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Thread: Novice Built

  1. #1

    Novice Built

    Introduction: I was 18 when the Nova appeared on the kit car scene and financially I was in no position to buy what I considered to be the most unique and beautiful kit car ever created. I have been a lifelong petrolhead and over the years I have restored cars and , built a successful TR7 V8 sprint and hillclimb car but despite visited the kit car show at Stoneleigh every year for over twenty years I had up until now never owned, let alone built a kit car. However in December 2021 I hooked up with Paul Fryer via Facebook and he sold me a Nova body and later a pair of Nova high-back seats (more on those later).

    The build concept:

    First and foremost I want to build a proper car, not hastily plonk a Nova body on a chassis and drive it around but a proper functioning vehicle that drove, rode, steered, stopped and was leak and squeak free. Using a VW floor-pan and VW flat four engine was simply not an option for me. I did not like the way many built Nova's sat on their wheels, often the ride height was wrong and many look like they are dragging the VW engine around behind them. I consulted the UK Kit Car Guide and had a long talk with Ed Morton at Pie Valley Engineering which resulted in me buying a chassis, body, windscreen, Rover KV6 2.5 litre engine, MGTF gearbox, new MGTF rear subframe, jigs for front wishbones and a few boxes of very useful parts.

    The story so far:

    So eventually I has both bodies and the chassis at my workshop in Forest Row near East Grinstead and the first task was to put the body on the chassis and spend some time figuring out the ergonomics of the interior, which resulted in me making the decision to raise the body on the chassis by 50mm. I also bought a complete front and rear MGTF subframe with steering column, gear selector mechanism and a few instruments which will all be fully refurbished before use. While I was still in this assessment stage Mike Brown appeared outside my workshop and introduced himself, amazing that in the UK Nova community very few people are building cars with non-VW engines yet Mike was only a few miles up the road from me! His knowledge of the Nova and cars in general has been invaluable, as has his assistance and advice to this novice. With the second body now cleared from the workshop it was time to start work on the chassis. I installed the MGTF rear subframe (a simple bolt on) and then put the engine/gearbox in the subframe, at which point I encountered Jon Nield on Facebook who was installing a Rover KV6 into an MGTF and his advice and assistance were much appreciated. My install involved using the factory MGTF gearbox mounted directly onto the chassis rail and fabricating an engine mount which also site directly onto the chassis rail but I soon discovered that my engine was tilted towards the back of the car and trying to tilt it forward so that is sat level was not a simple task. After consulting with Ed and Jon we concluded that the tilt was acceptable so I need to fabricate an angled mount. I have also test installed the steering column and obtained a pair of 2 inch track rod extensions from the Latheman on eBay.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter*** Mikemrb's Avatar
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    Well done David my badgering you to start posting your build has worked, you'll get plenty of encouragement and knowledge from people on this site
    Mike

  3. #3
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter*** BlueNova's Avatar
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    Welcome to the Forum David.

    By my reckoning you’re the 3rd person on the Forum to be building a Pie Valley based Nova, the others being Alex and Mick (‘Alzax3’ and ‘MicksRedNova’). Many years ago Lauren (‘Spacenut’) built a mid engined chassis for her Nova, which is still on the road.

    I got my Nova back on the road in April this year after letting her ‘sleep’ in the garage from 1991 till 2016 when I started a full body off rebuild. I did ponder the quest of bringing her up to date mechanically but decided to keep things simple and stick with the VW chassis and 1776 Type 1 engine, so that I could (hopefully) get her road legal again. However, despite her being on the DVLA records, it still took 3 months of discussion to get an agreed year of manufacture.

    Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing more details of your build (we love photos on here!). You’re in good company with Alex, Mick and Mike already undertaking more ambitious builds than I did, and with Lauren having a road going ‘non VW’ Nova

    Alistair

  4. #4
    Senior Member Phill's Avatar
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    Well done David for posting here. Looking forward to seeing the build progress.
    "The most beautiful kit car in the world - Motor"

    http://stores.lulu.com/rightsigns


  5. #5
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter***
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    Hi David welcome to the forum. A nice intro looking forward to seeing more of you build.

    Dirk

  6. #6
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter***
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    Welcome to the forum, looking forward to following the build

  7. #7
    Welcome to the forum, and to stay here you need to follow one simple rule......Lots of photos as you go along....its the law

    I admire you willingness to focus on making your car the best it can be

  8. #8

    Not for the want of trying

    Quote Originally Posted by islandman View Post
    Welcome to the forum, and to stay here you need to follow one simple rule......Lots of photos as you go along....its the law

    I admire you willingness to focus on making your car the best it can be
    I have tons of photographs but despite being IT savvy I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do it.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Mikemrb View Post
    Well done David my badgering you to start posting your build has worked, you'll get plenty of encouragement and knowledge from people on this site
    Mike
    Think I might need some help posting photo's Mike, its a compete mystery.......

  10. #10
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter*** Mikemrb's Avatar
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    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by Roverexpert View Post
    Think I might need some help posting photo's Mike, its a compete mystery.......
    I'll pop round maybe Thurs/Fri and give you a tutorial

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