Project Steph's 1978 Honda Civic 1200

[Bill]

LOL!
I remember a nicely modified Impala, lowered with Blacklight under the hood, all the flourescent colors under the hood and War's 'Lowrider' on a loop in the Cassette. This was in the 70's but still annoying, he was asked to turn it down several times, the light or stereo, I'm not sure...
The work was done very nicely, but the application... he had to be on something when that was done!

[Steph]

LOL!
I remember a nicely modified Impala, lowered with Blacklight under the hood, all the flourescent colors under the hood and War's 'Lowrider' on a loop in the Cassette. This was in the 70's but still annoying, he was asked to turn it down several times, the light or stereo, I'm not sure...
The work was done very nicely, but the application... he had to be on something when that was done!

...that black light you mentioned reminded me of my other pet hate... fluro tubes sitting under the car and hood/hood. You walk away with white lines burned into your retina!

That's what i hate most about high-beam drivers... these use their blunderbuss-like, photon-cannons to burn everybody's retina!

[bob78cvcc]

Steph, you are 1st class all the way.
Your build is heading to a museum!

[Steph]

Steph, you are 1st class all the way.
Your build is heading to a museum!

Thanks, Bob.

I must admit, the further I get along, the more I'm coming to realise this is going to be something special.

It's definitely being driven to car shows... I have no room for a car trailer, but otherwise it will be stored under flannelette sheets and a car cover, inside the garage, and driven only occasionally, you know, to blow out the cobwebs.

[Steph]

...still going, and I can report that polishing the block has taken up pretty much every spare bit of energy I've had for weeks (months?) now. At times it's a complete drag, but mostly its a satisfying experience, but one I won't be keen to experience again. I really am too old for this sheet. Plus, as always, my obsessive ways caused me to hit the block with #150 grit when I thought I was preparing for #1200, but it really lifted the job to whole new level. I've removed over 1mm from the entire block surface. I know this, because I had some pretty deep scratches/gouges that are all gone now. Plus, the skin of the block has a 'plated' appearance, so you need to remove that to get through to the the aluminium that will polish up like chrome. As you move along, you get patches of clean aluminium, with little pockets of the plated, slaggy look. These pockets are always in the hard to get to spots, like corners and such. You also get a thicker skin of slag over certain areas, so you have to 'dig' deeper in these areas before the pits and discolourations disappear. Once you get through all that, it starts to look like a freshly machined engine block... and that's where I'm up to now, a 150# gritted block without a single discolouration in it... will it never end?!?...

[Thor]

Steph
Your work is an inspiration of personal dedication, aspiration and vision.
I do hope that your climatic atmosphere allows your efforts to be used for many years.
Over her, it would start corroding overnight just through the normal humidity.
Good luck with your car.
We all look forward to seeing it run.
Pete

[Steph]

what a grind! honestly, this thing has really pushed me to my limits of aches and pains. my elbows are screaming continuously, and my fingers feel like lifeless stubs. I'd be worried, but I've damaged them plenty of times, and the sensation always returns after a few days. Getting into every little spot is a really trying experience, as you really become your own worst enemy. I keep being reminded of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, as if this torturous process is allowing me to 'commune' with my wiser self, and stuff.

I was on #1200 grit yesterday, and before I knew it, I was chucking a tantrum and vigorously tearing it all up with #150 grit... again!

After this I'm certain to need professional help... :o

200 hours to sand and polish block... followed by 200 hours of intense therapy at $100/hour (partnered with several electroconvulsive 'treatments', which are provided free at the local teaching psychiatric institution).

Total cost = $20,000 + sandpaper.

when one of my friends dropped by last night, the first thing he said as he walked in and saw what I was doing was "are you still working on that"!.. he had a bit of a concerned look on his face too... :P

[Steph]

Whenever I went to shows, I always noticed the standout features of the top cars, like polished engine block, being one example...

I've got about 100 hours into it so far, and it's almost there...

...that's a bit scary, I just checked when I started... seems it was around 2 months ago... cripes :?

[Steph]

Massive push to get this engine finished and ready for disassembly and sending all the parts that need chroming away, as well as taking the long block down to Maxwill Motors for the rebuild.

The block has been completely polished using #150, #400, #800, #1200, #1500 and then #2000. I then spent ages polishing it with Autosol and a pile of rags. You can actually see your face in it now, with just a mild blur to it. It looks like the block has been chromed, with ever little detail cleaned up to perfection... I couldn't help myself. I have even been over the alternator again, spending a full day bringing it up to my new 'standard'. I'll do the distributor next. The crank, alternator, and water pump pulleys all came up perfectly, so they'll look really nice once they've been chromed. While it may appear in the photo that they are chromed, and in the 'flesh' also, but they haven't been chromed yet. IMO, to get a true show chrome finish, you have to polish the metal you are chroming to look like it is already chromed. The chrome always looks dull otherwise, or worse, it has streaks in it.

I'll post some close up images of the bare block shortly, and they will blow your mind how clean Honda's casting were for a pre-CNC stage of production, where finish on the tooling was totally reliant on the toolmakers machining skills, not the accuracy of a CAD model and a CNC programmer, who by the way, is also an accomplished machinist, just not necessarily at operating machines under manual control. That will become a dying art I expect...

oh yeah, what do you think of my first alternator rebuild?

[Jonhud]

Work of art!