EM1 Long term build (sideline EG track build)

[SteveOEM1]

Then tonight I cleaned off the deox, spent some time working on any other little areas rust I hadnt spotted yet, then finally got to finish the painting

 

[Leej8]

Coming on brilliantly mate , very nice .

 

[SteveOEM1]

Haven't done anything more on the coupe as been away in the US for a few weeks.

Was over visiting family but I'll was there I got to go stay with a mate I've been friends with on Em1Crew for many years. His car has been a big inspiration for me in terms of quality of build, and not only did I get to join him at showing the car at Sumospeed Springfest in Virginia, but also got to take it for a blast - its predominantly used for auto-x and is a dream to drive. Well tuned B18c on Toda stage-2 cams, running a mind boggling 235/50 on 15x9 up front

Picked up some OEM parts whilst I was there, a set of limited edition HaSport mounts and got an awesome gift of a USDM Si cluster

 

[Deans96r]

That coupe is absolute perfection!

 

[Pete180]

Maaaan I need to visit the US! that coupe looks sweet, what a beast I want that Si cluster!! and an Si spoiler

 

[gwailo]

Really great effort and work being put into this coupe.

Where about's in Newcastle you from, only seen one other blue EM1 around from Whitley and don't think it's this one.

 

[SteveOEM1]

thanks mate, im near Earsdon so very close to whitley - you might have seen it about a while back when it was used daily, had the bronze wheels on then (pic on page 1 of this thread). Hasn't been out that much in the past couple of years. There were 2 other blue EM1s in the area, one used to have red rotas on, the other had black rotas - both have now moved on.

 

[SteveOEM1]

are you on NorthEast Hondas?

 

[gwailo]

I used to be on northeasthondas or hondanortheast and japnortheast before the forums closed down.

I'm from the other side of Whitley, Cullercoats. Got a white coupe with white rims.

It may have been yours I spotted, I've seen a blue EM1 around Red House Farm a couple of times. There's also another coupe around, silver with black rims up from Howden way. Good to know another local coupe owner that's had there's about the same length of time.

 

[SteveOEM1]

I know your car mate, its very clean - love the white on white. Last time I saw you was a good while ago near Northumberland park

 

[jamie-gings]

Unreal build man , some amount of work gone into it .

Have my eg9 stripped down atm doing something similar .

How did u paint the bay and front arches ? Did u bring it back to bare metal and use a proper spray gun ?

 

[SteveOEM1]

thanks Jamie - I went down to bare metal where it was needed, some areas it wasn't necessary and I'll be using high build primer in the bay to cover any marks/imperfections before the final 2k coat goes on.

On the entire car I removed all seam sealer, and in the arches also removed all of the OEM stone guard - the key rusty areas are those that you cant see where waters been trapped for years. The spot welds also seemed to be a magnet for water ingress so I made sure I took all of these back to metal. In all honesty if someone only plans on keeping there car for a few years then wouldn't recommend going as far as I have as its incredibly time consuming, just taking back any areas that are obviously bad and covering with a good paint with anti rust properties will extend the life of the car a good few years.

On the paint side yes I use a gun, I wouldn't waste time and money on cans if you have access to a compressor. For the jotamastic anti-rust paint I use a cheaper gun than what I would normally paint with, with a 1.7mm nozzle as its pretty thick stuff.

 

[gwailo]

Cheers Steve, it only comes out in the summer and I try to avoid rainy days. Work up at Cobalt so it's a good drive back via Northumberland park behind all those new builds.

I would love to go to the extent of stripping it all back, but no facilities and no time and since a little'n came along 2 years ago.

Have you set up shop?

 

[SteveOEM1]

No I haven't set up shop, just got that workshop that's got everything I need now... Spend too much of my life in there! When the civics not on the ramp I do work on other peoples cars/let out the ramp for others to use. It's a good little location as there's a few other lads on the same estate, couple of EGs and a DA project. PM me if you ever fancy popping down

 

[gwailo]

That's great to know thanks, will PM you to arrange something

 

[b16 mini]

Some great work going on here, takes a lot of dedication to do what you're doing.
Most people will never understand the work that's gone in to it or why,

I think it's worth doing it just for personal piece of mind though.

Did you know that the bar across the front panel unbolts easily?

 

[SteveOEM1]

thanks man, i'm sure a lot of people wouldn't get why I've taken it this far. Its the process I enjoy as much as the peace of mind it will bring

The front bar was taken off, prepped and sealed before, wasn't too bad which was a pleasant surprise

 

[SteveOEM1]

So I've been a bit slack with work on the EM1 for the last couple of month, but will be cracking back on properly in the next few weeks.

Been doing a fair amount of work on the workshop itself, stripped out all the old workbenches etc and created a better space, with more storage and clearer floor space, as well as a better workench. My favourite thing about this is the fact that all wood and even the light boxes have all been salvaged - it helps having a kitchen fabricators on the estate!

 

[SteveOEM1]

Bit of a side track from the EM1 build, but I'd been contemplating whether to keep or sell my b16a2 with the b18c going in - selling it to raise funds would be the sensible choice, but having owned and serviced the engine from 27k miles (now 134k), it seemed a shame to loose such a good, healthy engine. After another track session at croft a couple of weeks back as a spectator, I decided I needed to join the rest of my group and get something track able that could make use of the b16. I wanted lightweight, tintop and an easy swap. As often happens this fairly rough little EG came up for sale sooner than I had really planned, but for a decent price considering its already got BC coilovers, was stripped, adjustable camber arms front and rear, and a decent exhaust. It was running a d16 on bike carbs, but the engines pretty much dead. A good mate of mine was also missing not having a track car so we decided to go in together and do a purchase.,

It'll need new rear arches (outers came with the car, but inner need some work too), a quick paint, some decent bucket seats (currently has horrible ep3 seat..) and a cage at some point, but other than that we'll be sticking the b16 in, keeping it simple and having some fun.

I've been away for a week but a friend snapped these pics whilst they were down my unit - all I can say is the camera is incredibly forgiving!!

 

[Leej8]

Brilliant! I will keep me eye out for that build ,
I enjoy going through your posts as they are very
Detailed and informative .
Good job .