Vtecmec's 4th Gen

[Vtecmec]

Thanks hondaman.

I've not updated this in a while, too busy enjoying the car; so just a few bits to add, not may pics though.

Once MOT'd and driveable was getting it presentable for JAE. Items for this included:

Fitting the exhaust manifold cover, including welding brackets to the DC sports to make it fit well.
Machine polishing the car again as there were a few dull spots.
Fitting the front mudflaps.
Setting the idle speed and ignition timing.
Stripping and cleaning the front door glass and runners as they did not operate as smoothly as I wanted.
Lots of other crappy bits that I cannot remember.

So that was that, until I noticed that the crank pulley had a slight wobble, typically only 5 days before JAE.
Fortunately @honda-hardy came to the rescue, offering a spare he had on his old engine, he gave me this for free. Many thanks Sam, I do owe you one . Type-S crank pulley FTW.

Then to JAE:









It was a good weekend and everyone was so kind with their comments.

Whilst at JAE, @Wurlycorner brought a few bits I was missing, clips mainly and a rear plastic boot cover, he gave me these for free. Many thanks Iain, I owe you one too .

So a few weeks later I got round to sorting out the boot trims and liners. I removed them from the car, scrubbed the crap out of them with carpet cleaner and then thoroughly jet washed. They came up really well.



So that was that sorted, a few weeks later I went to start the car and...nothing. After about an hours messing around I pinpointed the cause to some of the old wiring from the auto shifter, so I removed all that and it was all well again, it was something I had been meaning to do anyway.

Now, fast forward to about a month ago, I had not started the car for a few weeks, and when I went to use it the battery was flat. After jump starting it it would just cut out when trying to drive. Testing the battery showed that it would not hold anymore than 50% charge and after an hour was flat again.

So I sent the battery off for a replacement (still under warranty) and stole the battery off the daily for use (needed parts for it's MOT).

Whilst driving for the parts the battery light came on, along with the cat warning light, ABS and 4WS light.

I figured that there was a problem with the alternator, even though it was showing +14v when running, it had always flickered occasionally at idle, I had previously assumed it was due to the underdrive pulleys I am running, but this now appeared to be just a symptom of the charging system dying a slow death.

So off with the alternator and a few tests later realised that the diode pack was faulty, so on with a new one and all problems solved.



So that is where we are upto, and for 2015 I have planned:

Full repaint.
Component & sub speaker setup and amps.
Make a decision as to whether to fit the headlight eylids and aftermarket bonnet spoiler that are sat in the shed.
Retrim the headlining.
Finish off some sideskirts that I have been making (teaser)........

[Donald]

Really really like this

[prahunt]

I had a look at this beauty at JAE and she was lovely. Adored the engine bay, found it very clean and it also answered how to fit the strut brace round the components.

What's this aftermarket bonnet spoiler? I love he 5th Gen one.
Any pictures anywhere?

[Vtecmec]

What's this aftermarket bonnet spoiler?

It's something I've not seen anywhere else, and a lot smaller than the 5th gen one. It needs a bit of work but I'll take a pic of it on the weekend.

[mercutio]

its not a carbon fibre look one with Honda on one end is it

[Vtecmec]

It might just be.

[Kristoffer]

Your car is really smart mate, and I like the sounds of your plans

[wurlycorner]

Sorry that alternator crapped out on you

[Vtecmec]

No worries Iain, it only cost £20 to fix, and a good learning exercise into the world of alternators.

[Vtecmec]

Ok so a bit more done on the car.

A few frustrating bits to be honest, it seems one of the front lower balljoints crapped itself, which is a bit annoying after only 2,500 miles. I always knew the ones I had bought were a little cheap, but I thought I’d get at least 10k from them, at which point I could just swap them out individually at my leisure when required. Who’d have thought it’d be so soon.

So some replacement lower balljoints, Sankei (555) made in Japan, bizarrely supplied by Moog.



So on that went, whilst doing the job I also noticed a bit of play in one of the inner CV joints, the one that connects to the half shaft, annoyingly I could not source a new one from anywhere (except Honda at mega cost) so I’ve gone with a used one for the interim. And on that went as well.

Round to the rear and the wheel bearing that had an advisory at the MOT. I had one already as a spare, but it was a non-ABS one, swapping the reluctor ring over was far easier than I thought it would be. And on the car that went.



Even though I’ve not done many miles on the brakes, they were cheap when I bought them, and whilst sat on the car for 5 years had rusted over, this did come off for the most part, but a little bit of pitting was still evident. Anyway, they were also giving a bit of a vibration under braking, so I decided to swap them out. Here are the new bits.



I also managed to source some OEM brake pad shame for a proper job. Many thanks to @Pushki for giving these to me for free (even the postage).

Excellent, brakes now sorted.

Then I spotted a little scruffy, used black leather interior (well the seats anyway) up for sale at a good price. Many thanks to @Bladder for this.

It arrived like this:




So I gave them a clean and a dose of some liquid leather, which brought them up rather nicely.



Then it was onto the significant damage to the drivers side bolster.

So I removed the cover from the seat.




Then cut out the stiches to remove the patch.



Then bought a piece of replacement leather and cut it to shape.



Then got out a needle and thread and sewed like the wind.



Leaving me with a bolster piece in far better condition, although it does look a bit newer.





Then I conditioned the seats and fitted them.