Hi all,

I do hope this is the last move!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my 2 novas, the old (multi-coloured getting ready for paint – soon I hope!) and the brown one, untouched and likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

that looks just like the one that was on ebay a little while back, completely untouched :?

and there won't be anymore moves, this was the only move, to a much better server with no advertisements all over the forum

Hi Dave - very nice. Did you do the TR7 pop-up light conversion with one of Sam Cobley's kits (I heard he was making mouldings that grafted into existing shells) or did you fabricate from scratch? It's a neat look.

Also you've done a cracking job concealing the Alfa engine at the rear. The grilles are a really nice touch. There's no hint that it's a rear-engined car to the casual observer. I'm looking forward to seeing it for real when you get on the road.

What colour are you going to paint your car? Keeping it green I hope???

Lauren

Bobbybrown, yes this was the eBay Nova, I didn’t need it but couldn’t resist as it probably is the only untouched deluxe kit left.

Lauren,

Yes the lights were inspired by Sam, but I didn’t use his kit (didn’t know he did one!). I built the pods from scratch and to be frank I’m not really happy with them. I am on my 3rd attempt and still think they look ugly when up :o(

As for the colour I haven’t decided, I was leaning toward a deep metallic burgundy….but I’m an not convinced the metallic is practical as if it gets scratched it means a complete repaint ($$$)

As for concealing the engine, to be frank in my humble opinion it doesn’t matter whether you are from the air cooled camp or water cooled camp if you want to hide your engines origins you need to hide the exhaust.

It’s a shame that most aftermarket exhausts are just too bulky to hide beneath the Nova’s skimpy rear end. The only real option is custom build, its not that expensive if you do it yourself, but it does take time and isn’t for the faint hearted!

The start of the jigsaw puzzle



many welds and trial and error later


The finished article :o)

Goodness me! Your exhaust system looks just the same as the one I did for Giles many moons ago - I thought you originally had a system that crossed-over the transaxle. Your welding is a lot neater than mine though, I can see that even from here

I know that Sam was going to make up some boxes that could be grafted into existing shells, but don't know if there was ever enough interest to warrant series manufacture. Pop-ups make a lot of sense from the legality point of view, although I have always found single 7" units look too prominent when raised. Twin 5.75" each side look better, but there is not usually enough width in the front wings to fit them neatly. Some people have experimented with motorcycle headlamps, and there are a number of 90mm units out there now for the Aston DB9 racers (some with Xenon capability).

I did see a Californian Pantera customiser who replaced the 7" pop-ups of the factory car with rectangular (Cibie?) units, which meant the pods didn't have to stick up so high. If legislation ever forces me to use pop-ups, that is probably the way I would go, with upgraded halogens or a Xenon conversion.

At least with the design of the Nova, the lights don't have that "sad" look when raised

Novas are for Happy People

Lauren

Here are the pop-ups, 3rd attempt and still unfinished.







and here is my first attempt at the front cover moulding (not fitted yet)

Islandman,

Things always look better when painted. However the pods do look large compared to the lights. Keep going though I'm on my third set of rear lights & I still have to get it on the road.

Bushboy

Its actually the second set of lights in the same boxes. As the lights are smaller the boxes are now too big, but to be frank I couldn't face redoing them again

I like the way you've kept the little covered well for the indicator/side light unit, nice way of marrying the old with the new! It looks like you've got the main lights at a legal height now, so It's all been worth it!

That's what made me wonder if it was a Sam Cobley mod, as his blue demonstrator had exactly the same arrangement, albeit with 7" single headlamps from a TR7. Looks very Lamborghini Countach, and also has the styling benefit of breaking up what would otherwise be a large expanse of featureless nose (particularly if you have opted for a Mk2 bonnet as Dave has).

Marcello Gandini originally used the trick on the Countach to imply that the headlights were fixed under glass by using frosted covers (a bit like the Fezza 365/512BB, except clear), and the Countach nose is a lot shorter than a Nova!

Hmm, I see what you mean Dave. Going to 90mm lights gets a pair in on each side, but does leave a lot a box area around them. But as BB says, it will look a whole lot better with a coat of paint and as Alex has pointed out, at least you are legal in the headlamp height department!

Lauren

I've managed to convince the other half I need to take a break and pop back (if you consider a 13 hour flight popping back ) to the UK to do some more work on the car in November. Not the best month to work on the car, but maybe I will get to finish the pop-ups (at last ).

I also will have a stab at getting the Aircon fitted, and maybe give the new mark IV dash a trial fitting to see if I swap them or continue with the Mark II version that’s fitted.

Even if its cold I manage to get my Nova fix

Maybe that will be a perfect time for me to pick up the brown one..........

As explained before, if you make me a silly offer (i.e. costs ++) I might consider, as I really have no need to sell right now

A few updates on some of the jobs tackled on my last trip to the UK via the link below


http://www.the-island-man.com/nova_last_jobs_done.htm

Don't be too critical of yourself about how the pop-ups look when up. Many car manufacturers have spent millions on developing cars and STILL ended up with ugly pop-ups!!! Anyway, they spend most of their life down, and yours look fantastic down, and when they're up its usuallt dark, so you can't see what they look like