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About two years ago, I bought an EM1 off of a good friend of mine, It was more of an impulse buy, 4k for a 100% stock, very clean EM1, it had some dents in the front left fender, and the occasional cig burn in the interior, otherwise it was unmolested and ran like a dream.
Fast forward two years, I've got an oil pan leak, dizzy leaking from it's o-ring, and a potential head gasket leak, I'm already putting nearly 100mi a day on it for work and I don't feel comfortable commuting in it anymore, she got garaged.
I was originally looking at swapping in a B18c1 (USDM) into the EM1, a couple of wise fella's here convinced me to keep the original B16a2 (Yes, gutless I know) and merely restore it.
So here I am.
Goals:
My goals are the following (still):
9/10/12
*Alarm (LoJack, it still will be in a garage as much as possible, but you can never be too sure)
*Headlights: See Bumper
*Bumper: Repair the bottom of it, the bottom clip is in pretty bad shape, it's been repaired once in the past, pics to come
*Tinting removal / replace
*Rims: They nasty
*Get O2 sensor to stop rattling against shift linkage
*Clean up the interior (Broken air vents and OEM tint is going away, that **** is peeling and killing my window regulators)
Completed goals!
*Full replacement of OEM suspension with Hard Race full bushing kit
*Replace OEM shocks with AMR Engineering Coilovers with Hyperco springs (Thanks Andy)
*Fix the minor dents and dings I've caused (Freaking ice)
*Fix any gasket leaks (Head, oil pan, valve cover, Dizzy o-ring)
*TBD!
Thar she blows.
I'll have more to add / update tomorrow when I get my camera back.
Note: She won't be for track, drag or racing, mostly that I have a stern respect for this chassis and I don't think letting it sit in my garage collecting dust is doing due justice; once I find a nice rolling shell I like (People here are insane about shells...), I've got an unbuild B18c1 I'll be toying with for boost shenanigans.
Got the LCA's out, they are a bit dirty, the ball joints gave me hell (had to cut the suckers to pieces and hammer them apart), bushings will be replaced with HardRace hard rubber bushings.
I've just got to get my hands on a decent press...
The potentially borked axle, while removing it from the half shaft, it got a little squirrley and I noticed it decided to turn and face the concrete at a full 90º bend, like so
The car has got some pretty bad seat covers I've never removed, I'm kinda excited to see how bad (or good) the seats are, otherwise it's fairly clean, it just needs a good detail job
Anybody have any advice on removing tint from windows???
Oil pan came off (6-27), let drip for a few days!
Started bushing work, realized I hate bushings ...
Ripped apart engine head (7-14)
Plan to finish removing her tonight!!
7/17/2012 https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o...4/IMAG0059.jpg
Nuff said
7-19-2012
Dropped the head and RTA's off at CarQuest last night, new RTA bushings to be installed, head + valves to be tested and cleaned.
8/8/2012
Got the transmission removed for clutch replacement
Need to get the b!tch pin out still, I have it with a fiery passion.
I've got a lot of clean up ...
Got my front control arm bushings all replaced
Rebooted my upper control arms as well (easier than I thought) and packed them full of fresh grease
Got new nuts for the RTA's, broke the welded nuts off last night.
Sanded and repainted both swaybars, they look amazing (8-8-12)
Out with the ORIGINAL clutch (8-17-12)
In with the lovely cleaned head
Fighting with timing (8-20-12)
Got the bay reassembled wonderfully; that newly painted valve cover makes a world of difference (08-25-2012)
Got the AMR's in!!!
I had to adjust the **** out of them later, they were WAY too low (8-27-12 - 8-31-12)
FL
FR
RR
RL
9-06-12
First attempt at starting AFTER everything, found out my ignition timing was off badly due to bad documentation in my Haynes, it had the firing order backwards http://youtu.be/hbIsQBZvjuQ
She started up finally!
(9-8-12)
Alignment day! the gents at my local tire discounters were surprised to see an EBP EM1 still rolling around the north end that isn't hacked up and molested to hell and back, 10/10 would align again.
After 20m at the car wash!
My goals are the following (still):
9/10/12
*Alarm (LoJack, it still will be in a garage as much as possible, but you can never be too sure)
*Headlights: See Bumper
*Bumper: Repair the bottom of it, the bottom clip is in pretty bad shape, it's been repaired once in the past, pics to come
*Tinting removal / replace
*Rims: They nasty
*Get O2 sensor to stop rattling against shift linkage
-------------------------------------------------------------
9/9/14
Decided to rip out the B16A2 and go for a full rebuild...
11/13/14
Full rebuild underway, had Jon Moore do it @Moorespeed performance just for good measure, he does fantastic ******* work, 10/10 would recommend again.
Powdercoated LCA's, numerous other brackets, etc.
New Pully bearings across the board, new front bushings (had issues with the last ones... my own fault.)
3/26/14
--------
The car's been parked all winter, started it yesterday for the first time just to get the juices flowing.
I'm tackling a few things in the house that need immediate repair, then the original B16 is coming out for an overhaul and OE rebuild, the transmission will likely get new synchros after a full inspection.
Otherwise, I'm super excited to see where this goes.
So far so good, the build quality is VERY sturdy, it looks like every part is custom machined to fit with one another, they came in one very large very heavy box, but inside each were all individually boxed, Andy is a great guy to work with and has great service.
Best of luck with the build/restoration. Looks like you have a great foundation to start with as the car for its age seems in damn good condition. I like the direction your going, super thorough. Cant wait to see its progress and completion.
Best of luck with the build/restoration. Looks like you have a great foundation to start with as the car for its age seems in damn good condition. I like the direction your going, super thorough. Cant wait to see its progress and completion.
Thanks man, the friend I bought it off of did take pretty good care of it.
I plan to get everything sand blasted clean and repainted to prevent any further rusting, the last thing I need is an LCA snapping on me due to negligence.
Ok, Replacement front Axles, other than OEM Honda (Freaking expensive) are there any reputable aftermarket brands for replacements?
I don't need anything rated for drag setups, or crazy WHP ratings.
I just have AutoZone axles with lifetime warranty besides a couple boots ripping ive never had a problem except the last time I snapped the spline part off into my trans.
We will see how they can hold up with my new build I dont think their going to do so well
Removing the rear trailing arm, needless to say I'm stuck fighting with the e-brake cable(s) and trying to figure out how to remove them; the search continues.
*edit* looks like all I've got to do is remove that stupid pin that is ... stuck to say the least...
OK, the entire trialing arm is disconnected, friggin frakin e-brake cable comes to haunt me again.
I don't think I can disconnect it at the hub that bolts to the caliper without ruining it entirely, is one to normally disconnect that on the interior?
Back to the garage...
Finally got that monster of a trailing arm off, freaking hassle!
Best impulse buy I've ever heard of. I've always loved EBP EM1's, I have yet to own one. I also like to hear you feedback/review on those coilovers as I'm in the market myself.
From a lot that I've read, AMRs are the best you can get for the price.
There's a guy with a relatively recent restoration that used some kind of special spray on his trailing arms and LCAs, you might want to try to find it. Basically made them look brand new, and evidently completely rust-proof.
There's a guy with a relatively recent restoration that used some kind of special spray on his trailing arms and LCAs, you might want to try to find it. Basically made them look brand new, and evidently completely rust-proof.
06-02-2012, 08:36 PM
Build Thread -- Em1 restoration // Updating
besides a couple boots ripping ive never had a problem except the last time I snapped the spline part off into my trans.
I dont think their going to do so well
