stitch welding entire nova shell?

[thedondy]

building a caged redtop nova for a bit of crack
currently removing seam sealer and prep work for weldin
thinkin about welding all the seams inside and out, chasssis front and rear and various strengthening plates
anyone done this? or do most just do the engine bay?
seen a subaru rally car seam welded and id dare say every seam had been done!
how wil this affect the car?
im intending to future proof the car if i ever wanted to go rallyin
thanks

[Tomk]

Do every seam inside and out, weld an inch, miss an inch and so on.

Above window line isn't really needed but as you'll be there you may as well do them while you at it.

Will only do good things for your handling :-)

[thedondy]

this is what i was thinking, do it all now and be done with it wilst ive her stripped an on the spit

[Benn]

Seen a few Nova's done. Will keep it nice and strong.

[Frisco]

Its an excellent idea for track use but on the road you will probably see cracks after not too long

[thedondy]

Its an excellent idea for track use but on the road you will probably see cracks after not too long

this was my other thought, being too rigid!

anyone done this on a road car?

[simon_nova_mad]

my road car 2l 16v was done and yes it was very rigid and boy oh boy did you notice it. also had it on avo coilovers dropped 80mm front and back and had front upper and lower strut braces and back strut brace. also had the harry hockley strengthening plates added. had it on road for 2 years and no cracks were visible after 2 years but i did use a very high powered welder to do this not a cheap diy one

[thedondy]

Rigid in a good or bad way?
I recon my welder is up to the job fairly confident in my ability to weld her up
Bet it was good fun to drive??

[Mieran]

To give you an idea...

Nova build by Chris Astley Motorsport

[Frisco]

I wouldn't be expecting cracked welds if its done properly, more like cracked metal in random places due to the stresses moving. I have seen dimpled roof skins from doing it

[thedondy]

To give you an idea...

Nova build by Chris Astley Motorsport

thats pretty much all the weldin i had intended todo, maybe the boot floor to wheel arch seam aswel.
would love to of had my shell cleaned like that! removing bloody sealer is a pig of a job

[thedondy]

I wouldn't be expecting cracked welds if its done properly, more like cracked metal in random places due to the stresses moving. I have seen dimpled roof skins from doing it

did you see this on a nova?

[simon_nova_mad]

i feel for road use it was probably a bit overkill but i got used to it in the end. just make sure you get some nice padded seats rather than just carbon kevlar race seats without padding like i was going to use. as put them in for a week and got a bad back. then put in some corbreaus and never looked back. get it done lad and make sure you do front panel, all of engine bay and rear suspension mounts at the least as they are the weakest parts on a nova shell

[Frisco]

Yeah it was a nova. The dents ran down the side just up from the gutter rails

[iainel]

I stitch welded every single seam on my Nova. Engine bay, chassis legs, everywhere inside the car, etc.

Done several trackdays and almost 12,000 road miles over the last year and a half and it's been spot on. No cracks visible anywhere and I'm underneath/looking at it very regularly.

The whole shell feels very rigid with a triangulated welded in rollcage etc. I wouldn't say it's too much for the road, however perhaps that and a combination of stiff springs (hard to say how much the shell prep affects it by itself) makes it difficult to drive as fast as some standard road cars on the bumpier sections of country lanes.

I'd do it if I were you, nice to know it's held together strongly and not just the factory spotwelds.

[Frisco]

The cage changes things though, it takes the stress off the body panels

[Lugy]

Personally I'd never stitch weld anything in front of the front struts, just leaves you with a "crumple zone" for when it all goes wrong, I've heard this from some engineers too. Wouldn't want to hit anything head on at any sort of speed in something that didn't have any 'give'. The car might survive but I don't think Lugy would!

Just something to think about, that's all .

[Benn]

Xe and Let Nova "can" start to pull the seams apart tho Lugy...

[iainel]

I thought that was the idea behind stitching instead of seaming, it still leaves a certain amount of crumple and flex, it's not like it's not going to move at all in an impact.

[simon_nova_mad]

Xe and Let Nova "can" start to pull the seams apart tho Lugy...

as benn said one of the weak points on a nova shell is where the tie bars mounto front panel and they will easily break, split without additional welding bracing when red top or turbo lump fitted. seen this happen so many times its unreal