btjtaylor

Progress so far Started to strip out the engine - radiator (probably leaking) and AC condenser (also probably leaking) removed: Painting the rear bumper - to cover various marks and scratches but also somewhat of an experiment to see what it looks like with rubber strips colour coded (from photos i've seen I think it will look better) I've started putting together a list of parts that i'd like to acquire (the amount of small parts you need for a K-swap is crazy. It's all bolt on but you definitely need a spreadsheet or similar to manage it!)

It almost seems old fashioned to create a build thread these days on the age of social media (one of the worst things that happened to the car community is the 2382834 facebook groups full of scammers and people asking the same questions over and over - but thats a rant for another day). I always find they are a great thing to do, if for nothing else for my own benefit to remember what I did previously 🙃 also found lots of great gems of info already on this forum - and more to discover im sure A bit of backstory - I've been bitten by the Honda bug after buying a 2010 Honda Accord with a K24Z engine - I'd originally intended to get something as a cheaper, ULEZ compliant run-around (I don't live anywhere near a ULEZ but sometimes have to drive into them for work) after getting bored with a non-ULEZ diesel Mercedes that i'd owned previously. I then discovered the scene for those cars, and good they look with the right modifications. I love it to bits but it's heavy, and the modifications you can do are somewhat limited by it having the less desirable R40 head on the engine and the rarity of 2.4 petrol, manual examples in the UK. Most buyers bought a diesel version (it was peak era of buyers being encouraged by the government to buy a diesel - how the tables have turned). I only know of a handful of others in existence and even fewer are modified. They are popular in the USA so some tuning parts are available over there but it often results in expensive shipping, import duties and long waits for things to arrive, and no chance to get anything second hand as most sellers aren't willing to ship internationally. Me and my father in law have been looking for a project to do together for a while as we've reached the end with most of our other projects (mostly just repairs and upgrades to our other cars) - initially I thought maybe a restoration project but we went to a car show recently and saw lots of cool JDM cars and thought that it might be an idea to do something along those lines. I have always been interested in a K-swap of sorts anyway and as I know quite a lot about Hondas and K-series engines from modifying my accord a plan was formed.. Initially I started looking at the usual suspects for a K-swap like an EG, EK, etc but we missed the boat on getting one for a good price and even rotten examples are changing hands for more than £2000 now, so I started digging into more unusual choices. After speaking to an acquaintance he mentioned to me that the MB civic might be a good place to look as it shares a lot of parts with Civic EG and Integra DC2, two now (to me at least) unaffordable cars but with great aftermarket support. I also looked at a few more leftfield choices like a really high mileage Honda CR-Z (came to the conclusion the subframe was rotten) and a Honda logo (too much fabrication). The MB/MC seems to be the last affordable 90s Honda, so it was now or never. I found a low mileage MB2 for sale. It was a 1.4i model, completely base spec, but that didn't matter for our purposes. In fact, I was quite interested because it didn't have a sunroof, and I've had nothing but grief with sunroofs in the past letting in water and making the car smell like an "old man's ball sack" (as my fiancée succinctly put it), and the low spec didn't really matter anyway for what we were going to do. Because of the low mileage (56,000) and original looking condition, including what I believe to be original dealer plates and stickers, I thought this could be a promising lead on a shell. It's very late for an MB2 - March 2001 on a Y plate - I've seen EP/EU civics rolling about on older W and X plates so they must've been sold at the same time - it would've looked and felt incredibly dated by comparison I imagine! The pictures weren't great as they were clearly from an auction (you know the ones I mean with the car photoshopped badly onto a showroom backdrop) I arranged with the seller dealer to go and see the car (near Bradford by the way - the stereotypes are alive and well) and when we arrived I was told the car wasn't available as there was "a problem with it" and it was parked at his house (undoubtedly this is why it was auction in the first place). Whilst being annoyed at him, I explained that we wanted to buy the car as a shell anyway and asked what was wrong - some kind of overheating issue - so we went around the corner to have a look at it on a driveway. The car looked fine although very dirty, and the sills/bodywork etc seemed to be solid other than normal age related surface rust and mileage genuine as the seats look almost new. The bodywork was unfortunately a bit tatty with various dubious repairs and perished rubbers but it's to be expected for the price/age. I took it for a quick test drive - which was a particular highlight as the prospective seller lit up a cigarette while I was driving around - without asking permission might I add - but other than the rising temperature everything seemed fine, so we agreed a price - so I drove it to the nearest petrol station, bought a bottle of radiator sealant (it seemed to be losing coolant) and poured that in, along with some water, and then drove it 1 hour home with the windows open and heater blowers on full to try to make sure I didn't break down on the M1. The car made it back fine although the temperature was climbing when stopped in traffic, it went down again when on the move. Here's the only picture I have of it at the moment: The current plan is basically to do a K-swap with a K24A with mild upgrades (K20 oil pump, 50 degree VTC), and an EP3 civic gearbox. We would love to build a boosted car eventually, but lets get the basics done first. As it's a heavier (by 90s standards) car and K24s are much cheaper these days, it seemed a better choice than a K20. In terms of styling i'm not really sure at the moment - probably try to keep it OEM+ for sleeper factor although not full sleeper - the wheels will definitely need to get changed as it's currently running 175 wide 14" tyres, budget brand that were getting on 10 years old (can confirm - they have no grip whatsoever). Watch this space 👀