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Enzo's Daily 2005 Facelift Civic EP3 Type R Premier Edition - Cosmic Grey

I expected pad wear because of it... but not like this! Are the aesthetics of the discs worth it? I'm unsure at this point after so few miles...
I don't think so, not for just using on the road. But I guess we all learn what we want and like as we go along.

I learned that going too far with racey front pads can be annoying haha!
 
So I've just bought some new parts in prep for my Euro trip next month.

I've got the car booked in Saturday to replace those hankook's on the rear with GoodYear Eagle F1's so i've got a full set on, also picked up some Ferodo DS2500 front pads and replacement brembo one's for the rear, and a Skunk2 weighted gear knob. Should have this all done and fitted fairly soon so I'll post updates then.

I've plans to put those hankooks on the rear that i'm binning off on the other gold set of wheels and use them for track to give them a fitting funeral.

Gearbox fluid change will ideally get done this weekend also, and then an oil and filter change within the next 3 weeks with Castrol 5w 40 as it's been 6 months since the last change and the car has got a 3500 mile journey coming up!
 
Just a quick update on things:::

I got the wheels refurbed this past weekend gone (acid dipped, powder coated, primed and sprayed) by a company called Platinum Coating in Manchester. I dropped my car there at 9am, and by 12pm they rang me saying it was all done and ready for collection I couldn't believe it! Cracking job also, I really rate them. I'll post some pics of this shortly.

I've also got the car booked in at Grinspeed (anyone has any good experiences with them?) on Tuesday 24th April for my Valve Clearance to be done, gearbox fluid change done, drop links replaced front and back, and a new AUX belt to be fitted as my current one has never been replaced by the looks of it and it's squeaking and worse for wear! I'll get some pics when I go there and get the work done as that will be an update in itself.

I've got some brake issues at the moment also, front passenger side caliper sticking... handbrake is as good as useless, creaking / clunking from the rear brakes under low breaking and I stiripped down the front sticking caliper to try and fix it and i've ended up with air in my brake system and a spongy peddle as I decompressed the piston by pressing the brake peddle with the caliper off to try and coppergrease around the piston rubber seal... so all in all: spongy brakes with far too much travel in the peddle, a sticking caliper that's ate a pad on one side (I'll upload pics soon) and creaking / clunking from the rear I've no idea what it is. So I feel like taking a hammer to the car at the moment and just getting a bloody 1.2 Fiesta and scrapping performance car life all together right now... It's really stressing me out, as there's ALOTT of mechanical work to get this car to where I want it to be, lots of rust issues to address, and lots of parts i'd like to replace. Scotland really hasn't been kind to the underneath and it just makes me wonder how roadworthy this car is gonna be in a couple years. I love the car but I feel like i'm at crossroads at the moment in terms of corrosion and the money required to pump into this car to get it to where i'd like. Out of curiosity, has anyone had their car undersealed, and at what cost? It's not a case of just applying it here, as the rust needs to be addressed first. I also need to sort my arches out also as the rust is gonna creep through there fairly soon. /rant
 
Just a quick update on things:::

I got the wheels refurbed this past weekend gone (acid dipped, powder coated, primed and sprayed) by a company called Platinum Coating in Manchester. I dropped my car there at 9am, and by 12pm they rang me saying it was all done and ready for collection I couldn't believe it! Cracking job also, I really rate them. I'll post some pics of this shortly.

I've also got the car booked in at Grinspeed (anyone has any good experiences with them?) on Tuesday 24th April for my Valve Clearance to be done, gearbox fluid change done, drop links replaced front and back, and a new AUX belt to be fitted as my current one has never been replaced by the looks of it and it's squeaking and worse for wear! I'll get some pics when I go there and get the work done as that will be an update in itself.

I've got some brake issues at the moment also, front passenger side caliper sticking... handbrake is as good as useless, creaking / clunking from the rear brakes under low breaking and I stiripped down the front sticking caliper to try and fix it and i've ended up with air in my brake system and a spongy peddle as I decompressed the piston by pressing the brake peddle with the caliper off to try and coppergrease around the piston rubber seal... so all in all: spongy brakes with far too much travel in the peddle, a sticking caliper that's ate a pad on one side (I'll upload pics soon) and creaking / clunking from the rear I've no idea what it is. So I feel like taking a hammer to the car at the moment and just getting a bloody 1.2 Fiesta and scrapping performance car life all together right now... It's really stressing me out, as there's ALOTT of mechanical work to get this car to where I want it to be, lots of rust issues to address, and lots of parts i'd like to replace. Scotland really hasn't been kind to the underneath and it just makes me wonder how roadworthy this car is gonna be in a couple years. I love the car but I feel like i'm at crossroads at the moment in terms of corrosion and the money required to pump into this car to get it to where i'd like. Out of curiosity, has anyone had their car undersealed, and at what cost? It's not a case of just applying it here, as the rust needs to be addressed first. I also need to sort my arches out also as the rust is gonna creep through there fairly soon. /rant


I need to get my wheels done at some point in the next 2 months, that place looks good from what I saw on their website and prices are fair but a bit of a trip for me (3 hours). Grinspeed are good mate, haven't heard anything bad personally.

As for the car and the rust issues, well welcome to my world. I bought a car from up north, knowing pretty well that it will be a lot worse underneath compared to something from around where I live, however the price reflected that. Now as you know in my thread I have been trying to address the rust wherever I see it, it is the worst thing to deal with on an older car and I'd really rather spend the money and time on actual mods, but maintenance is key unless you want to scrap the car in a few years.

So it really comes down to two things. Money or time. Do you have the space and time to work on the underside yourself? If so it will not cost you much to treat the rust and underseal (something I will be doing next month too). While at it you can brush off all the suspension components and give them a lick of paint too (or remove to powdercoat if funds allow). If you don't have the time, tools or space then it comes down to how much money are you willing to spend. A reputable place will charge around £600 for the entire underside using high quality materials and several different coats. Here are some links:

http://www.jrclassics.co.uk/prices.php

http://www.rust.co.uk/rustproofing-price-list/p512929


For arch repair you'd have to get a different quote unless you want to go ahead with it yourself like I did (depending on how bad it is and if it requires welding).
 
I've had work done at Grinspeed too, top man is Stevie!

Might be worth asking him about the brakes as well while you're there, maybe email him before you go in case he needs to make extra time etc.
 
I need to get my wheels done at some point in the next 2 months, that place looks good from what I saw on their website and prices are fair but a bit of a trip for me (3 hours). Grinspeed are good mate, haven't heard anything bad personally.

As for the car and the rust issues, well welcome to my world. I bought a car from up north, knowing pretty well that it will be a lot worse underneath compared to something from around where I live, however the price reflected that. Now as you know in my thread I have been trying to address the rust wherever I see it, it is the worst thing to deal with on an older car and I'd really rather spend the money and time on actual mods, but maintenance is key unless you want to scrap the car in a few years.

So it really comes down to two things. Money or time. Do you have the space and time to work on the underside yourself? If so it will not cost you much to treat the rust and underseal (something I will be doing next month too). While at it you can brush off all the suspension components and give them a lick of paint too (or remove to powdercoat if funds allow). If you don't have the time, tools or space then it comes down to how much money are you willing to spend. A reputable place will charge around £600 for the entire underside using high quality materials and several different coats. Here are some links:

http://www.jrclassics.co.uk/prices.php

http://www.rust.co.uk/rustproofing-price-list/p512929


For arch repair you'd have to get a different quote unless you want to go ahead with it yourself like I did (depending on how bad it is and if it requires welding).

I'm just about to post some update pics so you can kind of grasp how bad the arch rush is from them, how does it compare to yours? I wanna keep the car personally as I see this as a project, something I wanna see out fully and learn a hell of a lot along the way!

I've bought some 'Fertan Rust Converter' which i'm gonna have a go of, clean and then try out some Hammerite underseal off eBay. It would be lovely to do on the links you've posted, but I can't justify the £600 off the bat, i'd much rather try the job myself and see how I get on for 1/10th of the cost. I need the timing chain and tensioner replacing fairly soon and i'd rather put the money towards that. Ideally if money was no issue I can see about £4000 i'd drop on the car instantly to get it to where I want, but that's not a smart financial decision right now! haha. I have the space and means to, but time is the question, but it's a project so i'll address it over time.


I've had work done at Grinspeed too, top man is Stevie!

Might be worth asking him about the brakes as well while you're there, maybe email him before you go in case he needs to make extra time etc.

Yeah i'm literally about to give them a ring and just say is it OK if we spend some time going over the car fully so I know where it's at in terms of everything and point me in the right direction of what needs addressing etc. Currently it's booking in for front and rear drop links replaced, valve clearance, gearbox oil change and a new AUX belt fitted, but since they know their EP3's off the back of their hand it would be nice for some pointers and advise as a whole!
 
Wheel Refurb

SO, I got the wheels refurbished last week using these guys up in Manchester: http://www.platinum-coatings.co.uk/

The entire job cost me £200 which included acid dip, powder coat, spraying, tyres on / off and wheel re-balancing. I dropped the car off at 9am and it was ready by 12:30! I couldn't believe it, I can't rate these guys highly enough. 10/10 job.


Fronts before:
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Rears before:
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Front After:
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Rears After:
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Skunk2 Gear knob

So I fitted the Skunk2 recently.... I was half annoying buying this as i'd read so many good things about them, but it's bloody £62!!! Anyway... I swallowed my pride and accepted racecar life and paid the money, and to be fair... it's amazing. I couldn't imagine driving with the OEM one now... So all in all... is it a rip off? YES, but I guess it's something you've just got to accept, as it's worth getting ripped off for? it also goes with my interior setup :cool:

mBuJqOfh.jpg


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So another job I carried out recent was replacing the front fog lights, i've already added 8000k HID's and 6000k LED sidelights, so to complete the front light setup I needed to do the fogs. I picked up a set off eBay for £25, as they're H7's if I remember rightly? Anyway to do this job I needed to take the front bumper off, i'd never done this before and probz took me about 30 mins to figure it out and unclip the correct fittings, so off it came and it was interesting to see how the car was behind it... safe to safe the rust there is a job for another day, ideally i'd like to do what SK-R has done with his front, but I can't seem to find any Cosmic grey spray paint for the restore process :mad:

Before:
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New vs old bulb::
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YqO3WGvh.jpg


Bumper off::
jaRMzpTh.jpg

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All done:
pSsNHzOh.jpg

N2eGcfGh.jpg
 
Front and rear pads

So I'm fitting some Ferodo DS2500's to the front as i've heard nothing but good things about them, and I know when going the Nurburgring, it's best to get the best tyres and brakes you can afford :lol:


HDGQtesh.jpg


Sitting pretty:
qeDtxfWh.jpg


Now the reason I changed the pads so soon was not only the trip coming up but, i'd got a screeching noise coming from the front passenger side brake, turns out the inner pad on the disc had been sticker and it had eaten the pad! and the noise was the brake pad wear indicator making contact with the disk, I only put these brembos on at the end of October / 3k miles ago!

qCK4GwEh.jpg


9oM4rQPh.jpg


I checked the caliper after a hard drive with a laser thermometer and there was +40 degree difference on the sticking side, so off came the caliper and I took it to bits including the slider housing and disc, cleaned it all up, regreased and copperslipped, wirebrushed etc, put it all back together and it seems OK now!

old rear pad vs the new brembos for the rear,
3rV1qlvh.jpg

GLs7kkfh.jpg

They still had plenty of life in them but I just wanted fresh pads on, and quality ones... it seems the ones on there were called 'Apollo'... jesus... so straight in the bin they went... :evil:

Deep into the evening now before it was job done:

1fAjVuAh.jpg
 
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Decals::

Me and my two mates who are also going on the European trip soon in the cars had these made also for our car group 'Modified North West'... because racecar.. and to be honest! I quite like them! I've also installed a sunstrip too, these will likely be removed after the trip, but at the moment I quite like them! They're not 'too much' looks wise and match the colour scheme of the car and they're quite aesthetic (personally haha)

uRkUS3Rh.jpg

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r6krSBoh.jpg


And just a random pic from a car show recently alongside my mates brand new S3, which I must say is very serious and absolutely gorgeous in person.
csHGsqOh.jpg
 
Grinspeed Motorsport

GrinSpeed Motorsport::

So I took the car to Grinspeed up in Leyland (after hearing nothing but good things about them) to carry out some more jobs before the trip:

- Gearbox Oil Change
- New front and rear droplinks
- Valve Clearances
- I also got the guys to give the car a good checking over as they know their stuff when it comes to these.

P3GHfoFh.jpg


This was such a beaty :smt066

gJ2wivkh.jpg

9OVCZOHh.jpg

Was also a fan of this steering wheel:
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pAaN3qkh.jpg

jAX5lBgh.jpg

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Underside pics of what i'm working with, most of it is surface so this is a upcoming job to sort out:
Ik8pKjzh.jpg

BTHOS3Dh.jpg

NBhDuJGh.jpg


My old AUX belt, past it's used by date..
rzbUCy5h.jpg

Fresh belt going in :)
QIf9er0h.jpg

Old drop links off:
GuyciLQh.jpg

New drop links in:
UoxLi1mh.jpg

Now when checking the timing chain we found it had skip two teeth! As I told the guys the chain is sometimes noisy on startup, so anyway, i booked in the following week to get the chain replaced. So my pockets were alot lighter after this job!!!! Happy it's been sorted anyway as it's one that needs doing around 100k mileage.

We also found all 4 of the engine valves needed their clearances doing so it just shows the previous owner(s) ain't been too kind to the car in the past few years. :mad:
A6Qv3w3h.jpg
 
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Some lovely progress going on here mate, this is what I like to see :)

Car is coming up very nicely, are the Ferodos noisy on the road? I like my Stoptech's but I think I ll need to upgrade for my next set as they don't quite kit it on fast A/B roads.
 
Some lovely progress going on here mate, this is what I like to see :)

Car is coming up very nicely, are the Ferodos noisy on the road? I like my Stoptech's but I think I ll need to upgrade for my next set as they don't quite kit it on fast A/B roads.

Cheers mate, your restoration so far is my inspiration... just wish I could get hold of some Cosmic Grey spray paint to address some bodywork issues like yourself.

I ran Brembo's on the front prior with the drilled and grooved discs, and since swapped over for the ferodo i've noticed no extra noise at all, i'd seen ALOT of brake dust initially, but i've only done a couple hundred miles on them so far, performance wise they're definitely a step up also :D
 
Cheers mate, your restoration so far is my inspiration... just wish I could get hold of some Cosmic Grey spray paint to address some bodywork issues like yourself.

I ran Brembo's on the front prior with the drilled and grooved discs, and since swapped over for the ferodo i've noticed no extra noise at all, i'd seen ALOT of brake dust initially, but i've only done a couple hundred miles on them so far, performance wise they're definitely a step up also :D

Halfords can probably mix it up for you but bare in mind it will NOT be a perfect match. Mine isn't, but thankfully black is one of those colours you can get away with. Also all of my exterior paint work is temporary since the car is going for a full respray in June/July. I would not use rattle can fixes as permanent solutions.

That said, engine bay dressing and behind the bumpers/skirts you can just use any old paint to be honest. For example I used a mix of Matte Black and Gloss Black and it turned out great. The bay originally isn't body coloured anyway, as you can see on yours. Do you have a "friendly" bodyshop that you trust nearby?

Good to hear about the brakes, it will be either 2500's or PBS when the time comes. The less noise the better. Unless of course funds allow and a cheeky BBK comes up for sale on the fleabay :p
 
*** Spot reserved for 3500 mile Europe Trip ***

Monte Carlo / Monaco:
ax5cAiph.jpg
 
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*** Spot reserved for 3500 mile Europe Trip part 2 ***

Just throwing a few pics up now and I will try and edit the posts properly tonight:

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Tackling the underside of the car - Undersealing

So I'm now tackling the rust issues on the car and preserving it for the long term. The car is from Scotland, and we all know Scotland isn't kind to cars on the long term.

Kit i'm using:

- Angle grinder
- Dremel
- Wire Brushes
- Dynax Underbody
- Dynax S-50
- Fertan Rust Killer
- Cosmic Grey Spray paint from eBay (colour match is 10/10 btw)

I started by removing the rear bumper, which was actually a pain in the arse as most of the bolts were totally ceased so I had to cut the heads off them with the dremmel. (I've now replaced these with new stainless steel A2 bolts.)

xwXSqXgh.jpg

YGjW33mh.jpg

JySnfdwh.jpg


I then angle grinded down the loose rust down to the clean metal as best I could removing anything loose or flakey:

Bo9ccgUh.jpg


I applied Fertan Rust Killer to any area I had grinded down (all the black bits is the rust killer), I'm leaving this on for at least 48 hours to do it's work and I'll then wipe down and ideally next week i'll spray it all and it'll look as good as new.
BDvk9ITh.jpg

HHFUsVdh.jpg


I still need to address the arches also, I ripped the wheel arch lining out of one side which was also a bitch of a job but what I found actually wasn't too bad, but will also need grinding down and addressing properly at some point, for the moment I had a quick clean of it and applied rust killer to certain areas:


kwnVSC4h.jpg


My plan here with the actual arches is again to sand down, rust killer and then spray before it actually creeps onto the main bodywork

A quick spray in one of the arches with the paint seemed to be a solid colour match also apart from my initial sloppy application and it dripped a little, but this is all be covered in underseal also anyway.

9V0IIFth.jpg
 
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Current Mod List:

Anthracite grey OEM 17"wheels
Cobra Sport 2.5" Exhaust Rear Box (Oval Tailpipe)
Lowered 30mm on Eibach Springs
Skunk2 Gearknob
Suede Gearstick Gator
Suade Handbrake Gator
Carbon Fibre dipped dash trim and door trim.
Tegiwa Cold Air Induction
Android head unit in a style to reflect the OEM Navigation unit.
6000k LED sidelights
8000k HID main headlights
Custom 'Type R' branded number plates.
Type R OEM interior mats
Bosch front aero wipers
Brake reservoir socks
Honda Jazz jet washers


Work Completed:

Timing chain and tensioners replaced @ 87k
Valve Clearences done @ 87k
Brake fluid changed and system bled @ 86k
New AUX belt fitted.
Serviced using OEM Honda parts and Castrol 5w 40 oil (three times between October 2017 - May 2018 )
Front and rear droplinks replaced
New brembo brake discs all round
New rear brembo pads
Ferodo DS2500 brake pads on front
Handbrake cables replaced
All brake calipers cleaned up, copper greased and painted.
Rear caliper slider pins replaced.
Rear passenger side brake caliper replaced.
Aircon regas.
Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres all round.
All wheels powder coated and fully refurbished
Rear light replacement
 
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