Trying to restore a 1997 EK9 to its former self


Correct me if I'm wrong but wheel bearings hum and drone when they're going out(?) Is the squeek ONLY when you're on the brakes? Could you say if it's like brakes screeching, high pitched tone.
 
Given you couldn't fit the pad and now its squeaking, have you checked the disc for warp?
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but wheel bearings hum and drone when they're going out(?) Is the squeek ONLY when you're on the brakes? Could you say if it's like brakes screeching, high pitched tone.

Its only when you go round a corner when not on the brakes, which made me think the wheel bearing. I'm taking a stab in the dark tbh cause I have no idea haha!
 
Given you couldn't fit the pad and now its squeaking, have you checked the disc for warp?

I thought that, but it was a brand new disc and has done it since they were fitted. It doesn't do it all the time so i'm not really that fussed about it and it doesn't effect the braking performance
 
If it's Squeaking it could be bushes. - Though i would not expect wrong pads to squeak.
If it's a rumble then if you go round a left hand bend, expect the right wheel bearing to rumble and vice-versa for the opposite :)
FYI EBC make a good setup for the EK9 :) got a set on mine and fitted with 0 issues.
 
If it's Squeaking it could be bushes. - Though i would not expect wrong pads to squeak.
If it's a rumble then if you go round a left hand bend, expect the right wheel bearing to rumble and vice-versa for the opposite :)
FYI EBC make a good setup for the EK9 :) got a set on mine and fitted with 0 issues.

I'm just going to keep using it till it comes off the road for its rebuild. I can deal with it till then.
 
Post 7

So between post 6 and this post, i had the rusty arches cut out and then had it painted (which was an arduous task in itself dealing with the person doing it). Took it to Cars & Coffee in March 2019 with my mate in his EP3 and see if you can spot the problem with mine.

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- Also here is a vid of the car on one of those leaving videos from the meet @ 4:13 with the quiet stock exhaust!

Next post - Fog light removal and Sunstrip for the JDM points....
 
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Post 8

I was bored and kept getting blinded by the sun, and because the sun visors are the largest in human kind and also the seats aren't height adjustable, a sun strip was needed. Decided to go for a Honda Primo simply cause I saw a couple other cars with them on and it looked quite cool, also the idea that the old race cars featured the car dealership was quite an interesting idea.

Made a right hash of the install though. On my own in the driveway with wind blowing it all over the place was a challenge but got it on with soapy water. Then whilst stretching the vinyl to cover the whole screen and not have creases, i got a bit happy with the stanley knife and messed it up. See below:

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After this, decided to take it for a bit of a hoon around the Peaks with a couple of friends and got some photos of it:

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You may notice the fog lights have gone from the front. They didn't work and had so many cuts, new wires etc all over the place that someone had been fiddling with it for some reason. Shame really as they are PIAA and google says they must have cost a decent amount when fitted.
The grill has been cut for the plates to mount these, can you buy the grill seperately from the bumper?

Next Post - Spoon N1!
 
Post 7

So between post 6 and this post, i had the rusty arches cut out and then had it painted (which was an arduous task in itself dealing with the person doing it). Took it to Cars & Coffee in March 2019 with my mate in his EP3 and see if you can spot the problem with mine.
I'm guessing paint code problems...

Even for my coupe, there are 3 variants of taffeta white, not sure about championship white though.
 
I'm guessing paint code problems...

Even for my coupe, there are 3 variants of taffeta white, not sure about championship white though.

It was the wrong paint entirely. Was told it was a different type of paint (acrylic seems to ring a bell) so had to get them to redo it. I'll cover this in later posts once I've caught up as this was last year.
 
just a quick suggestion, have you tried machine polishing your old paint, factory paint was 2k with no clear coat. so the old paint yellows badly. mine came up well with a machine polish and matched a lot better.
 
Really cool project to restore the car instead of breaking! How do you think this compares to the Clio you had?
 
just a quick suggestion, have you tried machine polishing your old paint, factory paint was 2k with no clear coat. so the old paint yellows badly. mine came up well with a machine polish and matched a lot better.

I'll get on to that when I'm caught up on what the car is currently like. This was last year, however the paint was definitely off and a poor job.
 
Really cool project to restore the car instead of breaking! How do you think this compares to the Clio you had?

Honestly, I prefer the Clio at the moment, only because the clio was sorted whereas this needs new engine mounts, full suspension & brake overhaul etc etc.
 
Post 9

So skipping the Spoon N1 as I haven't got any photos or videos yet. I kept getting a wet carpet on the passenger side footwell. Thought it was the windscreen leaking so sealed that but still leaked. Decided I had better take out the carpet and see what damage the water had been doing to the metal underneath.

Here's what I found:

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Not as bad as I originally thought. Passenger side was definetly worse though. Note the previous MOT weld repair it has had at somepoint before my ownership. I decided that as the carpet was going back in, there was no need to bodycolour it so decided on white hammerite rust paint. Here's the result:


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Underneath, it was wire wheeled to get all the rust off, rust converted, zinc primered then the white on top. Not a smart job but you won't see it once the carpet was in.

Whilst that was drying, I decided to use the wet vac on the seats and carpet whilst they were out of the car. Don't have any before photos or of the nastiness that came out but here is the after:

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Post 9

So skipping the Spoon N1 as I haven't got any photos or videos yet. I kept getting a wet carpet on the passenger side footwell. Thought it was the windscreen leaking so sealed that but still leaked. Decided I had better take out the carpet and see what damage the water had been doing to the metal underneath.

Here's what I found:

View attachment 45896

Not as bad as I originally thought. Passenger side was definetly worse though. Note the previous MOT weld repair it has had at somepoint before my ownership. I decided that as the carpet was going back in, there was no need to bodycolour it so decided on white hammerite rust paint. Here's the result:


View attachment 45897
Underneath, it was wire wheeled to get all the rust off, rust converted, zinc primered then the white on top. Not a smart job but you won't see it once the carpet was in.

Whilst that was drying, I decided to use the wet vac on the seats and carpet whilst they were out of the car. Don't have any before photos or of the nastiness that came out but here is the after:

View attachment 45898
Nice work dude! this is a job i need to tackle after xmas, more as a preventative measure but needs doing nonetheless!
 
Nice work dude! this is a job i need to tackle after xmas, more as a preventative measure but needs doing nonetheless!
Yeah, that's exactly why I did it. Cause the plan at the time was to fully underseal the car so at least the shell would be protected. The underseal that was put on I believe at import in 1997/98 just came off with a jet wash so not the best.
 
Post 10

Went on a Javelin trackday at Blyton in the August. I was going to the Nurburgring in October so thought of this as a shakedown for the car to see what would not be up to task for the ring. Blyton is only about 20 miles from my house so rather it broke here than in Germany!

Came to the realisation that the car drives really well. Blyton isn't a hard track, but the car held up well. Killed two part worn AD08r's and another 2 part worn Rainsport 3's but didn't have any issues! The only thing I will say is that the little B16B is lacking on the acceleration front vs pretty much every car there though, but I have a feeling that it's not running the stock 180ish BHP. More on that to come. See below some photos:

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Glad to see somebody saving one for a change, noticed your from doncaster, not too far away from scunthorpe myself.
 
Glad to see somebody saving one for a change, noticed your from doncaster, not too far away from scunthorpe myself.

They're getting a bit thin on the ground here in the UK cause they all get broken for bits. Demand will likely outstrip supply soon enough and prices will shoot up because of that, so may as well save them!

I haven't seen another EK9 on my travels. There was a rep floating about near Thorne but haven't seen anything genuine in over 2 years.
 
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