DeLaSoul

Nope, No ABS. Changing the front and rear brakes and the introduction of the pedal box meant it's totally incompatible with the car now and I didn't want it anyway

Thanks, not that difficult to do, just been time consuming. I did the original rear trailing arms before in a day and they survived really well on and off the road. Really wanted to do a better job this time and so far the arms have had several coats of paint over a few days. Got the front knuckles to do next but they are much smaller and in really good condition Until the engine's back I've not got much else to do!

No rush from me, hope the diagram helps and hope everything is okay with you mate. Just getting to work on the rear trailing arms at last. Had to remove the rubber from the trailing arm bush but leave the shell behind to fit the Energy Suspension bushing. Removing the center bar was easy and a sharp drill bit and a few holes took care of that, removing the rest of the rubber was a bit more time consuming. I used a jig saw and a course blade to cut the majority of the rubber out Then a blow torch to carbonize the remaining rubber and pull it away from the shell. It was easy to then scrape most of it off Cheap drill mounted wire wheel then took care of any remaining rubber Also attacked the rest of the arm with a few different wire wheels, sand paper etc. to remove any dirt and loose rust/powder coating After a wipe down with some brake cleaner, I etch primed everything and let it all dry in front of a small heater And applied 2 coats of Hammerite metal paint. Had to do it in several goes as I couldn't hang the arm up due to the weight! Also started on the front control arms as they were already starting to flake in places from the factory paint job. I've never seen paint so thick before, took a while to shift it with the wire wheel!

Exploded diagram of the caliper from the factory manual

Race car I did the end of last year, took 2-3 evenings but was a full front to back rewire and removal of all redundant systems.. Also built a new fuse box, removed all engine and dashboard wiring that wasn't needed and sealed it all up ready for racing! Always try and keep it as neat as possible so if someone else has to work on it later it's really easy to follow

Cheers, wiring calms me down and keeps me focused. I think in this case though I took too long between jobs and it then showed as every time I picked up the loom to do more work I'd forgotten how/what I'd done before! When I do other people cars/race cars they're done in one go and are a lot easier!

Another quick update, engine and suspension build underway and more wiring headaches! Crank, new shells and shims in place. ARP bolts all fitted and torqued down, crank turns smoothly Head build underway Rods ready for assembly to pistons New LMA's, guides, valves, springs and retainers all fitted Front arms back from shot blasting and powder coating New Energy Suspension bushes fitted ready for putting back on the car - a lot easier to fit than remove! Okay, the wiring..... After much checking, checking and re-checking I thought I'd be ready to finish the chassis side of the Milspec and move onto the dashboard loom. I was wrong. I found a few issues that took me a little while to sort out in my head. It looks like I had wired the Oil Pressure warning light to the ECU signal earth. Easy fix, I had a bundle of wires all going down the same branch that I can swap around so just had to remove the overbraid and heatshrink, rewire and close back up with new labels, but I also took the time to add a MAP sensor and remove the IACV after talking to the engine builder and Maz at Hond-R. Also needed to rewire the TPS as the pins were incorrect but that was a 30 second job Work on the chassis side of the Milspec

Are you running standard gearbox oil? I was wondering if you needed to swap out the oil at the same time as the syncros?

Happy New Year! Brief update, did some work before the Christmas break but didn't get time to upload being away with the family. I cleaned and painted the gearbox casing. It's going off for a full rebuild (carbon syncro's, bearings, seals and shims) and change over to 4.7 final drive but I wanted to wire brush and check everything before it goes: Gentle brass wire wheels in a drill made short work of the surface crud and corrosion Once cleaned off, I used the same paint as the block. At this stage it's just to protect it as I'm sure it'll be stripped and cleaned again at the gearbox place Head is finally finished and is having the last skim and check. Quick spec: B18C Type R head Welded intake ports, hand finished to match Jenvey Throttle body manifold Gas flowed intake and exhaust ports 3 angle valve seats Polished compression chambers new Ferrea valve guides, new Ferrea valve stem oil seals, S2 standard compression valves, S2 dual valve springs, S2 titanium valve retainers new OEM valve collets, Toda Spec C cams, S2 cam seal, S2 adjustable cam gears, S2 LMA's Rebuilt V-TEC solenoid, all new seals and filter S2 V-TEC solenoid cover All new seals and gaskets Block build should be starting now . It's already had the block guard fitted, been bored to 81.5mm for safety and re-honed

Cool, I bought the official Honda workshop manuals a while back and had a look at them the other day. They have a full exploded diagram of the caliper internals if that helps? I will try and bring the book to work and scan. It's not the easiest job, I guess that's why some companies charge a small fortune to rebuild calipers!

Dustbin like a lot of bits that won't be going back on the car. I only kept a few bits that "may" come in handy

That would have been cruel considering the issues in getting the dust seal to seat!

Cheers, its also a good reminder to me of what's gone into the build at times. I didn't mind all the fibreglass work and making all the brackets etc. but this job was a real pain. Haynes manuals, refitting is reverse of removal

Rebuild time.... Okay, correct seal and piston kit this time! Caliper paint all dry and looking good so on with the rebuild General notes - make sure everything is clean, really clean! If it moves, slides or rotates, grease it rubber seals are fragile, don't rush or use the sharp edge of the screwdriver to force anything in - it will go back together with patience Step 1. Check the kit! Per caliper there are 4 seals for the caliper, 2 dust boots for the carrier, some grease and a piston, as shown below Step 2. Handbrake lever seal - Before you mount the seal, check and grease the bearing. You can see that there is a break in the needle rollers, this is for the handbrake pin. Make sure you rotate the bearing so the hole into the caliper is open for the pin you'll fit later will drop through to the lever. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Step 3. Grease and fit the seal. You must also grease the pin and groove for the handbrake pin. Remember what was said before - note the orientation of the pin. On the top there is a flat edge and a rounded edge. Make sure the pin is all the way in and the seal sits in the groove in the pin Step 4. Refit the arm, lock washer and nut. Tighten nut. The small arm should be one side of the spring pin, the longer arm the other side Step 5. Refit the spring. Note that the short arm of the spring goes against the pin first, then with the pliers you fit the hook end in to the arm Step 6. Rebuild the internals - Now you have to swap out the seals on the internal mechanism. There are only 2 seals, but it is important to note the direction they go in Small "Square" seal goes to the spindle - Note here that there is a groove in the seal, when taking the old one off note the direction and refit the new one the same way "Round" seal goes to the inner mechanism Remove the seal, grease and fit new one. Also fill the hole in the back end with grease to hold the pin Swap out the square seal on the spindle Step 7. Reassemble the internal mechanism Step 8. Insert into caliper. Okay, if you look into the barrel of the caliper you will see there are 2 drilled location holes, that match up to the pins on the mechanism above. I couldn't get a good shot inside the barrel but you can see one of the holes in the shot below Lower the mechanism into the barrel. The grease will hold the pin. Turn the mechanism until the pins line up and it drops the last step into place. Once it's in place you'll be able to see the cir clip groove at the bottom of the barrel Step 9. Insert the internal spring, bearing cir clip - be prepared to scream at the whole thing during this step.... Grease the thrust race and washer. Place the parts over the spindle in the following order - Bearing, Washer, Spring (narrow end first), top hat Okay, lower in the cir clip. I got it to the bottom of the barrel, then using 2 thin screw drivers I pushed it either side until the snapped into place. I couldn't photograph this but if you've got step 8 right you won't need a lot of force to do this. Step 11. Fit the piston seal - grease it! The caliper is now ready for the piston and dust seal Step 12. Depending on what kit you've bought, you either have a new piston with internals or without. Mine was without so I had to swap over the spring and mechanism. With circlip pliers, remove the internal cir clip and remove the parts Step 13. Re-build the piston. Replace the shaft, locating it in the bottom of the piston, then the spring and washer. Lastly, replace the cir clip. This spring is a hell of a lot more powerful so to get the cir clip into the grove, I used a 17mm socket and a vice. Place the socket inside the piston (as above) and compress everything in the vice slowly until you hear the cir clip click. Then slowly unwind the vice. To be safe I checked the cir clip was seated correctly and gave it a few taps with the socket and a hammer for good measure! Step 14. Dust seal and piston. This will either go right f!rst time or be thrown across the garage! What worked in the end was as follows: Grease the seal and piston, lots of grease! Put the dust seal onto the piston, pushing the seal up the piston (not down over the top). Push it all the way upto the groove in the piston so you have what's shown below Now pull the seal back down the piston Until it's about to come off the piston. Now the seal is essentially unraveled/inverted Now, put the seal into the caliper, holding the piston. The part of the seal that sits in the barrel is off the end of the piston while still on the piston. This is important as if you try and fit the seal to the caliper first, the piston will not fit the seal. Not easy to explain It takes a bit of time to get the seal into position. I used a piece of blunt plastic to push the seal into place. Once it is, you push and turn the piston back into place on the spindle with the large screwdriver. If it's tight or won't go easily, chances are you've not seated the dust seal correctly The seal will drop into the groove on the piston Job done! Repeat the above for the other side and you'll have 2 rebuilt calipers (or be stressed out that it wouldn't go back together properly!) Check the handbrake lever works correctly (turn by hand), refit and bleed the brakes properly. I'd also recommend spinning the wheel and making sure both the handbrake and foot brake works on each wheel before driving off.

I see what you did there lol

Hi Dave, Let me complete the guide first? I have the correct seals and pistons now and hope to finish the job tonight/tomorrow so I can complete the write up

Okay, before I begin, this is how I rebuilt my rear calipers and may not be exactly the same on all models. Don't do any work like this if you are unsure what to do or are in a rush - seek professional help! Do one side at a time so you have one side for reference, get everything ready in advance and take your time! Tip: As you go, lay out the parts you take off in the order you removed them so it's easy to see the steps for the rebuild. This guide of for a full rebuild - you may only want to replace the piston and dust seal in which case you won't need steps 7 & 8 you'll stop and rebuild around step 10. I will do this in 2 parts, strip first and rebuild later. Tools: Large flat blade screwdriver Small slat blade screwdriver Bull nose pliers Internal circlip remover (long nose) 17mm spanner (or socket and ratchet) Wire brush Brake cleaner Rags Water Step 1. Identify which rear caliper you have - you can do this on or off the car. I did this by lifting off the caliper so I could measure the piston diameter and this helped me identify which rebuild kit to buy. There are several from what I've found, mine are 30mm piston but some seem to be 34mm pistons. Get the correct kit before stripping everything down! There are several options - you get a caliper kit or a caliper and carrier kit. You can even sometimes get a new pistons with all the new internals done, I've opted for a caliper rebuild kit as I have brand new carriers with pins and rubbers. Step 2. Order the kit from your favorite retailer and wait for the postman...... Step 3. Layout everything and make sure before you begin to strip the caliper you have everything you need Step 4. Once you have the kit and have a few hours to spare - Remove the caliper (and carrier if you are doing that too) from the car - I'll assume that you can remove the handbrake cable, brake hose and 2 retaining bolts Step 5. Check again, once you start this it's not easy to go back! I have 2 pistons, 2 caliper rebuild sets and (by mistake) the carrier rebuild sets Step 6. Clean up the caliper - you can do this a number of ways but I suggest plugging the brake hose fitting hole (little red cap in the pictures above) and wire brush up the caliper all around. Doing this now with all the seals in place you don't have to worry about getting dirt inside the caliper itself as the seals are still intact. I cleaned mine after the strip down and then had the pleasure of cleaning out the internals afterwards Step 7. Now the fun begins - hold the caliper securely and release the handbrake spring. It's not under a lot of tension so it doesn't want to fly across room! Step 8. Remove the handbrake nut - there is a lock washer underneath so be careful not to lose it. This will then let you remove the handbrake lever arm. Step 9. Turn the caliper around so you can remove the piston. The piston unscrews from the body of the caliper. I used the large flat blade screw driver for this, although there are proper tools for this job... Note that when you released the piston, you may still have some brake fluid in there - it will want to go everywhere. You can neutralize brake fluid with water (It will strip paint if left otherwise!) Step 10. Remove the dust seal - mine was broken but it came out easily with the small screwdriver Step 11. Remove piston seal part way down the caliper barrel. If you don’t get this out then you can't get the next parts out in step 14 Step 12. Remove internal circlip holding the self adjusting handbrake mechanism in place. Not easy to photograph but if you look down in the caliper you'll see the circlip that holds everything else in place. It took a bit of fiddling but wasn't impossible Step 13. Remove the top hat, spring, washer and bearing. It will fall out now the circlip is removed. Note the order they came out in! Tip- if you have a bolt and some washers you can assemble the bits in order and store them until needed Step 14. Remove the spindle. This will just pull out, leaving the last 2 pieces of the handbrake mechanism behind. If you're lucky, they may come out with the spindle, otherwise you can turn the caliper over and give it a light tap to remove. Be careful not to lose the pin underneath the piston Step 15. Remove the handbrake pin - This was held in place by the parts removed in step 14, so will now pull straight out of the caliper. Note which way round the hole in the pin faces! Okay, I'll stop here for now and finish when I start to replace all the seals. You now have a stripped caliper, ready for rebuild or painting. This isn't the easiest of jobs and I can understand why companies charge so much to do this work!

Just ordered the correct carbon/metal glue so once the panel's been sanded and polished I can bond it in properly and hopefully it will stop the roof from flexing so much! Rubber trim is not a bad idea if it was to fit a standard cars roof mechanism.....

Nah, I don't plan on wanting to leave once I'm in that seat More work over the last few days: Stripped the front hubs to get them ready for shot blasting, powder coating and new bearings and ball joints Also a good time to change out the wheel studs to the longer ARP ones so press out the old studs Get the inner race off the spindle Press in the wheel studs - need to be 100% square in the spindle Rear bearings already come in in the spindle, but still fitting the new studs Front hub disassembled, ready for blasting Rear hub also ready Rear arm needs the bushing removed before it is also good to go

Quiet Sunday on the car, got a lot of little jobs done. Completed the engine side of the loom, just leaves the ECU and dash loom to do Bought the proper crimping tool for this job, glad I did otherwise I'd still be there now trying to sort all those pins! Every wire checked and rechecked, fitted and notes taken so I can build the other side! Got the carbon roof bung back. Not happy with it to be honest - I needs a lot of work but I cut the edge off and test fitted it for now Narrow gap to fill in with sealant. Also going to secure it with some fixings but I'll need to make those when i get time. One job I hated doing before was getting the bushes out of the front arms - had to do it again as I ended up giving one of my polybushed arms to my brother for his MB6. Got a new arm and decided to clean up and powder coat both and put new bushes in - step 1 was drill/press the old ones out Started to add the buttons for the dash to the binnacle. Messed up the holes in the carbon panel (too big) so will have to make another carbon plate but I'm happy with the fit and placement. Need to make some labels but it's just 4 buttons on the right. Left panel will be lights and wipers. Rebuilt the off side doors with everything bar the rubber seals. Took a bit of working out as I didn't strip everything into bags like I did with the rest of the car but it went back together in the end. Need some longer bolts to hold the perspex windows in as the ones I've got in there now are a little too short. Easy fix so not worried right now. Got the roof bars on too. Really do love the blue now it's being broken up by the black trims and parts

Designed to get dirty. Paint job was cheap but functional on the surface, and hard wearing on the inside and underneath. She'll end up backwards in a gravel trap at some point.....

Engine bay is matt blue so against the gloss blue body panels it looks very dirty! It's not though but probably will be as I'll be climbing in and out all weekend to do the engine quick disconnect!

Quick update - fitted some of the subframe collar to the car the other night. Easy job but looks like it will make a big difference! Had to loosen all the bolts and drop the 4 long bolts out 1 at a time to fit Few bits going in the bay, and I'm about to start the wiring back to the bulkhead plug

I've helped build 3 engines this year with ITBs (2 MX-5s and a Skoda) and not had any issues yet but it is a different type of tuning and setup. It also comes down to what support you can get locally, it you mapper can only do Hondata then you could be stuck unless you can access someone else. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Hondata or Chrome etc., the AEM fitted my needs better

Cheers I wanted to be able to use the AEM COP kit which is plug and play with the AEM v2, have CANBUS to connect to the digital dashboard, which the AEM has and compatible with the Race Technologies Dash 3 and the tuning is relatively easy with the free software. The dashboard gets all the engine data now down 2 wires so is nice a clean to wire in! I am going to try and see if the CANBUS will connect to the OBD2 Bluetooth dongle so I can transmit data to my Garmin VIRB XE camera but that's a longer term project as I can't find anyone thats managed to get it to work. The AEM will also run throttle bodies (alpha n tuning?) and compatible with Honda and aftermarket sensors. Not sure about the ECU's but I've found that I can get help from AEM very easily when I've needed it on the wiring.