[infotechplus]

Yokohama ADVAN semi slick tyres mounted on my wheels. They are a control tyre ADVAN A050 Medium in 205.50R16 size:

Fuel Filler release mechanism installed. I put the metal part through the sandblaster as it was all grungy and a bit of surface rust had formed:

Wiring deleted so far, mainly the stereo speakers, door light switches and another unknown but unused plug. Getting rid of all the gummy black tape, and installing new NITTO tape and convoluted tubing. I'm using a VTEC enabled wiring loom (D16Y1/D16Z6) and don't need all the wires for power mirrors, power windows etc that's why it has been deleted:

Dash wiring needs to be modified:

Back half of the car finished including fuel pump and gauge:

Large box arrived today. Very excited to see the new gear!

I splashed out on an upmarket helmet that is much lighter than my 1994 SHOEI helmet:

New VELO helmet and STAND21 HANS device, both with their own carry bags:

Nice helmet bag:

Adding the HANS posts to the helmet

Here's the new VELO helmet. It comes with the HANS post holes already drilled by the manufacturer/distributor [as required by the CAMS rules]:

Visor up:

Post anchor kit consists of inside washer/nut and a post made up of a large washer, a small spring, another ring washer and a bolt that goes through to the washer/nut.

The post holes are the small black dot bottom left in the photo. I removed the rubber plug and inserted the washer/nut carefully on the inside, then put the washer/bolt through and tightened with a 10mm box spanner and T-handled hex tool:

Finished:

Peter

 

[infotechplus]

Go-fast stripes FTW!

Peter

 

[switch]

Wow the helmet stripes are simple but effective. Looking good peter but why 205 tyres?

 

[infotechplus]

Wow the helmet stripes are simple but effective. Looking good Peter but why 205 tyres?

Thanks Anthony. Yeah its a simple design but easy to apply, and keeps the theme. Just needed to add a couple of more decals to finish it off.

205s were recommended by Gordon Leven's people. I think 195s are too small and 225s wouldn't fit under the guards.

Spare wheels all sandblasted and ready for paint:

Arranged for painting tomorrow:

Peter

 

[switch]

Hmm okay. The only civic that ran 16's was justin's EG. I will take a look at sizes this weekend but iirc most run 225/50/15 including me. I don't know how hard it is to fit 225 on a 16 under the guards but on mine they are "massaged".

 

[infotechplus]

Hmm okay. The only civic that ran 16's was justin's EG. I will take a look at sizes this weekend but iirc most run 225/50/15 including me. I don't know how hard it is to fit 225 on a 16 under the guards but on mine they are "massaged".

I had to move up a size due to my current brake setup not fitting under 15s. Accord Euro 300mm discs with S2K/Type R calipers didn't fit under the 15s I had even with some massaging of the caliper. I was told 225s tend to 'squirm' a bit on 7in rims in competition hence the 205s. Gordon Leven said some guys run 225s up front and 205s on the rear but I thought it would be more economical to run the same all round (to be able to swap front to rear if need be).

Peter

 

[bertje]

It is better to use a narrower band @ the rear to reduce understeer
use the 205 tyres for the rear and use some 225 for the front
u could use some spacers for the front fenders?

 

[infotechplus]

It is better to use a narrower band @ the rear to reduce understeer
use the 205 tyres for the rear and use some 225 for the front
u could use some spacers for the front fenders?

Spacers for fenders not allowed. I do have a friend who rolls guards though - I may have to talk with him about that.

Peter

 

[Warps]

Are you allowed to roll guards, or only fold the lip under?

I currently have adjustable upper camber arms (illegal, I know) so the 225's fit on the front (+35 rims). They won't fit on the back though, unless I "massage" the rear guards. I was thinking of running 225 on the front, and 205 on the back, but need to wait till I start tuning it on the track to see how that affects handling. Might be a good thing, as suggested by bertje suggested.

 

[infotechplus]

Are you allowed to roll guards, or only fold the lip under?

I currently have adjustable upper camber arms (illegal, I know) so the 225's fit on the front (+35 rims). They won't fit on the back though, unless I "massage" the rear guards. I was thinking of running 225 on the front, and 205 on the back, but need to wait till I start tuning it on the track to see how that affects handling. Might be a good thing, as suggested by bertje suggested.

I'll have to have a close read of the regulations regarding the modifications to the front guards.

Today I did some more work stripping out unnecessary wiring from the loom, like the seat belt reminder, the passenger side door electrics, the interior light, etc. Plus removing the large plastic "boomerang" from the wiring that originally went under the driver's feet over to the passenger side.

I went to a wrecker's yard not far from me to look for some interior door trim pieces since the yard I normally go to had no EGs available. Just my luck there was one EG3 but it looked like it had been there a while so I wasn't optimistic! But it was my lucky day, the three specific pieces that I needed were all there on the floor - the door pocket plastic from both sides and the driver's side door handle surround. Usually these are among the first things broken but apart from a small piece missing from one corner they were OK for the $5 asking price. I also bought a rear view mirror even though I had a few here in the workshop. It came with the serrated washer and the small spring so I grabbed it for $15. It's now installed with my 'broadway' mirror.

I finished off all the wiring at the back of the car so the indicators, stop lights and upper stop light should all work, as well as the rear screen demister. I'm going to charge the battery and temporarily connect up everything so I can test as I go along.

Tonight I picked up two used Advan A050 tyres in the same 205 size and I'll get these mounted on my spare wheels once I've had a chance to paint them.

Peter

 

[switch]

You can run 8" rims peter. Had a chat with Graham Bohm today at practice. He said he had to massage the guards with a lump hammer to make the 225/50/15 fit with 8" rims but will also be experimenting with 17" in the future. All the Hondas I looked at today were the same with the guards including mine.

 

[danixleet]

Where did you score the tyres from? ...

 

[infotechplus]

You can run 8" rims Peter. Had a chat with Graham Bohm today at practice. He said he had to massage the guards with a lump hammer to make the 225/50/15 fit with 8" rims but will also be experimenting with 17" in the future. All the Hondas I looked at today were the same with the guards including mine.

I can organise to get the guards rolled - that will help, but I'm staying with the wheels I currently have invested time and money in. A larger wheel will not net me any exponential benefits as I'm only doing this for fun. The real issue as I see it is that the current wheel has a 38 offset (the standard Civic EG offset is 45). The other wheels I'm currently refurbishing are 40 offset, making them a little 'friendlier'. If I get the guards rolled I can better judge what to move ahead with.

Where did you score the tyres from? ...

Off Gumtree

Peter

 

[infotechplus]

A few jobs taken care of this morning, moving forward at a pace now as I'm wanting to get "going" before I lose interest (it's possible given the two year build timeframe and several logistical/financial obstacles that sometimes have me throwing my hands up in the air in frustration!)

Financial - this is costing me a lot more than I originally anticipated and I've always been one to be as economical as possible because, let's face it, building a race car is not something you do as an investment. You lose a lot of time and you don't get your money back!

Logistical - because the shell was pretty much stripped at our old address and the build has been underway for two years, I'm finding myself spending far too much time searching for parts that I should have. In most circumstances I just give up and go to the wreckers, and buy a replacement, right down to nuts and bolts. As an example, now I have to buy another glovebox as the one I had with the dash has the pivot tabs broken (which I now remember) but I spent time searching for it and cleaning it before realising. There are numerous other examples I won't bore anyone with ...

Anyway, on to what I've achieved today:

[1] Dash

It's been sitting for so long and having been moved about and got scratched I decided to redo the dash:

[2] Centre console

Removed and disassembled to make things easy

Plastic Adhesion Primer applied after cleaning with soapy water and then Wax & Grease Remover:

Even did the inside (because I can't do it any other way :nod

It's a little cooler here now that Autumn (Fall) has arrived so I use a heat gun to help cure the paint as I spray it:

After sufficient drying time, ready for reassembly (yes, I put the metal ash tray through the sandblaster):

Reassembled. The cigarette lighter opening will get a plastic plug to seal it:

[3] Wheels

Black Etch Primer applied:

To paint the face (after allowing the inside and barrel to dry) I use a brick and a small piece of cardboard to sit the wheel on. So that means no part of the wheel is making contact except the hub and marks (if any) will be hidden when the wheel is on:

[4] Wiring

I'm removing all the hard plastic and replacing with convoluted tubing, which I will fix to the floor by drilling small holes and using OEM plastic clips that pop in:

[5] Plastic trim

These are the passenger door trims I picked up yesterday. Cleaned and painted black:

Driver's side ready to go on:

I removed the locking rod so that, as our rules state, the car cannot be inadvertently locked.

[6] Tyres

I picked up a pair of Advan A050s in Medium compound to match the four new ones I bought. Same size too!

Peter

 

[friski]

Keep up the great work Peter, love you attention to detail.

My build has been on the road for over a year now and only managed to hit the tracks a handful of time, family and work always the priority.
Mic

 

[infotechplus]

Continued on after lunch with installation of the dash. I screwed in the cluster and the surround, then locked the dash in. I added the lower centre console which is all I really need I think.

It's an auto cluster but it doesn't really matter as I'm using the Haltech IQ3 race dash:

Shameless self advertising:

Haltech IQ3 installed :new_slayer::

Peter

 

[CAFROG]

Coming together nicely. :new_slayer:

 

[Warps]

That's beautiful, Peter. Love the painting.

I got the dash in my EK4 flocked - it's been sitting in storage for 2 years now, so hopefully it's still ok and not covered in cockroach crap. I understand the pain of a long build. Mine was a "ready to race" car when I bought it over 2 years ago, and I'm still fixing little things that I didn't like about the build. Hopefully this year....

With the IPRA regs, I was of the understanding that the bottom part of the centre console isn't needed? Basically from the bottom of the main dash down can be removed from the centre console area I think??

Also, do we need to have the high mount stop light functional.? I stripped that wire out when I redid the wiring harness at the back of my car. Would hate to have to put it back in now.

 

[infotechplus]

Keep up the great work Peter, love you attention to detail.

My build has been on the road for over a year now and only managed to hit the tracks a handful of time, family and work always the priority.
Mic

Thanks. Yes priorities being just that, we have to fit around the things that are REALLY important, as you say!

Coming together nicely. :new_slayer:

Thanks again. You definitely are a "regular".

That's beautiful, Peter. Love the painting.

Yeah it really makes it look 'new' again.

I got the dash in my EK4 flocked - it's been sitting in storage for 2 years now, so hopefully it's still ok and not covered in cockroach crap.

I looked into flocking and would love to have my dash done but after seeing a couple of cars with it I decided that it wasn't a long term thing. The dash looks untidy after a couple of years of competition.

I understand the pain of a long build. Mine was a "ready to race" car when I bought it over 2 years ago, and I'm still fixing little things that I didn't like about the build. Hopefully this year....

Fingers crossed hey? Hope it comes together for you (eventually).

With the IPRA regs, I was of the understanding that the bottom part of the centre console isn't needed? Basically from the bottom of the main dash down can be removed from the centre console area I think??

I think you're right. I have embedded in my brain the reg that says you have to retain trim below the window sill but the dash is probably an exception to that. I put mine in because it helps anchor the dash since I cut the driver's side anchor point and the centre console metal reinforcement away. Plus I'll need somewhere to ash my cigarette - don't want to flick it out the window into the guy behind me. :devil:

Also, do we need to have the high mount stop light functional.? I stripped that wire out when I redid the wiring harness at the back of my car. Would hate to have to put it back in now.

I don't think so. I kept it simply as an extra warning to the quicker guys lapping me ...

Peter

 

[Warps]

I looked into flocking and would love to have my dash done but after seeing a couple of cars with it I decided that it wasn't a long term thing. The dash looks untidy after a couple of years of competition.

Yeh I've seen some rally cars that look a bit untidy - usually the massive build up of dust which kills them. Will see how mine holds up. It was professionally done, so hopefully doesn't start peeling like some of the home jobs.

Fingers crossed hey? Hope it comes together for you (eventually).

I am getting very close to having it back on its wheels again. Finished building the pedal box, so now just chasing some hose to plumb brakes up (and about to buy some rotors - Mini Coopers for the front, and EP3 1.7 rotors for the back with DC2R calipers front and back).

. Plus I'll need somewhere to ash my cigarette - don't want to flick it out the window into the guy behind me. :devil:

Haha love it. I suppose the ash tray also comes in handy for storing the Iphone during races (seeing we can't ever be more than 10m away from our phones)

I don't think so. I kept it simply as an extra warning to the quicker guys lapping me ...
Peter

Oh Snap!! Good point :scared:. Maybe I need to invest in some of those rear window mounted stop lamps that were the rage in the late 70's . Or mount my mine spec light bar on the roof (complete with flashing beacon and reverse beeper). That should make me visible to the faster guys.