Mild restoration project - Accord VTEC
Discussion
Hello all!
Been on PH for quite a while now, so thought that it was about time I introduced myself and my car. Hopefully at least one of you will find my thread interesting!
Anyhow, my names Nathan and this is my Honda Accord, named Tess.
She is a MY99 Accord 2.0 VTEC SE Sport. SE Sports are a very rare model of the 6th gen Accord, and aren't too well known, which is a shame as they are such a different animal compared to other 6th Gens. The most severe changes are the engine/drivetrain and suspension. Any other 2 litre 6th Gen Accord has an F20B6 block, with a SOHC cylinder head running 148bhp until they hit the limiter at around 6900rpm. This engine is fine, but not exactly a power-house. The SE Sport has a very different setup however. Honda kept the F20B block, but the car now had a DOHC cylinder head, uprated cams/valves and many other changes including porting and polishing. These changes now meant power was up from the standard 148hp to 171hp, and the car was able to scream right upto 8650rpm. VTEC still engages at 4500rpm which is the same as the non SE Sport, but it engages much harder and the higher rev limit means you can hold onto the gears much longer. Along with the engine, the car also received a Limited Slip Differential and slightly shorter gear ratios, and was also available with adaptive shock absorbers, which are fantastic as they are soft and compliant around town, but stiffen up when you throw the weight around. This is adds up to a car which isn't too bad in the straights, but absolutely fantastic in the corners and can show much more expensive metal a clean set of heels in the twistys. 500 SE Sports were made, of which only 200 had the mechanical changes that I have mentioned above. I also found out from THAOC that less than 10 of the 200 SE Sports were fitted with adaptive shock absorbers, as most people opted not to have them fitted as they were such an expensive option. All in all, it turns out my little Accord is quite a rare model, hence why I am saving it.
I have owned her for over a year, and acquired her from my father for next to nothing. He owned her for 10 years before me, and treasured her. He gave her a full respray, new trim parts and always looked after it and gave it attention whenever needed. Luckily, the car rarely needed attention as it was so reliable. After 10 years of ownership, all it ever needed in terms of repair was a lambda sensor. Not exactly the end of the world! The years went on, and the car was still performing flawlessly. However, the paintwork was starting to look a little tired (Which was thanks to his friend ripping him off and using cheap lacquer...grr.), it got hit while parked TWICE which made the bodywork look even worse, and there was a strange issue with the car not starting after having a period of rain...That was it, my Father was done with it. He had enough of the car not starting, so decided to buy a new car and the Honda got stuffed round the back of the house for a few months, then into a friends storage yard.
Fast forward a few months. I threw some money at the Accord, and got it on the road. Got insurance, tax and an MOT (Big thanks to my Brother for that!) and made my way down to the yard to collect my car. Collected the keys, hopped in and started my drive home, but something wasn't right...The car felt wrong. It felt creaky, the engine sounded a little rough and the brakes were awful, not to mention the car was covered in moss and general crud. "Have I made a mistake?" I thought, as I continued driving. My mind was in a state of worry, as the car just didn't feel right and I started wondering why I wasted money on this car, but I put it at the back of my mind and got the car home and gave it a damn good clean. I put a full tank of fuel in it, topped up the oil and checking the tyre pressures, and went for a damn good drive.
I decided to get on the local dual carriageways first, to "blast out the cobwebs" so to speak, and to try and loosen up the engine a bit. Getting onto the dual carriageway, I dropped it a cog and gave it a bootful. The car took off like a stabbed rat, with it giving a lovely VTEC howl all the way upto the 8650rpm limiter. It all made sense now! I didn't get back until 3am, but damn the car sure did feel better after blasting down some B-roads. The creaks were gone, the engine was running smoothly again and the brakes felt much better.
I drove the car "as is" for about 6 months, with it just requiring fuel. After a while, I gave the car a full service and changed the front ARB bushes and rear drop-links, as it was advised to do so on the MOT. It never caused an issue, and even took me and a friend to Ford Fair last year where it managed a 6.72 second time on there 0-60 sprint section, even if I did get boo'ed and cursed at as I pulled upto the line...
. The car even enjoyed a brief spell in a muddy field at a local market.
Unfortunately, the car started to show it's starting issues again after a period of rain and the car was also involed in a small bump (Which is now sorted. Insurance companys take there damn time!). I therefore decided to pack my bags, move to Ireland and give the car some love...And so the project begins!
Day 1:
Cars on the drive. I've had enough of this starting issue, so it's time I get it sorted. I've been speaking to my Father, who says he tracked the issue down to rust hole where the firewall and inner arch join. Water is running behind the strut tops, into the cabin and getting over the ECU's. Time to strip her down!
Bugger me that's a big rust hole. Better find someone to weld it!
Day 2:
Spoken to a family friend. He has agreed to weld it for a very reasonable price, and will be more than happy to keep the car in his yard as long as I want. So I spent today getting the front of the car back on, and will drive it down to the yard.
She's there! Will get her welded soon.
Day 3:
Heard from my friend today. He has told me that he has had a look at the rust hole, and the interior and front end will need to be stripped for him to do a proper job on the welding. I decided to get down there and get it stripped so that the welding can be done asap.
Interior out.
Front end off.
Now just to wait on my friend to call me when it's done.
Day 4:
Friend popped round to say the welding is done, so decided to have a look.
Wow! I'm well impressed! He has double plated it, inside and out and has then sprayed plenty of etch primer and underseal over it, as well as putting lots of wax oil behind the strut tops where the metal joins. This shouldn't happen again for many many years. Very happy bunny!
Day 5:
Went over to put the car back together as the welding is now done. All went pretty smoothly...
...until the alternator decided to crap itself. Another job to add to the list!
Day 6:
Got the alternator off with some help from Dad, and sent it off to be reconditioned.
Just got to wait for the alternator to come back!
That's where I stand at the moment. Plans at the moment are...
(In order of importance)
1. Get the new alternator back and fitted onto the car, then get the car back home.
2. Start the registration process completed and on the road.
3. Recondition the engine bay.
4. Blacken the headlight surrounds.
5. Strip and clean/re-paint the inner arches, liners and suspension parts
6. Re-wrap my disgusting wooden interior trim in carbon fibre again.
7. Re-furbish the alloy wheels as well as fit some decent rubber, as the fronts were some cheap over-profiled ones I fitted to get the car to Ireland.
8. Full respray.
Well that's it! I don't expect any of you to read all that, but hopefully some of you will follow this thread with interest.
Thanks!
Nathan
Been on PH for quite a while now, so thought that it was about time I introduced myself and my car. Hopefully at least one of you will find my thread interesting!
Anyhow, my names Nathan and this is my Honda Accord, named Tess.
She is a MY99 Accord 2.0 VTEC SE Sport. SE Sports are a very rare model of the 6th gen Accord, and aren't too well known, which is a shame as they are such a different animal compared to other 6th Gens. The most severe changes are the engine/drivetrain and suspension. Any other 2 litre 6th Gen Accord has an F20B6 block, with a SOHC cylinder head running 148bhp until they hit the limiter at around 6900rpm. This engine is fine, but not exactly a power-house. The SE Sport has a very different setup however. Honda kept the F20B block, but the car now had a DOHC cylinder head, uprated cams/valves and many other changes including porting and polishing. These changes now meant power was up from the standard 148hp to 171hp, and the car was able to scream right upto 8650rpm. VTEC still engages at 4500rpm which is the same as the non SE Sport, but it engages much harder and the higher rev limit means you can hold onto the gears much longer. Along with the engine, the car also received a Limited Slip Differential and slightly shorter gear ratios, and was also available with adaptive shock absorbers, which are fantastic as they are soft and compliant around town, but stiffen up when you throw the weight around. This is adds up to a car which isn't too bad in the straights, but absolutely fantastic in the corners and can show much more expensive metal a clean set of heels in the twistys. 500 SE Sports were made, of which only 200 had the mechanical changes that I have mentioned above. I also found out from THAOC that less than 10 of the 200 SE Sports were fitted with adaptive shock absorbers, as most people opted not to have them fitted as they were such an expensive option. All in all, it turns out my little Accord is quite a rare model, hence why I am saving it.
I have owned her for over a year, and acquired her from my father for next to nothing. He owned her for 10 years before me, and treasured her. He gave her a full respray, new trim parts and always looked after it and gave it attention whenever needed. Luckily, the car rarely needed attention as it was so reliable. After 10 years of ownership, all it ever needed in terms of repair was a lambda sensor. Not exactly the end of the world! The years went on, and the car was still performing flawlessly. However, the paintwork was starting to look a little tired (Which was thanks to his friend ripping him off and using cheap lacquer...grr.), it got hit while parked TWICE which made the bodywork look even worse, and there was a strange issue with the car not starting after having a period of rain...That was it, my Father was done with it. He had enough of the car not starting, so decided to buy a new car and the Honda got stuffed round the back of the house for a few months, then into a friends storage yard.
Fast forward a few months. I threw some money at the Accord, and got it on the road. Got insurance, tax and an MOT (Big thanks to my Brother for that!) and made my way down to the yard to collect my car. Collected the keys, hopped in and started my drive home, but something wasn't right...The car felt wrong. It felt creaky, the engine sounded a little rough and the brakes were awful, not to mention the car was covered in moss and general crud. "Have I made a mistake?" I thought, as I continued driving. My mind was in a state of worry, as the car just didn't feel right and I started wondering why I wasted money on this car, but I put it at the back of my mind and got the car home and gave it a damn good clean. I put a full tank of fuel in it, topped up the oil and checking the tyre pressures, and went for a damn good drive.
I decided to get on the local dual carriageways first, to "blast out the cobwebs" so to speak, and to try and loosen up the engine a bit. Getting onto the dual carriageway, I dropped it a cog and gave it a bootful. The car took off like a stabbed rat, with it giving a lovely VTEC howl all the way upto the 8650rpm limiter. It all made sense now! I didn't get back until 3am, but damn the car sure did feel better after blasting down some B-roads. The creaks were gone, the engine was running smoothly again and the brakes felt much better.
I drove the car "as is" for about 6 months, with it just requiring fuel. After a while, I gave the car a full service and changed the front ARB bushes and rear drop-links, as it was advised to do so on the MOT. It never caused an issue, and even took me and a friend to Ford Fair last year where it managed a 6.72 second time on there 0-60 sprint section, even if I did get boo'ed and cursed at as I pulled upto the line...
. The car even enjoyed a brief spell in a muddy field at a local market.Unfortunately, the car started to show it's starting issues again after a period of rain and the car was also involed in a small bump (Which is now sorted. Insurance companys take there damn time!). I therefore decided to pack my bags, move to Ireland and give the car some love...And so the project begins!
Day 1:
Cars on the drive. I've had enough of this starting issue, so it's time I get it sorted. I've been speaking to my Father, who says he tracked the issue down to rust hole where the firewall and inner arch join. Water is running behind the strut tops, into the cabin and getting over the ECU's. Time to strip her down!
Bugger me that's a big rust hole. Better find someone to weld it!
Day 2:
Spoken to a family friend. He has agreed to weld it for a very reasonable price, and will be more than happy to keep the car in his yard as long as I want. So I spent today getting the front of the car back on, and will drive it down to the yard.
She's there! Will get her welded soon.
Day 3:
Heard from my friend today. He has told me that he has had a look at the rust hole, and the interior and front end will need to be stripped for him to do a proper job on the welding. I decided to get down there and get it stripped so that the welding can be done asap.
Interior out.
Front end off.
Now just to wait on my friend to call me when it's done.
Day 4:
Friend popped round to say the welding is done, so decided to have a look.
Wow! I'm well impressed! He has double plated it, inside and out and has then sprayed plenty of etch primer and underseal over it, as well as putting lots of wax oil behind the strut tops where the metal joins. This shouldn't happen again for many many years. Very happy bunny!
Day 5:
Went over to put the car back together as the welding is now done. All went pretty smoothly...
...until the alternator decided to crap itself. Another job to add to the list!
Day 6:
Got the alternator off with some help from Dad, and sent it off to be reconditioned.
Just got to wait for the alternator to come back!
That's where I stand at the moment. Plans at the moment are...
(In order of importance)
1. Get the new alternator back and fitted onto the car, then get the car back home.
2. Start the registration process completed and on the road.
3. Recondition the engine bay.
4. Blacken the headlight surrounds.
5. Strip and clean/re-paint the inner arches, liners and suspension parts
6. Re-wrap my disgusting wooden interior trim in carbon fibre again.
7. Re-furbish the alloy wheels as well as fit some decent rubber, as the fronts were some cheap over-profiled ones I fitted to get the car to Ireland.
8. Full respray.
Well that's it! I don't expect any of you to read all that, but hopefully some of you will follow this thread with interest.
Thanks!
Nathan
Max M4X WW said:
Engine and diff sound good but its a lot of cash to spend on the bodywork.
The photos make my eyes hurt too.
Yeah, the bodywork will indeed be the most expensive part. I'm looking at €1300 for a full respray excluding engine bay, but the price does include me stripping the car down myself, but it's a pretty decent price for pearlescent paint. Probably wont be something I do until next year.The photos make my eyes hurt too.
Sorry about the photos. Will keep them standard next time.
The car? In it's current condition, probably nothing, as mechanically it is sound but very tatty bodywork wise.
Just has a lot of sentimental value due to my Father having it 10 years, plus it's quite rare and drives nice, so may as well tidy it up as I will easily still have this car in 5 years time.
I know. I'm mental!
Just has a lot of sentimental value due to my Father having it 10 years, plus it's quite rare and drives nice, so may as well tidy it up as I will easily still have this car in 5 years time.
I know. I'm mental!
rm89 said:
You are definitely mental... but I have a very strange liking for 6th gen Accords. Think it's something to do with the Super Tourers from 1999/2000 BTCC. They looked fabulous. Anyway, it's nice to see something so rare and relatively unusual for its class kept alive
Ah, I remember those. They certainly did look very menacing. I think there was a guy running a 6th gen up until recently in the lower class, which was interesting.Thanks for your kind words. I've always liked this car, and have a lots of memories of me and my Dad going for driving holidays around europe when I was essentially a kid, and many other adventures and fun times.
I think that deep down, I would also like to make my Dad feel proud as he still loves the car, and I bet he will love to see it factory fresh again. I know it upset him to leave the car, as he always praised it to the high heavens and it never let him down. I just think that what with the paintwork fading, the car getting crashed into and then not starting...I think it was all just too much, and so he wiped his hands clean.
Naturally, I have much more enthusiasm and energy than my Dad, so me having it is probably the best. It will be tough, there will be times when I want to throw in the towel and it is very impractial and silly to throw so much money and time at what is essentially an old taxi! However, the old girl is a part of the family in my eyes, and I want to keep her around forever if possible, so I may as well fix'er up.
Looks like your doing a great job there Nathan.
Are you on www.typeaccord.co.uk if not would you mind posting it in the 6th gen area
Are you on www.typeaccord.co.uk if not would you mind posting it in the 6th gen area
Codswallop said:
Really interesting car - I can't believe Honda had not marketted the car better at the time. Shame they no longer make such interesting cars.
Kudos to you OP for taking care of the car. The classic car world of the future would be a boring place without people like you.
Thanks for the kind words! The car did not have much in the terms of marketing, and was only available to buy for a very short time. I know that Accords were popular in Automatic guise back then, but the SE Sport with the 171hp engine and what not was only available for the Manuals. The only thing I've found in terms of advertisement was a few press photos that have Accords with the SE Sport lip kit, but have no idea if they have the engine/gearbox etc.Kudos to you OP for taking care of the car. The classic car world of the future would be a boring place without people like you.
Vulgar LS2 said:
Looks like your doing a great job there Nathan.
Are you on www.typeaccord.co.uk if not would you mind posting it in the 6th gen area
Thanks Vulgar! Love your car by the way.Are you on www.typeaccord.co.uk if not would you mind posting it in the 6th gen area
I am on TypeAccord, but haven't used it in a while due to the fact that 95% of users on that forum appear to be morons and won't be using it again. I made a thread asking for advice for the non-starting issue, explaining that we know it's getting into the cabin and that it's not an electrical issue. They then decided that I was wrong, and that I didn't know what I was talking about and that it was infact a fault with the cars ignition system and other things, even though it wasn't. Basically they were just typical "internet" grease monkeys, that think they know everything etc. Useless.
Picked the alternator back up from being reconned today. Payed 120 euro, which got me new regulators (Very expensive!) and the cases shot blasted. Quite happy with the results, although the guy did try and give it me without a warranty or receipt insisting "it'll be fine". It probably will, but it's a vital part of the car so I insisted that it came with a 12 month warranty and a receipt.
Will try and get down to the yard in the week to get it fitted, then I can get it home and start on the engine bay. Excited!
Will try and get down to the yard in the week to get it fitted, then I can get it home and start on the engine bay. Excited!
Edited by NateWM on Monday 5th March 17:40
Not an important update, but thought I would share. Some friends on another forum decided to give my car a tickle with the photoshop stick.
It's a bit low, and I'm not a fan of the red calipers, but it's still pretty fun to see how different it looks. What do you guys think?
It's a bit low, and I'm not a fan of the red calipers, but it's still pretty fun to see how different it looks. What do you guys think?
Edited by NateWM on Monday 5th March 18:22
fieldmau5 said:
Definite thumbs up from me for something along the lines of that first photoshop. Great cars these, look forward for more updates.
Yeah, I quite like those wheels so will put them on the potential buys list. Rota somethings I believe.Unfortunately, the photoshops don't get much better.
upload.ee/image/2135244/huundo_ginho.jpg
Edited by NateWM on Monday 5th March 20:17
Nice cars these, shame they're so rare 
All I can find are the normal sports or the ATRs. I can definitely relate to the sentimental value though chap, my dad had a Scooby Legacy Turbo estate (1992), rare car now, was awfully sad when that went after 11 years. Look forward to seeing your resto progress
All I can find are the normal sports or the ATRs. I can definitely relate to the sentimental value though chap, my dad had a Scooby Legacy Turbo estate (1992), rare car now, was awfully sad when that went after 11 years. Look forward to seeing your resto progress Chunkychucky said:
Nice cars these, shame they're so rare All I can find are the normal sports or the ATRs. I can definitely relate to the sentimental value though chap, my dad had a Scooby Legacy Turbo estate (1992), rare car now, was awfully sad when that went after 11 years. Look forward to seeing your resto progress
It's a funny thing isn't it, sentimental value... All I can find are the normal sports or the ATRs. I can definitely relate to the sentimental value though chap, my dad had a Scooby Legacy Turbo estate (1992), rare car now, was awfully sad when that went after 11 years. Look forward to seeing your resto progress It is slightly annoying how rare these are. I've only found 1 other se sport that had all the mechanical changes except for the suspension parts. As soon as I got wind of it, I went straight online with the idea of buying it for spares, as some parts are almost impossible to replace like the cylinder head for example. Unfortunately, this one was a complete write off with nothing on the front end being salvageable. Shame really.
Once the car is home, the updates should come in thick and fast.
Hey guys. Just another (albeit mild) update for those of you interested...
So! Tess is back on the drive, safe and sound. I went upto the yard and got the alternator fitted, with some help from the old man who decided to tag along. It was a little fiddly, but nothing too bad. I then checked the levels and tyre pressures, and cleared the ABS light. There was a scary moment where the ABS light wouldn't clear, and the scanner was saying the airbags and control module were fubared, which instantly meant I crapped my pants as replacing those would mean big bills. Luckily it turned out to be a case of the passenger seat not being plugged back in properly, so I gave myself a slap and carried on...Lesson learnt!
With the car back home, I decided to pass a couple of hours and make a start on tarting up the engine bay. First I cleaned and painted the exhaust heat shield (No picture. Sorry!) and an assortment of other bolts and brackets. After doing that, I looked at the bonnet catch and thought that it looked rather messy. After de-greasing it and sanding it back where I could, I was left with this...
There was also about 10 years build up of grime and grease behind the catch.
Which cleaned up like so...
I then whacked a couple of coats of primer and satin black onto the catch. I also re-greased the mechanism, and had to apply fresh wax over the alarm sensors.
I then repaired my Subwoofer.
And gave the car a good clean and some wax. Still have some interior marks to tackle.
And that's where I stand at the moment! A little busy with work at the moment, but plans for next week are to get my tweeters, mids and crossovers wired up and to start the registration process.
Thanks for reading.
So! Tess is back on the drive, safe and sound. I went upto the yard and got the alternator fitted, with some help from the old man who decided to tag along. It was a little fiddly, but nothing too bad. I then checked the levels and tyre pressures, and cleared the ABS light. There was a scary moment where the ABS light wouldn't clear, and the scanner was saying the airbags and control module were fubared, which instantly meant I crapped my pants as replacing those would mean big bills. Luckily it turned out to be a case of the passenger seat not being plugged back in properly, so I gave myself a slap and carried on...Lesson learnt!
With the car back home, I decided to pass a couple of hours and make a start on tarting up the engine bay. First I cleaned and painted the exhaust heat shield (No picture. Sorry!) and an assortment of other bolts and brackets. After doing that, I looked at the bonnet catch and thought that it looked rather messy. After de-greasing it and sanding it back where I could, I was left with this...
There was also about 10 years build up of grime and grease behind the catch.
Which cleaned up like so...
I then whacked a couple of coats of primer and satin black onto the catch. I also re-greased the mechanism, and had to apply fresh wax over the alarm sensors.
I then repaired my Subwoofer.
And gave the car a good clean and some wax. Still have some interior marks to tackle.
And that's where I stand at the moment! A little busy with work at the moment, but plans for next week are to get my tweeters, mids and crossovers wired up and to start the registration process.
Thanks for reading.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff