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Sept 30, 2017 21:14:39 GMT
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With the Rover selling at the start of the month I have had a hankering for something Retro to run alongside the daily driver. Had owned an EG Civic in my youth and remember it fondly as being a hoot to drive, especially with the revvy VTEC (yo) unit. So I started to hunt for something appropriate. Unfortunately these seem to be very thin on the ground these days. I expanded the search for other civics and hit upon something up for sale that had much more sentimental value to me and my little bro. A 1986 EA (i think) Civic. In 1992 my dad finally decided that he needed to quit relying on public transport and get behind the wheel. He passed his test that year and our first ever family car was a 1985 Civic, in a rather fetching maroon colour. That was the car that started off my journey as a petrolhead and I have vivid memories of day trips in the back of that thing as an 11 year old. Unfortunately we lost my dad earlier this year after a long illness. I have always had in the back of my mind a pipe dream to hunt down a similar car to my dad's and subject it to a full resto/overhaul. When I read the for sale ad I immediately realised that we had to have this car. It had covered 72k miles and had been dry stored for the past 8 years in a garage after the unfortunate demise of the lady who had owned it from new. It would be the perfect base for my bro and I to recreate our first ever car, with a few choice modifications.  So I sent my brother one evening after work to check it out and see if we could get it bought. He went, had a good look round, and in fading light and driving rain made the decision to buy it on the spot.   The plans for this are quite extensive and I think it will be a long term project. First step is to get all the rot (rear wheel arches, front sills) cut out and replaced with good metal. I should imagine an engine swap will also take place, and we have either a D or B series VTEC in mind. (a H22 would be insane but maybe too much). Upgraded suspension and a subtle 20mm drop via some springs, a respray to match the original Honda maroon colour and a full interior retrim in tan leather with maroon piping will finish off the overhaul. I'd love a set of period correct Mugen wheels but I doubt we will be able to find a set of those now. I think we will settle for a set of 15s that are in keeping with the rest of the car. In my mind I have a Civic done in the style of Singer. I doubt it will be anywhere near that but a lad can dream... For now though the immediate priority is to get it collected and on to a welder. we have some leads for a place in Manchester close to where the car is located but if anyone knows of any body shops or Honda specialists in the North ( I'm in Leeds) that can help us with our project please let me know. I plan to keep this thread updated with our progress - it may take a while but I think we will end up with something very special. |
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Last Edit: Oct 1, 2017 7:37:34 GMT by ali355
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79cord
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,617
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Sept 30, 2017 23:11:31 GMT
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Great find of a lovely car. Hope it doesn't need painting in any rush, looks great as is & sorry to hear it needs inevitable rust rectification. Beige leather with red piping would be very decadent by Civic standards! Don't forget Honda's original ZC/D16 Dohc choice for these, that liked to rev a little more than D16 Vtec. Though Sohc Vtec admittedly more compact up top.  Front torsion bars can be adjusted/reset lower, though finding stiffer springs not so easy without changing to coil spring setup. www.redpepperracing.com/forums/index.php?s=fc1baf26467c491ef1b2c7e666acae8c&act=idx |
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Last Edit: Sept 30, 2017 23:18:24 GMT by 79cord
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Car was collected from the seller yesterday, and it was the first chance I had to have a good look round it.  It looked generally solid and in good shape for its 31 year age, with some rot in the rear wings and wheel arches and a particularly crusty patch around the drivers side A pillar. It was a one owner car from new, and the supplying dealer certainly sold a variety of cars:  It also came with an absolutely packed folder of service history, bills, receipts etc   Looking through the history it has had the sills changed about 15 years back, and it had been serviced yearly up until about 8 years ago when the owner passed away. Since then it has been garaged. Wheels were not seized and it rolled quite easily, meaning getting it on to the back of a recovery truck wasn't too much trouble  From there we took it to a welder who gave it a more thorough look over - that was a long 15 mins or so while he inspected the car....  But thankfully it seems quite solid underneath. A suspect bit of patchwork behind the drivers side front wheel arch, and the usual spots in the front and rear wings seem to be the limit of the rot. The plan is for the welder to sort these over the next fortnight or so, before we move it to a more local place where the fuel system, engine and brakes will be given a once over - if they are in reasonable shape an MOT beckons and my younger brother will use it over the winter whilst we hunt down a suitable engine.  So it may be pressed into the service earlier than planned. |
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Marc
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,037
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Oct 12, 2017 20:42:58 GMT
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Will follow with interest. Good luck!
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Dec 17, 2017 20:41:31 GMT
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Time for an update. The last installment had the car transported over to Yorkshire and with a garage in order to go through all the bits and bobs needed to get it MOT'd and back on the road. Unfortunately the place in Manchester that we paid a considerable sum of money to rid the shell of rust didn't quite get all of the rust so its needed some more welding in order to get it through an MOT. The garage has also been through the engine, box, brakes, and suspension. It had a full set of the various filters and fluids. The only part that was beyond repair was the brake proportioning valve, which took a while to track down (from a CRX in the states). I have also sourced a set of mini one 15" steel wheels which will be a nice subtle upgrade from the factory 13" wheels.  The delay has also given us some time to think about how we go about tackling the restoration/modernisation. I am leaning towards somehow stuffing a H22 VTEC from a Prelude under the bonnet but since my brother and I have absolutely no skills with a set of spanners I need to hunt down a place who can do this on our behalf- if anyone knows and Honda/J specialists in the North please give me a shout. The car will be MOT'd in the coming days and should be back on the road before Christmas - good timing from my point of view as the V8 in my Jag XFR has decided to throw all its toys out of the pram (misfire on cylinder 3 on Friday left me stranded in Nottinghamshire) - til that is sorted I am without a set of wheels. Looking forward to finally getting it home next week (fingers crossed!) |
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Dec 29, 2017 10:46:49 GMT
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Quick update after a couple of weeks on the road. Picked the car up Mid December having treated it to a new set of boots (15 inch steelies vs the standard 13s with the knackered tyres on them). Manual choke took a bit of getting used to but generally the engine sounds and runs very sweet.  Surprised at how big it feels on the inside despite being much smaller than more modern cars. Absolutely love the thin rimmed steering wheel but the lack of power assistance has taken a bit of getting used to. Pic with my (non retro) daily for comparison:  Was expecting a few gremlins after putting it back on the road after it had been sat unused for so much time and that is exactly what has happened as it seemed to run out of electricity on my short commute back from work. Using the lights, wipers and radio seemed to drain the brand new battery all too quickly so I suspect the alternator is goosed. On the lookout for a reconditioned one from Ebay and when pops up I will stick it on. My brother tracked down a Haynes Manual for it as well so will be a good chance to try and improve our rubbish mechanical skills! For now it is being used for smaller trips and the battery charger is being called into service every so often. |
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79cord
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,617
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Dec 29, 2017 11:28:59 GMT
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Glad to hear it's back in service, MINI wheels look nice & discreet.
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Dec 29, 2017 12:31:19 GMT
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Just get your current alternator rebuilt surely? bound to be a few good old school local specialists around. Good project though well done for getting it back into service!  |
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79cord
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,617
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Hmm, just read claimed weight of H22 drivetrain (inc. trans) 485lb / 218kg B18C 405 lb / 182kg D16 sohc 309 lb / 139kg Wouldn't have thought the EW 12v much lighter than the D16 Honda was proud to claim that ZC/D16A1 Dohc (118hp) only added 21 lb / 9.5 kg over the Civic EW 1.5 Sohc. Though injection, trans & equal length driveshafts may have added more. 1st gen CR-X 16v or Civic 16v parts could make that swap a bolt-in proposition?   link |
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Last Edit: Jan 3, 2018 6:59:50 GMT by 79cord
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shyam
Part of things
Posts: 162 
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Sept 24, 2018 7:57:01 GMT
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Love it! I have 1 of these in same colour as yours. I love these things so much that I own 2 of them! They are the perfect classic to daily as mine returns around 45 mpg! The other will be built for track.. Never see much about these things posted so pretty ecstatic to see 2 build threads on these on the same morning! A 1986 EA (i think) Civic. These are SB3 Civics my brother. Anyway here's a couple cheeky shots of one of mine after deep detail for some inspiration. Bookmarked, look forward to seeing progress on yours.   |
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Last Edit: Sept 24, 2018 8:01:14 GMT by shyam
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Nov 20, 2018 13:52:37 GMT
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Haven't updated this for a while - since the alternator failed the car sat at the bottom of a driveway for about 6 months whilst I dealt with my then daily XFR and its chocolate engine. Having destroyed the better part of two engines in two years I had no end of grief getting it back on the road so I could get rid of it! Eventually we pulled our finger out and found someone to take the work on. Four main elements were agreed on: - Cut out the rot and replace with good metal to make the shell solid. - Rip out the 1.3 and put in a (slightly) more modern Honda unit. - Respray to the period correct Honda Maroon colour - Go to town on the interior with a singer-esque 911 inspired cabin - recaro seats, lashings of leather and a few personal touches.  we agreed a date for it to be picked up and transported to East Yorkshire to the chap who will be doing the work - when the day arrived it was absolutely tipping it down but as it was loaded on the flat bed the rain stopped and the sun came out - we thought that was a good omen Since then he has made a good start, it has been stripped back to a rolling shell - engine and box out, dash and interior removed, doors taken off and side glass removed. Our engine plans have come back to earth with a bump. D series SOHC VTEC from an EG is what we have agreed upon- my little brother was hell bent on the H22 until he realised how much work (and ££) that would involve. The plan is to find a rotten EG Esi before Christmas all being well, as that will be roughly when the metal work will be complete.   ![]() |
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Last Edit: Nov 20, 2018 13:53:34 GMT by ali355
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Nov 24, 2018 14:12:01 GMT
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Interesting build. Always good to learn some skills on a basic car, to begin with.
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May 25, 2019 14:39:08 GMT
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Any progress on this build?
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Sept 5, 2019 20:12:46 GMT
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Not updated this in a while - apologies! So back over a year ago the car was stashed on a mates drive as we had neither the time nor the knowledge to sort the electrical issues, so we looked for someone to take on the work on our behalf. A few posts over on pistonheads and a couple of chats with some folk who were recommended got the car in the hands of a chap out towards Humberside, who has a background in restoring old Porsches and MX5s, and what started out as a fix it to get it back on the road quickly turned into a full on restoration, along the lines of MZR or Singer (but on a much MUCH lower budget!). The plan is to repaint the exterior in period maroon along the lines of the old man's car, and go nuts on the interior with a singer esque retrim with lots of basket weave/ houndstooth and leather:  The engine was fun tracking down - after speaking to a few Honda places and researching a chap on Facebook who had managed to stuff a H22 under the bonnet of a 3rd gen, we realised that would take deeper pockets than we had so we agreed to comprimise on a D series SOHC VTEC. A suitably ratty mk3 CRX was procured for the princely sum of £400 and it has been hacked to pieces to relieve it of its engine. Since my last update the car has been totally stripped, relieved of its crusty bits with lovely fresh metal welded in. A selection of during pics:     The engine has been trial fitted, the hunt is on an uprated torsion bar for the front and some springs and shocks for the rears and we are probably 6-9 months away from it being completed. Next milestones will be prepping the engine bay to fit the engine, all bodywork prepped for paint and hopefully start getting some paint on it before the end of the year. |
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