Restoration Steve's 1976 Honda Civic Project

Civic 1973-1979 Projects
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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Model: 1976 Hatchback

Another piece for the puzzle. 1 EL intake for twin DCOEs.

Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

I can't claim much credit for this job other than I supplied the pieces. This was built by a couple of guys I went to high school with. Randy did the cuts and Kevin did the welding. It needs a bit more grinding and perhaps some polishing and then I'm going to get it ceramic coated. I'm pretty happy with it. What you will do when you can't buy a part!
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Intake 2.JPG
Intake 2.JPG (144.35 KiB) Viewed 8630 times
Intake 1.JPG
Intake 1.JPG (143.89 KiB) Viewed 8630 times

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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Model: 1976 Hatchback

Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

I've been holding back on posting the progress on the engine install because it doesn't look like much. The reality is that there has been a fair bit of effort and time gone into it up to this point. The outstanding issues are to get the header welded up to clear the intake, do the wiring and hook up the various hoses. No promises on when that will happen but I'll be there videoing when it finally starts for the 1st time. What's made this a more difficult and more expensive swap was the absense of a donor car. I've spent a lot of time collecting things like the motor and transmission, motor mounts, starter, brackets, flywheel and clutch kit. At this point, I can't think of anything else I need. Finally.
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100_0882.JPG
100_0882.JPG (142.19 KiB) Viewed 8431 times
100_0881.JPG
100_0881.JPG (138.55 KiB) Viewed 8431 times
Last edited by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca on October 27th, 2011, 1:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Joined: September 15th, 2009, 12:41 pm
Province/State: Ontario
Hometown: Kemptville
Model: 1976 Hatchback

Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

islander wrote:Hey there, Nice looking car you are building. Just wondering... what color is your car? kinda hard to tell from the pics. Is it black or a dark metallic?
It's called Mercedes Tektite Gray. It's essentially black but has an element of charcoal to it with some metalic. I've yet to clean it or polish it so no idea what it's gonna look like when it's clean and shiny. Thanks.

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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Joined: September 15th, 2009, 12:41 pm
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Hometown: Kemptville
Model: 1976 Hatchback

Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

I got the header (Pacesetter possibly) from Kurt who got it from Andrew Smit. It's a bolt on but with the custom intake, 2 of the pipes came out too far from the exhaust ports and were in contact with the intake. No, I'm not doing the work myself. It's farmed out to someone with a lot more exhaust experience. I could probably pull off the welds but I've got nothing to do the bends with. Besides, this isn't really something I want to learn on even if it will be under the hood most of the time.

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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Model: 1976 Hatchback

Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

It is for twin Webers and it is very custom but I think it'll work out well. It's pretty solid.

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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

Well, I know it's been a while. Things have been happening just at a slower rate than I ever anticipated. The latest news is that I picked up my header and intake from getting cermachrome coated. The header got a bit hacked up in fitting due to the way the intake was built. There wasn't enough clearance with the fabricated intake so things were shifted around to get everything sitting pretty. Overall, I'm really happy with the way they both turned out. They'll be on the car shortly and I'll post some shots of the engine bay then. For now, I've got these to show.
Attachments
Header and Intake 2.JPG
Header and Intake 2.JPG (121.41 KiB) Viewed 7948 times
Header and Intake 1.JPG
Header and Intake 1.JPG (120.82 KiB) Viewed 7948 times
Intake 3.JPG
Intake 3.JPG (101.25 KiB) Viewed 7948 times
Intake 2.JPG
Intake 2.JPG (112.82 KiB) Viewed 7948 times
Intake 1.JPG
Intake 1.JPG (109.24 KiB) Viewed 7948 times
Header.JPG
Header.JPG (119.44 KiB) Viewed 7948 times

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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

Here's a short clip of the motor running. It sounds way better when you're standing next to it.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1177443111 ... 6949717074

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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

It seems to be working well. I can't wait to get the interior in so I can get it out for a run. But it's tax time and that comes first. :cry:

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Steve's 1976 Honda Civic Restoration Project

Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

I'm back working on my car again. I had the engine overheat a few years ago and cracked the head. I got a new head and had it rebuilt and tried to hone the cylinders. The result was 2 unacceptably low compression cylinders and 2 marginal. After going back and forth between getting the engine rebuilt and buying a used one, I decided to pull it and rebuild it myself. I was already .50mm over so I was looking for .75 over. One of my best deals of all time came when I found 4 pistons, rings sets and pins on line auctions for under $80 CND delivered. I've had the block bored and have just finished installing the pistons. (side note: using the ring compressor I used to do my last rebuild circa 1987. Back when you could go to Honda and have your pick of parts). Anyway, my old build thread has disappeared so on to better things. Stay tuned but be patient. :honda
Attachments
Block bottom.jpg
Block bottom.jpg (71.11 KiB) Viewed 10731 times
Block top.jpg
Block top.jpg (76.8 KiB) Viewed 10731 times
Honda on jacks.jpg
Honda on jacks.jpg (71.05 KiB) Viewed 10731 times
Last edited by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca on May 1st, 2017, 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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steve.ewing@ottawa.ca
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Joined: September 15th, 2009, 12:41 pm
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Model: 1976 Hatchback

Re: Rebuild thread

Post by steve.ewing@ottawa.ca »

Got the engine back together.
Attachments
Engine 1.jpg
Engine 1.jpg (97.11 KiB) Viewed 10704 times
Engine 2.jpg
Engine 2.jpg (94.5 KiB) Viewed 10704 times

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