wondering why remember my engine sits higher than normal.
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 22:27:49 GMT
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Small update: Thanks to a tasty Xmas meal I've had a dodgy gut for the whole weekend so progress has been slow I tidied up the bay wiring today and connected up the engine: I decided to install an early Mk1 wiper motor as they look much better than the later 'econo-spec' model: With the bay wiring almost done I have two main power feeds that go into the cabin, one being the factory original and one designated to power the epas column: I didn't like how the factory main feed isn't fused at the battery so along with the epas feed they both get a 50amp maxi fuse: A slightly modded brake fluid reservoir with a take off for the hydraulic clutch setup: Engine wiring all done bar the coolant fan - looking almost complete now: Revised primary power feeds with a 50amp maxi fuse each: Cabin loom is getting there too: I am converting all the dash illumination to white and blue LEDs, I am going all out on the fan/heater controls with white backlighting and blue control knobs: More work on the white backlighting for the heater controls, in total 12 surface mount 120 degree angle LED's are used in the rear housing. 11 LED's are general backlighting which are strategically placed to give perfectly even illumination (which is actually really difficult due to the housing shape causing shadows/dark points), the 12'th LED (most central LED on a little stand) is solely for the rear heated screen and gives a dim glow normally and a bright glow when the knob is pulled out to turn the screen on. off:
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 22:29:32 GMT
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Update: The interior colour scheme is black GSi with calibra front leather seats from the donor, but GSi parts are a rip off so I decided to do what I did on the original SEF shell and spray trims with Halfords flexible vinyl paint. So far the dash, fusebox panel, rear hatch panel (early mk1 plastic) and both rear 1/4 cards are all painted up. I was going to get on with wiring (simply because I can hide inside the car itself with a small heater ) but I left the soldering gear at home, so instead I decided to build the exhaust downpipe. It turned out to be more work than expected, the part that bolts to the head sandwiches between the radiator and exhaust studs so I had to move the radiator forward. This is a picture of the slam panel taken from the engine-side, I drilled the spot welds out, ground back the area and rewelded the bracket back on: Pic from underneath: Same again for the other side: This moves the top of the radiator back about 1 inch, might not sound like enough but it's enough to allow a smooth fitment of the exhaust downpipe and plenty of clearance when it's bolted up I moved onto the exhaust downpipe, I didn't like how low it hangs as it passes under the sump. I cut 1 inch out of the secondary pipes for a nice tight fit under the sump: Constant soldering makes Johnny a dull boy Not much to report as it's all wiring! I have got about 80% of the alarm wiring harness spliced into the Nova's loom and relocated the 4 relays that would normally attach to the back of the fuse box. Starting to look more complete, notice the alarm box on the far left (with all the dash in it's going to be near enough impossible for a thief to try and remove that!) and also the far right notice the separated relay bundle on it's own bracket: Relay block disappeared? Nope it lives on the underneath of the battery tray now: It's getting really cluttered now, running out of room for things: Little update: Not much has been done on the XE Nova over recent weeks due to work being done on my Carlton estate. I have been working on smaller parts at home like colour coding the digital dash to blue and white: It uses modified colour films and LED lighting to achieve this, it's a pretty complex job and the LCD plates are delicate but I love the outcome! I wrote a comprehensive guide on doing this modification in the 'how to' section so check it out. I have also had requests for me to modify other people's dashes to this setup, I will do this with a 1 week turnaround but due to the costs of materials and the time involved £45 with return postage is the cost, so please only contact me if you want the work carried out.
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 22:45:56 GMT
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love the estate nova seen that over on png, Td sounds a good idea I have been thinking of building a cdti one for a while.
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Jan 25, 2014 23:06:47 GMT
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I really want to get the engine started so I decided to work in the rest of the fuel system starting with the tank itself. I bought this tank off someone on here about 5 months ago and hadn't even opened the box it came in! Listed as a second hand GTE tank I was expected much surface rust. In reality the tank is brand new!!!! Not a factory one though? Painted: I was all happy about getting a new tank but the supplied fuel sender is a twist fit: Whereas the tank is designed for a bolt fit: Also I take it the larger pipe is the feed and the smaller pipe is the return?
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Jan 25, 2014 23:08:19 GMT
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love the estate nova seen that over on png, Td sounds a good idea I have been thinking of building a cdti one for a while. I liked the idea of the 1.3CDTi lump in the Nova but weighing it up Vs a 1.5/1.7TD Isuzu the 1.3 costs too much, isn't as reliable and would require a lot more work to fit.
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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I've seen that estate around Rushden before. Love it!
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Holy cow that's a nice set of novas
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Holy cow that's a nice set of novas
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randywanger_
Part of things
Nissan Bluebird P510 SSS Coupe
Posts: 946
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Do have a soft spot for them. Lovely cars you've got.
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Jan 26, 2014 20:55:35 GMT
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Cheers for the comments guys Today I started prepping the rear part of the floor and rear arches which consisted of a drill powered wire wheel and a tin of white Rustoleum. The floorpan was pretty much totally rust free with only a few bits of surface rust which were easily dealt with, Rustoleum is a rust killer as well as one coat paint - similar to Hammerite but it actually works in stopping rust. The rear arches are not the best if I am honest, the O/S arch has been rolled badly and the N/S has had a repair done at the end of the sill/start of the arch that was done by Stevie Wonder being helped by Mickey Mouse - basically welds that haven't fused and lots of filler to hide it all. It will need replacing The downside to Rustoleum is it takes ages to dry, in fact it will take all week to fully dry in this weather whereas Hammerite would be dry in a day. Anyway when I return on Saturday I will repair the bodged arch and seal the whole lot with Waxoil. Before I left I decided to have a cheeky look at the Corsa-C 1.8SRi disc conversion, the assembly does indeed bolt straight onto a Nova beam!! The downside being an increase in track width by around 8mm per side, I am hoping with the rolled arches the wheels will clear.
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Update: First up being a little concerned about the Corsa-C rear disc setup will push the rear wheels out too far so I decided to check. It's VERY close but it does clear: Before anyone says - this is the arch I mentioned before that was rolled by Stevie Wonder It was cheaper to buy powerflex poly ARB bushes than genuine VX ones - go fig: Undersealing it so much easier and quicker with a Schultz gun! I then got to work repairing the bodged N/S/R arch/end of sill, I should have expected this: I had to cut out a section of the middle sill panel too, here is what is left being treated with rust killer: The middle panel was replaced and the outer skin welded in: Considering how there is curse word all metal protection from the factory inside the sills it's a wonder this was the only rot after 21 years! This time I found some hammerite and covered everything inside the sills. Normally I would use Rustoleum but I needed paint that would dry in hours not days:
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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johnny A industries back at it again ! cool work
what the origin of the estate? bit of a stab in the dark but are nova saloons longer than hatchback (like mk2 astra) and its just a saloon with a hatchback fitted and stretched roof ?
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That is exactly right, a friend of mine converted it. Vauxhall never made the estate however a European company did make a few prototypes but that's it. This is the only RHD one and the only one in the UK
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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Feb 23, 2014 14:57:07 GMT
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Update: Sorry for the lack of updates over the past few weeks, unfortunately life took over and I could only do small amounts of work - most of this was wiring so no real point in updating. Today another setback with me being ill, suspected kebab retaliation from last night :roll: Wiring: Most of the additional systems are now in place, off the top of my head the only wiring left to do: Heated front seat harness - Not started Footwell illumination - Not started Boot lighting - Need to source and wire up trigger switch Fuel pump - Female spade connectors need popping onto wires Speedo drive - ABS pickup needs wiring, 12v amplifier and pulse converter need installing Alarm/immobiliser - Need to install and wire up power sounder Along with installing central locking I wanted to drive it directly off the alarm (not using any GM hardware or wiring), I bought 3x strong solenoids and popped one in each door. The third was for the boot (pretty sure some top end Novas had central locking on the boot), however looking at the boot release button and mechanism there was no facility to lock/unlock the locking barrel. Instead I came up with the idea of connecting the third solenoid to the latch release rod and (via a relay) use the alarm's axillary control channel to activate it, only real problem was the angle the rod needed moving without any room to fit the solenoid to pull in the same direction. To get around the problem I welded bicycle cable clamps onto the latch rod and solenoid rod, adding a bike cable and pulley to allow the solenoid to be placed out of the way: It works a treat, these solenoids are rated at 5kgs pulling force so are more than ample. Bare in mind the boot is a rare non-wiper (read: super poverty spec) but with a normal gas strut, this means the boot opens without any assistance - hit the button on the alarm fob and the boot opens on it's own! To try and keep the interior clean and professional I decided to integrate the alarm's ultra sonic sensors into the mirror bracket: Here is the amplifier in the wheel well: Now due to the thickness lost in the wheel well I still wanted a spare well just in case - a space saver is the only real option here. A few obstacles to overcome were finding one thin enough to hover over the top of the amplifier without protruding into the boot and a spare wheel large enough to fit over the Cally turbo front brakes. I found a 16" 4-stud space saver from an Astra-H, the rim thickness itself was ideal but the centre stuck out: I took a grinder to it, cutting the welds that join the rim to the inner part and hammer it out. I cleaned it all up, flipped the middle and pressed it back in backwards - this had the effect of making the whole wheel no wider than the rim itself: All I need to do is make a bracket to hold the wheel now. My plan for today was to continue working but due to the killer kebab I couldn't take pictures of the work I have done on the Corsa-C disc rear beam conversion. I do actually wonder if anyone has done this conversion because it was more work than expected. First off it's true to the assemblies bolt straight up to the Nova beam, but the cable mechanism needs a fair few modifications. I bought both left and right cables (Corsa-C) from Vauxhall, they are routed the same way as the Nova which is handy.. in fact the Nova balance bar is 100% compatible too!! But that's the last of the easy bits, I welded the cable guides onto the Nova beam making sure the cables didn't foul the shocker or the spring. Originally I planned to run gaz rear coilovers but by the looks of things the cables would rub on the springs, so normal shocks and springs will be used (probably better for ride comfort anyway). The primary cable is too long by about 4-5 inches so a spacer bracket is needed. The last issue is adjustment, the standard Nova drum setup uses an adjuster on the end of the short cable at the balance bar but on the Corsa setup the adjustment is done at the handbrake handle to primary cable bracket. I was half way through the process of converting the Nova handbrake handle to run an adjuster but I stopped when I ran out of time. Pictures will have to wait till next week.
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Vauxhall Nova Estate Vauxhall Carlton V8
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