Project Steph's 1978 Honda Civic 1200

[bob78cvcc]

Simply amazing!

[Bill]

I'd be afraid to take that to a machine shop!
Manual machining is making a comeback, there are some parts that are cheaper to do in small runs by hand and the hand fitting is a plus. The Marine repair industry is seeing a big call for this as all the older parts become less and less available...

[EvoCivic]

My EYES! ... I'm blind! 8)
You really do have too much time on your hands

[Steph]

My EYES! ... I'm blind! 8)
You really do have too much time on your hands

no doubt, which is a wonderful position to find yourself in when you experience a serious bout of 'enthusiasm'... no, other people's work to get in the way of progress!

One thing that has been extremely salient during this process, is that the bill of sale that tells us we can do all this stuff once we retire is 'shakey' at best, because there is no way a 65 or 70 year old 'Steph' could have endured this struggle in 'late' retirement. (sorry, I third personed myself for a second there).

As far as the machine shop goes, I've been giving this a bit of thought, and the only way I can see of optimising my chances of the machinist taking special care is to get some really cracking shots of the motor in it's full mocked-up glory, and hope they will inspire them to take care. All that said, I have always expected to have to do a full repolish and maybe resand the odd spot once I get the motor back. There will likely be finger marks all over it, and machining oil 'stains' etc, so it will get the full treatment all over again, but I expect it will be nothing more than a complete rub over with #2000 again, then an Autosoling to bring it up to its finished state. That said, a small part of me hopes I get it back where I only need to Autosol it to bring it all back to its former glory...

Honestly, you guys haven't seen how good this thing looks, I took those shots with a flash. Once I post some good photos, you'll see how polished it looks. I have a friend who has worked freelance as a photographer for car magazines over the years, and I was thinking I should get him to come over and have a 'look', at which time I'll thrust my camera in his hands! I'll also ask him to shoot the whole car once it's finished, but getting photos before the car is finished, like engine on the stand shots will be a great addition to an article on the car. I also want some good shots of the engine with gearbox attached hanging from the engine crane and about to be fitted to the freshly painted car. I've started clearing the garage so I can turn it into a low-dust environment, with sanding and other dust causing activities being relegated to the driveway, even if I have to drag tools out of the garage. I've done it before, but it didn't last, but this time I have strong motivation, not wanting to have to dust my car all the time. I'll also install a negative ion generator to keep the dust levels down. So many things to consider... :P

[rorrero]

Absolutely amazing, Steph - incredible work.

-rorrero

[Steph]

Simply amazing!

Thanks, Bob

I often think of you while I'm doing this, as I become aware of just how huge a task it was to pull down and put your car back together, or the front of it that is. In all honesty, it's only people like you who can really understand how much work is involved, as you've lived through it. The best customs really should be worth a lot of money, as the volume of work it takes to complete them is enormous. I'll never do another, and in all honesty, I'm not sure I could. But it sure will be a nice feeling driving my 5-speed 1st gen around in my golden years, especially in the Bay to Birdwood Classic which allows cars up to 1977 at present, but this extends as the years pass, so 78 will be included in 2016 when my car will be ready for the January event, which is something I can see myself doing at least once. I fully expect this project will take another 6 months to complete, if not 12... or more. :oops:


http://www.baytobirdwood.com.au/events/ ... od-classic" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TREVORM]

Really Nice Steph :D

[Thor]

It truly is a work-of-art.
I look forward to seeing and hearing it run.
I do understand your wishes for the future, I certainly intend running mine behind a camper on a tow-frame and then cruising the local area from the camp-site.

[mk7]

Beautiful engine!

[Steph]

soooo close now... finished polishing everything on the engine, and the clutch cable bracket on the 5-speed. Tomorrow I'll finish off the throttle cable 'solution', and then get a custom inner made up, about 100mm longer than the stock cable. The OEM choke cable was perfect... all I had to do was chop the nib and about 25mm off the end, and it fit perfectly into the Dellortos. I reversed the operating direction of the chokes on the DHLBs so they can be pulled from the non-standard side. I also managed to retain the OEM outer on the throttle cable, so it will look very 'factory' with the cable following pretty much the same path as standard, with no hard turns. I'm thinking I might try and make a video tomorrow, just an uneditted walk-around.

I'm determined to get this car finished by the end of the year, so I can move onto other projects. I'm just being mindful of not rushing things, because that's when you gloss over stuff, and half-arse it, mainly because you're not enjoying the process. I can't believe how satisfying it's getting the closer I get to being ready to start sending parts, etc out to be chromed, rebuilt, repainted, etc. I'm getting both bumpers reconditioned and rechromed for $150 a piece. That's a bargain I think, plus they're doing all my polished mild-steel parts (pulleys, bolts, brackets, etc.).

photos/video to come tomorrow... I need sleep. :|