Project on a budget - sort of

[Chloke83]

I thought it would be about time that i started a project thread for my car as i am going to try and change it for the better over the next year or so.

At the moment it is a pretty standard 1991 Rev1 N/A Import T-Bar. It has a Rev 2 engine in it with fairly low mileage as the original went pop a month after i bought it.

Aside from this the only Mods that i have done is colour code the dash centre panel, change the instrument panel lights to red LED's, change the headlights to clear crystal lights. (these -> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400280975094), red and black gear gaiter and a black/red/silver gear knob.

I have a shed that contains a Veilside front bumper (unsure about this now), S2000 push start button, some new doorspeakers (name escapes me whilst i am at work), an Autopista Centre panel (on its way to me from KarlBristol, thank you), new dials to act as a template for something more custom, a K&N induction kit, plus a few other things i have forgotten.

I am also looking to get a new Japspeed exhaust over the coming months as well as some sideskirts.

The car looks pretty good on paint work apart from the front bumper and rear spoiler (due to them being plastic/fibreglass and not metal i guess) and due to the cost of having 3J6 paint made up i am thinking of something a bit different such as a black spoiler? I think this may look good due to there being black bumpstrips on the car already and the fact that the T-Bars look black from the top as well. Whats everyones thoughts on this?

I have the standard Rev1 15" alloys which are in great condition so am toying with the idea of respraying these black also or perhaps looking into some aftermarket wheels. Again, thoughts on this?

Another area is the steering wheel, it is HUGE (in my opinion) so would prefer something a bit smaller, i have a steering boss but have no idea about good and compatible steering wheels. Any thoughts?

The ultimate aim is to either completely tart up the engine bay or put a Turbo lump in there next year.

I will get some photos on here by thew weekend and will try and regularly update things as i go.

I have a new baby on the way (due Dec 3rd) so money isn't the easiest to come by at the moment but hope to make some steady progress each month so i hope people will enjoy reading and seeing my progress

[Chloke83]

I took a couple of pictures tonight on the way home from work (not the greatest as the light was fading).
This is what the car looks like currently:






And a picture of the centre console that i started:


Also i was very happy to receive this in the post today:
(thank you KarlBristol)
Hoping to fit it this weekend as well as some other jobs that i have lined up.

[mr2sparky]

good luck with project , liking the console

[Chloke83]

So i had set aside this weekend for doing bits on the car, unfortunately it didnt quite pan out that way with a family emergency and feeling a little under the weather.

I did get some work done though.....

First off i went to the local breakers yard as i needed to see if i could find myself a new air intake pipe as mine had split



Not only did i find one but i also managed to pick up both door handle inserts (inside the car as both of mine were cracked), two tweeter covers that were in tact and a boot release cable because mine had snapped. The price for all this you may ask??? £3!!!!!! I was well chuffed!!!

Anyway that was replaced and i then looked for something else to do. I decided that my engine bay was looking a little sorry for itself.



So i did this



And the end result looked like this



Quite happy with the result, still a lot of work to do in tidying it up. I am thinking that i will buy some red silicone tubing and aluminium piping to give it a fresher look. The rocker cover i think i will end up spraying black as well.

The other bonus was i think i have finally found out where the metallic vibration sound is coming from, i am pretty sure it is the ACIS that is making the noise and when the engine is turning over it seems to be open 100% of the time. Would this be normal?

All in all a decent 3-4hours work done.

[Chloke83]

Didnt have a lot of time today as the kids and Misses took over but did manage to do a couple of small bits.

I still have this annoying metallic vibration at certain revs and thought that the sound was coming from the ACIS, maybe a loose butterfly or such. So i sourced another one and decided to swap them over.

At the same time i cleaned up the new one and painted it with Black heat resistant paint in my ongoing quest to tidy up the engine and bay.

When i took off the old ACIS i was met with a watery gasket (not too much but a thin layer) and a tiny bit of mayo like gunge.


Yep, that was all there was but is this normal? I have checked the oil cap and there is no mayo like gunge there?

Also pic of the gasket:




Does this all look ok or is there something sinister going on that i need to address??

After the new gasket and ACIS system was fitted the engine now looks like this.



I think it looks ok apart from catching the manifold and putting a nice scratch in the red paint i need to now touch up.

Next is cleaning and painting the rocker cover, unsure whether to do this black or to go slightly different and do it a silver colour?? I will also be looking to take off the heat shields and doing these as well.

Hoping to get some more time this week to do other jobs that i have planned.

[Chloke83]

So today i had a look under the car to check the sills and they have some surface rust on them so will be sorting this out at the weekend. Not the most difficult of jobs but i did get a bit of a nasty surprise when i was looking at the gearbox bottom. It was covered in oil and looked like it had been for some time. A bit strange as the gear change is still really smooth and i haven't noticed anything different?

Anyway i did some more investigating and it looks like my driveshaft oilseal has split so a new one was ordered today, along with a new oil filter, from TCB parts.

I have also confirmed that i have a slightly warped front passenger brake disc so have ordered a new front sent which should be with my by the weekend. Will probably give me a chance to clean up the calipers as well and possibly paint them and the wheels (if i get time).

I have also ordered a new LED Dome interior light (Stoney Racing i think) as mine is near useless.

I am starting to put together a list of stuff that needs doing to the car which is both exciting and depressing at the same time. It looks a little like this (in no particular order):

1. Re-Spray the front bumper as it looks awful

2. Fit a Turbo engine lid (preferably black)

3. Re-Spray wingmirrors black as they look terrible

4. Fit a Black rear spoiler

5. Get the rocker cover powder coated and sort out the damn rocker cover leak for the 3rd time in a year!!!

6. Sort out the active sound system as i only have the door speakers working at the moment

7. Fit a decat and then eventually a new exhaust

8. Change rear brake discs

9. Lower the car on new springs

10. Polybush the whole car

11. Fit the autopista rear panel that has been sat in the shed for nearly a month now

12. Fit the push button start i have had for around the same amount of time

13. Make some custom speed dials as mine look like a mouse has been eating portions of them

14. Fit a smaller steering wheel & boss

15. Have the seats re-trimmed

16. Fit a Turbo engine!!!

Not too much of a list and i am sure that i have left out LOADS of things that i still want to do.

Lots of time and money to be spent on this

[alanmr2turbo]

you're gonna be busy

be careful of No.12 as this can invalidate your insurance

[Chloke83]

you're gonna be busy

be careful of No.12 as this can invalidate your insurance

Really? I was going to use it in conjunction with the key start.
One click of the key for power then the button for starting. (extra sec if you hide the button off the dashboard was my thought also)

[alanmr2turbo]

you're gonna be busy

be careful of No.12 as this can invalidate your insurance

Really? I was going to use it in conjunction with the key start.
One click of the key for power then the button for starting. (extra sec if you hide the button off the dashboard was my thought also)

That's how they usually work anyways unless factory fitted. But then if your still going to be using the key why fit in anyways? It's on another quick turn.

I would certainly get on to your insurance company before fitting it just in case

[Chloke83]

you're gonna be busy

be careful of No.12 as this can invalidate your insurance

Really? I was going to use it in conjunction with the key start.
One click of the key for power then the button for starting. (extra sec if you hide the button off the dashboard was my thought also)

That's how they usually work anyways unless factory fitted. But then if your still going to be using the key why fit in anyways? It's on another quick turn.

I would certainly get on to your insurance company before fitting it just in case

Fair point.

This one may be removed from the list so will have a think about it!

On reason for fitting it is because my ignition barrel seems to be quite worn out and i have managed to snap 3 keys in the last 6mths. It always happens on the final turn, it sometimes is nice and smooth, other times it jams.

It was the cheaper option fitting a push start rather than changing the ignition barrel and all the door/boot locks.

[pistol pete]

looking really good
some nice jobs you have done there

[Chloke83]

looking really good
some nice jobs you have done there

It's going to be better with a JapSpeed decat on there after JAE as well!!

[jasongtr]

going to be busy,

mine has a starter button - instaled by a previous owner, pita to be honest still need the key and have to turn it so i dont see the point in one

might whip mine out - that said i just fitted a 12v cig lighter in the glovebox to power the sat nav

[craig]

Nice little project!

[Chloke83]

Cheers for the comments.

Can anyone explain the mayo like substance that came off of the ACIS gasket? (pics above of gasket and mayo)

[pistol pete]

condesation?
if the car runs fine wouldn't worry

you are in west sussex? where abouts

[Chloke83]

condesation?
if the car runs fine wouldn't worry

you are in west sussex? where abouts

Car runs fine (or as fine as a 21 year old car would) so will ignore it then.

I am based in Crawley.

[KarlBristol]

Its ashame your not closer - it would be nice to meet up ... maybe JAE and Japfest next year?

The car looks really nice, and I'm looking forward to the future updates

[Chloke83]

Its ashame your not closer - it would be nice to meet up ... maybe JAE and Japfest next year?

The car looks really nice, and I'm looking forward to the future updates

It is likely I will be around the Bristol area at some point due to work so can always bring the 2 rather than the company car so will let you know.

In the project side I have another small update to come later.

[Chloke83]

So today i finally finished decorating the living room !!

This enabled me to start doing bits on the car that i have been waiting all week to do. The plan was to paint the Autopista centre panel, sort out the surface rust on the sills and get it fitted then have a look at the active audio system.

Unfortunately it didn't work out that way as rain stopped play for the evening but i did manage to get some bits done.

This was how the drivers side sill look before i did anything:





So i covered the bits of car that i didnt want to get damaged:





And then got to work with a wire brush and some sand paper taking the rust off, which didn't actually take that long which i was surprised about. I think i caught it pretty early as it was only a very thin layer. I then cleaned the area and used Hammerite sill and underside paint. Two coats later and the outcome is this.



I think it looks pretty good
Unfortunately this was when it started bucketing it down so i was unable to do the other side of the car

I also found that it looks very new and black and the rest of the black bits of the car now look very old and grey/black. This means i am going to now have to go and do all the other black bits to make me happy.

I did get to rub back the Autopista panel and do a first coat of Gloss black. I am not particularly happy with my work and think i may have rushed a bit due to the rain so think it is likely i will cut it all back and start again.

This is what it looks like currently:


Whilst the rain was pelting down i took cover inside the car and decided to look at my active speaker system. I have been annoyed by the fact i only have the door speakers working since i bought the car and the tweeters, pillars and sub not working!! I also wanted to take out the stereo as i have a new more up to date one to fit.

Suffice to say i got a bit of a shock as all the wiring is completely butchered and cut to pieces so i have no idea where to start. I am going to put a post in the ICE section for help and will link to here -> http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic. ... 19#1437619

Tomorrow i plan to get the other sill done and other bits. (weather permitting of course)