hondan Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Hi all,2 Years ago i bought a 1987 Honda Accord and fell in love. It was a Velour dream of 80's business luxury, with overly slushy auto box, frightening cruise control and electric everything, i did what i knew best and slammed the arse out of it on some different to norm wheels. Coming from a long line of stupid VW's, i became bored of the marquee and decided to try jap. It was the best decision i made and there was no going back.Last summer i discovered a big old hole in the sill. I garaged it for 2 months, had a good friend repair the sill properly and put her back on the road.The start of the 2015 had me put my foot through the sill on the opposite side. All mojo dropped with the car and unable to constantly rely on friends for welding ability i moved the accord on.That's where the Civic came in. I bought it recently converted to B18C4 from an aerodeck. The engine conversion seemed well done but everything else surrounding it was rushed. I could tell there were a few cosmetic issues that needed sorting but cosmetic stuff i'm fine with. The 20 mile drive back home was brilliant. This was my first experience of VTEC, i had never driven nor been a passenger in a VTEC engined car. Closest i had been would have been a toyota celica with the VVTI tech years ago, but no comparison. I never expected such an obvious step in both exhaust note and pull! it's fantastic, i can really see why people rave on about it. it's so addictive.A brief spec:B18C4Complete straight throughStainless manifoldVTEC Solenoid4x114 hub conversion282mm front brakesCoilovers up frontStruts and springs rearImpreza seatsDished wheelAnyway, as with all cars i buy i like to check them over thoroughly, more so with this as it had the engine conversion. We chucked it on stands and gave it a once over.Immediately there were some obvious issues:Front bumper was hanging on for dear lifeSplitter likewiseNone of the exhaust was bolted together, i mean none of it. I was aware it had a total straight through so didnt question the volume so muchVarious loose connectors in the bay, loose bolts.Gearbox bolt missingSump weepingFront seats were only bolted in on the front boltsNo lambdacracked windscreenSo we started to tackle the above as they were all simple. The car was also booked in for a fresh windscreen. Only points outstanding were the sump and lambda issues. The lambda probe is in my possession (more on this issue later)I flatted the splitter down and painted it satin black. I also painted the front grille to match. The red was flaking off nicely and looked a right mess. The black adds to the more "JDM" look i was going for. I teamed it with a square front plate and success!So following the once over we established that all drivetrain and brakes etc were fine and good to go. The car performed and drove/stopped well, so bonus!I decided to give the interior a good clean up as it was a complete tip, not the best results but an improvement. The steering wheel is pretty worn and i need some audio. Looks like speakers have been uprated ready to go.After driving the car for a week or so i picked up on an exhaust blow coming from the bay, well, i thought it was knock at first but thankfully the manifold was blowing. Noticing that it looked to have been sealed with RTV i ordered a new gasket in and stripped the bolts. The initial attempt was a nightmare as my motor factors supplied the wrong one, so i had to leave it parked up looking sorry for itself on the street.Second gasket ordered, caked it in paste and nutted it back up. Joy!However, this lasted about 2 weeks before the blow returned, worse than ever. I stripped the manifold off and noticed port 4 was totally warped out. We tried whacking it in a press but the heat of the gasses passing through it just warped it back.I took it off, chucked the original manifold on, rewelded the flange to suit the stupid bodged exhaust , copper lock nutted it and finally was happy.With this sorted and a few other minor exhaust issues arrising and solved (ongoing issues, needs a full system) i have just been enjoying it. I fitted a grab strap to replace the missing door handle, quick bodge fix really:Removed the stupid tow hook (anyone want it?)added much needed bumper ties:added stupid stickers:Whilst in the air the other week, i noticed the drivers tyre had gone through to the beading on the inside edge! the car was parked up until payday. I went to order 2 front tyres then thought about wheel options. I managed to secure 4 turbine wheels with decent quality tyres with decent tread for not much more than 2 front tyres! very happy. Plus, i think it makes the car look a hell of a lot better:Plans are:See the birth of my son through, due the 18th may and have no life for a few months haha!I'll keep this thread updated as i go. i have lots of plans, they may just take a bit longer than normal. I do have this bumper that came with it, is it anything special? I plan on smoothing it:Cheers,Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Hi and congrats on a great choice. Vtec rules. The bumper looks like a standard mb bumper with fogs & headlight washers, just like the one you have allready but without the lip, doesn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondan Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 Hi and congrats on a great choice. Vtec rules. The bumper looks like a standard mb bumper with fogs & headlight washers, just like the one you have allready but without the lip, doesn't it?Cheers bud. Yeah it's what I thought. The previous owner was banging on about it being something and it went over my head, not knowing Hondas too well. Thought I'd ask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayhoath83 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Thats looks so good in red with the white rims kudos 2 u sir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Thread was worth the wait! Nice write up mate. Defo making the best of a bad job! Wheels are much better IMO, like them. Nice to hear your appreciating the vtec too. Congrats on the impending birth! Will certainly slow the progress down! But it's good to get away sometimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondan Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 Thread was worth the wait! Nice write up mate. Defo making the best of a bad job! Wheels are much better IMO, like them. Nice to hear your appreciating the vtec too. Congrats on the impending birth! Will certainly slow the progress down! But it's good to get away sometimes!Cheers grant. Yeah impending birth is BIG news, very much going to slow stuff down, but at least there will be a stupid civic there right from day 1 for him. Not sure what babies ears are like with straight thru exhausts so he may have to wait a few years for a ride haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiNK43 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 car looks sweet to be fair real nice. Fair play fixing it up. Congrats on the old Baby shenanigans!! Sure baby will appreciate straight though. But only if it's decat aswell! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 awesome!! congrats on the baby aswel! also i'm really liking the strap idea on the door haha goes quite well if im honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krzys Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Enjoyed reading that! Congrats on the little person! Exhaust sounds like it wants chucking and replacing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 He'll/She'll love it mate im sure! Mine do ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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