Project Steph's 1978 Honda Civic 1200

[Steph]

Thanks guys :D

Today I had the rear shocks, rear drums, wheel bearings, brakes hose, well basically everything replaced with new, as well as new steering rack boots and tie rods fitted, plus a wheel alignment. It was really difficult to find suitable rack boots, as all the universal fit versions didn't have a balance tube nipple fitted, and they all seemed to be cheap and nasty, quality wise. In the end I found a product called the Rakboot which was made of excellent quality material, as well as having the nipples fitted, so I bought those. For those of you who don't already know this, the rack boots have a balance tube running between both boots, because when steering to either side, one boot expands while the other contracts, so the air from the contracting boot is transfered to the expanding boot, thus creating a closed system, and eliminating the need to draw dirty air in.

http://www.productsthatwork.com.au/prod ... t-info.php

Tomorrow I'll clean and paint my rear wheel wells, and then finally fit my new wheels

Steph

[Steph]

FINALLY!!!

I suspect that because of the heat we endure in summer, the springs over here sag about an inch more than those found in cooler climates. If you compare the gap between the tyre and the guard with that of Jay's car, you can see there's about an inch difference.

Here's Jay's fitted with the same size and profile tires as mine.

[Mike S]

Well, you've come a long way from when you were seriously considering 15 x 6.5 V-teks with 195/50-15 tires!

Wheels look great. Period appropriate and no bling.

MS

[ASM]

Those wheels look great Steph. You're getting together a real stunner there!

[Thor]

We used to find on the rally cars that when we used double-acting dampers, the cars came off the stage 1.5 inches higher than at the start.
It's unlikely to be heat softening the springs, you don't get that hot
You may find that the valving is set too firmly, causing the hydraulics to jack up. Honda fitted single-acting dampers for an engineering reason, not cost.
Whilst all your re-bushing and renewal may well lighten your steering, by far the greatest factor will be that you now have some degree of positive camber, particularly now that you have increased ride-height.
As a consequence you are running on the outer edge of the tyre, you will also find that the car is more nervous as the camber goes from pos to neg under cornering and braking. It is best described as squirrelly.
Also bear in mind that the back wheels are set with positive camber, again running on the outer edge of those tires, camber changes make it step out quite viciously on lift off, it can be as bad as an old Porsche in the wet.
Look at getting negative camber sooner rather than later as your car is too nice to get damaged.
THIS IS THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE.
Several other members have found this out the hard way, and have acknowledged that it is an area for attention.
Please be warned Steph, your knowledge will show you how to go about it, I'm sure.
In friendship
Pete

[koosjer55]

Yep, like 'em a lot 8) Next step lowering the car a bit? King springs are right next door

[Steph]

It's unlikely to be heat softening the springs, you don't get that hot

I'm sure the 3 heatwaves we experienced last summer, a summer that differs little from all the other summers past, not to menton that summer temps can reach over 46C (115F) has little or no effect metalurgically speaking. You are aware that even glass sags over time, more so in hot climates, let alone steel with 100s of kilos resting on it, in a hot climate. I think the evidence in my original post speaks for itself.

Steph :roll:

[Steph]

Yep, like 'em a lot 8) Next step lowering the car a bit? King springs are right next door

Hey Stephan, I did consider going for lowered springs, but the camber issues would have required camber plates to do it properly, and in the end I'm happy with it, as it is. But it would look really nice if it were a couple of inches lower 8)

Steph

[anthonydarling]

looks great! did you shave the rear lights, or was it that way previously? Same thing I'm doing to mine.

great lookin bump stops by the way they cleaned up real nice

[Steph]

Thanks Anthony, the lights are original. If you mean the reverse light and parkers, then they are always recessed into the bumpers on European, JDM, and Australian/NZ delivered models.

Those overriders/bumper guards are really nice. Thanks again for helping me out with them

Steph