Nova 3.0 v6

i do agree with berry, but rot is a major fucking, its not genius work to make right but takes forever, if it was localised then i would say sort, but the entire structual areas of the front end on a big power fwd car i would not want to repair, if the fronts that rotten then what about the sills/wings/battery tray/rear turrets, inner archs, etc etc that nova's do tend to rot on, i know cos ive had 3 of em.

dont give up but re-shell yes. even search for a rolling shell so you can have a real look before you buy.

thats just my advice, by all means prove me wrong, its possible and if it was a limited edition super car or something like i would do it but i reckon you could pick up a decent nova shell with only cosmetic issues for a few hundred quid.

piece of mind really thats all. berry could you put him intouch with sutton, there was a time when he had the fastest nova in england or something?? he knows vauxhalls more than anyone and has contacts? just a thought.

just been on egay, few 3 door standards with good bodys, £400ish buy it now and a few cheaper so far in terms of bids.

i'd buy
strip the shit out
do any small welding needed
do some structural strengthning if you want although you got cage?
rust proof it all
fit all your parts/engine etc and change owt you didnt like in first place

get a cheap spray job or do it yourself.

probably quicker than grinding back to good metal, welding in, reshaping, prepping/proofing then painting.

your going to have to take engine out anyway, i reckon you get a nova down a shell in 2 days with some help.

ive tried repairing a rotten e30 and after 3 weeks of grinding, swearing then finding more rot and grinding i rang A1 scrap men and fucked it off. sold some bits, put a bit of coin towards and bought a 325i that was sweet.

I think the best thing to do is start strippin the front end down and take out the engine (its gota come out anyway) get a wire brush grinder to it see how far the rot goes and if its real bad I totally agree its best option is a reshell, like you say there is plenty on ebay cheap enough its just a bummer startin again oh well shit happens.

Yeah booner that nova was fastest fwd in UK for like 3yrs running, I spoke to him today and picked up a big brake kit for the astra,
Reshells not a bad idea, but let's check this one first, twice I've been cougt out where I buy a shell for a re-shell but the new shell is worse than the original,

Right I have had afew good hours on the nova today all the front end is now off wings, bumper, lights, rad etc etc there is only the engine left to come out and after strippin it down it dont look that bad, so I have a date in mind for takin the engine out 26th of aug 2 weeks today if anyone wants to lend a hand I would really appreciate it

jesus ste, getting us all worked up about it!! haha, i know nova's, well vauxhalls of that vintage in general and thought.....shit thats fucked it. nah mate bit of paint bubbling!!! ha. glad too here it.

am away on the 26th pal or i'd love fighting with a 3.0 beast, gotta be easier than doing bmw lumps. sure one of lads will help ya though.

you may aswell take oppurtunity now and go to town on the shell, every last bit of shite out of it, take plenty of pictures of all repair etc and when/if you sell its the main point for someone buying an old vauxhall........no point having all the trick bits if the shell is a bag of nails underneath, get it sorted and you'll have a fast car you know is SAFE.

well played.

Thanks matey, wile I was there I took off the side skirts and all the cills inner and outer are totally rust free and its the same story with the battery tray, The shell looks to be totally solid apart from those bits under the bonnet so wile the engine is out im goin to strip everythin down clean and paint it should look good

Sounds like a plan matey, I'll put u in the diary, its my birthday on the 25th, bit I'm working on sat and sun, done at 2both days, call mentioned u needy crane, no problem but u will need transport to get it from my garage as my new daily doesn't have a boot, letalone big enough boot for a crane, am sure if calls not busy we could wacky it in his van, hope that helps matey

glad to see this is being saved, battery trays/struts/sills on these are usually worst so all in all sound actually a good shell!! for a nova anyway

Im sure if cal aint busy he will lend a hand with the crane etc hopefully it wont be to much of a job.

The engine was wrestled out this weekend and the shell is now ready for the welding work to be done and good news I have just bought a wide arch kit for her too so should look pretty mental, I would like to thank big cal, shrek and tank all members of the DIY family for the help this weekend

no problem matey thats what were here for i cant wait to get this little beasty on the road, you dont see many novas running these days, but a 3 ltr, wide arched, caged up track ready beasty, well thats a little special

sounds like this is getting serious now! well in with the lump, sounds a keeper, i was away in lincoln mate and yesterday and today surrey......my jobs fucking mental, seriously though if you need help again and I AM NEAR SHEFF,lol i will be happy to sort you out

I'll give u a buzz next time were working on it Booner ;-)

Thanks alot matey all help appreciated, the guy is comin up this week to give me a price for the welding work and then when I get it back its time to reinstall the engine, fit the wide arch kit, plumb all the new fuelin system up ie swirl pot, pump and braided fuel hose (not bought any of the fuelin stuff yet except for the fuel cell) then fit all new poly bushes, honestly the list just goes on and on and on oh well keeps me out of mischief.

Right gays and gals shes back for the welders and after a long day sunday ( cheers for all the help shrek ) she is now ready for the engine to go back in, im after all the help I can get the plan is to put it back in a week on saturday the 27th

Hopfully ill be around mate, but I'm working so it'll be after 2, but its the hulloween cruise aswell

I will try and get as much done in da mornin mate hopefully it wont take too long ha ha he says

Waaaahhh.this is like an erotic novel. I would kill my own mother to own a 3.0 nova
:P:P:P:P

ha ha, yeah, you could own one but i dont know if you could drive one?
christ i dunno if i could drive one (hard round a track etc) without bouncing of a few barriers lol, its gonna be like driving a bumper car on crack lol

I can barely drive my own car. Jesus id kill everyone in a 3 mile radius if i tried drivin that:L

Im sure we could shoe horn a 3.0 in the corsa

Id rather have it in a nova. Slight nova obsession

But dont tell my poor claudia that

Its been a wile since the last nova update but alot has happened the engine is back it with uprated engine mounts (thanks shrek for finding em) track rod ends, bottom ball joints have all been renewed, all the brake lines are new and now run inside the car with a hydraulic handbrake piped in (looks awsome), the wide arch kit is fitted, 32mm wheel spacers all round, finally got the custom aluminium radiator welded properly and fitted and the oil cooler kit is also fitted. Just got to pipe up the fuel cell, swirl pot etc got the braided fuel line just waiting on a pair of fuel pumps then its its abit of wiring replace the poly bushes some other bits and she should be done..........he says