Back to reality

Well, what else would you do the day after a 12 hour flight, feeling jet lagged and looking back on a great two weeks in Thailand ?



That's right - straight back to the garage !

Nigel had come up trumps with the welding while I was away so I wanted to get everything sealed and painted.

I am really pleased with how the new panels fit, and feel retaining the original floor pan and going for a sloping drop was the best way.

As you can see in the photos all metal work has been treated to a liberal dose of grey zinc anti-rust primer.

Each side will get two coats top and bottom as well as all seams being sealed. Then two coats of chassis black will follow.

I am concentrating on the upper side at the moment, as that is where most of the welding is and I want to protect the edges before the body is bolted on. That should happen in the next couple of weeks all being well.
















Garage space remains a valuable commodity so the only real way to crack on with bodywork repairs and preparation is to mount the shell up. This will also give me the opportunity to dummy up seating and dash positions before committing to the final welding - moving the handbrake and gearstick.

I feel progress is being made - this year I will drive a NOVA on the road ! (If I keep saying it I might start believing it !)

More soon, Jim

Floor 2, going down

After the success of dropping the first floorpan (photos here)it was with a little trepidation that I started on the passenger side !

The original chassis, which was in a pretty poor state (Oh Dear Nena)only had the drivers side dropped, but that just seemed lazy. Whilst I am going to be driving her most of the time Sarah is going to want to get behind the wheel too, so I need to know I would fit as a passenger !! Also if I lose my bet for 1/8/07 completion date Sarah gets the first drive on the road !

Anyway, the fitting of the new panels and cutting went very well. Lot's of measuring first, as always, and it all fits together well.

And, as you can see it all lines up, and looks symmetrical. Once welded in (still just wedged and a couple of holding rivets) it should look the business. I have had a quick test with my seats (Bedford rascals £30 e-bay) and they fit nicely, and sit at the right level now. I cannot wait to get the welding done and then mount up the bodyshell.

I have limited workshop space, so to start cleaning up the shell and filling the numerous holes the last owner made I need to get the shell mounted. The only welding job remaining will be the relocation of the handbrake and gearstick, but I won't do this until the dash is fitted and I can simulate the final seating position.

This will be the last post now till after Christmas, and the last work on the car for a while. I hope to have the welding completed 3/1/07, but then go off on holiday for 3 weeks so February is the target date for mounting the shell.

Happy Christmas all, Jim

The first cut is the scariest !

So let me get this straight in my head:

Spend time and money getting new floors welded in.

Then cut holes in them and spend more time and money lowering the floors so my 6ft 3" 'should grow up' body can fit in a low slung fibreglass 'sports car' from the 70's.

Yep, that makes perfect sense !

Well, progress has again been slow due to the Xmas run up, work commitments etc, but another step has been taken - the floor drops are happening.

After the body fitting trials a decision was made, a 3" drop was needed. Much consultation with the forums and re-reading reference material later I chose to go for the 3 cut drop, using the original pan material and having 3 pieces fabricated per side to support the lowered pan.

A local metal fabricator (if you need one in Sussex mail me for details) did the business on the steel (I don't have folding equipment) and my plans were correct !

Beware - the NOVA original plans should be treated as a guide only, although I wasn't using the original style side panels the rear should have been identical - it wasn't. I made my own cardboard templates to be sure.

I have gone for a sloping floor drop, so had large triangular sections made up. I have been told that a sloping floor drop enables the seat to tilt and in turn aids the seating position and headroom. This seems to make sense and should help with my knee/leg angle for the pedals.

I have only cut the right hand pan so far and the panels fit well. They are pretty much holding themselves in place, with the aid of just a couple of rivets. I aim to get them welded ASAP. I go on holiday for 3 weeks in Jan and want to get them welded, sealed and primered by then.

One other change I have made from the original plans is for the outside edge of the new panel to wrap over the mounting lip, and fit between the body and chassis. I know this does potentially affect the distance between body and chassis, but a couple of mm can only help headroom, and the mating gasket should mask any changes in levels. I thought by making this additional lip it would be more secure and easier to weld - we shall see !

I have put a call into the welder and am currently booked in for Jan 3rd - more pictures will follow ! Jim

Body and chassis reunited - briefly !

I thought it would never happen, but the chassis has made it out of the garage at last !

And the body briefly made it on top as well !

The aim of today, in between rain showers was to check the fit of the body on the new pans and front chassis bearer, and start to test seating positions.

I have very limited garage space so working on the body is only going to be possible once it is mounted on the chassis. However I cannot do this until I have finished the welding etc.

I did try and convince myself that a floor pan drop wouldn't be necessary, but even with the necessary Bedford rascal seats (runners removed) I was kidding myself. This was particularly evident once we got the dash and pedal set into place as well. A 3" drop, combined with keeping the seats right on the floor should enable my 6ft 3" to get behind the wheel !


Though little actual progress was made today it was a valuable process and bouncing ideas of others is always good in this situation. The last thing I want to do is mess up the seating position and curse to myself everytime I drive the car !

The gearstick, and possibly handbrake will need miving too, but this will be easier to judge once a fixed seat is in place and a steering column is roughly positioned.



If at all possible I would like to get the pans dropped and painted before Christmas, as then I can move the body into the dry. The gearstick etc can be moved later as access is reasonable, but dropping the pans is definately a 'body off' job. The positive today was rolling the chassis out and not hearing any grinding noises from my new brakes and bearings, and also seeing that the mounting holes on the body do line up with the chassis - always a good sign !

Right, back to the original build manual and the NOVA forums to decide upon the best drop procedure and out with the cutting gear !

Measure twice, cut once as my Dad would say !

Cheers to Dad and Nigel for lifting the roof on and off whilst I tried seating positions !

I've tidied up my rear end

It's been a while since the last post. Work, Xmas parties (yes really) and a million and one other things have slowed me down, but I do think I'm getting there.

All of the rear metal work has now been cleaned up - lots of wire brushing (by hand and angle grinder). I have then treated it all with Hammerite anti rust treatment, zinc anti rust primer and Smoothrite. Hopefully that will keep things tidy for a while !

All nuts and bolts have been replaced with either stainless or zinc coated, and most importantly the right grade - particularly for the bolts that hold the swing arms to the axle tubes. I spent far too much of my life de-greasing the gearbox and removing 30 years worth of road grime ! It is now clean, and oil free. I did contemplate painting it, but don't want to take the detailing too far. As I have said in previous posts the aim is to build a solid fun and reliable car - not a precious show car. You may also spot a new engine support in the top photo - the last had been butchered with a home-made tow bar and weakened too much in my opinion. Gearbox mounts were also changed at this time.

Though not a fan of multicoloured underpinnings I am accenting in red. I prefer the urethane parts, where available. They seem to wear well, and are often cheaper than stock. To match the new bumpstops a set of red drive shaft boots will go on soon, then I can refill the gearbox oil ! I may detail some of the engine/tinwear in red eventually - the callipers will be sprayed red eventually as well.

That includes the rear callipers, on my new EMPI rear disc kit. This was the first time I have fitted rear discs, and I hope these will work well with the adjustable pedal assembly I have. The kit had reasonable instructions, but not great. The quality is reasonable, but not the best. I spoke to others who have fitted them, and the calliper alignment does seem to be the weakness. It seems to depend on the year as to where you put the spacer washers, and how many ! Also the castings of the callipers isn't spot on in places so if you go for similar to look carefully before fitting and ruining your new discs. I had to file a couple of spots, which now means the coating is lost and painting is a must. Might as well go for porsche red callipers then !!