1997 Civic Type R EK9 build

[nicolelh]

Long time lurker but thought I'd start a build thread on here..
mainly copied from DW and ek9.org so may not make total sense as theres ALOT of updates
I've had it since March, done 6 track days in it this year and it never missed a beat. has been such a brilliant buy and I absolutely love driving it. They fetch quite a hefty premium being a JDM only car, and quite rare - especially in black but I think its been worth every penny!
heres a few photos of the car to start






Its a '97 JDM import, 1.6 Type R
- it's pretty low mileage for its age and immaculate underneath, I bought it pretty much standard with just Meister R coilovers and an oem DC2 airbox - I really wanted one as unmolested as possible.

updates to follow..

[nicolelh]

I dropped her straight off at the bodyshop...

It is a minter, and tbf, you'd probably not even notice the bits on the car, but I wanted her perfect

after a having a look round the car, its having both front bumpers, both doors and rear quarters and round the drivers side door, plus a machine polish!
someones tried to break into it at some point on both sides, and made a bit of a mess... so these will all be gone..! :A:




theres scratches on my bonnet, and one on my rear quarter - they should hopefully polish out

neither bumper sit properly either, so that will be sorted



and one of my scabby engine bay...

and one before she went off to the bodyshop!


excuse all the watermarks, I dont think it had seen a coat of wax in a while and id only jetwashed it off since I got it as I knew it was going straight in the bodyshop. full detail when I get it back though

oh, and stickers will all be coming off and new genuine decals need to be sorted! £120 for 3 stickers!!!!!!

bodyshop -




literally straight back from paint -





ended up having both full sides of the car done, both bumpers and the grill. In hindsight I wish I hadn't bothered with the bumper or bought a spare as I use the car far too much for it to stay perfection free.

first detail after paint -




and some photos -





she looks a bit wrong without her stickers mind!

some underbelly shots after a clean -



some engine bay cleaning (I like cleaning, must be the woman in me) -
before:


after:



its pretty pearl paint!


thats about it for being a cleaning we - then the real fun/abuse started..

[nicolelh]

track day at Cadwell (my absolute favourite track) booked -
ds2500 pads and ATE super blue


camshaft seal had oil leaking all down the side of the engine


changed


and Cadwell!




cadwell aftermath eek


removed aircon, it didnt work and tbh I didnt think I needed it, and hey - we all like losing extra weight!



soo much space


engine bay bits removed -

interior bits removed -



blanked off the whole in the box with polymorph in an attempt to be airtight


genuine bung for the firewall ha


sticky trackday tyres arrived

service bits

more cleans!


my very very expensive genuine decals from japan!


bought a vibrant 421 and wrapped it


bought some dc2 wheels for track rubber and refurbed in the kitchen (I like doing car things in my kitchen for some reason )


and refurbed at home


and on!



refurbed my centre caps on the oem wheels



rocker cover and brake stopper refurb
skunk 2 oil cap and carbon pug cover also



and a carbing strut brace, i love this thing ha


some JDM photos




then lots of trackdays...

[nicolelh]

Yorkshire dales run



Japfest @ Castle Combe




Hated Combe - bumpy uneven circuit, very boring and not really suited to my gearing or my slown-ness ha

75a engine mounts -


interior shot -


alignment -


Another trackday at Cadwell looming, I stripped interior in an attempt to shed some weight. this car really isnt as quick as people think they should be. People take the p*ss out of Hondas for having no torque but its painfully true. This was getting left constantly on track by Clios etc, which is a shame really as it's brilliant in the corners!



pre-trackday clean!


my cadwell footage - my first ever spin at the end oops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK9p3-ncTgM

and photos-





then Croft with Hondas on Track -
footage: http://youtu.be/zgwrEP7Fli8







and finally Teeside - I strangely love this place, so harsh on cars, so small but so so fun!
footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q5OA-OEyeE&li...






now the real modifying, car had some power issues, but I was sick of loving every minute of driving it minus the lack of power - I didnt want it being left for dead anymore everytime there was a slight incline....!

[nicolelh]

Stuck it on a dyno and wasn't surprised to find it was 115whp and 80 torque, the curves are weird and something wasn't right - decided to leave it as it was as I have big plans for it and hopefully diagnose it in the meantime.




lot of oil in my tb and intake


daily back out of hibernation for the winter


and then the part buying began....







Little bit in love with my rad/fan setup <3


then the strip down began!


loom labelled (I like labels)


and engine out



many more labelled parts



my little one has had to eat breakfast with an engine apart everywhere bless him, last year it was a saxo engine so hes not too bothered
I sold my b16b bottom end and kept the head, then bought a JDM B16A bottom end. The b16b is high comp and no one makes aftermarket pistons for them so made sense to go B16A - I could've bought a b18c4 like everyone else but I'd like to keep it kind of original with the B16B head


my pretty catch can I had made up


engine bay stripped for bodyshop


head back from being skimmed -


2nd crank as first one was bent -


breather fittings welded to back of rocker cover with baffles -



more part buying while car went off to bodyshop
OEM Upper and lower gasket kits
OEM water pump
OEM oil pump
OEM cambelt kit
HAMP shortie filter
Walbro 225 fuel pump kit



mocal oil cooler and thermo plate


HEL brake and clutch lines


and my pretty gauges!



lapped my valves: before and after -



and a good wash to get rid of any swarf


polished my head - during and after...



and then thought it would be a good idea to do my gearbox (why I have no idea, painfully time consuming!)
before -

during -
after -


I've not done the bits I couldnt reach as I cant keep on top of it, so they'll get painted, but you can't see them anyways!

meanwhile the bay got painted,


and rocker cover redone


brand new OEM bearings from Honda - these are eye wateringly expensive!


kunifer lines and non ABS bias valve, bye ABS!


bodyshop kind enough to let me use his ramps for my brake lines


pretty engine bay, got rid of a lot of the holes I didnt need -


started doing the lines, so not fun!



baffled sump with oil return fitting and one for the oil temp gauge (needs a paint)-



gates 'racing' stat and skunk2 rad cap for cooling


polished bonnet catch - before & after -



and my pretty impulse buy the other week absolutely LOVE it


and thats about where I am, cars back home and engine is nearly done! big delivery from America due at Christmas with my final build bits!

[nicolelh]

S3_Graham said:

good effort. looks great! Did you do the detailing yourself? some good locations for the photo's!

Wish I had the time to give my car the effort it deserves.

ETA: makes me miss my Teg!

Edited by S3_Graham on Thursday 4th December 18:41

thanks
Yeh, detail myself. It's tough when you like keeping your car clean as much as you like driving it but I like to think I can have both function and form!
What teg did you have?

[nicolelh]

"I must have missed this build on ek9.org...did you buy this of one of the forum users?
Fantastic build so far. Sorry if I missed you saying, but I assume a turbo is on its way, the return in the sump and breathers on the rocker suggest so "
-I hadn't mentioned but well noticed a lot of people have assumed n/a from the start of my build.
I bought the car off a guy in Norwich but he'd only had the car 6 months from ek9.org, used to be a guy called Frodo on there.


"What bhp do you expect with all the mods?"
-I'm aiming for a nice conservative 280hp - nothing crazy as all I wanted was some torque a bit more to pull it out the corners on track will have boost by gear and hopefully switch-able maps if I fancy a bit more sometimes


"And that strut-brace is just a work of art..."
-It is isnt it, not cheap but its beautifully made and unlike some braces really serves a purpose
(not my pic)



"Superb, always liked the EK9 Civic, why on earth Honda never brought the Type R version to the UK I'll never understand.
-Are you keeping it n/a?"
I'm secretly glad they never brought it to the UK as it makes it that little bit more special


"Looking good, although I preferred your chalkboard 106."
-That's a very long time ago!haha


"stupid question but why spend all that money when u could just buy a k20 and stick it in?"
-in my opinion it doesn't compare. I get why people put k lumps in, but I believe you're limited when it comes to n/a, and no matter how much power you gain putting a bigger engine in, you always want more. The K lumps still lack the torque I was wanting and I feel like I have a bit more control over my power delivery with the way I'm going, plus a lot more potential for more power. I'd want a low mileage K20A with a LSD box too which isn't cheap, add an RBC and suitable ECU and you'd probably be pushing the price of my build for only 240hp..


"It's okay, it needs lowering though."
-least I'm finally getting some torque muz!

Edited by nicolelh on Tuesday 23 December 11:52

[nicolelh]

final part of my build is nearly here! Looks like my kit's nearly finished, so I just need to wait for it to arrive from the US!



GTX2867r with mini ram manifold, 3" downpipe with ricirculating dumpe tube (no screamer pipe)


the recirculating dump tube

also finished my brake lines in kunifer last night, still need some p clips and seperators to support them but at least they're all routed. it previously had ABS and the brake line and bias were right near the top of the firewall so non-abs bias has been relocaed down and all new lines made up. taken so so long but pretty happy





edit*this thing needs a multiquote button!

Edited by nicolelh on Monday 15th December 13:10

[nicolelh]

cheers for the nice comments

TheDoggingFather said:

Fantastic build and stunning looking car. Is it pirates black?

It's Starlight Pearl Black, although I think it has many different names. Iirc pirates black is purple pearl, mines green and nighthawk black is blue pearl? they all look so different in the sun

AntiLagGC8 said:

Fantastic thread!
I used to own a Civic Type R which I loved so I can only imagine how good this must be!
280bhp in this car will fly!
When are you expecting this to be all ready?

Exhaust is booked in for the start of March and hopefully mapping soon after. I'm aiming to have it track ready for Rockingham at the beginning of April Pretty busy so my time working on it's limited but fingers crossed I manage to get it done in time!

Some people will of seen my thread in General Gassing and the company who had my bottom end shut down without telling anyone. After turning up at the owners house, I learnt he was in Iraq! Cue A LOT of panicking from me ha
Managed to get in touch with the old receptionist there who got me access to go in and grab all my stuff out. Was pretty gutting bringing it home in pieces and boxes after them having it since September but at least I got it back. Bottom end is now with someone else and hoping to have it back for the end of January now

On a brighter note, my turbo kit turned up!

Merry Christmas



Pretty snail


Really impressed with this, its beautiful



huge downpipe ha


Pretty Tials


CC stage 4


polished my brake lines up too while I don't have much to do, no one will ever see them but oh well. They're all bled and working with ATE super blue fluid

[nicolelh]

not much progress really. its too cold!

got some brackets shot blasted and painted in the same colour as the car


and started mocking up the coolers


Turns out the other engine builders shutting down was a bit of a blessing in disguise!
my block needed re-bored and honed as they were oval and undersized, my head also needed skimmed again as it wasn't done properly either!

so it's had bore and hone to 81.5mm, decked, line honed, soda blasted and the crank and flywheel have been balanced too




still waiting on some bits from Honda to put the cambelt and covers on, but managed to get most of it back together!

had an interesting time trying to get the sump on, was hitting the oil pick up and wouldnt do up - turns out the type R oil pump causes it to hang lower. I've seen a few bashed in pick ups in the past and never knew why till now!!


ARP head studs in and gasket on


sump and head..


then I stuck the turbo on for mocking up some plumbing


and then I got carried away with the rest of it

[nicolelh]

Thanks for the comments

InfamousKeiran said:

Was talking to a friend about this earlier, I'm really looking forward to seeing this completed. I love the modest power gains that you're looking for.

Hey It's nice to hear you say that tbh! I've had a lot of comments about how overkill everything is when I'm not after much power, I'm really not too fussed about figures and don't want it off its nut, but at least I have the potential for more if I ever need it

TheLordJohn said:

This car is awesome.
When you said about the West Yorkshire run I thought "It'd be nice to see it on the road and have a bit of fun with my Clio'.
Then read on and thought "Nah, maybe won't bother!" Ha!

The whole reason I started searching for more power was being left behind by Clios on track! haha
Turns out the car was poorly, but I'd already got the idea of boost in my head at this point

danjama said:

Oh by the way, what's the instagram page??

@nicoleharashima is my instagram

[nicolelh]

danjama said:

Is there a readers cars thread for the DC5?

thanks There is a thread on the itr DC5 forum but I think you have to be a member to view..

went down to TDI north a few weeks back for a remap with K100, RBC and new manifold and it made a very healthy 248hp

b16a2_VTi said:

nice work, ive got a black dc2 track toy.
i boosted my previous b18, which was fun, whos carrying out the tuning work?

Blacks defintely the best colour for a type R. Tdi north will be mapping it, whenever I get it finished!


Engine is in. put the standard red cover on to save my other one getting scratched -



pictures dont really do the shine justice. the gearbox is so shiny




car was booked in for mapping on Friday 13th March and I didn't make it
I came down with a virus which completely shut down any progress on the car for about two weeks, such awful time to be practically bedridden with mapping round the corner
Car is at the point its almost ready to start up, just a few things I want to get right beforehand and spend a little longer on rather than rush it.
Really not happy with the boost pipes, the turbo kits been an absolute nightmare from the very beginning with things missing, no instructions or parts labelled - just bags upon bags of random fittings and bolts and my pipework just doesn't fit together at all - really not happy after the money I've spent on it and if I could go back again I wouldn't have bought the kit.

I dont have many pictures of progress, just been cracking on with it tbh, but I have a few off instagram I'll post here

got a remote line made up by Hel to run an adapter with 3 take offs for turbo oil feed, oil pressure gauge and the stock oil pressure switch. turned out to be no good as its a union fitting so had another one made locally in the end. took a lot of effort getting it together but it should be a lot safer/reliable


many AN fittings!



Car went off for exhaust at AAS in Newcastle, so happy with it. I took the car to them way back when it was on the road in August last year to show them what I had to see if they could replicate the look of my 5zigen exactly, took the car down last Friday and they had a few different tailpipes for me to choose from that were exactly like my 5zigen. They've fab'd it with noise in mind so hopefully I'm going to have no issues getting on track with it, it sits nice and tight to the car too yay


relocated fuel filter using adapters and AN fittings and keeping with OEM filter
[img]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8606/16627411990_2c8d541754_z.jpg/img]

more oem parts and some running in oil!


bought some new wheels for track, didn't really need them, but it was a bit of an impulse buy.. they're being refurbed black though

new valves, nuts, stickers and centre caps from Japan too


and obviously with new wheels, I wanted some new rubber..


my painters had my vented wings, and we couldnt decide where to put the side repeaters... took some inspiration from my saxo and they've gone in the side strips so so happy with these! he's done a brilliant job.
test fitted them for a cheeky look




and my bumper took some abuse last year so had it repainted again


and dragged her out the garage for a wash





just wiring left and shes ready for mapping, which is rebooked in 2 and a bit weeks time!