cast pistons and chocolate transfer boxes, pretty pricy to sort these problems, I nearly bought a uk sunny but these problems had already revealed themselves. Lucky escape for me

A customer of mine who is now a good friend is building a 400-500bhp corsa b with a let. He turned up to my work in his girlfiends car which was a c20xe corsa b. I asked him to take me out for a quick blast, I couldnt believe it, I hate corsas but for the money there isnt much that can return that sort of buzz. Easily as quick as a scooby sti. He can do this conversion in 20 mins as its really simple. Defo think about somthing like this or a nova, you wont go wrong for the money

 

Engines are approx Ł1000
Shafts and hubs Ł200
Mounts Ł50
F28 gearbox Ł300
Competetion mounts Ł130
Brakes ŁŁŁ
Coilovers ŁŁŁ
LSD Ł500
Chips ( 280hp ) Ł100 - Ł300
FMIC and hoses Ł200 -Ł300+


It all adds up and buying a finished car is a cheaper way of doing things, as I said just expect to have some work to do if its a cheapish car you buy.

 

why shouldnt a evo or gtir be compared to a nova... at the pod a decent evo will batter the nove.. 4wd.. pulsars run everage 12s .. and not much power.. they grip up and fock off. where as nova will be spinning. you got a good time at pod but then look at the power u ran.. u even had 100shot nitrous... thans bloody mental! fast car for a fwd and on a decent straight will destoys scoobys,evos n what ever,. but over all it wouldnt! kuz theres bends,roundabouts, twistys!

 

Wheelspin ? did you watch the video ? Thats under 250hp on gas, 150hp max off gas I can post the other with a 150shot of gas when we pulled a 4.9 - 60 and 9.6 to 100mph at brunters if you like, hardly any wheelspin, lets see you beat that with your 328hp.

Just because your RS turbo doesn't lay the power down don't assume a nova is the same, especially one with a diff.

A early Evo or GTIR is brittle, expensive on parts and mainly fast on the 1/4 as it gets off the line well being that its 4wd, terminal speeds tend to be no better than my nova was for example.

I would take that nova anywhere, any circuit and happily drove it to Germany, kick the arse out of it for over 30 laps then towed someone home, if the engine had of ever given up it was Ł200-Ł300 for a replacement so that is why you cannot compare them to a Evo or Pulsar as they are in another league of costs to look after properly.

 

Mo, just remember this thread is about buying a nova with a budget of Ł2500, clearly he is looking for a car thats not going to rape him if it goes wrong or I am sure he would just get another cossy !

Good Evo's and Pulsars do not exist for that sort of money so quit going on about it.

 

and in gear on the move it will go like stink, anyways if evos are so good why you driving a rst mo

im sure a nova will handle the power as well or better through the front wheels than an rst

santa pod is awesome i love it BUT its not the be all and end all of a car, if it is then just get a dragster, hes looking for a quick car for Ł2500 and a nova c20let is perfect much better than an old shed Ł2500 evo ffs

comprenday nouny nouny lol

 

my bro had an astra 16v xe with EVERYTHING done,he kept up with my 400bhp saff.

granted the old t5 changed like a massey ferguson!


might be wrong here but i think he was told the only way to squeeze more power was to turn the engine around so the trumpets were at the front!??

 

Sounds like a serious xe engine, the Swindon BTCC engine ran a reverse head with the exhaust at the back and tb's at the front, was mainly done to smoothen the exhaust flow though from what I believe. I don't doubt a proper xe keeping up with a 400hp Saph though

 

if he kept up with you in a astra with an xe you aint got 400 hp mate lol

 

If it had 250hp and NO lag then you would be suprised.

My mates 224hp NA Nova would slaughter my mates 3 door at everything apart from top speed, combination of lag, crappy gearboxes ( as mentioned ) and weight, Astras aren't as heavy as people think really.

 

Without an LSD I did a 5.36 0-60 on brunters, timed with datron. Then when I fitted the LSD it did a 4.79 on slightly more questionable timing equipment. That was in a Corsa LET.

I don't think you can go faster for the money, BUT there are a hell of a lot of dodgy conversions. It will leak oil. Be prepared to spend, but parts never cost much. Have fun

 

i think alot of people would be suprised just how fast these vaux's can be. just remember that most cossies you see down pod with the usual stage 1-3 road specs run 13-14 secs (i know some are faster, this is just an average figure), you can easily break into the 13's and even 12's with a few quid spend in the vauxhall world.

 

Nice car too !

 

Thanks! Nearly ready for the road again too

Engines built, car has had a resto, few more bits and it can go for mapping I believe. All things being well it should be a tad quicker than before.

 

Was just about to ask what happened to it ! Be good to see it back out.

My old nova came back to me a few months back, sadly its in a sorry state now I did end up putting a let in it for the guy though so its atleast mentally fast lol

 

lol ,, i didnt say my rst was betteer]] i just prefered a series 2. i like the shape and wanted one since i was in school... evos are good but i like shocking em [straight line] only .i would buy an evo there quick but im not the man for a jap... dont no y.. doesnt stop me telling others to though

 

oooooooooooooooo

i see,you buy 900bhp and you can pass comment on the un educated minions

trust me it was 400bhp

 

 

whats the beneft?

 

mad looking bay

 

the engine builder reckoned it was 270-280bhp
he spent abt 7k on the engine alone not inc tb's etc

 

Better flowing exhaust and ram air effect. Exhaust being the main reason for the reverse head apparently.

There is a Swindon reverse head engine for sale, has been for sale for ages, only 8k I think last time I saw an advert for it which is shockingly cheap for something that was capable of 300hp

 

I sold it to my mate with the blue nova. Sadly the Corsa is not the same colour any more, but the wheels are still white

Shame about your old car not being in top condition any more...

Reverse head was used by the later Touring Cars I believe. But I'm sure SBD had either a fraction under or over 300 on an XE using 8 injectors, with the head the original way.

 

That in a Saph would destroy a 400hp cossy let alone in a Astra !

Sounds like a proper motor, not many of those around and I wouldn't of fancied paying for it.

 

something to do with the ram effect on the trumpets/more direct flow

and as said,smoother exhaust route/flow

 

the vauxhalls are ultra reliable too...

 

Did the block fall off the workbench to cause that damage

 

damn you beat me to it!

 

The clue is in the colour of the block

 

well it did try to fall out of the car

 

Possibly the most catastrophic engine failure I have ever seen.

Fair play to Andy, I'd of soiled myself, I heard he just laughed LOL

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL2mTBzP140

Looks to put it's power down not too badly in this video to be honest... and against a c280bhp minimum Impreza, it shows just how quick these cars are.

Passengers reaction is good too.


Cheers,
Grant

 

That's true, once you add in 1000-1500 for a decent base car then you're talking about between 5-6k all in.. once you get the conversion done, supporting mods and decent seats/harnesses sorted out.


Cheers,
Grant

 

My old 16v Nova build cost me Ł1500 to do including labour, 288mm brakes, C20XE, F20 box, Mtech mounts, Group N chip, Scorpion, bucket seats, stripped out.

I gave it death everywhere, 2nd gear revlimiter launches etc etc....still going strong now!

 

Few pics of mine.........






And a video - please excuse my mate (gets going around the minute mark)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGKBp9viWWY

Currently going through some changes, new pistons, new manifold, new turbo, diff and finaly brakes.
Im not sure how fast it does 0-60 etc but it has seen a genuine 160mph on sat nav with 16psi of boost and conservative mapping.

 

Your mate's a pussy

 

Iv had mind for a few years now and love it, built it with a Ł99 halfods socket set only lol. For the money imo they are unbeatable for grin factor. its never broke down also and it gets its dinner every time its out, my foot is always to the borde.

 

Really need to get round to getting the bosses welded onto my Bailey headertank like yours.

 

if its 280 hp then that is awesome but in gear on the move a proper 400hp 400 lbft should destroy it. the mid range torque will be wank on the xe it must be, nowhere near 400 lbft anyways.

im not disputing it must go well though, ive been in a tuned xe astra around 180 hp and that was no slouch

and no 900 hp hasnt gone to my head, its just imo the cos must be down on power as it should win if it grips with the massive mid range torque.

 

The power is never really the problem with a Sierra tho is it?
It's the agricultural gearbox!!lol

And you can't compare an xe with cams,ex and filter to a near touringcar spec xe that reved to almost 9k.

I handed a nova with tb's it's ass with 350bhp so I can assure you this was a very different animal!

Don't get me wrong I was as shocked as you and extremely pissed off!lol