The IKEA EK was great fun but also drew too much attention.
After a bit of trouble I decided I wanted to keep the car but make it stand out a little less.
A few track days highlighted some weak spots in the car which I also wanted to iron out.
I SORNd the car and got cracking.
Unfortunately on 2/1/18 I was rear ended. the car was going to be a right off
The engineer was a bit confused as to why I would not be a scrapping a 2000 Honda Civic civic after rear end impact.
Fortunately I had a payout and decided to carry out the repairs myself. The exhaust alone is a £400 Buddyclub system.
The car was squeaking on idle,
it was either the alternator belt or power steering belt. I replaced both.
I wanted to repaint both the inside and outside of the car.
Before doing so a lot of prep was involved.
Below shows the rear seat delete and welding up unwanted holes.
I was keen to protect the metal after the welding was complete.
I treated the metal with some temporary Hammerite until I got round to painting it.
With the welding complete, I used a progressive series of wet and dry papers providing a key for whatever paint was next.
The standard sunroof on a EK civic weighs 17KG, hence I was keen to get rid of it.
The last picture shows a mockup of what I would like to laser cut from acrylic.
I chose Nato paint as it does not require primer or lacquer and is hard wearing.
I managed to borrow a triple head silenced compressor from work along with a Devilbiss spray gun from my colleague.
The first spray I did was the interior of the car, I was very pleased with the result and continued to the exterior.
The black dashboard from EK9s and VTI Civics are sought after pieces.
I wanted to make something unique.
After some research I decided to reupholster my current dash with fake suede.
I designed and laser cut some MDF panels to house both speakers and window switches. This eliminates the need for a door card.
I made some bumper fasteners as the standard Honda ones break after a few uses.
I designed and mounted a simple battery box with a couple of secure mounting points.
This keeps the centre of gravity in centre of the car and also frees space in the engine bay.
I had to make some sort of door handle with the removal of door cards.
I decided to go with an old leather belt and some laser cut plywood.
After re mounting the ECU, fuse boxes and battery and a whole lot of re wiring the car is finally running once again.
The car has come a long way, but there is still a long way to go.
The standard sunroof weighs roughly 20kg. I was keen to replace it. Many people replace it with aluminium or an alternative. I chose acrylic to keep the light coming through. I also laser cut a rubber gasket in the hope of maintaining a water tight seal. I used rivets to sandwich everything together.
After removing the central locking system,
I installed a new lock set including: doors, ignition, and boot
New engine mounts installed,
this will make the car vibrate more but should increase response
Replacement Vtec solenoid gasket and cap
I lowered the front end by 5mm as the rear was previously slightly lower than the front.
The shell is not symmetrical meaning the rear camber was different.
To combat this I fitted Hardrace rear camber arms.
Designed and laser cut a bit of card which I used as a tyre stencil
New plug cover designed in Adobe Illustrator then laser cut on 5mm acrylic
Designed some stickers and a sun strip which I made using a Roland vinyl cutter
Compression test results give the all clear for boosting
This is the kit turbo kit I bought from a well respected Honda breaker. This was installed on his personal DC2 Integra with a B18C engine
Turbo, manifold and intercooler mounted.
Inlet manifold replaced with one already fitted with Mitsubishi Evo injectors
Sump replaced with one that has a welded bung.
This will allow the turbo to drain oil directly to the sump.
Evo injectors with inline resistors soldered into my engine loom.
P73 ECU with jumper harness and uprated Walbro fuel pump installed.
Oil feed line fed from oil pressure sensor at the rear of the block
Crash bar modified to maximise airflow to intercooler
Walk around of the car running with the turbo setup
My extremely complicated headlights wired up.
Each headlight has a total of junctions.
1. Angel running lights - turn on with key
2. Sidelights - stalk
3. Sidelights feature switch back indicators - stalk
4. Blue devil eyes for shows - centre console switch
To handle the new power increase from the turbo setup I upgraded to a Stage 2 competition clutch and reused my old light weight flywheel. I also bled the system. As the car was sitting for so long I had a problem engaging gears, this was due to the flywheel being stuck to the clutch.
Dyno day and MOT.
Made 260BHP,
will make 300BHP + with an electronic boost controller.
Cooling fan was never connected with turbo build. This resulted in overheating issues. The orange hose shown below is not rated for high temps, it is a sun roof drain hose. This melted and caused a mass leak. I have now replaced this with a braided hose and resolved the cooling issue.
I have installed an oil sand-which from which I will mount my oil pressure sensor. I am also installing a wideband AFR AEM gauge to monitor fuelling ratios as well as a boost pressure gauge. Whilst I was there I replaced the oil filter and used Total Quartz Racing 10W50 Fully Synthetic oil.
I was experiencing some steering wobble and strange sounds from the front passenger front wheel. There was a substantial amount of movement on the inner CV joint. So I replaced both driveshafts.
Japfest @ Donington Race Track
Cancer Research Meet (Halfords, Watford) - Sep 2019
