Integra Project

[neil-ste]

I managed to get the Integra in the garage after much messing about tonight. Basically the car has been SORN since the turn of the month and sitting on my drive, I’ve been waiting for some old chap to move a motorbike out of the garage I’m using for ages, he's been making excuses and dragging his feet. Well tonight I got sick of waiting so just dragged it out with the steering lock still on and moved it elsewhere - what a **** on that was!

So now a bit of a background on the car:

Bought it a year ago, realised pretty soon it was burning a little oil and this has gotten progressively worse over the last year, I can tell the car is not feeling how it used to, down on power which would come with worn piston rings (a reasonable common ailment with Honda B series engines) Also the clutch has just started to stiffen up (another common one) and I fancied doing a few other odds and sods while I’m on. Pretty much deserves the tag of project if you ask me.

Plans are as of now:

Engine rebuild. Will remain pretty much standard spec. I'm going to go for EK9 civic B16b pistons to bump up the static CR a little, ACL race spec bearings, ARP fasteners where appropriate. Also all the obvious stuff which comes with a full rebuild. I want it nice and fresh basically, with just a little more pep eventually.

New clutch and flywheel. Something lighter, with a nice light clutch action still.

Polybushes. I don't know if I’ll be just buying bushes or buying new, more lightweight and possibly upgraded suspension components with poly bushes pre-installed. The Integra has some pretty clever suspension design as standard which makes it handle as well as it does, so I’m going to have to be really careful what I do with so as not to compromise or change it too much.

Freshen. Lick o paint, light rust removal and tidy up what I can. I'm not putting a strict time frame on things, I just want it done properly.

Aye, so that’s that then. I'll be updating as much as possible and I do want to take as many photos as I can so you'll be getting them too.

Back to tonight, car is now in the garage and I’ve started to strip the front end. Light have come out, so has the front bumper, air filter, horns, master cylinder brace and a few other odds and sods. I'm thrilled I’ve managed to make a start on it. I was planning on stripping the front end totally so I could bring the engine out the front, but it turns out the slam panel and it's mates are spot welded on - something I can't be arsed with taking off and putting back on, so it's all action with it still on.

Pictures of tonight.

B18C

Trusty Mondeo with new splitter

 

[neil-ste]

How I left it tonight:

 

[wassap]

Bloody hell in one of those pics the tegs turned into a mondy

Should be an interesting project, have you done owt like this before? whats the stock suspension setup like on the Teg?

 

[neil-ste]

Bloody hell in one of those pics the tegs turned into a mondy

Should be an interesting project, have you done owt like this before? whats the stock suspension setup like on the Teg?

JDM tyte Mondeo!

Yeah i've done similar stuff before, my 106 rallye and a few other mates cars. I'm not stranger to getting my hands dirty but this is going to be pretty complicated compared to everything else i've done before.

Standard suspension is pretty good apparently, I can't comment in detail as my car came fitted with Tein HA stuff and a few other braces. Having driven standard cars for a limited time it's still very good, just mine is a bit more stiff really

 

[Confused]

Fidanza flywheels and Exedy clutches are quite well respected for Hondas Flywheels are only available from the states on Ebay though!

I've got them on my Prelude and I rate them highly

Good luck with the project!

 

[adam s]

2 cylinders seem to have gone awry.

Good luck pal

 

[Tesla]

The mondeo would have it in the twisties!

Keep the post up to date, looks like an interesting little project

 

[neil-ste]

2 cylinders seem to have gone awry.

Good luck pal

Shush now On a slight aside, do you still have my torque wrench or is it lost in my garage ?

The mondeo would have it in the twisties!

Keep the post up to date, looks like an interesting little project

Strangely enough, the way the suspension is on the Integra, the Mondeo would do far better than it down a bumpy b road. Remeber it is the SI though, the sporty one

 

[neil-ste]

Made a bit more progress tonight. I've drained the coolant, got the air con condenser and radiator off.

Note to anyone : Air conditioning systems contain a **** load more refrigerant that you could ever have dreamed. You WILL kack yourself if you *accidentally* let it out by complete mistake. Little puff? Nooooo LARGE gushes of noisy fluorescent gas with a nasty smell, bonny lad. Not that I fell into this trap, you must understand......

I've also started to label things up, such as the wiring loom and the likes.

Best way I’ve found of keeping yourself right when tackling something with as much fasteners as an engine swap is to use some freezer bags and address labels. Put all bits in one bag (exhaust manifold nuts, for example) label it up and put it away No bother finding stuff, no leftover bits with umming and ahhing over where they are. Score.

Pictures will be added tomorrow when I’m not in a rush to get to the pub.

 

[ChoÞÞer]

oo a project, will be keeping my eyes out, keep us up dated
Good luck

 

[neil-ste]

Today got off to a bit of a shaky start. Went to the garage and was just sorting stuff out ready to pull the car forward into the light and crack on and the garage door slammed shut! Jesus wept I nearly crapped myself! The old man that had the garage before had reinforced the door :? with massive planks of wood, which upset the balance and made the garage door unstable in the wind. I'm just glad it didn't slam when I had the car half way out, that would have been a nightmare. It’s now sorted with a bit of rope to keep it up

I didn't make a huge amount of progress today, but then again I didn't really need to, the engine is just about ready to come out tomorrow now. Today consisted of taking the power steering pump and air conditioning compressor off, I also took an engine mount off while I was on as it made things easier.

I've taken a few coolant hoses off, including those for the heater matrix, I disconnected the fuel lines, took off the washer bottle and did a few other little things.

Jobs for tomorrow are to remove the exhaust manifold, drain gearbox and engine oil, pop the drive shafts out then the engine is coming out to. A friend of mine has given me the use of his engine hoist in exchange for a few beers so that shan't be much hassle either.

Some photos from today and yesterday:

 

[neil-ste]

Pics removed

 

[The_One]

Good project look forward to watching progress.

RE: the suspension please dont put polybushes in, you will ruin the handling and balance of the teg. only ones worth changing from oem bushes are rear lower tie arms, swop them for some mugen bushes which are still rubber but a bit firmer than oem.

Its meant to make a lot of difference. the rear suspension set up on the teg is very complex and if you start sticking hard poly bushes in there you will unsettle it.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Good project look forward to watching progress.

RE: the suspension please dont put polybushes in, you will ruin the handling and balance of the teg. only ones worth changing from oem bushes are rear lower tie arms, swop them for some mugen bushes which are still rubber but a bit firmer than oem.

Its meant to make a lot of difference. the rear suspension set up on the teg is very complex and if you start sticking hard poly bushes in there you will unsettle it.

Rear trailing arm is the one to avoid poly bushes, not the control arms.

 

[neil-ste]

Yeah i'm aware of that, trailing arm bushes shall remain standard

Jonny, have you ever ordered OEM Honda parts from the states?

 

[Gaijin]

Let me know how you get on with removing the exhaust manifold, thinking about the best way to go about it without shearing stuff

 

[neil-ste]

Let me know how you get on with removing the exhaust manifold, thinking about the best way to go about it without shearing stuff

I had it off a few weeks ago after I borked it.

I took the AC condenser fan and radiator fan off, unbolted the manifold and twisted it round to come out under the car. It was much easier than some people made out. I didn't even put the car on axle stands, just drove it onto 2 bricks.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Yeah i'm aware of that, trailing arm bushes shall remain standard

Jonny, have you ever ordered OEM Honda parts from the states?

Never had the need to so far although Im tempted to get a suspension refresh kit in the form of new upper arms (with balljoints) lower balljoint and rod ends from the US. Probably would be aftermarket rather than genuine Acura though.

Had plenty of aftermarket stuff directly from US suppliers and wouldn't hesitate to use them more.

 

[Matt82]

looks like fun.

how many miles were on it when you started the rebuild? did you test the compression at all before hand?

 

[Gaijin]

I had it off a few weeks ago after I borked it.

I took the AC condenser fan and radiator fan off, unbolted the manifold and twisted it round to come out under the car. It was much easier than some people made out. I didn't even put the car on axle stands, just drove it onto 2 bricks.

Did you have any trouble getting the manifold bolts out from the block? Did you take any precautions? (Plusgas, blowtorch etc?)