Bring that Beat back... 1991 Honda Beat

[Rocket.]

Looking like will go bespoke exhaust route as only the manifold on my car can be saved, it also needs a cat, down pipes and heat shields which are expensive from Honda and then no availability for rear back box means might as well build our own system.

Caliper rebuild kit £65 total for all 4 so quite reasonable imo.

Thought about the Jazz caliper and disc upgrade, will probably do this at a later stage if unhappy with standard set up.

[Rocket.]

I think Old'uns may have a point, I am 6ft and I am thinking of fitting a flat bottomed wheel to make a bit more room getting in and out, however I'd say it is roomier than my old Elise.

That being said here is a short clip of Clarkson driving one back in the day and he is 6ft 5 I think.

https://youtu.be/EL6aXo5jIw8

[Rocket.]

Thanks all.

Bidjdm I have used and there is a lot of good stuff on there thanks.

Few updates from today.

Peter picked up manifold after vapour blasting, amazing what a £10 clean can do.



Engine block cleaning up nicely.



Front now in Bonda primer.



Yeah very funny Peter...



Gearbox getting a clean.



Investigating how the windscreen locates in these two pics, still not ruling out making this a Beat Barchetta...





My small contribution today, 1st coat of POR15 on front calipers.

[Rocket.]

The front bumper has been repaired before but not very well so Peter is on that now.



Nice paint run too.







Cleared out the old repair in preparation for the plastic weld.



Melting in cable ties to build up the plastic and bridge the gap.



Gradual process then rubbed down and filled.



Hopefully now it holds and getting closer to paint.

[Rocket.]

As mentioned before weve been thinking of making this car into a Speedster / Barchetta by losing the front screen. I am not aware if it has been done before on a Beat but we decided to do it !

Inspiration coming from a few sources but fundamentally it's about making the car more fun to drive and the fact we have a slightly cracked windcreen and all the rubber seals are shot so to put right would be big cost, also we can drop some serious weight off the car, it will now be completely impractical but when you've driven or owned a car without a windscreen you'll understand why we are doing it.

A few basic sketches of where we might be headed





Our 'Mood board' for inspiration...

Edited by Rocket. on Tuesday 30th October 21:27

[Rocket.]

Thanks for your comments guys, love the idea of a zebra type tonneau cover for the passenger seat side

Ref roll bar / hoop at this stage probably not because I am not too concerned about them tbh, done right they can look ok but reality is if we did it would probably be lower than would be any real use anyway, I hate the look of them when they are too high, this car will never go near a track and rightly or wrongly I think I'll just take my chances.

Hopefully no issues with MOT (thinking that Caterhams swap between aero screens and windscreens without issue) but I do need to check how high it is poss to have a lexan screen without needing wipers, I would like the ability to deflect some airflow over my head if poss, but reality is aesthetics will win out here because it has to look right first and foremost, the car is limited to max 84 mph and I have no real plan to raise that.

Loon, I am a big fan of the Cappuccino it's actually the only Kei car I have ever been in, I had hoped to find and early 90's 'Car' mag or similar with a Beat road test but so far no joy, if you come across one in your collection would love to know.

It will be done right, there maybe a few attempts to get the screen set up looking spot on but the car is really just a weekend toy so lends itself to being something a bit different. Also Losing the windscreen and it's surround, wiper motor, side windows and electric motors, hood and metal frame plus all of the A/C gubbins should do wonders for the overall driving dynamics on such a small car which I am also excited about.

[Rocket.]

Ilovejapcrap said:

Couple of things rocket.

Although I think it would be a cool project is this not to rare a car to alter ?

Also won’t it flex like a git without loads of bracing I doubt the car has room for ?

I know what you mean but whilst relatively rare in the UK they are in plentiful supply in Japan.

I don't think it will flex I found this picture on the net and we will remove the dash to check also, if we think it needs more bracing we'll do it, I will be adding front and rear strut braces, but very happy to be corrected if we are missing something !

[Rocket.]

ndg said:

MOT won't be a problem - no screen = no wipers. However you are altering the monocoque, which puts this into BIVA territory and the associated pain that it brings........

Thanks I had wondered about the IVA, looks like we should look into this further before we get too carried away with the saw !

Edited by Rocket. on Thursday 1st November 14:03

[Rocket.]

I do not doubt it is more than get the saw out and hope for the best... part of why I put it on here is to see what ideas people have about how it should be done.

As for maintaining as is, a 2nd hand 25 plus year old windscreen from a breakers is £800 and I also need all new seals and I've been told again that is approx £800 so to keep as stock is a minimum of £1600 so not keen really. I also cannot see what the windscreen is doing for sill rigidity which cannot be replicated or enhanced by extra bracing across the dash bulkhead which would also have the added benefit of lowering the COG.

The potential IVA test bothers me more tbh as I know how hard it is to get passed these days.

Anyway as mentioned before in previous posts it maybe that the car needs more strengthening in certain areas and I am up for that and if need be I would sooner spend the £1600 or so to this end. So going forward I need to find someone who knows if or how and where exactly.

Edited by Rocket. on Thursday 1st November 22:04

[Rocket.]

It's been done in Japan (I think we can make it look better...) plus quite a bit of research shows where else to stiffen the shell to compensate and actually improve over the original.

[Rocket.]

Not a huge amount to update this week, more interior is out and a little surface rust present where roof leaked but nothing major.







Doors now stripped of window glass, electric motors and winder mechanism should be a good weight saving, think we might drop close to 100 kilos off the car overall so close to 650kg when done, got to make all of those 63hp count

[Rocket.]

Thanks for pic James B, very similar to how mine was many years ago I suspect. Whenever I see them in the wild makes me chuckle how small they are, below the car that led to me buying one.



At last some shiny bits arriving from Japan, they were relatively cheap to buy but by time arrived in my hands they not far off 2.5 times initial outlay



Ferris yep rude not too, though some chap wants to steal my thunder by taking the roof off his bashed up 550 Maranello, now thats proper brave.

[Rocket.]

Peter been busy on some basic photoshop, hope to end up with something like this but in silver.



Had a constructive or perhaps that should be destructive day, windscreen out and then the angle grinder, no going back now.

[Rocket.]

Superhoop said:

Does chopping the screen pillars mean that this will now require an IVA to get it registered, as surely this is a structural change to the body shell ?

It's a tricky one, my research suggests that the screen surround/frame purpose is to a) house the windscreen b) offer protection in the event of the car rolling. Most of the people I have spoken to tell me it offers little or no added rigidity to the chassis itself, this includes people who build low volume sports cars for a living and know a thing or two about chassis design.

Thereafter we are in a grey area with the DVLA without anyone willing to fully commit so far. Does the windscreen surround on a 'convertible' constitute part of the monocoque ? Does removing it deem the car to be 'radically altered' and hence require an IVA test. At present it appears this is open to interpretation, but what is clear is my desire to remove it so going forward we will find out if the car is deemed 'radically altered' and then needs an IVA test as a result the car may end up reregistered on a 'Q' plate, I would prefer not but then we are talking about a toy with relatively low value so im not that fussed. We will finish it then see, where there is a will there is a way and all that... Worst case I have a slow track day car or expensive paperweight

[Rocket.]

With the screen now gone we can now let our 'go faster' mentality fully off he leash and add a few styling quirks I think Pininfarina might have been up for if they were creating the Beat Barchetta

Peter is working on a small lip spoiler for the front which is work in progress



We have also thought about adding a rear scoop to aid getting air to the aftermarket air filter we will fit and because we are boy racers at heart, Peter is someone who loves to experiment so below are mock ups

The Zonda





The 'Jordans' foam filled domes ready to be shaped into something more akin to double scoop over the existing vents, but we ended up with comedy breasts



and finally the one I think we will go for a classic hand rolled aluminium scoop made by Pete on his English wheeling course





At one point we toyed with the idea of 2 scoops to go over the existing air vent holes but then decided a large single went hole would be better so Pete cut a hole in the boot



Part of me would still love to go 'full Zonda' but I think perhaps subtle is the key here ?

The engine is proving to be a bit of a PITA, it needs a rebore and bigger pistons or new liners. There are basically no oversize pistons available outside Japan for the Beat so it looks like a set of bespoke 0.5mm larger pistons and rings will have to be made at substantially more than the cost of the car but it may mean we get to 700cc !

[Rocket.]

Cheers chaps.

We did toy with the idea of a Subaru scoop but I think this one should work just fine and looks right.

Thanks for offer on pistons I think the engine shop will source for me, I investigated as thoroughly as I could for alternative Honda engine pistons which may fit pistons but so far no joy.

In reply to earlier query wheels are 14 rear and 13 front.

[Rocket.]

[Rocket.]

Quick update, sticking with the small scoop it looks made to go there.



Seat bases now repaired in some expensive 2nd hand imported Zebra fabric.



Bonnet is properly rotten but lack of 2nd hand availability means we will try to repair





Also now working on a shape for a cover where the hood mechanism used to be with some small humps behind the headrest







May have found a source in Japan for aftermarket oversize pistons. Ordering stuff from Japan is a bit of a lottery though, most recent package with clutch and engine parts got as far as UK customs then sent back to Japan without explanation...

[Rocket.]

Thanks for replies and suggestions regarding parts supply.

I am actually using someone who is recommended for Honda Beat parts and I know from others has been reliable which makes it all a bit odd really that the package got sent back, anyway another package from him is now in UK customs, no doubt there will be duty to pay but fingers crossed.

To be fair on my Beat the bonnet is the only real rust issue (so far) floor has already been welded at some point and sills look good.

Still deciding on colour for the respray, latest contender : Kawasaki candy lime green metallic

[Rocket.]

The top one might well have been a factory colour I am not sure, the pic below is a Japanese track day car, something 'Hot wheels / Matchbox' about the Kawasaki green metallic though which I think lends itself to this little car.