Nova star track project - now big block C18XE!

[Fow16v]

Evening all, as some of you who have been looking at the unit thread will know i have recently bought myself a g plate nova star as a project after breaking a corsa gsi i had that was rotten. I thought that the project could do with its own thread as its taking over the general stufff that the unit thread is for and it will be easier for people to read here. The plan with the car is going to be a x16xe from the corsa, stripped out, bucket seats, lowered, black cesaros and as time goes on i would like to get a cage for it. then who knows when i get bored of the 1.6 which i will maybe an xe. No lets or turbos here tho sorry ive got the astra for the turbo and this is all going to be done on a budget, buying things as and when i can afford them and not spending silly mone on new things when used stuff that is cheaper can be just as good.

Sorry if any of the first few posts have anything repeated i copied things over from the other thread to start this one

So to start it was time to strip the corsa of everything and make some space




Leaving me with...


105k so time for a full rebuild as it was smoking a bit, and found alot of end float in the crank







Block got a lick of paint to freshen it up












The new engine rebuild parts arived







In this time i was also looking through the net for a nova that would be suitable for what i wanted for a sensible price as the project is going to be on a budget and all done by myself, im not into spending stupid amounts on new parts and paying for labour. i try to do everything myself.

i found myself a nice cheap g plate nova star in white on ebay, after some calls it was bought and dougie and lynz very kindly sorted out transporting it from birmingham down to south wales for a very good price for me.

but anyway its home and ive looked over it im well impressed with how solid it is so ill let the photos do the talking





had to load the boot full of bits out of the unit to fit it in


the rust that i was told was on the boot floor, not as bad as i thought







nice retro interior




69000 miles on the clock, im sure it is genuine from the condition of the car










some sort of dodgy repair to the wing


drivers side


solid bonnet


slam panel may need some attention


inner wing






some discolouration here will look in to it further




chassis legs to crossmember surface rust




passenger arch









The slam panel is the worst part of the whole car, a few bits have been repaired but i need to sort the slam panel out for mot


Im really happy with how solid it is, everything is just slight cosmetic stuff.

[Fow16v]

another update as billing has now been and gone. got a fair amount done today considering the time i we were there for. I decided due to all the bits around and nuts bolts etc that i wanted to rebuild the engine before i started anything else so today when i finished work i was in the right mood, as well as still being very very tired from the weekend lol. so with help from don i got cracking on the bottom end which is now built and ready.
tommorrow night i will strip the head down and rebuild it and hopefully get that bolted on so i can then start on the 1.2 engine and the bodywork.
Also removed the battery tonight as it was flat and looked for rust and apart from a slight dirty colour its all as it should be, solid.
The car got de-rubstriped aswell whislt i was there but no photos sorry as i still got the black stuff to reomve and some paint to repair.

so some pics

It came out for a drive and don was loving it. i love how high the front is because the back is full of crap lol


Complete new set of shell bearings




Crank in, engine assembly lube applied (read wynns stop smoke applied)


all torqued up and sump on, paint came out ok i think for a quick brush on jobbie








ready for the head of doom




the new indian takeaway conviently opened next door, very useful for the hungry periods of nova builds

[Fow16v]

well more updates
popped up yesterday to crack on with a bit more, whilst i was messin with the astra don cracked on with rebuilding the head and dealing with the stupid split collets so the head is back on now on thing is stupid me left the head bolts up the house so nothing else could be done to the engine. hopfuly tommorrow ill trya nd get the rest of the engine back together and its then ready to drop in.
I then started on the wheels they are going back on the black corsa so i started reapiring them ready to spray them white, some chemical metal has been used to fill the curb marks
Then it was time to try and sort out some little bits of rust to stop it getting worse so the wing came off and all the rust got rubbed back before getting treated. ive bought some filler aswell to skim the welded bits on the back.







this is the worst bit






solid under here




toffee wheel on order to get rid of this crap












and a big pile of bits that im thinking of spraying satin black as i dont want colour coded and will be nice and dark black



Ive just ordered a toffee wheel for the drill, and some tow stickers and white pinstripe for the bumpers.

[Fow16v]

a bit more done over the last two days the engine i snow pretty much ready to drop in, just need to give the loom a once over, fit timing belt and paint and refit gearbox.

First of all some beading from a patch polished on the roof, it needs a good clean but dont come up bad for its age.


i bought some underseal in a spray can so rubbed back all the crap under the wing and gave it a good coat, im gonna do the same to the passenger side and all the underarches, behind rear bumper under spare wheel well etc. to give some protection from rust


the wales region banner is living at the unit at the mo after billing


engine all paintted and fixxed







Today i decided i wanted it lowered so out with the old corsa kit, much better to drive and looks much better, 60mm all round on gmax stuff llol







Out came the satin black rattle cans





found a headunit lying around the unit so fitted it, fits well with the retro dash lmao


seats back up


boot full of crap and rear passenger.



Overall im really happy with the way the front looks now, the satin black works well aginst the white imo, and the pinstripe got fitted to






still waiting on the toffe wheel to sort the strips out. also need to whip the rear off and match to the front.

[Fow16v]

Went up Friday the car is looking good. Fow adores the beast , i also managed to break the grab handle it blew up in my hand lmao.





Fow had to get the tunes going.



Ended up doing a handbrake turn

Cheers jamie for these few pics

[Fow16v]

thats it for now, been working a lot the last few days so had no time for the little nov lmao, ive got some silicon remover here that kev g recommended for removing the bump stripe residue, the toffee wheel is also here and some red tow stickers, ive also got find some time to go and pick up some cobra monaco seats that im buying for it. Cant wait for it to all come together now.

Cheers for looking, opinions and sugestsions welcome

Ryan

[The big man]

looking good that i shall keep an eye on this.
rick

[CraigGreen]

Cool project, great base shell too in terms of being solid in the main areas.

Is that not a C16XE engine? No SAI or EGR on the manifold... Look forward to more.

[Rusty 16v]

Argh! MK1 dash, I had forgotten how awful they are lmao

[Fow16v]

cheers lads, craig im super chuffed with how solid the shell is, i took a gamble when buying it and clicked buy it now after seeing only one bad photo of it. was well worth it tho.
The engine is an x16xe ecotec that i removed the egr valve and blanked it from the inlet and the sai has been plugged and welded on the manifold. basically just removed all the un needed crap from it.

the dash is awsome i love the way you shut the glove box and it opens then shut it again and it opens and over and over until you slam it, old vauxhalls ftw. the clocks will be replaced when the engine goes in, there is a set of astra gte digi clocks lying around the unit i think

[Fow16v]

at last an up to date update, went straight up the unit today after work to fit the rarb to the astra but couldnt be arsed so more work on the nova has been done.

firstly i recieved my tow stickers so needed to get the rear bumper off and sprayed. So that was done, found no rust underneath but put a lick of paint on the panel joins anyway. refitted the bumper and stuck my sticker and stripe on. I reckon it looks 1million times betterer.


the boot handle then needed doing to match the satin black goodness of the bumpers, so at the same time i decided to get rid of the rear wiper motor and cover to save weight lol








Need to remove the nipple next and fit a gromet, also looking for a sr or ste spoiler to fit.



Took the front bumper back off to repaint where someone had done some brush painting lol.


Refitted with the tow sticker in place



The toffee wheel came out to try and got the rest of the bump stripes off and the stickers. I love how easy the toffee wheel removes them, was gonna try some sealant remover but forgot it, never mind tho all done now. will use intensive tar remover next time to get rid of the marks left. The drivers door needs paint tho as some came off with the strip gutting

Took it for a quick spin on a private road as i just couldnt resist. lmao

How it stands at the moment, really happy with it and how simple things can make all the difference imo

[Kev_G]

looks fricking mint

[Fow16v]

cheers kev.
well dons old astra shell will be going soon so not long now until i pull the engine out and start stitch welding the bay and cleaning it up etc

[Phil GTE]

Nice project, its a bit like my old Nova. Cashing in on this, would this item be any use to you?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=140334583196

[Fow16v]

already got a downpipe here mate, gonna weld it up to a decat as a cat is not needed

[RobJenko]

fow, im off work tomorrow so if you want me to pop up with the seats, i can do in the afternnon.

[Ian H]

looks a good shell. Still got your centre caps here for the cesaro rims (well i had them, pretty sure they are downstairs anyways!!) would love to pop up and see the unit/nova some time. I'm off for the next 3 days so gimme a shout when your up there next and i'll pop up. Wont be much use really, but will lend a hand where i can

[Fow16v]

ian i should be up there tommorrow afternoon mate, you could pop up with the centre caps if you like. should be stripping the nova out and stripping the astra shell for scrappage, i wont be up there late tho as im working nights will be gone by about 6

[Fow16v]

well today i popped up to robs to pick up my new seats, cheers mate. weather was ****e and i got wet and the drive up and back sucked but i got the seats and cant wait to get them fitted now. im gonna be stripping the interior out tommorrow afternoon hopefully so i can have a look at how im gonna go about fitting, i.e weld, box section, spreader plates or standard mounts etc. They came with the universal sliders too so probably weld in some box or something.

[slash]

Subscribed. Looks really good fow its starting to come on now. Wont be long till it sees coombe action. You hoping to take it out sep 7th at coombe?

[RobJenko]

well today i popped up to robs to pick up my new seats, cheers mate. weather was ****e and i got wet and the drive up and back sucked but i got the seats and cant wait to get them fitted now. im gonna be stripping the interior out tommorrow afternoon hopefully so i can have a look at how im gonna go about fitting, i.e weld, box section, spreader plates or standard mounts etc. They came with the universal sliders too so probably weld in some box or something.

no problems chap, im just dreading my next trip up the unit as i know im going to get stupid ideas about buying another nova when i remember how much i loved mine when i see yours.

[CraigGreen]

Mk1 Nova dashboards rule! Juast a shame the material they are moulded from sucks.

All the switches are laid out in such a logical place, everything is such a small arm/hand movement away.

[Fow16v]

Subscribed. Looks really good fow its starting to come on now. Wont be long till it sees coombe action. You hoping to take it out sep 7th at coombe?

no probably wont be ready by then, i need to get it taxed and moted before it will be out as i cant get it trailered. cant afford to get that done at the moment so will have to miss it

no problems chap, im just dreading my next trip up the unit as i know im going to get stupid ideas about buying another nova when i remember how much i loved mine when i see yours.

come and have a drive then you will love it, don almost got that nova feeling i think lmao

Mk1 Nova dashboards rule! Juast a shame the material they are moulded from sucks.

All the switches are laid out in such a logical place, everything is such a small arm/hand movement away.

yep i love it, espesially the way the plastic is so thin makes it more retro lol

[Matt2345]

Nice shell, mate great project, did you decide not to do the piston rings and deglaze the bores then?, Since you've gone to so much trouble with everything else, and the engine was srtipped ready, I would have done that too.. Great thread though, Good luck with it all

[Fow16v]

Nice shell, mate great project, did you decide not to do the piston rings and deglaze the bores then?, Since you've gone to so much trouble with everything else, and the engine was srtipped ready, I would have done that too.. Great thread though, Good luck with it all

no i didnt bother with the bores or rings as they looked ok, probably should of really but the engine was running fine before apart from an eml fault so didnt bother, the only reason the bottom got done was i found the thrust bearing gone when i removed the sump for cleaning. hopefully it will be ok tho