The moment I have been waiting for

It has to be said that the NOVA's crowning glory is it's roof. And if I am honest it was the sight of a white NOVA with it's roof up at the top of the road when I was around 17 that got me interested. Back then I hadn't realised the VW beetle link, despite being a keen V dubber.

Well at last all the pieces of the jigsaw have been joined up. New stainless steel hinges (cheers Mike and Elaine), new pump and rams (cheers Paul at Club Nova), new wiring loom (thanks Paul again), and a remote kit.

Now I am no plumber, so there was an initial leak when I set it up, as I made one connection wrongly! Also when I dry fitted it all I realised the pin on the hinges was too high, meaning the roof wouldn't open far enough ! But after a quick bit of welding (thanks Martin at Mataan), a visit to Pirtek for some fittings, and Harry's expertise in bleeding the system, and remote gizmos I was there.

Still some fine tuning and adjustment to go, but it shows it all works !

Now I take it all apart and store it safely whilst Nena goes to the paintshop. this was the last big job to do pre-paint, I just need to mount the seats now and I beleive I am ready to hand Nena over - scarey !

For now, enjoy the moment with me:

More soon, and hopefully pictures of an empty garage as Nena goes for paint !

All the best,

Jim

The long and windy road

I should have posted this a while ago, as you can see it is at the old house, but sums up how kit car building can make you feel at times !

It was the first drive (with lots of clutch slip) in Nena !

It will get better !

Why the 3 month gap ?

Moving house, Xmas, decorating.

That ok with you !



Anyhow, back to it all now, and set myself another deadline ! Paintshop by 3rd February, so as I write this I have 7 free evenings and two weekends to do all the snagging jobs before the paint goes on !



Scary !



Still on a positive note I have a new garage for Nena, which is much bigger than the last:

The downside is that it can easily become a dumping ground !

More soon, and hopefully you will find out if I make the painting deadline !

All the best,

Jim

A Sunday drive

Well progress is fast now ! After the success of the wiring, and engine test last weekend I am getting more confident.

Sarah went through a lesson in bleeding brakes (and hydraulic clutch), and here are the results. This is the first tentative drive out of the garage:



and after that, and some small adjustments (including fuel !) it was onto the open road. As you can hear there is some clutch slip going on. Initially I put this down to the clutch (still the original from the donor), but further investigation revealed some adjustment of the slave cylinder is required. Brakes also need some more bleeding, but it is getting there:




Hopefully more updates soon - the next week is going to be spent fine tuning the clutch, and re bleeding brakes. Next weekend I hope to get it over 20mph !

One British motoring victory this weekend then !

Racers, start your engines … and deafen the neighbours

Real progress is at last being made. This weekend I finished the installation of the wiring loom, refilled the gearbox oil, and gave the engine an oil change.




This put me in the exciting position of being able to test the wiring, and ultimately fire up the engine. Sarah was on hand as the able assistant to turn the key, turn on and off switches, and of course moral support.

For now a temporary speedo and fuel guage are wired up, with relevant warning lights. Once I know this all works fine I will test up the other spare gauges I have, and decide which go into the car.




Most circuits were tested prior to the engine test, and aside from a loose connection on the headlight circuit, and a fault on the indicators all seemed fine. As you can see the foliage is making work a little difficult, I can't wait to move as a double garage is waiting!

So time to get brave, and turn the key:

The trusty Volkswagen Flat 4 did the business (ever seen Woody Allen Sleeper??) and on the 4th turn of the key we had ignition. The accelerator cable is still to be fitted up at the pedal box, and the brakes need commisioning, so a drive wasn't possible, but we could at last hear the engine, and give it a bit of a work out !

With a new exhaust fitted, (which will probably need modifying to suit the bumper) there was a lot of paint to be burnt off the inside surfaces. The haze of black smoke soon filled the garage, and the car had to be wheeled outside. You can still see some of the smoke in the air in the below video !

Finally, all I have to say is thank you to Sarah for braving the smoke, and noise, to help in the tests, and sorry to the neighbours for the Sunday afternoon entertainment !