My Nova

page 7


6th February 2011

This story starts December 2010.

It has been very cold here with lots of snow so I did not feel like spending days in an unheated garage working on cold steel. However I did take out the fresh air vents in the kick panel area, the heater assembly and the wiring harness so I can start cleaning them up. Also the new quarter panels have been ordered and should come in early March.

I wanted disc brakes in front, but the conversion sets available are around $500 and are 5 lug. This would mean another $200 approximately for shipping and 25% local taxes. The fact that I would also have to change the rear axle to 5 lug by buying new axles or redrilling the old meant this was no option since this is supposed to be a budget rebuild.

I did some research and measuring and found the bolt circle to be 4x114,3mm with a center hole of 67,1mm which is the same as with the following cars:
Mitsubishi Carisma 1,8i, 2,0i, 1,8Gdi from year 1995 - 4/114.3 44 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Volvo S40, V40 4 bolt 4/114.3 44 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Kia Clarus, Carens, Joice 4/114.3 45 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Hyundai Accent year 1995 - 1999 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Hyundai Matrix 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Mitsubishi Galant 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Kia Magentis 4 bolt 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Hyundai Coupe 4 bolt 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Smart forfour 4/114.3 46 67.1
Mitsubishi Colt from year 2004.05 - 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Hyundai Pony 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Mitsubishi Space Star 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Hyundai Atos to year 2001 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Hyundai Elantra 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Mitsubishi Space Runner 4 bolt 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Mitsubishi Space Wagon 4 bolt 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50
Hyundai Sonata 4/114.3 46 67.1 nut 12 x 1.50

If you want to use anything of this list please measure and check yourself, I got this info on the internet so I cannot tell for sure if it is 100% accurate for all.

I found a nice set brand new front axles complete with discs, calipers, pads and brake hoses real cheap.

These are off a 2006 Mitsubishi Colt (CZ) which is just under 300kg lighter than a Nova but I think they will be sufficient cause this will not be a race car. The discs have a 256mm or 10” diameter and the caliper is a single piston type.

Taking the drum off the hub was more work than I thought it would be.

Each drum was attached to the hub with 4 steel rivets so I had to drill them out and grind them flush.

After cleaning the hubs I found out the discs would not fit over them so I had the hubs outside diameter cut to size on a lathe. My stepdad Willem did this for me and he made a tool to mount the hub in the lathe.

I used MDF (dunno how it's called in english...???) to make the caliper brackets since it is cheap and easy to work with.

The first attempt was to get an idea of how to make it, the second got me almost there, I need to fine tune it a bit and then I will make them from aluminum plate.

I used the top bolt from the drum brake assembly on which the brake shoes rotate and cut it shorter since I was not going to re-use it anyways.

the caliper is upside down now (still have to switch the left and right) but I got it done. it will take some more work but I know it will work and it is possible to have 4lug disc brakes!! I measured the MDF brackets and made an AutoCad drawing... with this I will have the brackets laser cut from steel plate. See drawing below:

I got the brackets and went to the garage to check the final fit. Everything bolted on easy and aligned perfectly. The hub diameter is a tiny bit too small where the disc mounts so I made shims (for centering the discs) from a tin can. Now the disc fits snug and is perfectly centered.

I designed the brackets so the calipers are mounted behind the axle but I found one of the bolts for mounting the calipers is not easy to get in with the steering arm in the way. The mounting points are symetrical so I mounted the calipers in front of the axle, no problem. Only thing I will need to check is clearance when I get tubular A-arms.

I also cleaned out the fresh air vents, the plastic housing was easily cleaned with water and soap, the steel part of the control doors were given a quick coat of paint.

To mount the clutch master cylinder I need a bracket, I was thinking about making one based on example pics I found on the internet but found one (powdercoated) on Ebay for a decent price so took the short route on this one. It would take me some trial and error and a lot of hours to make it with basic tools so that justified the purchase for me.

So again some progress made :-) , I try to do a bit of work each weekend to keep the project moving forward.

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You can reach me by e-mail at: pro-touring @ hotmail .com