Project Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

[Phil]

I'm going to continue on from my introduction thread here...

The car is still a work in progress, including some things that I intially didn't intend doing. My Mechanical friend has helped me through the majority of this process.

The removal of the EB1 engine, gearbox and all engine bay components. Originally planned to do a major service and replace all seals etc.

A decision was made to repaint the engine bay in yr-22 sunset orange ( and the rest of the car when finances allow). This was quite a challenge to get the correct
mix, I finally settled on the 3rd suppliers offering.

blog paint colour test.jpg (31 KiB) Viewed 13036 times

Getting the engine bay ready for painting has been a long process with no lack of sacrificial blood spared to the Civic Gods. I wasn't a huge fan of the Ford washer bottle, so it will be replaced with one of my original washer bags and motors.

washer bottle and bay.jpg (34.01 KiB) Viewed 13036 times

Let the rust treatment begin!

bay rust treatment.jpg (32.27 KiB) Viewed 13036 times

seam sealer removal.jpg (34.34 KiB) Viewed 13036 times

I started with the removal of all seam sealer with a few picks (1 broke) and a scraper. The result revealed surface rust, which I managed to wire wheel and treat with rust converter. Rinsed and repeated this process for the whole engine bay.

Welded reinforcement of left engine mount, a little panel beating and body filler to get closer to the original shape.

reinforced engine mount and body filler.jpg (23.24 KiB) Viewed 13036 times

Did I mention degreaser???

degreaser.jpg (32.88 KiB) Viewed 13036 times

More to come soon, stay tuned!

[Phil]

I tossed up between two different engines, the EK1 (1751cc) and the EN1 (1335cc). The EK1 requires a heavier amount of fabrication work, cost and would make the car somewhat front heavy. The EN1 requires minimum fabrication work and is somewhat plug and play, as long as the stock exhaust manifold is used.
I decided on the 1335cc EN1 2nd generation civic engine. Something with a little more pep and ability to keep the classic look and feel.I managed to obtain one at a local wrecker for a price, though inclusion of ancillaries was a bonus. Not the prettiest thing I've seen, but I am assured she will run with some TLC (the engine even reads 'V good').

I'm going to cover the EN1 installation in this thread, especially requirements for mounting in detail.

Note: All data obtained has been from the forum and its members. I am very thankful for the advice, in particular Gusto for extensive data spreadsheets and ongoing wisdom.

Image is sideways

[Phil]

A few small projects I've been working at on the side...

Radiator - 3 row recore from local radiator shop (original 1200 radiator came with 2 rows).

Thermo fan shroud - sanded back with 400 grit wet and dry and repainted satin black.

Fan blade - sanded the fan blade using 1000 grit wet and dry to restore a cleaner finish.

Fan motor cap - sanded back with 1500/2000 grit wet and dry, before proceeding to polish for a good hour or so with autosol.

[Phil]

Suspension - A necessary replacement for weeping struts. Impressive they aren't gushing out considering they're 44 years old.

Option B is the option, option BC racing coilovers. Engineered and developed by our own forum members through years of hard work and personal investment. Thank you!

Specific chosen model: A-50-RA, custom 4kg front/2kg rear - Clevis type rear mount (I have a 3 door non-CVCC 1200 hatch). I used the UK site as reference to get the correct code.

Note: custom 4kg front/2kg rear configuration suggested by Louis Been for mainly street application.

Installation pending...


My sheds were robbed/searched recently (first sign of entry was a storage container full of brake drums with the writing 'Abestos best left alone'. You would have to be keen to open that one. The BC racing C-spanners and all my tools were stolen, but it's a blessing my 1200 parts weren't taken. They now reside in my house!

[Phil]

A continuation of sanding, more sanding and more sanding for a respectable level of paint preparation.

Primer is on!

Wheel arch sound deadening paint.

YR-22 Sunset orange the bay! (The front grille section will be satin black)

Pleased with how the painting has turned out so far. When the budget and time allows, the car will go through a full strip down, rust treatment and inside out orange makeover.

Note: Thank you Jay for confirming the YR-22 colour samples.

[Phil]

The engine has arrived!
It looks like the En1 has been rebuilt previously, based on the modern sealant used. Quite happy with the finish on the head. Will try to replicate this same look for the block.

En1 in chains

So far, I've removed the heatshield, exhaust manifold and cleaned up the exhaust ports.

The engine was missing the water bypass pipe. I will be modifying an EB version to suit by moving the bracket location.

[Phil]

[Phil]

I lightly sanded back and resprayed the grille in black a couple months ago, attempting to keep some of the original texture.
Very recently I attempted to mask off and spray the silver borders. Word of warning - not all painters tape is the same... I ended up for little metallic flecks of overspray that penetrated through the tape. I was however rather pleased with my scalpel work, albeit time consuming.

Thermo fan it its complete form

I pulled off the water pump + harmonic balancer pulleys for quick de-rust clean up.

Shortly after this I was off to the auto store for engine enamel primer and cast iron vht. Pleased with the finish.

My 7kg EB1 flywheel is currently at Enfield clutch awaiting a shave and balance. Aiming for 5-5.5kg final weight to make the car slightly more rev happy.

This evening I was fortunate enough to acquire a genuine RS exhaust manifold from long time member Gusto. I look forward to getting these ceramic coated in the next few weeks.

I am looking for information on secondaries to suit. I will likely get these custom made. Any recommendations on length Vs power band?

Cheers,
Phil

[Phil]

I have been flat out with prep and painting, and yielding some decent backyard rattle can results!

Sanded valve cover

Primed valve cover

Dark Ford blue valve cover

Assorted drive parts and water bypass pipe

Primed parts

Painted!

Wire wheeled sump

I learned how to adjust the tappets this week.

Tappets

After I removed the sump, my mechanic informed me that the engine was probably rebuilt 20-30k kms ago. Fresh markings and pistons by the look of it!

Under the block

Planning to pick up the lightened flywheel from Enfield clutch on Wednesday with a clutch pro kit + spigot bearing.

[Phil]

As you may have already guessed, I've been busy. In this section I will cover how I cleared the obstructing part of the block with the RS exhaust manifold.

After some helpful advice from civic garage's Adrian, I knew what portion could be removed. The obstruction - the existing front EN1 mount point and exhaust bracket tab. Forward Warning - no (easy) way back into an 80's shell after committing butchery.

Marked out what needed to be removed

I'm not overly confident with a metal cutting wheel, though I slowly learned how to use it.

Some work with the rasp file

Before moving onto the die grinder (supported by a dying air compressor).

Finally I added the final touch of linishing with a smaller grinder wheel, which I would recommend doing prior using the die grinder.

The result is functionable and the whole process was a learning process in air tools.

Note: I had a mini conniption regarding the tiny hole, which I thought had penetrated the block. I have been reasurred it is nothing structurally significant, just a tiny cavity that runs 2mm deep to solid block.

Please ignore the engine mount. Below not. Sure how it embedded itself here!