New beat owner :)

[Seventynine]

Hi chaps, infrequent classifieds lurker for approximately a year, hoping the right one would come up for sale.

after being outbid on a few on ebay and the such i bought this one (here (http://www.u-ukhbc.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?3633-Beat-for-sale-%28SORN-needs-new-water-pump%29-%A31500-ONO)) from Ending Credits. needed a bit of work, was using water and oil at a rate of knots.

this'll be project number 5 haha. i'm a serial car hoarder, currently have a B5 RS4, mk2 escort, mk1 golf and Sierra.

I picked it up about 3 weeks ago, and got it RAC'd back to my warehouse where the fun could begin. picked up a new water pump, headgasket kit inc valve stem seals, and a cambelt and swapped em all over that weekend, engine now runs a dream :)

swapped the plates over and give it a wax and put it to daily use while my RS4 is in the garage getting undoubtably expensive wiring faults tended to. perfect timing really as the sun is out and it's way too nice to be stuck inside a car with a roof and leather interior :D

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7358/14187156044_81a6f8a93b_h.jpg

got some pretty big plans for it, but going to enjoy it as it is until at least the end of summer whilst i finish my mk1 golf project.

[Seventynine]

Some more pics

http://photos-f.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-ash/10311234_606420372786509_248574992_n.jpg
http://photos-e.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-frc/10311148_744501038945548_1179152776_n.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/D436FAE9-D095-49A2-A96A-8F1162DD25DC_zpsrlzzulxz.jpg

[old'uns]

I'll bet you'd almost given up. :)

Scrubbed up nicely.

[Seventynine]

haha, checked my join date and it was the start of feb. got there in the end!

here's some of the other cars

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/RS4/Capture_zps84f3d7b9.jpg

the RS4, the only other roadworthy car i own, the rest are all in a million pieces!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/AndyCDB_golf/00000000-0000-0000-0000-00000000038F_zpsizs0cyvr.jpg

this was at Ultimate dubs last year when i won best wheels, shortly after i stuffed it into a barrier on the A13. it was due a restoration, currently got a 20v engine and various other bits and bobs

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/the%20resto/IMG_0748.jpg

this one's my first car, my '79 Escort, got it almost finished then decided to pull it all apart again. it's sat in my yard as a bare shell awaiting acid dipping! got a K24 Honda engine waiting to go in it

[Seventynine]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/sierra012.jpg

This one's the last in the quintuplet, an XR4i i've sort of inherited off my old man in the hope that i can fix it's rot issue. currently sat as a bare shell fully welded up. ready for paint :)

Plan for the beat is to put a bike engine in it and get it down to 500kg!

[Mike_beat]

Nice Fleet!!, your worse than me-apart from mine are all Hondas!

k24 in the escort.....that will be sweet!

[beecee]

Im mostly jealous of your garage space :)

[Seventynine]

haha well neither the garage above or the bunker are mine unfortunately. that's not to say i don't have my own mancave, and my carpet is blatantly better than either of those 2 :D

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/11912438653_de2ea9becb_h.jpg

(yes the toilet does work)

[Gavin]

man cave with toilet is a must

[Seventynine]

wrote an update to this thread but for some reason it won't let me post it? just testing with a smaller post....

[Seventynine]

OK, let's try again :)

was using the car frequently until approx 6 months ago when the head gasket went, took it off the road as i was between moving houses and jobs, and now i'm all settled i figured it was about time to recomission it for the summer

current things that need to be done are -
Head gasket
Piston rings
lambda sensor

Things i've wanted to do for a while -
Remove AC
fit coilovers (BC VH series)
new wheels and tyres (Rays TE37 with nankang NS2R)
new seats (Motordrive carbon)
Dye the carpet black
swap the ebay air filter with something a little better
remove stereo, 6 disc, sub, speakers etc
rollcage

so in the garage it went -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/IMG_6740_zpsjcv87iwf.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/IMG_6735_zpsyvpeje4s.jpg

[Seventynine]

Interior out

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/IMG_6770_zpszdldmjrl.jpg

Engine out

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/IMG_6875_zps6vwmpf3s.jpg

tried to dye the carpet in the washing machine but it didn't take, so i'll have to figure out another method! next stages are to strip the engine down, hone the bores and fit new rings. take the head off for that to be skimmed and rebuilt.

[stu g]

I have man-cave envy.

I expect the carpet has some sort of anti-stain on it, which is why the dye won't take. Wouldn't it be better to use the existing carpet as a template and put in a brand-new carpet?

Also what is up with your rear screen?

Stu

[Seventynine]

might be an option. the carpet is in good condition though so figured dying would be the easier/cheaper option

what you mean about the rear screen?

[Seventynine]

started with the strip down last night, got the cylinder head off and pistons out. bores deglazed and new rings gapped and back in. old rings were all measuring 1mm+ so definitely worn

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/1DB16693-8F27-44B9-A445-EB5BB0FA99A7_zpsvcdkkudz.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/8CE9AFE9-D59A-41B1-93A9-F02931659D31_zps5az9psf9.jpg

[Seventynine]

ran out of engine things to do whilst i'm awaiting the return of the head so fitted the front suspension/wheels and started taking the air conditioning out. just need to remove the pipes that run under the car and whatever is in the cockpit

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/22547DD0-E5E7-4C76-8098-30F80F693BA6_zpsdnvjabbx.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/3AE122B6-6495-4D2E-B014-521DDBE26BB2_zpsm18d71jy.jpg

[stu g]

The rear screen doesn't seem to have all the outer material and zip - is it an aftermarket one?

Also - if you're taking your air-con off would you be looking to sell the bits off? There are some aircon bits I need (things like the expansion valve).

stuei

[Seventynine]

got a picture of how it should look?

more than welcome to the bits i've taken off, some of it didn't survive like the radiator and some of the hoses! drop me a PM

[stu g]

Rear screen and surround looks like this...
2693

[Seventynine]

hmmmm, not sure, i've just unzipped mine, maybe it's aftermarket

[Strangerover]

Looking good !

Where about in the country are you ?

[Seventynine]

warwickshire!

not much done over the weekend, still awaiting the return of the head before i build up the engine. figured out a way to dye the carpet, just waiting on products!

[Seventynine]

Not a huge amount done this week, still awaiting the head. a few more bits have turned up.

firstly, managed to fit the lightweight wing mirrors -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/32C711A7-47EE-4942-86EB-109644249C09_zpscx5ad27s.jpg



secondly, made a new air filter base plate for an ITG air filter i had, managed to just squeeze it onto footprint of the stock airbox mount. i shaped the flat metal to follow the contour of the stock intakes so should flow quite well
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/B560A905-3A25-4777-ABE6-35CE850141E5_zpsxqvrecmd.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/7A6DECC7-D53F-4C8B-B88F-AA5E36D60157_zps1ti2apad.jpg

also managed to dye the carpet, forgot to take pictures but i'll be refitting the interior tonight so will remember then!

hopefully the head comes back soon and i can finish off the engine ready to be put back in.

[Seventynine]

managed to fit in 17 hours Saturday, almost back in the game!

collected the head last week, so got into the garage at 7am to make a start.

as the exhaust heat shields didn't come off in one piece i figured it'd be a lot less hassle to wrap the manifold instead of trying to repair them. so that was the first task -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/17E18342-AB2A-4975-B25E-FC9706B4A861_zpseg59uude.jpg

then onto getting the head back on and everything timed, i'd marked everything before taking it off but it was only when i came to putting it back together i noticed i'd marked the washer on the crank pulley which is free to rotate! oops. anyway, there's a very helpful guide in the depths of this forum that had all the information i needed + more

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/4E59EBF3-B840-41D0-8B99-94219245CB8D_zpsvmuibpqb.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/856CC427-721C-4008-9162-172C0FAAB4F7_zpsc2rzirp3.jpg

[Seventynine]

i'd just managed to get the gearbox back on when Mobius came to collect my gathers head unit

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/6172B6AC-8DDB-4A60-9409-C10106474578_zpsiuuc3bca.jpg

once he'd left it was full steam ahead on getting the engine back in, didn't get many pictures but it went in fairly easily

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/3F58432F-103B-4C91-9D7F-43397AE529CB_zpsgzjepilj.jpg

[Seventynine]

once it was on all 4 mounts i figured i'd get it back on 4 wheels so at least it was mobile

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/FBA73EE5-900E-4FB6-95B9-7FE5D566E0CC_zps2yofm8xv.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/2588A52F-9B51-413E-92F4-3E702AA136BE_zpscapzufb3.jpg

think it was about 10pm at this point in time, decided to plow on and get the engine plumbed back in, so i carried on until about 1am until it was all done.

needed a few bits, namely the dizzy cap, rotor arm and leads had all seen better days, the rotor arm and dizzy cap were both in stock at honda, the leads however are NLA. i found a place that were willing to make me a set. everything should arrive wednesday, i still need to refit the exhaust, but i need to weld the cat as one of the studs had sheared. looking good for having it back on the road by the end of the weekend i think

[Seventynine]

few more bits done the last fortnight!

Firstly, the rear arches looked a little tight, so i rolled the rear arches, arch roller was definitely not designed for such a small diameter, nor the strange arch shape. improvised a little and managed to get a decent roll without cracking anything -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/668F1D97-13C5-4885-BDDC-44C3A786582B_zpsmkc0gfvz.jpg

to my surprise the passenger side seat area is a smidge smaller than the drivers side, so instead of doing the sensible thing and finding seats that fitted, i cut a small hole in the door card and filled it with foam, sort of almost factory looking, but not quite -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/F2D2F5F8-7412-4128-8507-25B885142F3E_zpsfttfrnlc.jpg

engine all back together, had a bit of difficulty finding some plug leads, the rest was all fairly straight forward, ended up getting a custom set next day -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/55799A02-9FFB-44BC-B101-FA02D01BE41C_zpsa2ztdzpg.jpg

[Seventynine]

fitted the new battery too -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/95AD8F58-746A-47EA-8FCF-A3E2C73E7EA5_zpsqn2vmttx.jpg

at this point we were about ready to get it started. cranked it over without HT lead until i got oil pressure, got it in seconds, great. plugged the lead back in to start it.....nothing......undone the return line hose, ignition on, fuel leaked every. had fuel. tested spark on each cylinder. got spark. turned it over again....backfiring and a bit of black smoke....

came back to it a day later armed with a few more facts mostly from the archives on here, and a can of easy start, my first guess was a timing issue, so bridged the service connector, cranked it with a timing light pointed at the flywheel.....nothing, no mark to be seen.

randomly moved plug leads round....cranked it....managed to get it firing on 1 cylinder....moved them round again....got it firing on all cylinders but really rough. moved the dizzy cap to it's furthest extremity and got it running "normal"!

success! still not sure what is/was the matter with it, i put the plug leads back to their original position and moved the dizzy round a cog at a time until i got to the right static timing range. think it's about 90 degrees out from where it should be? not entirely sure why but it works i guess!

[Seventynine]

all that was left to do was to set the ride height and give it a scrub -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/7A63AB99-9EEB-4D16-B4DE-255817234F1E_zps0npzrld2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/F58FBF81-800E-4481-99A4-74AB19CEBB70_zps8xv1qmwg.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/71CB633D-30E9-4410-A4EE-585DD9ECAFD8_zpsorzzlegd.jpg

hopefully off for a cage at the end of this month once racing season is underway and my friend has a bit of spare time. aside from that i just want to enjoy it and focus on other projects this summer. there's a widebody kit floating around for sale that i was pondering but the paint came up pretty well so not sure i fancy cutting it up, at least not this year anyway!

[Mobius]

Great to see it back on it's wheels!:) Looking really good. Cheers for the Gathers. All working fine now after a change of fuses.:rolleyes: (Serious wheel envy:explode:)

[Seventynine]

no problem!

still need to make a dash blank actually, and the check light is on so need to look at that. i just set the camber in the carpark at work, getting it tracked next week! interior needs a clean and it'll need an oil change again in a week or two. that's pretty much everything left!

[Seventynine]

600km in and things are going pretty good!

can't seem to shake the ECU light, nor will it let me read any fault codes, digging through the archives on here and i think the next port of call is to swap out the capacitors. bits have been ordered so i'll whip the ECU out when it's back in my possession

first oil change down and oil quality looked pretty good, i ran a magnet through the oil and wasn't any causes for concern, engine uses absolutely no oil and there's no blue smoke which is a result :)

had it tracked last week and noticed there was a difference of 2 degrees front castor between left and right, coupled with the fact that the wheel catches the inner arch on one side but not the other means something's not quite right under there, i give it a once over and couldn't see any signs of damage / anything bent. once again when it's back in my possession i'll give it a full going over, hoping it's just a wishbone or something i can unbolt and replace!

it's currently down at my friend's workshop awaiting a rollcage, i should have it back in a few weeks, just my luck the weather has started to turn and i'm now without a convertible for a bit :(

[Seventynine]

cage fitted -

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/18513143_121307321777023_7453471238862667776_n.jpg

harnesses also fitted and removed the ford logo from the seats -

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/18581349_1799633160350687_3924032346696712192_n.jp g

i say fitted, the cage is back out for powdercoating, and i need to fab up some harness mounts. plus the ECU is away for repair as i have a constant check light i can't seem to shake

hopefully only a few days longer before i can start enjoying the sunshine!

[Seventynine]

cage and ECU are back!

ECU was a proper mess, needed a lot of tracks repairing. ended up taking a few hours but it's back and repaired now

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/72F2C87D-63A5-47C1-8F7F-8F529EC40EDD_zpscte5ouig.jpg

had the cage painted the same colour as the wheels.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/B20D1EB4-0E15-4B4C-8E2D-39B15D64317C_zpsjh9n8r0j.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/A17EE857-5EA7-41E7-A61A-EE1BFE8B6B40_zpstay0iexz.jpg

[Seventynine]

ended up buying 2 new harnesses as they don't make that one style any more and couldn't live with odd sets.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/254BB1DE-DCE6-4E4A-B251-549D7D4BF9B0_zpssuypxemt.jpg


all back together, just in time for the MOT to run out this friday haha

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/71B1584C-6C5B-4599-BBE7-B7A80920745C_zpslisdcgfh.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/latham/car%20pictures/DamnHondaKid/D39D1A76-BC63-468A-BEB9-5D0596F6B34B_zpson3zsj8o.jpg