Project Steph's 1978 Honda Civic 1200

[Rayme]

WOW great job ! All is perfect :shock: 8)

[Steph]

Thanks

Been busy renovating the bathroom (new vanity unit, shower screen and bath tub).

Looks like new, but the painting was brutal! :P

Now the house is finished, I can swing back to the Civic. Bumper strip and rechrome is next. I bought another litre of paint stripper (the good stuff) for the job. This will be the third attempt to get the paint off their backs/undersides. The first time I used generic paint stripper, thinking "what's the difference" (it barely worked!) so the second time I used the name brand stuff (Diggers), which outperformed the generic stuff in a big way. The electroplater insists on all paint being removed before he'll put them in his expensive chemical baths. Fingers crossed they come out looking almost new.

[Figgy]

Hi Steph, sorry for posting here. I've tried to PM you but it's not getting to you. Would you mind getting in touch, I have a few questions.

[Steph]

Heya Everybody,

haven't done much on the Civic of late, then about a week ago I picked up the hood/hood latch and thought, this thing needs to be chrome plated.

Look below and you'll see the final pieces ready to be bagged and sent to chrome (they're bagged to ensure no moisture gets near them).

First up I glass bead blasted all the paint and plating off. Then I drilled the back of the rivets that hold the assembly together, and sanded/polished all the parts.

[steve.ewing@ottawa.ca]

As Jimmy Barnes would say, too much ain't enough. Looks great Steph.

[Randy]

Steph

That is looking so good.

[Steph]

Cheers for that!

Today I'm working on the wiper motor body (the part that pokes out of the plastic cover).

I've also been working on the front and rear bumpers from time to time. Getting the paint off the underside of the bumpers has been a nightmare. I must have applied paint stripper a dozen times to get it all off. I'm not sure if Honda applied the white paint in the factory, but the paint I had to deal with was really resistant to being stripped off. A lot I had to do with a razor blade. I also banged all the tiny dents out, and created 'high' spots out of dents so they can be sanded and polished out at the chromeplaters. The Plater told me to do this, then he'd do the rest.

[Randy]

Paint on the underside, that's weird. Not factory. I have one new one on the bumper and its chrome with just a Honda part number sticker on it.

I was thinking of putting 77 bumpers on mine, I may cut them in half and shorten them a bit before getting them plated.
Bumper tuck! Is that like a face lift?

[Steph]

I was thinking of putting 77 bumpers on mine, I may cut them in half and shorten them a bit before getting them plated.
Bumper tuck! Is that like a face lift?

Bumper tuck sounds really painful!

But seriously, I would love to switch to 77 bumpers if I could find a good pair, like NOS. I'm definitely tucking the bumpers to a super snug fit.

Tucking the bumpers really adds to the shape. I've already done all the measuring, drawn up the templates for modifying the OEM bumper mounts. One of the many jobs still on my list. Lots of jobs to keep me busy during winter (it's getting cold down here, 6C at the moment).

[Steph]

Finished the wiper motor body today and screwed it on to see what it will look like.

The polished motor body will look even better once it's been chrome plated.

You may notice I trimmed the plastic cover to get more of the polished surfaces exposed (there used to be a 'sleeve' that extended along the motor body.