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Got this photo from my father in law this morning that he got the head unit in in about 5 mins on the first try, always the way 🙃

More progress MB6 dash installed and MB6 cluster fitted Modified the centre console slightly (basically just removing the tray in front of the gear stick) to accommodate the shifter box Cut a hole in the back of the glovebox and mounted the ECU inside Installed a steering wheel boss and OMP 300mm wheel Unfortunately I wasted a couple of hours trying to get the head unit to fit in the dash as I was struggling with all the spiders web of cables behind so I couldn't get it rolling today 🥲 but it's a marathon not a sprint!

No pics unfortunately as had my head down but some good progress on the car: Engine back in the car and running without any timing codes, great success! Managed to fix an issue with the shifter, I wasn't able to select 1st or 2nd gear. I tried getting another set of shifter cables as the ones I had with the shifter were a bit too short and didn't look like the pictures of "correct" sets i'd seen. Turns out I had set the gearbox cable bracket up wrong - for future reference the brackets should be in the "forward" position as per this image (thanks to the helpful soul on facebook who pointed this out when I posted a last ditch question in a kswap group!): Started to fit an MB6 VTI dashboard that I was kindly gifted by a chap called Sam who I bought a few other bits off. My original one had the fake wood trim which wasn't my favourite and some absolute vandal had attached a phone holder directly to it with wood screws! Removed the passenger airbag, removed the cover from it and refitted the cover back into the dash to cover the ugly hole that was left Another solid day on it and I reckon first drive soon (a very short one out of VTEC as driving on the wrong engine map, with open headers on 15 year old budget tyres isn't the greatest idea!!)

Thanks, it's an alpine unit so even though it's new I think it fits with the 90s-ish vibe of the car. It's no doubt the brand I would've gone for if I had the money back in the day haha. It has RGB lighting so I can change it to march the dash which is nice (I'm being picky but I don't like it when the colours don't match!) The car came with a pretty retro looking JVC CD player but only 1 channel was working for some reason and it had a really shoddy aftermarket Bluetooth kit (calls only) with wires bodged in all over the place so I thought it was best to bin it all and fit something new I did consider not bothering with a head unit but even though the build leans towards track car, I've been in cars which are totally stripped before and whilst you might be able to get an extra 20kg out by removing the heater, stereo, half the dash, etc, it makes the car unusable for anything other than trailering really Yes he basically said he managed to get it all down the side by sticking a pair of long noise pliers through the popped out hazard switch and holding the cables out of the way of the head unit I've stripped everything from the front seats back and deleted the air con (it was broken anyway) so I'm not even sure I'll be able to hear the radio over the rattling but that's about the extent of the weight reduction for now. It should be a lightweight chassis anyway as it doesn't have a sunroof or other luxury features 😂

Great progress mate! Those head units are a bugger to fit in our civics. Trick I've found is there us a slight gap in the dash on the left side at the back of where the head unit sits. You can just about manage to poke the excess cables down there when sliding the head unit in, then pull them through from the glovebox side (with glovebox removed). It's tight but makes it easier to get the unit fully in. Nice choice of head unit by the way!

Hi all, So I can confirm aftermarket seats, without cutting frames or welding mounts to car, are completely possible. If you have read my before method with the universal frames this way is a lot easier and more cost effective. After 3 months of research I found a company called Planted Technology, they produced made to order seat sub frames for many cars. I emailed them to ensure my car was not an EK or an EG. I measured up the cars holes and got back the details of the closest fit frames they make. The Honda Accord 4th & 5th gen have the same interior as the MB3/MB6. I took a risk bought the frames and they do in fact directly fit. I admit it was a bit of a fiddle as they had to come from America so may have been slightly warped or bent on delivery, never the less I got them in as seen in the image below Here is a link to the main page, it would better off ordering them from GSM performance Planted Technology https://www.plantedtechnology.com/products/planted-seat-bracket-honda-accord-4th-5th-generation-1989-1997-passenger-right GSM performance https://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/product/planted-honda-accord-bracket/ Things to consider, these frames do not come with threads. M12 Nuts will be needed to fit seatbelts, M8 Nuts and bolts to fit seats to rails or frames, washers highly recommended

Thank you very much for confirming this and your post - makes my car build a lot easier as I was expecting to have to modify the stock seat structure (which in itself is a problem because my passenger seat was accidentally disposed of - best not to ask)

It's easier to just replace the arm complete mate, they come ready to fit straight on.

Meant to update this! Got the ABS fault sorted, was right rear abs sensor. Was supposed to be a 10 min job to remove/fit, only one 10mm bolt! Said bolt was rounded to he'll, so took time to get that out. Then the sensor itself wouldn't come out! In the end had to remove brake caliper, caliper carrier and brake disk so I could hammer the sensor out! What a faff. New one fitted, all back together and abs light now gone!😀 Also had her in for her MOT which she failed. Didn't fail on much tbh, handbrake efficiency, broken o/s/f coil spring. Couple of advisories for o/s/f ARB drop link and a tyre slightly perishing. Got everything done except the tyre as I'm gonna replace all 4 soon anyways so she now has a clean bill of health. Still driving nice, and love her to bits!

Me being lazy! Lol Don't think she'll need anything tbh, maybe the usual handbrake adjusted but other than that hoping she passes when I get her booked in. In the middle of moving house again so will get her seen to after that. Got a mate who has a recovery vehicle and his rates are decent so he'll be moving her to her new garage in October🙂

Think I prefer comfort now, getting old! Days of lowered and beefed up suspension long behind me now. Even the TypeS I feel is as stiff as I'll ever go suspension wise. DD and Gayle's wee Foxt Micra feel like a floating carpets compared to Lexy lol. Can see Steppy on a nice set of 18" dishes alloys though at some point, think it would really suit them mate!

Spent the bank holiday installing the new timing chain/guides/tensioner, service manual print outs in hand and triple checking everything. All sealed up now, should be able to get the engine back in next weekend, all being well. Chain that was on was stretched - not by as much as some i've seen but the main difference I noticed is the chain tensioner was quite far extended whereas the new one is much less extended, maybe it couldn't take up the slack or something jumped on first start. Anyway, hopefully this is all sorted now. Also changed the crank pulley seal as I don't ever want to be going in there again!

Mate this all looks great! So exciting Glad the timing chain bits didn't cause any harm

100%! According to Google the amount it's stretched probably isn't enough for mr valve to meet mr piston so I think weve got away with it. Every cloud has a silver lining at least, it's given me an opportunity to change a few oil seals in the engine and sort out a few hoses that were bodged together quickly from the junk pile!

Thanks for that - totally missed your reply - thats great info Since this post I found the mistake and bought a set of MGZS 180 front 282mm calipers and carriers second hand for £80 delivered which wasn't bad at all really. The seals etc looked ok but they were a bit grotty so we soaked them in evaporust and then my father in law stripped them down and painted them in high temp silver and they look a lot better now. Still not got any pads or discs yet but that will come in time... A running engine first would be a good start 🙃 (see my build thread for the fun i've been having there...) I definitely plan to change to rear discs at some point but as it's quite a lot of work/parts required so I'm going to see how I get on with rear drums to start with until budget allows (currently diverted for more important topics) - whilst it doesn't look or sound very good it's not as bad as you might expect...

Well, one step forward, two steps back Engine wasn't running great with a lumpy idle (almost like muscle car sound!). At first I just put it down to the open header being super loud but we started to get timing codes logged on my ODB reader (p0341). I checked a few easy things like the wiring to the sensors etc but unfortunately after removing the cam cover we found the timing is out, most likely the chain was stretched and we didn't realise (even though we were able to set it right, which I can't quite get my head around) Moral of the story is, don't re use the existing chain even if you think its ok New chain, tensioner and guides ordered...

Cheers mate, loving it to be honest.. It's dead comfy for munching miles, if not quick. Totally the opposite to the deck.. Sat up tall, soft air springs, and lazy drive, instead of low down, stiff and engaging. Got the best of both worlds now 😂

Jeese you've been busy! Nice she few through the MOT mate, and loving all the bits you've been sorting. Looking sweet!

Forgot to update this.. Got through it's mot with a few bits needed, but just maintenance tips things, drop links, ball joints etc, and some advisories on thin pads. Got sorted, and got some nice new rainsports on the wheels off Karen's old blue accord, and got them fitted this week. Quite like the look of them. Also refurbed the compressor for the air suspension, and fitted a new pressure switch, so that's all working great as well now. Glad to have ditched the "snow leopard" winter tyres that were on the steelies, and with some more air in the suspension, it handles much better. Did the pads while I was on, and pleased I did, because they were OLD. the driver fronts were the worst... They fell to bits when I took them out. Also, chucked a bit of paint on the side skirts where the garage had peeled their stickers off and took the paint with it before they sold it. Fixed a hole in the corner of the spoiler with some filler and got some paint on.. Rough as a badger's arse, but it works for now. Fitted the spoiler for the first time today, and love the crazy look it has. Finally, made a little shelf to go over the air tank to allow camping stuffing to take place. Adventure ready! 😎

Thanks so much for the reply dave, ive had it sat for a bit and finally got round to a more thourough diagnosis, I suspect it's the water pump that's crapped itself as there is a nasty rattle from the belt assembly when starting the car and when letting off the throttle. I'm thinking that this may have been causing it to stall out as well as it only ever happened to me when warm and I know that bad water pump can cause your engine to stall out and struggle to hold idle at low speeds when letting off the throttle and coming to a stop. Bit of a pain as well as water pumps seem to typically be sold in a kit with timing belt and tensioners and would mean doing these as well while it's all off. I dont have any experience with doing timing belts and as much as the aerodeck manual will help with most of the headache, any advice would be really appreciated. Definitely no headgasket failure, but the coolant looks like it could do with a good flush and tbh the radiator could do with being replaced sooner rather than later as its pretty tired. Really appreciate the reply, hope ya keeping well 😁

After nearly a month delay with far too many emails back and forth we finally got hold of the replacement engine mount bracket from Innovative Mounts and the engine is now finally bolted in! Got a few other bits fitted after this photo like the radiator, hoses, and fan, and then started to work on some of the plumbing like the clutch line. Getting exciting now - to be continued!

So been having a weird graunchy feeling when driving for a little while, that the garage hadn't been able to find any issues. It's been like a notchy feeling through the steering, sometimes a bit vague, sometimes a bit of a groan when turning and accelerating. It got worse when we travelled down to Donnington for JDM Jam, and then when it's driven it for a slightly longer drive. I'd convinced myself it was lsd / gearbox related, so as a starter for 10 decided to go for a fluid change. Bought the 3ls if fluid, and took it to the guy who works on my car. When he called me, he said that there was only about 1/4 of a litre of fluid came out 😬😮😳. No wonder it seemed nasty when things had warmed up a bit. It feels so much better now, but hopefully no lasting issues as a result. Going to go for another change in a couple of months to flush any nasties out.

Some guy came over when I was cleaning it, and asked if he could take some photos and put them on socials. He was saying "you hardly see these anymore... I've just came in pretty much and I've already seen like 5 supras" 😂

Anything needed Dave, or just not got to it?

Quick pic of the mini honda meet at ours now. Karen's civic, Steppy McStepwagon, and Tubs2 (aka Shelly) Still waiting for the bumper for the wagon.. Got one sent eventually, but they sent the wrong one, so waiting for it to be collected and swapped. Other than that it's mot ready.

That's a result. Like you say, abs sensors are a mare on the M. Glad you're still liking the type s mate.

Hi Ben, The calipers in the photo are for the 260mm front brakes, not the larger 280mm front brakes. Manufacturer caliper numbers for the larger calipers are LCA333 & RCA333. You can use eBay to get the oem numbers from them. Basically the calipers are the same for the mg zs180, mg zr160 & accord of that era, but the carriers differ i believe (ive not checked any fit on an mb other than a zs). I can confirm that the calipers and carriers from the zs180 will fit onto a mb2 4x100 as thats what I'm currently running! If youre upgrading the brakes you'll need to change the master cylinder and prop valve if you don't have abs for it to work properly. My setup is: Honda Civic MB6 brake master cylinder Honda Civic MB6 brake servo Honda 40/40 brake prop valve (46210-S5A-912) Wezmoto Braided front and rear brake lines (700mm front / 560mm rear) MG ZS 180 Front & Rear brake calipers MG ZS 180 Front & Rear brake discs Cheers, Dan