Project Steph's 1978 Honda Civic 1200

[Steph]

Guys, after a long time trying to 'crack the code', it finally occurred to me how to do it. I just polished the brass up, then wiped it over thoroughly with thinners, and gave it several mega-coats of paint that created a meniscus of paint on the surface of the gear-knob emblem. I never let it fully dry, I just kept building it as much as I could, until the paint was thick enough to no longer let the lower areas of brass show through, but I could clearly see the numbering/lettering through the paint. The Dulux interior/exterior paint can I used is a semi-opaque paint that takes several coats to mask what's underneath. I then left it for a week to dry, at which time I sat down with a bottle of Kitten cut and polish, and progressively polished layer after layer of orange paint off, being careful to keep the polishing fabric tightly stretched over my finger, and through the use of feel, concentrating on the making the most contact with the raised surfaces, while taking every effort not to rub hard on the 'open', or lower areas. During the numerous 'polishings' (50-ish), the numbers/letters will become increasingly revealed, and you decide when to stop, but don't go too far, because it's easy to thin the outer areas down too much while trying to further expose the symbols, causing the brass to show through the paint from underneath.

Wow, that actually took a while to write... :P

[Steph]

Now that I come to think about it (after all, it was about 6 months ago), I heated up the oven for a few minutes on the lowest setting (gas oven), so it was hot enough to retain some heat after I'd opened the door and put the emblem in, but not hot enough to regain high-heat after closing the door. Then I put the emblem in there for about an hour before I pulled it out and began polishing it. So it's essentially a baked enamel, or acrylic... (too lazy to go read the can!). :P

I also stripped and then polished the gear-stick and then had it plated, and now the knob looks amaze-balls mounted on the stick (that's how it's done Meldge!).

[Steph]

Really looks good :!: I see you are going to hook up the carburetor for a manual choke operation?Interesting spot for a fuel pressure meter.Very nice by the way. 8) Can't wait to see how you hook up the throttle linkage.A word of caution in regards to clearance between the air cleaner and the firewall.When you rev the motor it may rock back toward the firewall more than you might expect.I don`t want to see that very nice cleaner damaged as it ( and the whole setup ) is in my eyes a work of art.
Also what are your plans for fuel delivery and filtration.
No i haven`t had too much cafenine ,just like seeing someone showcasing Dell orto`s!

Sorry Neil, I missed your post... :P

The throttle linkage is going to be simpler than you think... I hope! LOL! But seriously, it's basically going to be polished stainless arms designed to retain a 1:1 ratio of movement. It's actually on my workbench now. I fitted the original quadrant (quarter-moon shaped thingie the throttle cable attaches to) from the factory carburetor, so the throttle linkages/pedal movement will remain identical to stock, as long as I'm careful to retain 'neutral' linkages, of course. You are absolutely correct about the engine movement, which may require a tweak of the torque rod length, which is something I can do very easily if need be, but only a fraction, like to gain 5-10mm extra clearance. Also, I've become really adept at using an angle grinder for fine cutting. It takes a huge amount of concentration though. So the back-up plan is to trim a further 5-ish millimetres from the firewall edge, and then just touch it up with touch-up paint. I've found, if you're willing to spend a lot of time cutting, you can cut along a line without burning the paint next to it. It's a slow grinding-process, as opposed to a cutting-process where the disc sits deep in the groove, all the time throwing up smoke and sparks. I also have a thin C-sectioned rubber moulding that can be placed over the lip after I've trimmed it a little. That's if the touch-up paint looks average, or the edge of the paint gets burned.

I have a large FRAM canister fuel filter that filters the fuel even further than a standard fuel filter, in fact it's best used with a standard filter before it. It's also all chromed and looks really nice. Total overkill, but that's what it's all about for me, in case you haven't noticed. I also have Spectre braided hoses and chromed clamps to cover every sinlgle hose on the engine. I spent a small fortune on them, and they look spectacular in the flesh. All the hoses except the radiator and vacuum hoses are Spectre braided, which menas they retain their shape and all the wires in the braid are tightly wound to the hose, as opposed to the slip over braid which never hugs the hose in the same way, and the wires always seem to be out of shape, or 'drifting' sideways. I'll have to use the slip-over braid on the radiator hoses, but I bought enough for a couple of tries, so hopefully I can get the knack of it quickly.

Fuel delivery will be the same fuel pump you used (can't remember the model), although I bought the plastic equivalent of it... I also have Mr Gasket dial-type fuel pressure regulator that will be installed next to fuel pressure gauge... I better get back to it...

[Steph]

I went a bit crazy buying tools recently, and I've been trying to collect the 'people's picks' on stuff that I buy, like Wiha drivers (screw, torx, etc). One model that rose above the rest in forum 'reviews' (and even one done by MSD on various timing lights), was the Sears-Craftsman Advance Timing Light with dial back. In the MSD-conducted tests it was the only non-MSD brand on test that could provide a steady light source over the full rev-range (0-8000RPM), whereas ALL the others became wildly erratic above ~2000RPM. They also found large disprepancies in timing readings, using one of their top-of-the-range engine analysers as the reference. Their argument was that a 2 degree inaccuracy at 2000RPM has the potential to translate into a 8 degree inaccuracy at 8000RPM, or likely more as the light becomes more and more unreliable as the revs rise. The Craftsman timing light they tested was the older diecast aluminium body version, not the newer version, but they're probably identical in design, just 'cheapened' up to lower manufacturing costs. They're pretty much the identical unit to the one also sold by Actron, and probably one or two others, but the Craftsman version is the one that's received all the limelight, because of the MSD 'Technical Bulletin'. I liked the fact the Craftsman model was made out of metal, it just feels more like a tool, as opposed to being made of plastic, plus it can't melt against anything, and all the parts are still available for it, because they're still available new, some 20 years later.

Anyway, as soon as I read all this I jumped onto on line auctions, and like some sort of kismet, there was one, as-new, in the original packaging, chromed-diecast Sears Craftsman dial-back timing light, and the seller was just down the road from me!!! :D

I paid $70 for it, but it was as good as new, and it was local. They're available secondhand for $20-$30 on US on line auctions, but I'm in Australia, so a secondhand one would have cost me as much, if not more with postage factored in... anyway... why am I justifying myself to youse?

I need to stop spending so much money on tools :P

[Steph]

OK, back to the Civic. I had some new front mats made up where I supplied the artwork. I also bought a complete set of moulded carpets, and an extra 2 metres of the carpet they used to make the moulded carpets with, so I could make a mat to fit the hatch area. I used some cardboard to make the template, then once I had it cut out, I took it to a auto upholstery shop and paid them to sew a trim on the edge to give it that professional look. They only charged me $10 to do it.

[sobe_death]

I have a timing light just like that. If I remember right, it was originally purchased in the late 60's :!:

[simplyhonda]

Those floor mats look fantastic! I want some

[Steph]

I'm pretty sure anybody would be able to buy it from them now. When I say 'them' I'm referring to http://www.trufitcarpets.com.au/ who I supplied the artwork to. I'm happy for anybody to contact them and order a set. They're available in different colours, including the colour of the logo. I chose a silver-grey for the logo. In the end, I think a pair was about A$100 deilvered. The mats are heavy duty, and maybe a bit on the heavy side, but they'll also block noise through the firewall/floor, so it's a good trade-off IMO. The only person to speak with at TruFit is the guy that actually does the printing (can't remember his name -- Paul maybe?). He needed a little encouragement at first, mainly because he claimed it would be a hard logo to print, but it turned out fine.

[Drifter995]

Damn... after seeing your mats, I want some D:
Contacted the website about a moulded carpet for my car though :D

[simplyhonda]

I believe I may have to try this as well. Looks great!