Brown Ecstasy
skittlenips
Wagonist
Well, I finally grabbed some pics of my current project, figured it was time to make a build thread. She started out as a busted-ass '90 automatic RT. I converted to manual trans, non-power steering. Engine still needs to be wired, and I still haven't mounted the shift knob assembly on the interior. Other than that, basically everything is ready to be reassembled. Once the front end is done, I have some work to do on the rear (service brakes, etc.). Can't wait to drive it!
Current mods:
DOHC ZC swap
Knockoff Bisimoto Headers
Exedy Stage 1 clutch/flywheel/pressure plate
PIC coilovers
Adj. upper control arms (not sure of manufacturer)
Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings all around
Innovative Mounts traction bar
Replaced all ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. with OEM Honda parts
Replaced water pump, timing belt, timing belt tension bearing, throwout bearing (all from Honda)
Future mods:
Innovative motor mounts
Rear LCAs
Bigger front brakes
Adjustable rear toe kit
Sexy wheels
Sound system
Exhaust (any suggestions?)
Anyway, I haven't been too good at documenting the build, but here's some pics showing how the reassembly is going:
Engine bay cleaned, undercoating applied to wheel wells (not planning on using liners):
Interior stripped:
Motor mounted:
Extra clearance for headers provided by traction bar:
Suspension reassembly:
Anyway that's about where she sits right now! Doing the auto to manual conversion has been kind of a bitch, and is apparently way more difficult with the RT than any other EF.
Also, I'm in need of some floor carpet and a rear hatch (glass or no glass is fine, little rust, don't care what color) for the car...if anyone has this stuff please let me know!
Cheers,
nips
Current mods:
DOHC ZC swap
Knockoff Bisimoto Headers
Exedy Stage 1 clutch/flywheel/pressure plate
PIC coilovers
Adj. upper control arms (not sure of manufacturer)
Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings all around
Innovative Mounts traction bar
Replaced all ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. with OEM Honda parts
Replaced water pump, timing belt, timing belt tension bearing, throwout bearing (all from Honda)
Future mods:
Innovative motor mounts
Rear LCAs
Bigger front brakes
Adjustable rear toe kit
Sexy wheels
Sound system
Exhaust (any suggestions?)
Anyway, I haven't been too good at documenting the build, but here's some pics showing how the reassembly is going:
Engine bay cleaned, undercoating applied to wheel wells (not planning on using liners):
Interior stripped:
Motor mounted:
Extra clearance for headers provided by traction bar:
Suspension reassembly:
Anyway that's about where she sits right now! Doing the auto to manual conversion has been kind of a bitch, and is apparently way more difficult with the RT than any other EF.
Also, I'm in need of some floor carpet and a rear hatch (glass or no glass is fine, little rust, don't care what color) for the car...if anyone has this stuff please let me know!
Cheers,
nips
Comments
I fought the motor and mounts long and hard in order to get all of the bolts lined up. The lack of adjustability on the passenger side trans mount made this extremely difficult. After getting the driver's side and rear trans mount attached, but loose, I was finally able to wedge the passenger side trans mount in place (with the help of the hoist and a jack). After everything went in, the mounts seemed a bit bound up. Everything seems pushed too far forward or something. I'm pretty sure I'm at the end of all of my slots, so it's not moving back any more than this. I'm thinking that maybe the additional weight of the RT trans is causing everything to sag forward a bit and twist (thus causing the motor to look like it's being pushed forward). I may be buying the additional front mount and bracket from them just to be safe.
So then, after having everything mounted up, I noticed that my motor was sittin' sideways. Probably about 2" lower on the passenger side than the driver's. I decided to see if I could shim it down on one side, which seems to be working (although I need to shim it more). You can see the tilt slightly in this first pic, but I had already shimmed the driver's side down so it's pretty close to level. You can imagine what it looked like without the shims.
Anyway, I also got the shifter assembly mounted and linked up...just had to drill some holes in the chassis and thru bolt it:
Also fixing some of the window regulators and door lock/latch mechanisms:
I have some carpet now, so I'm pretty much ready to do some speaker/amp wiring and finish reassembling the interior. Waiting on my spindles to get some fresh wheel bearings put in, then she will be rolling. Engine wiring harness is almost complete (will be completely tucked).
Any advice on the mount situation would be very much appreciated. My only two guesses as to my problems are: (1) The mount kit just kinda sucks - I'll just have to have it shimmed, or (2) my DOHC ZC has the wrong post mount - I'll be able to change it out or just stick with shims. I'm going to check out my friend's ZC swapped 88 wagovan to see if his post mount is slightly different than mine.
I've got the itch, can't wait to drive this beeyatch.
Ah, Damn! I always thought the "ears" were just different on RT vs. FWD cars. Had no idea I would run into this problem with an auto RT. Looks like I may just have to stick with the shims for now...:hopelessness:
I've seen other people shim motor mounts like this, so I'm hoping I don't run into any big problems...
I also swapped my auto to a manual, you will need to change the passenger side mount,
you will have issues with the other front and rear mounts if you don't.
And you most likely shouldn't lower your entire motor and tranny, you may run into driveshaft problems.
You can check out my build thread, I showed pictures of the difference in mounts, and a before and after picture.
Awesome, thank you for the lead. I think I'll be looking into changing the mount position. Anyone have a spare manual RT laying around? hahah
Side thought: I wonder if dropping the motor via shimming like I was planning on doing would be a good way to avoid driveshaft problems when lifting a wagon...
http://www.civicwagon.com/showthread.php?5080-Fool-s-Gold!-Size-DOES-matter
Hahahaha, after finding the right page in that thread...I see it definitely
If there is no front-to-back or side-to-side difference between the manual and auto mount points, there's a small chance I can just chop some height off the mount itself. Not positive though...I'm just thinking out loud at this point, trying to figure out what I'm going to do if I can't get my hands on the mounting bracket I need (wagons are pretty rare around these parts, esp. RTs - pretty much reliant on someone parting out a shell at this point).
Placed the motor in the car with the rear trans mount and driver's side motor mount tightened down, and used the hoist to level the motor and position the passenger side trans bracket. Tacked it in place, removed the motor and finished up all the welds. Now I just gotta clean it up a bit and hit it with some paint! Overall feels way stiffer than the original mount, considering the extra fillet welding around the tabs...
Mocking up the tucked wiring harness:
Also found a craigslist deal I couldn't pass up (this won't be going on the car for quite a bit - once I verify the motor is running strong, etc....planning on just light boost). I'm now in the market for an adapter plate if anyone has a spare!
Parts to be installed.....
Not much...still have some research to do, but probably in the 5-10psi range. Enough to get some good power increase without compromising the reliability of the motor too much...
New rear axles
Painted/undercoating on subframe, RTAs, drums, and wheel wells
New rear wheel bearings
Mugen RTA bushings
Function7 LCAs
Skunk2 camber adjustment
BWR toe adjustment
PIC coilovers
New drum brake hardware, cylinders, and pads
SS brake lines
Ready to put it on the ground and tighten everything up!
They do still make them. They're a good product. Just for CRX application.
Car is lookin nice sir.
I have had them almost for two years and have no complaints. They currently are "out of stock" though.
http://picperformance.com/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=235