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Another Nova from across the pond saying Hi!

islandman

islandman

Member
I finally got the dash mounted in its final position, I had to lower the steering column by 1cm as when the gauges were mounted it raised the dash as the bottom of them were touching the column. Luckily I had previously added a 1cm spacer so it was a simple unbolt, remove and tighten up again.

I also remade the bonnet gas strut mounting point where my lumiweld had broken off (poor welding and lack of material overlap by me). This meant I had to grind out the original bracket from the fibreglass in the bonnet, then reweld it and glass it back in again.

Still contemplating remaking the rear section of the centre console as I have to make the front section that meets the dash anyway
 
islandman

islandman

Member
Believe it or not it took all day to make this centre console. I had to make up metal brackets and mount them to the tunnel. These were to secure the wooden console with blind fixings. The console will be secured by hidden blind bolts, but as they haven’t arrived yet temporary ones are fitted. The top wooden section is intended to be velcro’ed down to make it easier to trim. However the plywood wants to return to its flat shape once screws are removed so I now plan to make the top out of fibreglass.




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islandman

islandman

Member
On my previous gauge the needle use to bounce, especially at the lower speeds. Then on the new gauge this happened again. So I figured it must be the speedo cable catching and then releasing quickly (hence the bounce).
This is the old smiths speedo and cable attachment point.
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This is the new cable that turned up; it’s too small a diameter to fit over the old and new gauge. It also comes with a thread, which the old one didn’t. It’s from VW Heritage and is a Speedo cable for RDH not for 1302 / 1303.

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This is the old cable that fitted both my old smiths and new Daihatsu gauge.

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Does anyone know what cable I should have ordered to match the old one?

Separately the fuel gauge was actually quite close to being correct on the new gauge, however I fitted a fuel gauge wizard gizmo and now for the first time the gauge reads empty and full correctly ;)
 
islandman

islandman

Member
Well not much to show for the last two days work. I got hold of a water temperature sender from the original car that matches the gauges. Placed it in a cup of boiling water and connected it to the gauges and all worked OK. Unfortunately the size of the sender and thread is much smaller than the Alfa one so I can’t simply replace it in the block. One idea I have is that as the sizes are so different maybe I can get a bolt that matches the Alfa sender size and drill it out and tap it to take the Daihatsu sender inside it then screw the bolt (with smaller sender inside) into the block. It’s just an idea for now, no time to experiment now.

The rest of the time was remaking the rear centre console section to make it easier to trim as well as enlarging it for more storage space at the same time. I also incorporated the new interior light cluster I purchased. I toyed with putting it in the canopy, but after some tests in the dark last night I concluded that it provided more usable light behind me in the console rather than overhead to the rear of the canopy.

I haven’t finished the console yet as I ran out of time. I still have to add the door to the section that rises up as well as adding the door to the top section. In all it has three storage compartments and when all covered in Faux Leather with double stitching on the top of the sides should look really nice.

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I’ve temporarily wired in the old water temperature gauge into a temporary blanking panel in the dashes 2-DIN space.
 
islandman

islandman

Member
Well she is all washed and polished and as good as she will get for the show, you can almost guarantee it will rain on the journey there and mess up all my elbow grease!

I didn’t get half as many jobs done as I had hoped, but at least she is off to at least one show this year

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islandman

islandman

Member
What a nightmare journey!

I left Essex with the sunshine out in full force. I was pleased I finally had a petrol gauge I could rely on and a full tank of gas. I Got to the M40 section of the M25 and an almost standstill. 20 minutes later speeds picked up, but then slowed near Reading. Then Torrential rain....I haven't connected up the fan yet or screen demisesters (not even fitted), so the car was an instant sauna with the screen fully fogged up. Then when I thought it couldn't get worse the windscreen wiper stopped right in my eyeline. So now rain, wiper stuck and screen misted up.....I slowed right down to try and see out. Just to matters worse the side windows were leaking. I have been here two weeks and have had glorious weather, but the slightest chance of a car show and it turns instantly.

I finally found a petrol station with a covered forecourt, I pulled in out of the rain, got the socket set out and tightened the nut on the wiper spindle. Luckily an easy fix and I had wipers again. I pulled out of the petrol station and headed the B&B which was quite close now. Then just as I thought it couldn't get worse the car stalled....I bumped started it as I still had momentum. Then stopped completely just off a roundabout in the pouring rain. The petrol gauge still showed half full, I jumped out in the rain, opened the engine cover and looked at the glass fuel filter, it was empty!!!! argh....so much for my new gauge being accurate .... :(

Called the RAC, the he asked me where I was...err...no clue! At that point a BMW pulled up right behind me and as I'm on the phone a man appeared offering to tow me to safety. I explained there were no tow points on the car and that it was fuel. He offered to take me to a petrol station as he and I stood there in the rain. I got in his car with his wife and 9. Month old child ( I couldn't believe a Good Samaritan existed). Once I had fuel I headed to the same petrol station again to fill up this time. What and b&$@;y journey.
So now sitting in restaurant hoping the rain will stop and I can see where I am going!!
 
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ratrog64

ratrog64

Well-known member
Sure wish the watermarks were not on your photos so we can save them in our collection of beautiful examples of Nova/Sterling.

Great work on the interior thus far. It will be stunning in the end!
 
islandman

islandman

Member
ratrog64 said:
Sure wish the watermarks were not on your photos so we can save them in our collection of beautiful examples of Nova/Sterling.

Great work on the interior thus far. It will be stunning in the end!
Click to expand...

As photo bucket decided to blackmail everyone the Euro Nova admins set up a hosting portion for the site, the watermark is added automatically as you load photos. When I get to proper computer I will load some without the watermarks via a different hosting site. It will be a couple of days though
 
islandman

islandman

Member
Seeing as I just teased someone for not posting photos, I thought I better lead by example..

Me hot wiring the heater blower at the recent show as I hadn't wired it up into the switches and with the rain it fogged the screen and I couldn't see a thing...

I'm sure most Nova / Sterling owners had been in this position at some point in time :D

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B

B57-1974

Member
I am one of the guys that you teased about photos. Don't worry, I can take it. Speaking of photos, isn't your steering wheel on the wrong side of the car? *laugh*
 
Peter

Peter

Active member
An exponent of the half twisting sliding exit I see. getting in is quite easy though. I cheated and removed the passengers seat and laid down on some thick foam.*thumbs up*
 
islandman

islandman

Member
So I fitted my new 2 DIN stereo / GPS to the new dashboard. Okay so it’s not really the new dashboard, but part of the buck that I used to make the mold that I cut up and saved along with the faux wood insert I purchased as a spare. Ignore the dash / faux wood colour combination, its purely for testing fit purposes.

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As I needed a 2-Din stereo to fill the gap in my new dash and wanted to keep as much space behind it as possible for the HVAC ducting etc.. So I went for an Android unit. Its incredibly thin compared to older units. All my music can be stored on the internal storage or external USB connections for a hard disk. The unit cost me USD 97, which is a pretty good deal I think.

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I was playing around with various images as the boot logo for the device

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islandman

islandman

Member
Well I landed back in the UK Sunday to a wet and cold morning, quite a contrast to the 32 degrees I’m use to. Despite a 12 hour flight I knew I had to get my Nova from its lock-up that day and drive it the one hour trip back to my parents place. So went to the lock-up, the usual drill of putting the battery in and turning the car over for a long time waiting for the fuel to get into the filter and then into the carbs (it had sat for 1 year).

After cranking for probably 1 minute using my remote starter button in the engine bay I saw the fuel flow into the glass bowl on the filter, then the usual splutter as it tried to start. So knowing it was ready to fire I hoped in the driver’s seat and cranked by the key, started for a second then stopped. Cranked the key again then nothing, dash lights on but the starter didn’t turn, no solenoid click or anything…Bugger!

Thinking the starter may be stuck put it in gear and rocked the car, nothing. Took a metal bar and whacked the starter and solenoid a few times, still nothing. Frustrated, cold and pissed off I put some straps under the car to try and tow start it as I had to get it back by hook or by crook! I went to close the engine hatch a louvre ready for towing and thought I would give it one more try so pressed my remote starter button in the engine bay once more, hey presto it turned and fired up!.

It turns out that the contacts on the ignition key switch had probably oxidized resulting in a poor connection (I think). Anyway the car is now at the exhaust place having the new one made, fingers crossed it gets done in time and no more gremlins to prevent me getting to the show. I can’t say I’m looking forward to the weather though
 
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