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EP3 My First Type R - EP3

Messages
14
I already did my welcome but this is my EP3. How i got it is a bit of a long story but the short of it is my brother couldn't insure it so i took it. Its a facelift NH black in ok condition. This is how it looked when i got it, found this pic on FB after finding out you can search regs on it. Its either getting the exhaust put on or having work on said exhaust. Anyone have any information on the car? Be nice to know some history on it.
26168846_1451175128328709_9075538787544103559_n by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Anyway imo it was a mess when i got it. It had some crap cheap suspension on it that it was stanced on, cheap mudguards that ground out due to the lowering, a HKS exhaust (probably not for an EP3 as its hitting the body somewhere), an SFS intake/rad hoses, cheap air filter, Momo pedals, HIDs, 2 ditchfinders and 2 worn Bridgestones, Premier Edition front calipers and tints all around including the windscreen. It also had some problems including; hunting idle, yellowed headlights, crack in grill, worn badges, flaky valve cover, small tear in CV boot, a leak in boot and poor paint.

The idea is to sort most of the issues, make it road worthy here in Ireland, tidy it up and keep a record here as a sort of a diary. I got the VRT which cost €680 and is to register the car here then €200 for 3m tax which got it on the road and booked the NCT(MOT). Jobs done so far;
  • I removed the mudguards
  • Tried raising the suspension the same all round, sat unevenly afterwards
  • Cleaned up the TB and IACV which is a common fault on not only these cars but many other Hondas
  • Swapped out a rear caliper for a secondhand one i took apart and cleaned to confirm it was ok. Piston was in great condition.
  • Removed, cleaned and relubed all brake caliper sliders NOT with copper grease!
  • Drained and bled with new brake fluid all around
  • Took off the windscreen tint as its not allowed here
  • Checked the aux belt was ok and auto-tensioner in indicated range which it was.
  • Gearbox oil was gotten less than 1k ago so thats fine
  • I got a local garage to swap the suspension to stock ones as i didn't have time to do it myself.
It then failed the NCT on the front side tints, a track rod end and ball joint which will cost €28 for a re-test after i get the local garage to do the ball joints. So jobs to do which may increase:
  • Replace grill and badge; i bought an unpainted grill and badge
  • Rebuild front caliper; i got budweg rebuild kits. I actually have 2 spare S2000 calipers which i could just rebuild but the Premier Edition calipers are nicer
  • Replace other rear caliper with the other second hand one i have, unfortunately i tore the dust boot rebuilding it so need a new one
  • Service it; I got Blueprint oil filter, sump plug seal, rocker cover gasket, pollen filter and 5w40 Shell Helix Ultra oil
  • Check the spark plugs as with long life plugs people tend to ignore them
  • Clean/replace the air filter.
  • Replace CV boot; have a Blueprint one
  • Maybe replace fuel filter, not sure of the service interval for this yet.
  • Valve adjustment
  • Paint valve cover
  • Two new tyres, not cheap crap
  • Do tube fix for window rattles
  • Sort leak in boot which again is a common fault on not only these cars but many other Hondas
  • Sand/polish headlights
  • Clay and polish paint
  • Might touch up a few bits in the engine bay too

Few more pics
20190307_083339 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20190307_083654 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
 
So working away on it, its currently off the road. Not that i'd need it atm anyway with everything thats going on and working from home.

So work done currently:
TB and IACV cleaned
20191120_110725 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Headlights polished, also made a massive mess :rolleyes:
20200209_213830 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Got 4 "new" Bridgestone Potenza S001 off a 3m old MX5. Only put two on cause the old Potenza will do on the back for awhile.
20200103_174026 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Started replacing bulbs. Blown were one on instrument cluster, mirror adjuster, headlight adjuster, rear demister and air re-circulation switch.
20200128_172528 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20191231_160629 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20191223_232955 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Serviced her
20200326_140542 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20191231_135414 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20191231_133213 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Lastly and most recently i did the valve adjustment as i was painting the valve cover too.
20200321_182232 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Also got new badges, nice and shiny!
20200303_211423 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

I also cleaned the engine bay, fixed the broken mount on the air intake heat shield, touched up rad supports, wipers and battery tie downs and stripped the valve cover of paint.
 
Going forward:
Paint the valve cover but waiting on spark plug seals as i tore one stripping it.

I got some RPB front pads and a rebuild kit for them, i have one spare good piston so hopefully that will be all. They'll go with the Ferodo DS2500 rears i have. Also have to get the second rear caliper i bought in but i tore the boot checking the piston so hoping the one on it will still be ok.

Finish polishing and wax the entire car.
 
An update to this.

Firstly i finished replacing all the blown bulbs in the interior.
20200514_153022 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Finished product looks quiet well imo, things that i didn't realise light up now work lol.
20200727_230241 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Interior all cleaned up
20200727_230150 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Valve cover seals showed up so i could repaint the cover after doing the valve clearances.
20200613_112302 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Next my attention turned to the brakes which require maintenance after some time on all Hondas. I just cleaned the sliders on the rears as they were previously done. The fronts required a rebuild and i got new PBS pads but the disks had plenty of meat left. New seal kits and i managed to have 2 decent pistons from some spares i had.
20200725_193423 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200725_215254 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200727_230136 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Last up was the front grill which looked like it had taken a hit somewhere in its life as it was badly crack and broke when i took it off. New grill had to be painted but the match was quiet good. Replaced the missing/broken clips with ones i had from spares/generic clips. I polished the headlights whilst i had the front apart too. Then i replaced the badge and no point doing the front without the rear too.
20200209_183159 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200209_183212 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200209_213830 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200303_211423 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200728_131727 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200728_131555 by Gerard KK, on Flickr

Wasn't sure about the Type R logo on the front so i actually took it off after the final pic.
 
I did a few more things afterwards like swapping a cracked brake resevoir extension pipe and putting Bridgestone S001s on it for our MOT equivalent. Then a de-tar, clay, touch up, polish and wax. After that it was to say goodbye as i needed to sell a car and this one was the unfortunate one. So here are the for sale pics, i probably took less than i should have for it but i didn't lose any money on it. It turned from a slightly rough car to a lovely one in the end.;)
20200730_182427 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182437 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182444 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182506 by Gerard KK, on Flickr20200730_182519 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182528 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182535 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182544 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182552 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182621 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182646 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182701 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200730_182805 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
20200712_194653 by Gerard KK, on Flickr
 
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