Nova News - Tidying Up

[Pete-M]

That is great, that.

 

Are these the ones with the hilarious upside down hazard light switch ignition bypass glitch?

 

They were the later dash ones....

[Morgan84]

It looks a very nice project;I wonder if a battery tray repair panel is available,or if you can find a car with a good tray in it you can cut out,and place into yours so its a easier job to do,and will look original when done.When you do the cambelt,you tension the belt by moving the waterpump,so will need a waterpump spanner to make life easier,and from memory the water pump has 3 ( unless i forgot one ) allen head bolts to slacken to allow it to turn.

 

Looks like you got a decent little car,but double check the handbrake cables where they pass through the plastic guides on the rear axle beam,as they have a nasty habit of corroding,and fraying leading complete parking brake failure ...which is nice !

[AnthonyG]

That looks like a good buy for £200 and they are pretty rare now. Battery tray's not terminal but obviously needs a bit of thought before progressing!

 

I'd be looking for a repair panel or, as suggested above, perhaps cutting one out of a scrapyard Nova (assuming they aren't all equally rotten).

 

There's a big Vauxhall-Opel-Bedford autojumble held every year, organised by one of the more established Vauxhall clubs, someone on here will know more about it. My mates picked up lots of Viva HC stuff there.

 

Edit - it's held in the spring so not much good for this year, might be worth remembering for 2013 though:

 

http://www.vboa.org.uk/toplevel.php?p=e1&inc=42

[phil_lihp]

I had thought about a scrap part, as you say though it does depend on the donor not being rotten! I'll keep an eye out while I'm working through the mechanicals. My concern for this one is that the rot descends below the tray itself, there's a thin horizontal bar underneath it and a patch on the firewall below that which are both crumbly too, my current thinking is that the whole area can be cut from a donor in one. I'm prepared to be wrong on that though, my knowledge of bodywork repair ends with gaffer tape. Maybe some of that combined with the mdf the battery's currently sat on...hmm.

 

Pulled a wheel off to investigate the front brakes, disk was ok but the caliper seems pretty solid. Had it on the car's own jack though which wobbled way too much to start yanking seized bolts around so will wait until I've got hold of a decent trolley jack and some axle stands.

 

Edit: thanks, will keep that meeting in mind!

[Morgan84]

The front pads on my Nova are fixed in with 2 pins,which have to be driven out from the back with a pin punch ( check for a tool on ebay as probs not a lot );the calliper piston should squeeze back with some good water pump pliers,or a carefull g clamp to gently press it back,and then move it in and out a few times,and hopefully the callipers will free up,and not give any bother

[phil_lihp]

Thanks

[CreepingJesus]

Good buy, this little thing. I couldn't help thinking how I used to work on scores of them back in the day, but there aren't so many left now. Still, could be worse, it could look like this...

...altho' I haven't seen that one recently, so maybe it's no more.

 

Also, don't forget to grease the caliper sliding posts with copperslip if yours has them. It'll make a world of difference to the braking experience if they can move as intended.

[phil_lihp]

OK, I did warn you this would happen

 

Having crawled underneath with a lamp, I am staggered by the excellent condition of the floors, exhaust etc. The petrol tank looks rough but it appears to just be surface rust. The only problem I can see is what I think is a vent line which is a rubber hose between the tank and the fuel filler, it's very perished and has snapped off where it's clamped to the tank. I'm assuming it's a good idea to change it but doing so will involve the tank being dropped out. This leads me to my (probably stupid) question: what's the best way to drain the remaining fuel out of the tank?

 

It still seems to have a bit of manky petrol left, the gauge is on empty but I can't be sure it works so no real idea how much, sounds like a couple of litres maybe slopping around. If I just pull the pipes off, this will presumably go everywhere so I wonder if there's a way to do this cleanly and safely?

 

Also, while the tank's off, I was intending to give it a good clean with a wire brush and treat it to a good coating of black hammerite to preserve it, any reason why I shouldn't do this? I'm not used to dealing with fuel-related gubbins so a little bit paranoid

 

Thanks!

[jakebullet]

Syphon it out? Run engine and burn it if there's sod all left? Be careful when removing pipes so you don't slosh it everywhere? (cat litter is good for soaking up spills)

 

Before you do any 'cleaning' check that it's still possible to buy a new tank. It ruins your day when you 'clean' a hole in it and then find out they're NLA.

 

Obviously don't angle grinder wire brush, and you should really use a brass one to avoid sparks. Personally I would scrape off or jetwash loose paint/ underseal / crap and then use chemical rust remover rather than abrasive methods.

 

Hammerite dissolves in petrol, so make sure you don't have any tiny holes before painting.

[phil_lihp]

Thanks, all good advice. Re. emptying it, yes I'd considered those options but thought I'd see if there was any particularly good way. Will probably go with option 3 and carefully release a pipe to let it drain in that case, don't fancy running it to empty in case it results in a load of muck being sucked into the carb.

 

The tank is hard to find, all the ones I have seen are 3dr ones, the 5dr has the filler in a different place and the only one I found new was £350! Hence my desire to preserve this one, will definitely go gentle when cleaning it & keep fingers crossed it's still OK.

[garycox]

Is this the right one?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-NOVA ... 0900016886

[hairnet]

 

i miss mine

 

cant remember the reg it was G but hope its still alive

 

yours looks ace small tray fettle itll be fine

[phil_lihp]

Is this the right one?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-NOVA ... 0900016886

 

Thanks for that, it might be, I had dismissed it before as it states 'injection' and mine's a carb model but it might not make a difference. Hopefully I won't need to find out!

[phil_lihp]

While I'm waiting for some rebuilt brake calipers to arrive (originals are ruined, but thats another story), I decided to attempt a cambelt change. I should state that before this project, the most ambitious thing I'd done on a car was change some spark plugs.

 

The haynes manual made this seem like a straightforward, three spanner job. Not ideal, as although I am indeed something of a spanner, I didn't have two likeminded friends on hand to help but I did the best I could.

 

1. Undo 5 bolts, release cambelt cover:

Some minor blood loss, done.

 

2. Align timing marks using camshaft pulley bolt:

Done.

 

3. Undo camshaft pulley bolt by putting car in gear with handbrake on to stop the pulley rotating:

Absolutely no way.

 

I can see the logic in this but I've had it in 1st, 4th and reverse, the handbrake's on tight, the front's on axle stands with wheels off anyway while I rebuild the brakes, the rear wheels are chocked, but the pulley starts rotating as soon as I attempt to undo the bolt. It turns just as easily in gear as it does in neutral. I have put it back down on one front wheel so that there's no chance of the hubs turning, no better.

 

One thought was that the clutch is worn and slipping, but I have driven it a short distance and moved it in and out the garage a few times recently and it's showing no signs of slipping, and anyway, surely it'd have to be completely shot before it allowed such easy movement?

 

Anyway, I'm lost, short of locking the flywheel with a special tool which I don't have (and this appears to require the removal of the clutch which I'm not keen on trying at this point).

 

Anyone done this before and got a magic solution?

[fiatdaft]

Try it with the front wheels on the deck.

[scaryoldcortina]

Much as I hate agreeing with FD, he's got a point!

 

The quick but deadly way to loosen the crank bolt is to put a big bar and socket on the nut, remove the HT lead from the coil and spin the engine to crack it free. You do this entirely at your own risk however it usually works.

 

 

Edit - I just noticed you have written "camshaft pulley bolt" - please say you aren't trying to undo the top one (you don't need to) and don't use it to turn the engine (it will snap).

[phil_lihp]

Thanks, I'll try putting both wheels down. That sounds like a risky move so I reckon that will be absolute last resort! And no, i am turning the bottom one, not the top!

[phil_lihp]

Thanks guys, that sorted it, never been so happy to get a bolt to undo! Seems really obvious now but I assumed that one wheel on the ground would have the same effect of locking the engine as both, forgot they're independent.

[Morgan84]

Hope it goes well for you,and you manage to tension it up ok by adjusting the waterpump ( if required )

[phil_lihp]

Cheers

 

Hopefully will have some progress to report after this weekend, trying to get little bits here and there done with the odd spare hour in the evenings but between rusty seized parts and my own staggering levels of incompetence and inexperience, it's taking a long time! Getting there though, got the first shiny new part attached this evening so it feels like progress is being made, even if it is only a brake flexi pipe.

[Morgan84]

Soak rusty bits with WD40,then leave them overnight,then spray the next day - they are working when you aren't,but will save lots of later swearing !

[phil_lihp]

Well finally some progress has been made! Sorry if this is a long one but it's nice to have this documented somewhere so might as well go here!

 

A couple of long evenings this week and several hours today have resulted in:

 

New front brake hoses

Reconditioned brake calipers

New brake discs & pads

Brakes bled with new fluid

 

I'm pleased to say I can finally drive it and the brakes...work! I realise this probably seems pretty basic stuff but it's all new to me so I'm well chuffed. It doesn't drive too bad either although it desperately needs some fresh petrol.

 

The old calipers were seized absolutely solid, I'm pretty sure that when the previous owner took it for a test around his farm tracks before I bought it, he must have put a lot of heat into the brakes and fluid - the pads were jammed pretty hard against the discs. It took most of a can of WD40, a home-made socket extension bar and a large hammer to get the pads out and the calipers off. The whole lot was a right mess:

 

 

Doesn't really show the before and after that well but it's a massive improvement.

 

I celebrated by draining the coolant and replacing the cambelt, another first for me. No brown trouser moment when I turned the key, it runs as well as it did before so mega happy

 

Unfortunately, the brakes are still a bit mushy as there was an endless amount of air bleeding out of the system, in the end I had to stop as I was running of of fluid to top it up with. I have a horrible feeling that the greasy muck I later found coating the black drum (booster?) which the master cylinder is bolted to indicates a leak which would account for the air being drawn in. I'll have to see if it's something that can be tightened/fixed but not tonight. The master cylinder itself looks pretty new which is good.

 

Aside from that and an oil change, only significant job left is the petrol tank vent pipe and this mess:

 

 

Got some ideas for this so hopefully it won't be too big a deal. Then it's MOT time...

[meggersdog]

Unfortunately just because the master cylinder looks new doesn't mean it's not borked.All the rubber seals haven't moved in five years and being worked hard when bleeding can cause then to give way.I would look at the rear drums first to see if it's a wheel cylinder.

By keeping even pressure on the brake pedal does the pedal eventually go to the floor ? If so and you can't find a leak then that is a good indication the master cylinder seals have given up.

[phil_lihp]

Bugger, no offence but I was really hoping you'd be wrong! I checked the rear drums and they're bone dry as far as I can tell. The handbrake works perfectly, couldn't really be better, so I'm reasonably confident in their condition.

 

However having looked at it in the cold light of day, there's definitely a lot of fluid leaking down the booster from the join with the master cylinder so you're right, a new master cylinder it is! One step forwards, one step backwards. On the plus side, with all the replaced parts, this car should have excellent brakes by times the MOT comes along...

 

Edit: incidentally, I tried holding the pedal down and it stays where it is, it doesn't sink, although the brakes do still feel very spongy. Pumping the pedal does build up pressure in the system but it seems to take too many pumps to do it.

[dollywobbler]

Having to pump is a classic sign of master cylinder seals being a bit crap. Just think though - you'll be pretty happy with the stoppers after all of this work! Got frustrated with houw much of the braking system I had to replace on my Maverick (discs, pads, both calipers, one wheel cylinder, lots of brake fluid) but got there in the end!

[phil_lihp]

Thanks that confirms it then. Yeah, I'm expecting this thing to do amazing 60 - 0 times after this! I may be disappointed given my previous experience of small cars from this era

[phil_lihp]

Still waiting for my bargainous ebay master cylinder but the postman did bring me a little* present today:

 

 

So I decided to take proper stock of what welding this car actually needs to get through an MOT as I hadn't really had a proper look since it was first dumped on my driveway. I pulled out the battery and removed my top quality MDF battery tray repair panel to reveal the big hole, which got bigger when I had a poke around:

 

 

My concern here is not so much the tray itself, as obviously I now have that (although I won't need the entire panel by the look of it). It's more the parts underneath - there's a bar running underneath supporting the tray which you can see has partially disappeared, and the firewall (?) which has some cables running through (throttle & choke I believe) has disolved slightly as well, this pic's not great as my camera's too big to get close, but basically one cable bung is now 'floating' in mid-air with nothing around it.

 

 

The only other holes aren't so bad, in the back of the passenger sill:

 

 

and this one's a bit weird, it's actually a hole in the bottom of the rear wheelarch just above the sill, and I have no idea what the hell that thing is inside it, I didn't see it until the camera flash showed it up.

 

 

Other than that, to my untrained eye the car seems incredibly sound and solid for a 1988 Nova that spent 5 years lying forgotten in a field - floors, strut tops and 90% of the sills are spotless.

 

I have no intention of trying to repair the rot myself, I have zero welding/bodywork experience and neither the space nor equipment to safely learn at the moment. What I'm keen to find out is, what should this sort of work cost to rectify? I have a couple of people I could call on to do this work but would like to know what the going rate is if anyone has any ideas.

[phil_lihp]

Still waiting for my bargainous ebay master cylinder but the postman did bring me a little* present today:

 

 

So I decided to take proper stock of what welding this car actually needs to get through an MOT as I hadn't really had a proper look since it was first dumped on my driveway. I pulled out the battery and removed my top quality MDF battery tray repair panel to reveal the big hole, which got bigger when I had a poke around:

 

 

My concern here is not so much the tray itself, as obviously I now have that (although I won't need the entire panel by the look of it). It's more the parts underneath - there's a bar running underneath supporting the tray which you can see has partially disappeared, and the firewall (?) which has some cables running through (throttle & choke I believe) has disolved slightly as well, this pic's not great as my camera's too big to get close, but basically one cable bung is now 'floating' in mid-air with nothing around it.

 

 

The only other holes aren't so bad, in the back of the passenger sill:

 

 

and this one's a bit weird, it's actually a hole in the bottom of the rear wheelarch just above the sill, and I have no idea what the hell that thing is inside it, I didn't see it until the camera flash showed it up.

 

 

Other than that, to my untrained eye the car seems incredibly sound and solid for a 1988 Nova that spent 5 years lying forgotten in a field - floors, strut tops and 90% of the sills are spotless.

 

I have no intention of trying to repair the rot myself, I have zero welding/bodywork experience and neither the space nor equipment to safely learn at the moment. What I'm keen to find out is, what should this sort of work cost to rectify? I have a couple of people I could call on to do this work but would like to know what the going rate is if anyone has any ideas.

[jakebullet]

Cost of welding is a bit of a how long is a piece of string? question. Depends on how good they are/ how much of a ball ache it is / mates rates? etc.

You may not be able to weld, but if you prep it so all your man has to do is the actual welding it should be cheaper.

 

I think your mystery object is a plastic plug from where waxoil was injected.

[jakebullet]

Cost of welding is a bit of a how long is a piece of string? question. Depends on how good they are/ how much of a ball ache it is / mates rates? etc.

You may not be able to weld, but if you prep it so all your man has to do is the actual welding it should be cheaper.

 

I think your mystery object is a plastic plug from where waxoil was injected.