Grifty's RT4WD Concerto
Grifty
Wagonist
Its about time i started a build thread on here about my MA3 Concerto.
Well i have always wanted one of these but i never knew any where even in Australia untill a few weeks ago when one popped up on ebay. Waiting those 7 days for the auction to finish seemed like a very lonnnnnng time. A few weeks later it arrives at my doorstep Via a car carrier from VIC (interstate).
The car does need a fair bit of TLC since its been sitting for about 6 years and also has some front end damage
, but its nothing that i shouldnt be able to tackle myself and with the help of a few people.
Plans are to get it looking nice and new again.
AFAIK this is the only one in Australia :O
Heres it is on the back of the tow truck arriving at my place
Some of the goodies it came with
Electric drivers seat
Flare holder
Folding mirrors
Auto Airconditioning
4WD mudflaps
180km/h cluster
Steering wheel
Drivers visor
only 2 pics of the car atm
Well i have always wanted one of these but i never knew any where even in Australia untill a few weeks ago when one popped up on ebay. Waiting those 7 days for the auction to finish seemed like a very lonnnnnng time. A few weeks later it arrives at my doorstep Via a car carrier from VIC (interstate).
The car does need a fair bit of TLC since its been sitting for about 6 years and also has some front end damage
, but its nothing that i shouldnt be able to tackle myself and with the help of a few people.Plans are to get it looking nice and new again.
AFAIK this is the only one in Australia :O
Heres it is on the back of the tow truck arriving at my place
Some of the goodies it came with
Electric drivers seat
Flare holder
Folding mirrors
Auto Airconditioning
4WD mudflaps
180km/h cluster
Steering wheel
Drivers visor
only 2 pics of the car atm
Comments
I went out and got some fluids and parts. 2x brake fluid, 3xMTF, 1x P/S, 1x subaru upper engine cleaner, spark plugs, wheel cylinders, oil/fuel filter.
I was wondering where all the brake fluid went!!!
the rear right wheel cylinder was leaking badly, there was brake fluid on the inside of the rim lol.
new vs old, the new is a touch different but it fits, cant complain for $17 each!!
I started to work on the rear brakes a couple of days ago, this is what it looked like before.
It was dirty and most of the paint had started to peel off due to the brake fluid, so i took off everything that i could and started to clean it up. Once its nic and clean i will hit it with some black caliper paint. I will also be doing this to the other side.
I aslo cleaned the carpet and it came out very nice, all of the stains came out except for the one under the drives seat, but i dont mind since you cant see it.
I used a Gerni, laundry detergent and a strong plastic brush to clean it. the water was coming out dark brown when i was using ther Gerni on it after brushing with laundry dertergent!!
All i found when i took the carpet out was a NZ 5c lol
Before:
After:
More updates when it decides to stop raining, i dont like the looks of the weather forecast for the next week....
This arrived in the mail, Brand spankin new!!
I also picked up a new rad today for a very good price since my one had a cracked top tank.
I got the rear drum backing painted and the wheel cylinder installed,
I took out the A/C Box and cleaned the inside cooler, getting ready for summer:cool: after shots coming soon.
I also took off the hood cowl and decided it give it a clean under there, oh boy look what i found!!! that was about half of the stuff as the other half fell onto the ground through the drain holes when i was blasting them with water!!
and i also noticed this little sticker
Before (at the wrecking yard):
After:
this arrived at my door, i wonder whats inside..........
hmmm.........
Its a Genuine OEM Honda Concerto BRAND NEW Air conditioning kit!! it comes with everything i mean it. Compressor, condensor, all lines, fan, wiring, relays, ac switch, bolts etc....
all i paid was $150 including postage, talk about a bargain lol.
So i picked this up for cheap to use for parts. It had a really badly blown head gasket, when we first tried to start it water was coming out of the rad like a fountain!!! Also if we turned it off it took about 5mins constant of holding the key in crank to start it again lol. to top it off were drove it without a working temp gauge :O
Most of the parts are stripped except for the radiator support, rims & mudflaps then off it goes to scrap metal.
2 pedal rubbers (mine were missing)
Handbrake button
1 shifter bushing, honda decided to remake it for me
and some IACV hoses and gaskets
old vs new
3 week wait from UK
UKDM front grill, looks alot better than the Aus one imo. needs abit of trimming with a dremel to fit, no biggie.
Skunk 2 Pro SII coilovers and rear control arms.
During installation
Went from a 10 finger gap to a 3 finger gap lol.
In this pic the rear left hasnt been changed yet. It should go abit lower after some driving but im happy with the height atm
The next day after i got the blueslip i headed of to the RTA (registration authority in my state) for rego but luck was not on my side. It turnes out that my VIN number is not on the national database called NEVDIS so i can't register the car. I gave Vic Roads (registration authority in another state) a call since it was previously registered there, so i asked what VIN number was attached to the vehicle and the reply i got was "the VIN number is not confirmed". So basically it was registered in VIC without a VIN number, wtf Vic Roads???
After calling around and going around in circles a lovely lady at the Department of Infrastructure and Transport helped me out. So after a couple more days of screwing around NEVDIS loaded my VIN number to their database They should of done it in 1996 when it was issued import approval lol.
I got some number plates and now my car is on the road
New fuel pump
It had a really bad whine coming from the timing side, turned out to be the A/C tensioner pulley siezed. Lucky i had a new one from my A/C kit.
New water pump, Timing belt & accessory belts, new seals
I also installed the new compressor from my A/C kit, love how shiney it is!!
i got the A/C system gassed up, so nice and cold. The guy who gassed it couldnt believe i scored the kit for only $150!
Ive also got my hands on a DA6 integra armrest which fits nicely
I picked up my freshly remade parts, straight of the production line in Japan since there was no stock. 1x rear diff mount & 3x shifter bushings
i ended up selling these rims since i didnt think they suited my car, back to the Linea sport meshies
Heres a quick pic while i was installing it
its not on the car atm
Finally got it back on the Ground after 6 weeks on stands.
during those weeks i replaced
Lower ball joints
Rack ends, tie rods, Rack boots
Steering rack bushes
Upper control arms
Caster bushes
Front camber bushes
Front LCA bushes
Front RHS Driveshaft
Top & bottom rad hoses
Thermostat with seal
Ground cables
Sway bar bushes and endlinks
All 5 rear diff bushes
Both rear driveshafts rebuilt
Im sure i left out some other bits and pieces i forgot about.
Quick pic while i was at wholesale suspension getting a wheel alignment.
Also running abit rich lol (350kms full tank) need to change O2 sensor, the water in the exhaust made it look abit worse
Thats all the updates I have so far (sorry for the massive dump lol). Sorry if some of the writing doesn't make sense i just copied and pasted from another forum
Next on the list is RDA slotted rotors with Hawk HPS Pads. Pads have already arrived, just waiting for the rotors.
Ive also got a N*power header ready to be modified with new O2 sensor & Magnaflow 2.25 inch high flow cat. Im just waiting on the Magnaflow 2.25 inch oval muffler to arrive then off to the exhaust shop to have it all welded on
Yes it also has the Bronze glass, im still looking for more JDM goodies from NZ (Clear indicators & visors)
Hey,
all the part numbers can be found here http://www.lingshondaparts.com/honda_car_parts_selection.php?block_01=18SH501&block_02=B__3501&block_03=9327
I purchased parts 17,6 & 9. They were all remade by Honda Japan since there was no stock. Part number 10 Honda did not remake & it is discontinued.
Looks good keep the updates coming, very interesting car.
the rest on the roads here are all the one with the little trunk but your one is better i found!!
WOW i have never heard of or seen a aerodeck Concerto before!!
My first concerto was a hatch, I sold it a few months before i bought my 4WD one
here is a pic of it, it was all stock.
Thanks for all the kind words guys, it has taken a fair bit of effort to get it where it is now, especially after sitting in storage for 6 years.
Will promise to keep the updates coming
Im going for a 2.25inch mandrel bend mild steel. I will get the exhaust shop to supply a resonator and stainless tips.
Not my magazine but from a fellow members
The Concerto featured the Intrac system before the civic