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This is my first EG racecar. It was a JDM EG6 Sir II imported in late 2005 and rebuilt for racing in the 2006 season here in Sydney.

It was basically a road car with a rollcage, race tyres and an Ogura Racing clutch. I finished the season 10th overall and third in class, no DNFs, and no mechanical failures.

This is my favourite photo, taken at Eastern Creek in 2006, now called Sydney Motorsport Park.

Peter

 

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In 2011 I rebuilt an EG5 VTi, converting it from automatic to manual, and competed in the first Honda Nationals, held at Wakefield Park.

This car is my basic daily driver now.

In 2011 I picked up this Honda Accord off eBay:

It had been written off after a front ender but the motor and gearbox were all in good condition. The subframe had basically done it's job and saved everything!

From now on I'll be updating with build progress on the race car.

Peter

 

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Here's the Accord K24A3 motor and transmission, removed from the wreck:

All that was left of the Accord, consigned to the metal recyclers after every component, nut and bolt, and plastic clip was removed:

This is a mockup of the car's livery:

The first job was to strip the chassis down, remove all the internal fittings, delete all unnecessary brackets, and the sound deadening on the floor.

Peter

 

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VTEChallenge Australia is a race series based on a number of similar series exclusive to cars manufactured by Honda Motor Co of Japan. We looked at a number of successful series in the U.S., Japan, South East Asia, the U.K. and New Zealand. We then sifted through all the rules and regulations of each of these series and eventually decided to go with an almost duplicate set of rules to those employed in New Zealand.

The Honda Motul Cup in New Zealand is a very successful series mainly down to a hard working group of organisers, especially Al Stewart and Richard Gee, with assistants in both the North and South islands. Even the series sponsor (Motul) competes.

In February this year I went to Auckland to meet Al and his team, and experience the close racing at an event in Hampdon Downs, just south of Auckland. I learnt a lot about how the cars were set up, how the rules were implemented, and how good the racing was. I even got to visit one of the major workshops JTune.

Here's our logo, designed by Timothy Mu, here in Sydney:

Here's some photos from the race meeting. There were a great variety of cars from EP3s, EF Civic, CR-X, EG and EK, and Integra Type Rs.

All the cars are weighed as the rules divide the cars into classes (H1, H2, etc) according to engine size and weight:

This is the driver's briefing conducted by Al Stewart:

A variety of cars, but the racing is tight:

A pit area is set aside exclusively for the Honda Motul Cup teams. They are well organised and the camarderie is very high:

This is the side panel of Richard Gee's EK Civic:

Teams have good support, sponsors assist wherever possible:

Cars are limited to those manufactured in the last 20 years, and more competitors are moving up to K Series motors:

This is a K series motor built by JTune:

We hope to emulate the success of this Series here in Australia, and maybe even organise a Trans Tasman Challenge.

After the event I went to Auckland city centre and met up with the boys at JTune, who have a very impressive workshop tuning and modifying cars especially Hondas.

Peter

 

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I recently had a new workshop built at the foot of the Blue Mountains here in Sydney. It's 135 sq.metres with a high sloping roof, and enough floor space to store all my spare parts, motors, wheels and tyres, and my collection of Hondas (1 x Civic EH9 4Dr, 1 x EG5 2Dr, 1 x EG3 racecar, 1 x ED6 and another ED6 to be converted to EF9, and a DA9 Integra). I will be prepping the racecar here:

I've fitted the workshop out with industrial shelving, a 10HP air compressor, a large sandblasting cabinet, hydraulic press, and an assortment of power tools.

Compressor is 3 Phase powered, to drive the sandblasting cabinet, air tools and spray painting equipment:

Sandblasting cabinet is big enough for most major parts including wheels:

I upgraded from a small 6 tonne bench press to this free-standing floor monster, mainly to make fitting new poly bushes to all major undercarriage parts much easier and more efficient:

Yokohama race tyres A048s:

Peter

 

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Back to prepping the racecar.

Removing all the unnecessary brackets:

Mainly I just used a cut-off wheel on my angle grinder and then a flap wheel to smooth off the rough bits:

Most of the brackets were to do with the spare wheel, the rear seat, and hinges:

Then i moved on to removing the black sound deadening material. Always a bugger of a job since I prefer the traditional heat gun and scraper method over the 'dry ice' one. after scraping everything as best I can I follow up with Wax and Grease Remover and a rag or two. It does the job.

This is what's left - a bucket of black goo!

follow that up with etch primer on the bare metal areas and primer on the other parts. Dull yellow is etch; white is plain primer:

Peter

 

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The chassis needed a bit of work on the roof. In typical Honda fashion for the period (early nineties), the roof clear coat had blotched and peeled, so I sanded it back and gave it a coat of primer in places:

Aerial delete:

Rather than buying a delete plug I simply used the tools at hand. Fabricated a small oval plate, drilled two small holes in it, fitted it to the inside of the frame through the cabin, inserted two pop rivets:

then filled it, sanded smooth, and ready for paint.

The chassis was now ready to send to my fabricator for the rollcage. I use the same guy who built my previous car's cage, as he is a fellow competitor and does an excellent job!


Peter

 

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Fitting the rollcage

Our rollover protection has to meet stringent standards as specified by the governing body CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motor Sport). Cage builders have to be certified and when the car is finished it has to be inspected pre-race for safety and cage integrity.

New rules have slightly altered the cage design especially regarding side intrusion. You'll see in the following photos we are mimicking the U.S. style of side intrusion with bars meeting along the horizontal for greater strength and rigidity.

I delivered the car to the fabrication workshop:

After my fabricator explained the new rules, we sat down and designed the structure. I decided to go with horizontal bars through the firewall onto the front suspension towers for extra rigidity.

This is the driver's side (passenger side for you guys Stateside!):

This is how the new rules were implemented, with the bars joining:

Passenger side (your driver's side):

Roof protection:

Inside, looking from the back:

Inside again, looking from driving position:

Looking rearward from the passenger side:

Side intrusion:

My fabricator also put the seat rail mounts in as a bonus!

Peter

 

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I have the car back now, up at the workshop. So in the meantime, I am collecting parts.

I had a choice of motor - JDM H22A, B16A, or lesser spec B18A or even D16Y1 (D16Z6) but I decided to go with the K24A3 and 6sp transmission.

Rear spoiler I found at the junkyard. I'm not sure of its origins but it sits on top of the OEM EG spoiler giving a more elevated rake:

New race boots (since my original pair are 17 years old):

New Racetech seat with wraparound 'wings':

Oil Catch Tank (mandated 2Litres):

Broadway mirror from eBay:

Six point 3" straps race harness, same as the one I used previously. Local supplier, good price and very well made (to FIA spec):

Other safety items include window net, kill switch, chassis decals, and harness:

Energy Suspension poly bushes including Master Bushing Kit, swaybars, suspension, etc

I have several sets as I bought them from a U.S. supplier when the exchange rate was much in our favour. I'm glad I did that as the dollar has dropped considerably now.

Works Engineering Flip Up steering wheel hub and spacer:

This just about brings the build up to date. At the moment money is being saved to buy all the K Swap parts I'll need. These will be supplied by Hybrid Racing.

Peter

 

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Subscribed! AWESOME!

Thanks. I hope you get something out of the build.

In for this, i have a similar build in the works as well! Good start

Thanks. I'll check it out (if I haven't already).

Great work so far Peter!!

:nod:

Look forward to working with you David.

:notbad: im doing the same swap but with db8 great progress man amazing fab work.

Thanks also. I'll have a look through your build too.

Very nice work. Subscribed to watch this come together. :up:

Appreciate the encouragement Mike.

do you have pictures from the seat rail mounts?
nice build:nod:

Yes I do. I'll find them and post them up ASAP for you.

Very interesting thread!

Wish you all the best with the car and the series.

Thanks on both counts. VTEChallenge Australia 2014 is the goal - we just have to bring the Honda tuning and enthusiast community together to enjoy their cars in a safe and conducive environment. It's a big task but we are buoyed by the success of similar series overseas. This car is being built as a demo car to encourage people to join in. So far all indications are that there is lots of interest out there so we'll keep working and see what happens.

Peter

 

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One of the strategies we have been employing in promoting VTEChallenge Australia 2014 is to make workshop visits to some of the better known Honda tuners in and around Sydney.

Two of these workshops are BYP Racing and Developments and ISON Industries.

Some of the crew from ISON Industries:

They do some excellent work especially on Civics including engine swaps and mechanical upgrades.

BYP Racing and Developments have been very active on the Time Attack scene and have just won the Victorian Time Attack event held at Winton. They have a small workshop with a mobile dyno and an ever-expanding range of quality aftermarket products. On top of that the Tran brothers (Jimmy and Benny) are pretty good steerers of both circuit and drag cars.

The BYP Integra - 1st place Victorian Time Attack:

There are several other tuning shops in Sydney including JDMYard, who regularly hold Open Days at their workshop (which luckily is not far from me):

JDMYard Civic EG with K24 is well known in the local Honda community:

Other workshops supporting VTEChallenge Australia 2014 include the following, and I might take this opportunity to send a big shout-out to them for promoting the Series:

WORKS Engineering Australia (NSW)
Sleeping Performance and Mechanical Repairs (Victoria)
Intune Mechanical Solutions (Wollongong NSW)
Australian Clutch Service (Xtreme Range of performance clutches) (Victoria)
AGI Precision Products (rollover protection)(NSW)
SelectNine (graphics and logo design) (NSW)
Viral Vinyls (decals) (NSW)
LSP Motorsports (aftermarket performance products and mechanical) (NSW)
JDM Style Tuning (marketing) (NSW)

Peter

 

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We are going to allow it but will have to take another look at weight distribution. I believe Al told me they were looking at similar for the NZ Series some time in the future.

Peter

 

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Well done looks good

Thanks. It's coming along slowly but once I have a few personal things out of the way, it will be full on.

So is this the 189hp k24a3? Also does it have 3lobe intake and exhaust camshafts?

Yes REAL VTEC I believe (from my research).

Peter

 

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Do you have pictures from the seat rail mounts?
nice build:nod:

Here you go:

All welded in by my fabricator

Just dummy mounted for the time being. Once I have the steering column set up I can then position the seat ideally (since I'm 6'1" with long legs) and create a group of mounting points for adjustment. Seat rails are alloy.

Seat position from the rear:

VTEChallenge Australia

Window strip mainly for Sydney Motorsport Park where in the late afternoon you are driving the main straight directly into the setting sun:

Picked up a couple of grounding kits for $10 at a car show recently. Will use one in this car, mainly for the battery. Tow hook off one of the local Honda forums:

WORKS Engineering fuel rail. Not sure if it is usable on my setup but we'll see.

That's about it for now. Also sorting through all my parts in the workshop and found some usable OMORI gauges I've had for some time and a DEFI slimline tacho. Will have to look at building a custom mounting panel for these too.

Peter

 

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subscribed awsome workshop went from huge to all jam packed , cant never have enough room

Filled up quickly but needs a couple of days of reorganisation and it'll be all good!

 

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awsome workshop went from huge to all jam packed , cant never have enough room

This workshop is on 2.5 acres, and we are about to start building the house. I figured I'd only ever have one shot at getting the workshop I've always wanted and this is it. It's a full 135 sq metres (15 metres long by 9 metres wide), with a sloping roof from 5.5 metres down to 3.5 metres. The industrial racking I picked up very cheap and it just about carries all my parts inventory. Remember I have six Hondas (5 Civics and an DA9 Integra) so I've been collecting for about 10 years now. You never know when you might need something.

Here's three of the cars

The blue ED6 has a rear disc conversion, upgraded front discs and brakes to Civic Type R spec, EFI conversion and a D16Y1 (D16Z6) SOHC VTEC engine, and I built a custom exhaust for it. Also has an EK/CRV dash cluster.

The white ED6 was a freebie and is a shell in very good condition which I will convert to JDM EF spec (I have the front end conversion). It will get a B16A.

The yellow DA9 is almost finished, it just needs the remainder of the interior put back in (dash and centre console). It has a rebuilt B18A1 engine, custom exhaust, upgraded brake package, black JDM interior and seats in as new condition. It's quite a nice car to cruise around in!

I'm hoping in the future to put a small mezzanine floor in on the high side for relaxing (TV, stereo, mag and book collection, etc).

I've re-arranged the workshop to allow the EG to be put in situ ready for the next phase of work. I've also been hunting through the shelves looking for parts I might be able to use.

There is still a lot of work to be done installing all my equipment and tools. I have air hose reels to put up, power tools to be bolted down on workbenches, and the hydraulic shop press to be put in place as I will need it soon to press out/in all the bushings.

This is an uprated K-Mac front and rear sway bar kit. Front is 25mm and rear is 17mm.

CAMS regulated fire extinguisher, a Buddy Club shift knob, and Goodridge front and rear braided brake lines.

Upgraded brake discs DBA Gold slotted and drilled

Front

Rear

Suspension setup - it is possible to use these GAB Super Specials (4 way adjustable) with the eyelet rear lower control arm

Photo is before I put them in the sandblasting cabinet for a clean up.

On the weekend I will jack the car up and put it on stands, remove all the undercarriage and start prepping it, and sandblasting all the suspension arms ready for new Energy Suspension bushings.

Peter

 

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Absolutely amazing Peter! That shed is just gorgeous!

Thanks. It is 'heaven' and the area is a beautiful place to have it.

Some photos of the workshop going up

There was a lot of ground excavated to level the site

Construction

The view out the 'front' door

Funny ... looks 'small' here

Putting the small slab in for the 10HP compressor

Finished

Please make sure you pick yourself up a DC5R transmission to go with that K24, the Euro box is fairly 'lethargic'

Hmmm. Have to way up cost vs performance gain. In an ideal world you're right but budget is limited (given we are building a house at the same time ...)

I'll keep my options open.

Cheers,
Peter

 

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Here's a panorama I made:

The only sounds you normally hear are birds, or the wind in the trees, and the occasional car going past.

The house will sit where that white ute is, looking down the valley, which coincidentally is towards Sydney on the horizon.

On a clear day you can see Eastern Creek or what is now Sydney Motorsport Park, about 50kms away.

Peter

 

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The shop looks awesome. Very jealous.
Thanks for sharing those photos.

Thanks Mike. I am still in awe of it every time I open the roller door. It does need some reorganisation though - I'm a bit of a fussy individual like that (is the word 'anal'?) and it bugs me not being able to put my hand on a part or piece quickly when I'm working on a car.

Glad to share the photos. If anything I am probably guilty of 'over-sharing' but that's just part of my enthusiasm for Hondas and building them, and sharing any knowledge I have with others.

damn that's nice! I dig the build too.

Thanks mate. I really appreciate positive comments. We have plenty of space out where we are and so it would be criminal not to make use of it. It did take us a while to get all the plans through the local council and planning authority but in the end they loved what we did with the workshop, the colours and the regeneration of local flora.

Regards,

Peter

PS. We are going up to the workshop again today to plant potatoes, but I'm putting my floor jack in the trailer to do some work on the racecar!