Vauxhall Nova Type R

After much searching for a good rolling shell, we found one down near Durham, England which looked brilliant besides one or two minor slightly rusty patches

Trailered it home and here it was on the driveway

The next thing we did was, stripped the hole car and took out the wiring loom

After that we started to design and adapt some spare widetrack kit from a Corsa that we have,so that its 50mm wider in each corner

Then we fitted the widest wheels to see how they sit

next we bought a mk3 cavalier rear disc axle to combine and fabricate it with a nova axle to put discs on the back,now all we need for the rear disc brake conversion to be complete is mk3 astra axle stubs.Then we can see how well the calipers and pads are working that we have to see if we need to buy some new ones. I also just bought another nova for dirt cheap with a rotten shell but it came with lots of spare panels,doors and wing mirrors and so on. I am going to use the aftermarket smoothed bumpers that I got on that and cut and space them out 100mm wider then use them as moulds for fibreglass items as I am going to make a wide arch body kit, I will then just be keeping whatever parts I think I may potentially damage and sell or scrap the rest. Got a fibreglass tailgate from a guy in Dumbarton, needs a bit of work to clean it up but it should be great.

Plan next is to try and source axle stubs, fit a chassis plating kit, build a cage, make adjustable seat mounts and then about another million things before the car even moves haha

Managed to Source axle stubs ,just finished moulds for wide rear arches will sell copies if anyone is interested once ive finished the final product Here is photos of the shape I took the moulds from

Here are the moulds

Also have taken the rear windows out to be replaced with a polycarbonate window kit and to make it even easier to work on, just need to finish the front wing moulds and then the actual fibreglass panels, then work on the bumpers to finish the wide arch body kit that if it turns out good enough I should be selling for nice and cheap

Been pretty busy at work recently but still managed to get a decent amount done

Converted the Koni shocks to coilovers with a kit from JJC just to quicken up the process of being able to put wheels on it when we move projects in and out of the main garage

Been working on fibreglass bootlid that I picked up as it has seen a lot of filler and did not have any means of mounting it to the car or a catch and lock, so I cut up a bootlid that I had as a spare to get the top mounts and the catch and lock. Then fit them to this one, still needs a good bit of cleanup work though

Wow! I've never heard of one of these, but now I'm definitely intrigued...and what a project!

petegossett wrote: Wow! I've never heard of one of these, but now I'm definitely intrigued...and what a project!

Thanks a lot Pete its a european car called an Opel Corsa A or a Vauxhall Nova, great little cars especially for rallying

There are so many cool cars available in Europe that we can't get here.

Kia_Racer wrote: There are so many cool cars available in Europe that we can't get here.

Where abouts are you based? Its the same for most continents unfortunately

I am currently living in TX. Uncle Sam sent me to Europe in the early eighties and I miss seeing some of the cool cars that never mad it to the states.

Interesting! I know the Nova went FWD/hatch in the States, but it was a Toyota platform. This is sweet! What engine is going in there?

Kia_Racer wrote: There are so many cool cars available in Europe that we can't get here.

Those are old enough for legal importation if you can find a good 'un.

@scottmasterton, that looks like a really clean shell you found there. Cool project.

Very cool project!

I wish my Chevettes were Vauxhalls instead of Chevrolets.

Acme Lab Rat wrote: Interesting! I know the Nova went FWD/hatch in the States, but it was a Toyota platform. This is sweet! What engine is going in there?

Have yet to fully update this build forum but its going to be a Honda K20 from an EP3, should have about 230-240hp at the crank to start off with once its been mapped so around 300hp per ton

In reply to scottmasterton:

That uh...that'll be zippy.

This is awesome and I want one.

With that power its gonna be stupid fast.

Another update from other forum Not done much recently till today, we reckon this is a world 1st a Honda K20 in a Nova, going to start making engine and box mounts in the next few days and hopefully gain some momentum again.

Started on hydraulic clutch conversion but we might get a pedal box instead

Fabricated custom engine mounts

Test fitted a spare radiator we had and its a brilliant fit, maximum efficiency from space available

Tacced up driveshafts temporarily, lengths to be adjusted a bit

Modified the Vauxhall Corsa C power steering column to shorten it, waiting on wheel and boss to check positions before modifying it further

Been a long time since I've updated this but things are now slowly progressing managed to grab a set of these 15x7 Team Dynamics for only £80 they need a bit of a clean up/touch up but really happy with the find

Also cracked on with the brake setup

Test fitted the new seat

Got a box for the front of the trailer

Primered a couple of bits for the brake set up

Almost finished here just a few more tweaks needed and to finalise pedal heights

Hmmm let's see small car check.....gutted interior check.....wider stance check....tubes everywhere check.....engine swap.....count me in!

Had to take out support that goes from one side to the other so cardboard templating up a new one and working out where hydro is going to be mounted on top 
 

Pretty much finished the cage just a few bits in front of the firewall to work on

Testing position for bottle

Had a look at the rear moulds on the car

Using "CAD"

Not updated this thread in a while

Have removed the loom from the saloon and labelled it up, stripped out the unnecessaries and started to label up the honda loom
Fitted bootlid again with seal and it seems to be sitting well just need to work out where to put pins, to keep original holes or not

Checking a few bits and bobs before finishing the cross brace

Put both seats in to get an idea of space inside, passenger side just sitting on floor with no rails thats why its so low 

Made a start on the dash with some 'CAD'

Made steering column strengthener plate just needs to be sprayed then welded in 

Placed loom out of saloon

Put the wheels back on to roll it in and out

Started mock up for the dash setup 

Made mount for Honda ECU

Mounted in car

Some more wiring done

Really cool - thanks for the updates! 

Ian F said:

Really cool - thanks for the updates! 

Not finished yet 

Made some flat sheets of fibreglass to progress with dash

Took the looms out to strip and tidy up a bit more

Fibre glass sheeting ready to start basic dash shapes

Picked up a pair of 6 point TRS Harnesses

Mounted battery and roughly placed anderson leads

Placing harness eyes