Project R

finally, we get the proverbial ball rolling. haiyyo after so long, it feels wierd when some work is actually done...

here's a shot from where i meditate. chanting "nam myoho rengek kyo" and hoping for miracles...

so the springs are in, as are the cams, valves etc etc. bolted all the itty bitty pieces. and mounted the intake manifold for kicks.

isn't that the loveliest thing you've ever seen?? i swear to you monica bellucci could have stood there with nothing but a pair of socks on, and i wouldn't have been this aroused...

oh its all coming together i can barely stop jumping around the garage! such a lovely sight...

well the engine rebuild is finished, so here she is all closed up and watnot:

we then bolted on all the little sensors and other doohickeys onto the throttle body.

next on was the injectors. cleaned them up and stuck them in there as well

and finally, my piece de resistance... the godspeed fuel rail. mind you that's not where the gauge bolts on. will be mounting it in the right place after mounting the little gadgematics on the rail as well. that's for monday

meanwhile, i got the paint guy to start work on the valve cover... this is after one coat of wrinkle red:

and then 2 coats:

we went full on four coats as instructed, and my god it looks divine. too dark for photos. will snap one first thing in the morning and post. taking it over to a friends' place and baking it tomorrow as well. final touches on monday

more good news: we hope to plug the engine and tranny back in the car on monday. i've already taken a day off to swing on the electric vines with the grease monkeys. should find an auspicious time also... 

well, here's the baked cover. thankfully, the paint dried after baking. its hard as a rock now. and the brownies came out well too.

and then there's the painstaking task of scraping the letters out. with a 25 gauge scalpel blade. need to sand it tomorrow for a perfect finish. al she look sso good. mera pyaar 

and when ti rains it pours!

went today and its all bolted together. gearbox, mounts etc...

and then up it went on the hoist. and a lot of grunting and heave-ho'ing later...

in she goes. mounts connected. sitting pretty. next on is getting everything connected. dizzy is till out. will do the hoses behind the engine first...

more work, ah the joy! got down and dirty today as well. connected the wire harness, which took most of the morning, and then plugged in the radiator hoses.

then proceeded to thermal wrap the exhaust. and had to fabricate a new mount, since the prop shaft got in the way. another hurdle of a manual convo...

and then in it went:

what an utterly rewarding day! exhausted, but so so content... 

the header gave quite a fight yesterday. all the mounts were different because of the auto box, so had to cut and weld everything back into place. half a day was lost on that process.

so today the power steering pump and ac compressor went back on. along with the hydraulics and ac hoses

which means the engine is almost nearly finished. only the distributor and intake isleft to be installed.

broke open the dizzie to clean up. and have to read up on how to mount and wire the msd ignition kit.

that's for tomorrow. also, we thought of getting her off her perch and onto the rubber. so we're fixing the lowering springs now, and putting the driveshafts into place. sadly couldn't stay long with her today. had to pick wifey up from work at 2pm.

those struts just made my heart stop. 

going into the 7th month now. today the mechanic has suddenly gone home. supposed to come back tomorrow...

at least she's off her perch, and back on her feet again.

so kelum is back after being AWOL for 3 days. i was a bit upset, but then seeing this when i went today, couldn't voice a word of protest!

there goes the simota intake and piping. more on kelum, apparently his sister was a navy officer shot in trinco camp due to some mishap. its been an year so the daane bana etc. i heard about this from my friends at trinco hospital. she succumbed to her injuries there. small worls, sri lanka definitely is.

also mounted the engine mounts under the car, those were broken, so replaced.

the new radiator doesn't have screws for the auxiliary fan. need to fabricate those and stick it in

there it is! only the dizzie left to be mounted. the clutch reservoir has its own screws also. its like EVERYTHING in this car was made for a manual gearbox. uncanny!

more happening tomorrow. we'll be fabricating a bracket for the intake piping as well. ignition is not so far away now!

drawing that much nearer to completion. fixed the coil in place neatly with a bracket:

also bolted the intake pipe onto the engine. that mount took a better part of the day to fabricate. frustrating, yes, but i'd rather all this be done neatly, and with attention to detail. and this is one example of kelum's devotion to that very quality:

and then all the little hoses and vacuum lines were connected.

and that, gentlemen, is it! tomorrow we wire up the distributor, connect the accelerator cable, fill up the oils and water, fire her up and see what gives! after so long, the wait is over. clearly, i'm losing sleep over it! hooray!!

i really dunno where to start. to hear that engine kick up today... probably the happiest thing i'll hear next to the cries of my unborn son/daughter. and it idles PERFECT. there's no "gentle lope" or "rough idle" that so many people spoke about with the BC cams, saying that i won't be able to move the car a foot without an aftermarket ecu. you can see for yourself:

here's what was done on that day. as obvious, nothing more was done since then. basically if i don't go, sh*t just stops. brilliant.

the bumpers have been sanded and prepped for paint. all the clips brought down for the mudguards. they were toying with the front seat rails when i went today.

still missing the passenger front door wire harness. they'll be bolting the door trims once they find that.

the exhaust mod is the last thing that needs to be done. indika will be getting this out of the paint stall soon. probably tomorrow.

so close. yet so fcuking far...

see!! i told you guys there's a 4 door type R! its a very rare JDM only DC2 model. never made it out of japan. but it DOES EXIST!! props to chooty putha for finding this vid! wow... i was in ecstasy... and i want my car back!

well hello!

here's the work that did happen yesterday:

all the rubber beadings are in:

as are the four power window mechanisms, greased and ready to go. he's put the wrong set of seatbelts. so those have to come out.

and the rear lights, lock are on as well. damn those look nice:

hopefully we can get mroe work done on wednesday

the silencer is mounted on two rubber bushes. we left it a little room to wobble. it settles down at higher rpm's.

and yes, i wanted to lose the mudflaps too. maybe at least cut the fronts so they don't scrape all the time.

the endless hours i put into this really did pay off. i just can't describe the feeling sitting behind that wheel!

the datsun, yes, is getting a spec as-close-as-i-can-get SSS conversion. again, full interior, exterior, the works. L16 motor, 5 speed box, discs all round etc etc more details on the datsun thread as work starts.

as for the ITR, my immediate concerns:

1. ECU

2. coilovers

3. brake kit.

will update this thread as it happens.

met up with buggati and VVTi for a beer. took a few nice shots. will upload when i get 'em

so an update. the much hyped about photo shoot happened today morning. i'm still waiting for the pro shots, but here are a few that were taken by the owner of that sweet a$$ boosted sera:

also, more on the build. i guess now is the time sanity prevails over its counterpart. in the effort to make this more easy a daily driver, i ordered a set of D2 street spec coilovers. the lwoering sprigns i bought are a clear darwin award winner, and i will never recommend them to anyone. the stock shock is too soft for it and the car tends to bounce like a playmate on a trampoline... and i fear for my engine mounts, dashboard mounts and testicles! those will be coming in soon.

also, getting a B16 CTR ecu, and will be running that for some time, before giving the car to zackie for a full tuneup. drove macroxx's car today, which was tuned by zackie, and it was a blast! that really is the last bit left. will be hobbling and hogging the slow lane til i get these issues sorted out...

Got hold of a b16 sir obd1 ecu. Gave it to Zackie to see if magic can be worked...

also, got all the little elctrical niggles fixed today. the horn ribbon in the steering cassette had torn off its moorings. so that was fixed. a new cassette was 5500 so i'm pretty thankful to the electrical guy for fixing the existing one. also fixed the decentralised locking issue. and the brake lights, and that annoying fog light switch which was always lit up. need to go back to him once more to sort out the seatbelt pre tensioner being on the wrong side issue!

zackie approved of the ECU i got, its with him at the mo. need to hand over the car soon for a tune.

brakes and coilovers are on the way.

one of these days i have to pop over to the fiber guy and get the front mudflaps redone. before they leave me.

aah, post automotive-coital smoke time...

was a little bored today so i stuck some decals on the teg. these were long overdue. had them lying aorund the house. some were too big for under the hood, so i need to resize them and print it out.

*-couldn't find original photo. this was from a much MUCH later photoshoot-*

next up, the tune. just marking time til i can get that done. will do a dyno run afterwards as well

with great difficulty i found this online. have been looking for the driver's side glove box. its not there on the LHD versions, so naturally not easy to come by. finally sourced it from UK. i wonder who in heaven's name nicked it in the first place, but it left a gaping hole in my dash...

Custom ecu map by Zackie.

Perfect 900 idle. No lope even after a burn

Vtec engaged at 4400

Redline at 9000

And what a balanced tune it is. Loads more low rpm torque from 1500-3000. Car feels as nimble as a your wife's lover leaving through the window. Much lighter on her toes. And I thought it was my header that cut the power!

And she sings beyond the magic mark. Oh. My. God.

5am. Baseline road. 150 on 4th@7000rpm. Shifted into 5th. And she settles down to a comfy cruise at around 4000. Every inch of her says just try it. I didn't have the courage.

I'm back on eBay looking for the next upgrade: bigger hairy balls version 2.0. mine are clearly OEM!!

Interesting development: I had an issue with the Teg over the last few months. She was getting sluggish, and vtec wasn't kicking in. Had to rev to higher rpm's to hit cruising speed, and had me thinking all sorts of things from final drive swap to a retune.

Finally had our tame racing drivers Dhilan Sabar and Nigel Perera thrash her around a little and see what's what. They both concurred on the fact that it was fuel starvation. Idle fuel pressure was 42 psi, which was normal but when throttled it dropped to the low 30's, instead of spiking. So the Perera-Sabar forum advised to:

1. Replace fuel filter, which was probably stock, and now pushing 15 years with our golden nectar

2. Service the vtec solenoid.

All done, replaced with a Nissan filter used on the track cars by the local boys, under 1600/-

And she shot out of the garage like a bat out of hell! Holy crap the difference!! Throttled fuel pressure reading now blips up to 60psi, and my god that makes a world of a difference tho. Still I want a more pronounced vtec engagement. Should speak to Zackie about it.

A few updates:

1. Removed the bc cams and installed the stock ones to check on a vtec issue. Good news is that vtec is working perfectly fine and the car is a firecracker. The bc cams need to be installed properly and the ecu remapped. Previous tune by Zackie wasn't working for me, and I switched to Ashan silva from D&D. Work in progress, of course, I will be going back to him end march, so will keep you boys posted.

2. She's about to go in to get the cosmetics sorted. Paint peeling from here and there etc

3. Ordered the complete set of prothane shifter linkage bushings and linkage pin (6$ oem Honda on eBay, 4000 rupees in Sri Lanka) waiting for them to arrive. That play in the shifter is like having a thorn in my backside.

All in all, she's come alive in the last month after Ashan got his hands on her. Expecting greater nights once and cam/ignition timing is adjusted and remapped.

so during the big match weekend i got a few things sorted.

1. raised the rear end slightly. got tired of scraping my ass all over the place. a bit too high now need to lower it again. one of those "i'm never happy with this" moments

2. entire rear suspension bushing set was redone. car handles much better now and no "jabos" sounds from here and there when cornering.

3. got that awful paint peel-off fleck sorted. the rivet holes were filled, rear end sanded and painted properly. finally i have an ass worthy of talking about.

also had the power steering hoses replaced.

few other little ding dongs planned for this year. will update as it happens

after 2 months of waiting, my shifter linkage parts finally arrived.

prothane bushings, with brass washers

linkage pin and clip. that pin costs 5000 here, but 5$ OEM honda part on ebay.

here's the shifter play before installing:

and here's the shifter after installing. feels so silky smooth... almost like hot caramel syrup on hirunika's thigh...

this feels so good, its unbeleivable. really feels like a shifter of a brand new car. well worth the investment.

also, got the play in the passenger seat fixed (again. for good this time round tho)

and a humming noise in the engine, due to a vacuum valve being faulty. got that replaced as well.

now working hard on the said tuning magic, and trying to find a front bumper.

this just never ends, does it??

lots more little little things to do.

She's back at ashans for that last great tune up. The BC cams are going to go back in, the proper way this time. And get degreed in, advanced/retarded etc. capped off with a custom tune from Ashan...

... On a hondata s300 version 2.0 chipped ecu 

so that was a 1150km round trip, and the car was a blast. those hilly roads between pelmadulla and walawe, and then again between ratnapura and panadura were fantastic. grips the road like its on rails, and the rear comes in just perfectly. not a hint of understeer.

rough calculations give me 10kmpl. not bad, i guess!

meanwhile in batticaloa...

these two chaps were scouting the car and looking around, acting rather cheeky. then one of them "shape eke" leant against it while the other took some photos!

a little activity i would like to blog on after a long time. this might help our newbie Sierra Charlie as well. here's the result of my negative camber on the front wheels. chewed through brand new tyres within an year. its gone down to the wire on the inner lip. i'm buying a new pair tomorrow.

this is not a result of me neglecting it, but of me not knowing what else to do after correcting the camber with adjustable upper arms on the front sus. learned later that you get adjustable upper arm mounting points, and got them down only this month: these give an added 3 degrees of camber either way.

to clarify, all this brouhaha is because i have an uncorrectable negative camber on the front passenger side wheel. even with full positive setting, there was -2.08 on that side. why only that side i cant figure out. maybe a previous accident. who knows? but as you can see it had its impact on the tyre. now tho, its all aligned perfectly.

to add to this, there was a toe out of the rear wheel. this too i didn't know there was adjustment for it. the gut at the alignment center suggested this, and i got down the adjustable toe arms as well. so now the rear alignment is spot on as well. finally.

on a separate note, i had some trouble with the AC, and as always, the culprit being our makabaases thinking "ooh this looks like it'll fit! let slap it on!". my compressor packed up, and when we looked into the matter, apparently i've been running a toyota compressor. now the interesting fact is that toyota engines crank one way, and honda the other way! so not quite sure how this managed to work this long even. bottom line is, we had no sample to get a new one from, and after much hunting and frustration, sourced a condenser and compressor off a b20b CRV engine. perfect fit.

to clarify my loving fan(s):

1. the camber kit, front and rear, (not available in SL) cost me 50$

2. recon IACV valve (OS at tech, 27,000) cost me $30

3. shipping for above $45, tax 1500

4. makabaas = NOT indika. not a repair i did.

more on this: despite sanka doing their job, i was still unsure since the wheels LOOKED like they were all askew. so since i had to get new shoes anyways, i had amila recheck the alignment. no fancy computers there, just good old physics and lasers. turns out sanka's alignment was perfect. maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. so ended up paying the price for bad camber. two new tyres. upgraded from the chinese tyres i had to maxxis victras. love the tread on these:

took her for drive on galle road. pushed it a little. grip is much much better compared to the previous tyres. no skidding when braking hard. no ABS engagement. rolling noise is minimal. alignment feels good. no wobble on thrashing or braking.

this is all relative. and i was running shitty tyres due to budget constraints. will eventually swap out the rears for a pair of these as well.

*-UPDATE-*

the negative camber was duet to the rubber bushings on the front suspension giving out. it was not an issue with the suspension arms or the chassis. this was later discovered and explained to me by sanka. as the rubber was designed to be on par with the stock spring rates and dampers, it became the weakest link through hich force was dissipated when i switched to coilovers. i had since then replaced all the bushings with prothane PU ones. the camber, caster, and toe now are perfect. the ride however is firmer, and PU bushings tend to creak sometimes. 

BRAKES

a few upgrades happened along the way to the braking as well. firstly i replaced the master cylinder and pump with a brand new honda item, and flushed the whole system out for DOT4 brake oil. 

the rotors were upgraded again, as i had opted for 114.4x5 PCD hubs and the OEM ITR alloys, both components hunted down from scrapyards in dubai. i put in a brand new set of cross drilled and slotted aftermarket rotors. the brake pads are EBC green stuff. 

the front hubs, were replaced with the 5 lug ITR hubs. the caliper and rotor of which, i have read is the same as the one on the NSX. 

the brake lines were replaced with steel-kevlar cross braided ones form Stop-tech. 

this improved the brake bite and force phenomenally. the car would stop on a dime and the brakes almost felt like an on-off switch! if the acceleration doesn't wow you on this car, the braking sure will! 

possibly the only bit of the car that largely stayed the same during this period. the gearbox itself was left unfettered with. as the ratios were superb, and even the clutch was working well after runnin ghte december 2017 drags also. 

what i have changed of course, is the shortshifter and knob. went for a Skunk2 dual bend short throw shifter, mated to a Skunk2 weighted aluminium knob. was a costly piece but my god the shift feel is velvet cheesecake. and with all bushings being polyurethane, its just the right tightness with zero play. 

the dual bend is what's employed by honda in their factory manual GSR as well, albeit not being as short as this. 

this was where a lot of changes happened as well. nothing against ultra racing, but i did go into yoda levels of Zen with Type R lore whithin those 8 months of hibernation. in which i fell in love with the sleek aluminium struts made by honda itself. in his time i also found out that he Type R sedan had a production run of 1400 cars, all made for the japanese market. and within that, for the 1998-1999 model years, there was a very limited production of an OEM rear tower strut bar. it was the same as the front, with a specialized bracket. for some reason this option was discontinued in later models. 

so one by one the Ultra Racing braces came off and were sold to capable hands. i replaced them with the clean and simple OEM aluminium from tower strut. 

the rear tower strut was not so easy to come by. since i couldn't find one in japanese auctions, i then sourced another front tower strut and got a set of custom brackets from Tegiwa motorsports in japan. the only aftermarket company to make them. also in true Type R minimalistic style i stripped the boot of all the trim and gave it a few coats of spatter paint, for that on-a-diet look. 

another little gem was the spare wheel. i had a 4x100PCD spare which mind you didn't clear my GSR calipers. anyways it was redundant with the 5x 114.4 setup so i went about hunting for a donut spare. lo and behold, its the same PCD as the nissan leaf, and since that doesn't come with a spare, suddenly 5 lug spares were the bees knees. everyone wanted one. had to bargain one down to 17,000 from 22,000 at JJ lanka, which was the cheapest i could find. 

the rear also got some custom work done. i removed the Ultra racing rear member brace, and replaced that with:

1. aftermarket lightweight rear lower control arms

2. sickspeed rear member brace

3. Beaks rear lower tie bar. 

mostly since it looks so badass for someone tailing me! just showing off... poddak

the coilovers remain the same, however. they're still good to do and i run the a few clicks north of the softest dampening settings. i have, over time, replaced all the bushings with polyurenthane, and now the camber and toe settings front and rear are perfect. she does creak, and she is stiff, especially the rear, since the trailing arm is now more or less stationary! but hey, id rather that that replace tyres every 6 months...