Project Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Civic 1973-1979 Projects
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Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Project Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

I'm going to continue on from my introduction thread here...

The car is still a work in progress, including some things that I intially didn't intend doing. My Mechanical friend has helped me through the majority of this process.

The removal of the EB1 engine, gearbox and all engine bay components. Originally planned to do a major service and replace all seals etc.
eb engine out.jpg
A decision was made to repaint the engine bay in yr-22 sunset orange ( and the rest of the car when finances allow). This was quite a challenge to get the correct
mix, I finally settled on the 3rd suppliers offering.
blog paint colour test.jpg
blog paint colour test.jpg (31 KiB) Viewed 13030 times
Getting the engine bay ready for painting has been a long process with no lack of sacrificial blood spared to the Civic Gods. I wasn't a huge fan of the Ford washer bottle, so it will be replaced with one of my original washer bags and motors.
washer bottle and bay.jpg
washer bottle and bay.jpg (34.01 KiB) Viewed 13030 times
Let the rust treatment begin!
bay rust treatment.jpg
bay rust treatment.jpg (32.27 KiB) Viewed 13030 times
seam sealer removal.jpg
seam sealer removal.jpg (34.34 KiB) Viewed 13030 times
I started with the removal of all seam sealer with a few picks (1 broke) and a scraper. The result revealed surface rust, which I managed to wire wheel and treat with rust converter. Rinsed and repeated this process for the whole engine bay.

Welded reinforcement of left engine mount, a little panel beating and body filler to get closer to the original shape.
reinforced engine mount and body filler.jpg
reinforced engine mount and body filler.jpg (23.24 KiB) Viewed 13030 times
Did I mention degreaser???
degreaser.jpg
degreaser.jpg (32.88 KiB) Viewed 13030 times
More to come soon, stay tuned!

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

I tossed up between two different engines, the EK1 (1751cc) and the EN1 (1335cc). The EK1 requires a heavier amount of fabrication work, cost and would make the car somewhat front heavy. The EN1 requires minimum fabrication work and is somewhat plug and play, as long as the stock exhaust manifold is used.
I decided on the 1335cc EN1 2nd generation civic engine. Something with a little more pep and ability to keep the classic look and feel.I managed to obtain one at a local wrecker for a price, though inclusion of ancillaries was a bonus. Not the prettiest thing I've seen, but I am assured she will run with some TLC (the engine even reads 'V good').

I'm going to cover the EN1 installation in this thread, especially requirements for mounting in detail.

Note: All data obtained has been from the forum and its members. I am very thankful for the advice, in particular Gusto for extensive data spreadsheets and ongoing wisdom.
Image is sideways
Image is sideways

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

A few small projects I've been working at on the side...

Radiator - 3 row recore from local radiator shop (original 1200 radiator came with 2 rows).
3 row radiator.jpg


Thermo fan shroud - sanded back with 400 grit wet and dry and repainted satin black.

Fan blade - sanded the fan blade using 1000 grit wet and dry to restore a cleaner finish.
rad thermo fan.jpg
Fan motor cap - sanded back with 1500/2000 grit wet and dry, before proceeding to polish for a good hour or so with autosol.
before fan motor cap.jpg
after fan motor cap.jpg

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

Suspension - A necessary replacement for weeping struts. Impressive they aren't gushing out considering they're 44 years old.

Option B is the option, option BC racing coilovers. Engineered and developed by our own forum members through years of hard work and personal investment. Thank you!

Specific chosen model: A-50-RA, custom 4kg front/2kg rear - Clevis type rear mount (I have a 3 door non-CVCC 1200 hatch). I used the UK site as reference to get the correct code.

Note: custom 4kg front/2kg rear configuration suggested by Louis Been for mainly street application.

Installation pending...


My sheds were robbed/searched recently (first sign of entry was a storage container full of brake drums with the writing 'Abestos best left alone'. You would have to be keen to open that one. The BC racing C-spanners and all my tools were stolen, but it's a blessing my 1200 parts weren't taken. They now reside in my house!
robbed rad and coils in room.jpg

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

A continuation of sanding, more sanding and more sanding for a respectable level of paint preparation.

Primer is on!
20190406_101820.jpg
Wheel arch sound deadening paint.
20190518_112709.jpg
20190504_141529.jpg


YR-22 Sunset orange the bay! (The front grille section will be satin black)
paint bay.jpg
under side hood painted.jpg
Pleased with how the painting has turned out so far. When the budget and time allows, the car will go through a full strip down, rust treatment and inside out orange makeover.

Note: Thank you Jay for confirming the YR-22 colour samples.

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

The engine has arrived!
It looks like the En1 has been rebuilt previously, based on the modern sealant used. Quite happy with the finish on the head. Will try to replicate this same look for the block.
En1 in chains
En1 in chains
So far, I've removed the heatshield, exhaust manifold and cleaned up the exhaust ports.
20190830_162553.jpg
The engine was missing the water bypass pipe. I will be modifying an EB version to suit by moving the bracket location.

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

20190830_162602.jpg
20190830_162539.jpg
Attachments
20190829_124046.jpg
Last edited by Phil on September 2nd, 2019, 7:07 am, edited 2 times in total.

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

I lightly sanded back and resprayed the grille in black a couple months ago, attempting to keep some of the original texture.
Very recently I attempted to mask off and spray the silver borders. Word of warning - not all painters tape is the same... I ended up for little metallic flecks of overspray that penetrated through the tape. I was however rather pleased with my scalpel work, albeit time consuming.
20190825_183220.jpg
Thermo fan it its complete form
20190825_183322.jpg
I pulled off the water pump + harmonic balancer pulleys for quick de-rust clean up.
20190830_162631.jpg
Shortly after this I was off to the auto store for engine enamel primer and cast iron vht. Pleased with the finish.
20190902_190602.jpg
My 7kg EB1 flywheel is currently at Enfield clutch awaiting a shave and balance. Aiming for 5-5.5kg final weight to make the car slightly more rev happy.

This evening I was fortunate enough to acquire a genuine RS exhaust manifold from long time member Gusto. I look forward to getting these ceramic coated in the next few weeks.
20190902_190748.jpg

I am looking for information on secondaries to suit. I will likely get these custom made. Any recommendations on length Vs power band?

Cheers,
Phil

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Re: Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

I have been flat out with prep and painting, and yielding some decent backyard rattle can results!
Sanded valve cover
Sanded valve cover
Primed valve cover
Primed valve cover
Dark Ford blue valve cover
Dark Ford blue valve cover
Assorted drive parts and water bypass pipe
Assorted drive parts and water bypass pipe
Primed parts
Primed parts
Painted!
Painted!
Wire wheeled sump
Wire wheeled sump
I learned how to adjust the tappets this week.
Tappets
Tappets
After I removed the sump, my mechanic informed me that the engine was probably rebuilt 20-30k kms ago. Fresh markings and pistons by the look of it!
Under the block
Under the block
Planning to pick up the lightened flywheel from Enfield clutch on Wednesday with a clutch pro kit + spigot bearing.

Phil
Projects
Projects
Posts: 57
Joined: November 30th, 2018, 3:58 am
Province/State: SA
Model: 1975 Hatchback

Re: Phil's 1975 Honda Civic 1200

Post by Phil »

As you may have already guessed, I've been busy. In this section I will cover how I cleared the obstructing part of the block with the RS exhaust manifold.
20190905_144942.jpg
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20190905_144728.jpg
After some helpful advice from civic garage's Adrian, I knew what portion could be removed. The obstruction - the existing front EN1 mount point and exhaust bracket tab. Forward Warning - no (easy) way back into an 80's shell after committing butchery.

Marked out what needed to be removed
20190918_092220.jpg
20190918_092224.jpg
I'm not overly confident with a metal cutting wheel, though I slowly learned how to use it.
20190918_100804.jpg
Some work with the rasp file
20190918_101811.jpg
Before moving onto the die grinder (supported by a dying air compressor).
20190918_110313.jpg
Finally I added the final touch of linishing with a smaller grinder wheel, which I would recommend doing prior using the die grinder.
20190918_121457.jpg
The result is functionable and the whole process was a learning process in air tools.

Note: I had a mini conniption regarding the tiny hole, which I thought had penetrated the block. I have been reasurred it is nothing structurally significant, just a tiny cavity that runs 2mm deep to solid block.

Please ignore the engine mount. Below not. Sure how it embedded itself here!
Attachments
20190918_171527.jpg

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