advice on nova strengthening

[thedondy]

houdy all
just got the old nova 1200 motor out yesterday and im intendin to be fitting a x20xev from my cav
now i have a fair idea about seam welding the engine bay and resealing ect..
but just wanna know the problem areas where is best to place these strengthing plates to and what else mods to engine bay need doing,
dont fancy buyin the likes of hh strengthening kit at around 100 quid for some flat m/s plate
misreable qit me haha
any pics and advice or even links would be greatly appreciated
cheers steve

[eccles]

Im doing 2 novas at the moment with plates in seam welded then seam sealed over will get a few pics for you.

Cheers Tom

[thedondy]

thanks tom that would be ace mate

[Mieran]

*INFO* Stitch weld,chassis leg mod & plate kit positions *WITH PICS* - Performance Nova Group - PNG

[thedondy]

*INFO* Stitch weld,chassis leg mod & plate kit positions *WITH PICS* - Performance Nova Group - PNG

sweet link cheers
but a quick question for yous in the knonw, the nova in the first few photos has the standard front gearbox mount position
where as the nova in the second set of pics seems to have its fitted much higher???
cheers for any info

[pickupapenguin]

is this nessasary for a n/a i thought only the lets really need this done

[thedondy]

is this nessasary for a n/a i thought only the lets really need this done

i recon so mate, the nova wasnt built for a big block 2ltr engine
(heavy engine more power an torque ect.)
so any strengthening that can be done is a help+ the abuse it will get its better to over do it than under do it for it.
would be a real pain in the hole a few months after a new build to find that the engine is tryin to leave the engine bay on its own

[Rs1]

Is it £100 for a HH kit? Cant go wrong with that, bang it on.
Most important bits are around the x-member then tieing into the legs, especially seen as you'll probably want to lower the arb/tie bar putting extra stress on...... probably rust and bodge if its a proper nova.

[pickupapenguin]

hmm might look into this then

[thedondy]

i have welded up the seams around the struts and have made plates for the chassi legs like the hh kit. i looked on there website and the kit is 66quid but i got some 1.6 and 2 mm plate for nothing so it wil do fine
would you recomend weldin the seams around the bulk head??
didnt really wanna start pullin the carpet ect out
cheers

[pickupapenguin]

seam welded a few bits today, gona make some plates up tommorow too.

[8valve-craig]

Might as well stitch weld round the steering rack mounts while the engines out too. and underneath the car where the bulkhead meets the floor.