DeLaSoul

Suspension - Quick update on the progress so far, the rear suspension is finished and just have a few bits on the front to do before I can put the Aerodeck back on the ground and get the tracking done. All the suspension had to come off and the long job of sorting all the bushes, links and bits began I bought the Energy Suspension full kit for the car (well the Civic EG kit, same suspension) and laid it all out to check everything... Rear suspension - Plan to replace all the bushes, upper and lower arms, shocks and springs! ARB is already on now the exhaust clears the bar. Old LCA's looking a little tired. Rubber in the bushes is in good condition, but it is just starting to peel away from the outers all around the car. Nearly all the bolts came out pretty easily, all except 1 which took most of the day to remove Angle grinder to the rescue! With that done the rear was ready for new shiny bits... New LCA's from the EG Civic - using the old bolts just to check the fit.... The trailing arms also needed a refresh Out with the old bushes, check against new ones... New camber links, gone for adjustable ones so I can fine tune everything Okay, maybe a little OTT so far but I want my Aerodeck to be just right. Quick test fit while I was waiting for a few more bit and bobs. Old toe compensators... Cleaned, old bushes drilled out and new ones installed. Bit of a theme going on here Time for new shocks and springs. Decided to go for the Avo GTZ setup front and rear. They are up in Northampton and if i need any advice/support they are on the end of the phone. They are also fully serviceable, and with all the race/rally stuff behind them they should be good. New top mounts from Honda, bushes from Energy Suspension.. Lots of packs like this went into the build - and lots of copper slip Time for final assembly on the car. This was a ba$!&£D of a job single handed but not impossible ABS wiring - I had to attach this via cable ties for now Been a busy few weekends work but getting there! I have 80% of the front done. Just need to pickup the new front upper links and I can assemble everything so I should post an update after the weekend. Dave

Hi guys, Thanks, hopefully it will turn out good in the end. @noodles, I believe the drop links it came with are from the ZS180 but I don't like them tbh. A piece of hexagonal bar, 4 rod ends and a lunchtime in the workshop will have it sorted I will try the ones it came with though. The car is still in the air while I sort the rest of the suspension parts I want, so I haven't tried driving the car with the roll bar fitted @stoatman, I got them from: http://www.brake-lines.co.uk/honda-civic-aerodeck-mc2-1-8-vti-1998-2001-hel-brake-lines.html Probably not the cheapest place but I had them next day and after speaking to them I had confidence I was getting the right bits & they are well made with the right brackets for a direct fit.

Stage 2 - Rear ARB from the Rover MG I've read that this is an easy job and well worth the effort. I located one from a MG specialist on eBay with all the mountings and drop links Step 1, find the holes! 12 years of crud so I had to clean out all the threads with a thread restorer. Step 2, mount the brackets - I must admit I had to think about this as even though the brackets are the same each side, they mount with one facing forward and one facing back. Not hard but..... Step 3, mount the roll bar. Not a simple job on my car as they Powerflow exhaust built on the car didn't clear the roll bar. Off down to Powerflow and ask them nicely to remake the pipe to the back box... Roll bar now fits under the exhaust pipe and clears everything nicely I don't like the stock drop links, so I may have to revisit these and find better ones

Stage 1 - Brakes Gone for EBC discs and pads up front, HEL brake lines all round and DOT5.1 fluid to keep in all in touch. Front brakes - bit old but still working. Bit of a vibration under braking so I suspect the discs are past there sell by date. Excuse the phone image. Like an idiot I rounded off the head to the screw holding the discs on so I had to cut a groove in the head with a disc cutter and use a bigger impact bit Discs off, new ones on. Clean up the carriers, copper slip and refit Job done Next - brake lines and fluid: HEL brake line kit - comes with all new banjo bolts & copper washers and has all the right mounting brackets. Rear ones installed - afternoons work to fit and bleed the brake system Brakes feel much better - no more vibration and the peddle is sharp and solid. Just got to bed everything in but car feels better already

Hi guys, I joined up a while ago to the forum and found a lot of useful info here. Good to know people are keeping the old Honda's alive! I thought as I've gained some knowledge, I'd feedback my experiences as I get into working on my Aerodeck over this next year. If anyone has any questions then please ask, I may take a few days to reply sometimes as my 9-5 take me away occasionally so bear with me. Plan is nothing too mad, just complement an already cool car that I've had a lot of fun driving on and off the last few years UPDATE - that didn't last long lol Since May this year I have been slowly working on the old MC2, it was my dad's car and it needed a little attention as it didn't get much use this last 2 years or so. It's fairly low mileage and in tidy condition for a 12 year old car, so I hope it's not going to be a total ball ache to work on Like all good projects, start with a clear plan (guess what I do for a living lol) and do everything in stages. Some of these are already complete: Stage 1 - Brakes - DONE UPDATE - and re-done!!! Plan is to keep the stock front MC2 282mm based brakes but improve the quality of the discs and pads etc. I will change out all the old flexis and check the lines. At the rear I will look to change the discs and pads also, but the calipers, handbrake cable, discs and pads were done last year so no rush. Stage 2 - Rear Anti-roll bar - DONE I keep reading how good an upgrade this is for the Aerodecks so I will fit fro the MG ZS180. Hopefully this will be pretty easy. Stage 3 - Suspension Bushes - DONE Old car = old rubber. The car tracks straight but is a little tired. Shame to let it get out of shape, so I want to replace all the bushes where possible for slightly stiffer ones without destroying the ride. Also a good opportunity to get right up underneath and check everything over. Stage 4 - Shocks and springs - DONE I don't want to lower the car from stock but I want to improve the handling slightly. After going to the trouble of the rear ARB and bushes it would be rude not to finish off the suspension UPDATE- Yeap, changed these too Stage 5 - Refresh the engine I really like the stock B18C lump and don't really want much more from it. Short term an induction kit, exhaust manifold (already has a stainless centre and rear section exhaust fitted). Long term a complete engine out, strip and refresh but that can wait as it runs sweet at the moment as dad was a bloody good mechanic!