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Integra DC2 Project

250K views 440 replies 89 participants last post by  st33ly 
#1 · (Edited)
So a few weeks ago I picked up this 1998 Honda Integra DC2. I've always wanted one but its taken me a long time to find one with the right combo of condition, mileage, spec and crucially as standard as possible.



This particular example is standard and has 70k miles on the clock, 2 owners and was owned for 16 years by a Honda technician. Now anyone who's even vaguely researched into these will know that rear inner arch corrosion is an inherent design flaw and this one is no different despite it being pampered all its life. Due to a drain slot in front of the rear wheel they have a tendency to rot the rear arches from the inside out. As you can see, despite there being no external corrosion the inside is fairly gruesome.

Drivers side:



And following a bit of prodding about :



Passenger side:





Fairly impressive considering there's no visible external corrosion..........

I knew this when looking at the car in the first place. Better to buy a car eyes wide open and do the work yourself or know it's been done properly previously than to buy and pretend it won't be an issue. They nearly all get this unless the drain slot is sealed up very early in its life.

So, it's booked in to have the rear arches, inner arches cut out and new sections welded in next month so in the meantime I thought I'd get busy with assessing the rest of the chassis. Having had an S2000 previously I was mildly terrified but thought it's better to know what we're dealing with.

So first up, bumper off:



Generally it was all good. A little surface crud around some of the fixings but the rear panel is completely solid. Good news as I've seen much newer S2000's with really rotten ones.

Inside the rear chassis rails. All sound. Will be putting Dynax UB in these at a later date.





Next up, front bumper off:



Same result, generally solid. A little crud around the rad mounts but generally OK.

So I set about refurbishing the front crash bar, rear bumper bar and bumper retaining strip. All received Bilt Hamber Hydrate followed finishing top coats of either Electrox, Championship White or metallic grey.



The front and rear slam panels were sanded back, all corrosion removed then treated with Hydrate.



This was followed by Bilt Hamber Epoxy Mastic. Provided a really durable finish and freshens it all up nicely.





Will be applying Dynax UC tomorrow and then Reassembly. Then it's on to sorting the underside before it goes in for the rear arches.

Will keep this thread updated with progress.
 
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#232 ·
Quick update. Haven't done much given the weather. Anyway, got the new left transmission mount in.

IMG_20180224_082447 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Also got the main right hand engine mount in. Both an absolute piece of cake compared to the rear one.

IMG_20180224_084846 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Looking at their condition, they're both in pretty decent shape considering. So that's two out of the 5 mounts that were actually ok!

Also removed the airbox lower mounting bar as it was a bit crusty and didn't want to re-fit it like that. Anyhow, a good bath in Deox C, Electrox and then Champioship White followed by clear coat. Job done.

IMG_20180224_085956 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Next up I've been looking at the exhaust manifold and the double pipe resonance issue. Originally I'd thought about putting tack welds between the two pipes as a couple of other people had done but it seemed a bit of a bodge given the gap between the pipes. Anyhow, as I'm a rail engineer I reverted to an old favourite. Back in the day we used to use something called Chemical Metal for fixing cracks, holes, damaged castings in high temp areas. It worked a treat but they banned it (think it was carcinogenic) and since then there's been a few products with the same name but not nearly as good. Anyway, a colleague pointed me in the direction of Quick Steel Xtreme which is a similar product but intended for very high temp applications (resists up to 1300 degrees Celsius). Perfect for the job. Best bit is that you can do it at home, don't need a welder and hence don't need to take the manifold off the car to fix it (even though I have............ ;) )

So I've set about using it to bond the inner and outer pipes together. To make sure it's a stable joint I've used various tools to pack Quick Steel into the space between the pipes and have built it up in layers. Still needs a final grinding to finish it off but it's looking good so far. Cures like rock.

Proof will be in pudding but I'm pretty confident it'll do the trick in this application.

IMG_20180228_181030 by PoobahUK, on Flickr
 
#233 ·
Nice work yet again Poobah !!

Good fix on your manifold pipework.
I remember donkeys years back I had a 1993 K Rover 214Si and I developed a tinny rattle from the front of the car and it was the twin walled down pipe.
I got it replaced and the car was perfect after that.

The car was based on the Honda Civic, and a lot of the parts carried over.
 
#235 ·
Ok a few updates for you. So first up I picked up another UKDM manifold to rectify the corroded fastener and stud issue on my original. Picked it up from a member on here and set about refurbing it. First up, a bath in Deox C.

IMG_20180307_152326 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Not bad and had brought off most of the corrosion. Ground the rest of the corrosion off with the dremel, masked it up and then set about coating it with 1000deg manifold paint. Came up well and looking forward to getting it back on.

IMG_20180310_080817 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

I also went through the same process and epoxy coated the transmission mount bracket and the subframe brace. Both ready to go back on now.

IMG_20180303_125503 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Also picked up some new fasteners for the sump for when I swap them over and a new lower rad clamp as mine was pretty shot. All from R Motion. Excellent as always.

IMG_20180310_080739 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Next up, more grinding. Removing the radiator, manifold etc had highlighted how scabby the rear of the front panel and area under the airbox were. Nothing major but certainly something worth addressing whilst it's all apart. So first up, grind back and then Hydrate 80.

IMG_20180304_154902 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

All dried and ready.

IMG_20180310_090445 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180310_085120 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

And then epoxy mastic laid down in three coats.

IMG_20180311_181436 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180311_181416 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180311_181451 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

And then finally, I'd also identified that the front slam panel was looking a little tired. Given I've got the front bumper and headlights off at the moment for other jobs I thought it'd be a good time to re-do this section. So as usual, ground back, hydrate 80 and then electrox primer, championship white and then clearcoat over the top. Really chuffed with how it come out, really glossy finish.

IMG_20180314_210939 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180314_211209 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180314_210906 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180314_210922 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

That's all for now but more updates coming soon.
 
#236 ·
Smashing project, I'm enjoying this one very much. Couple of questions if I may - to someone who clearly has a good working knowledge of the BH range.

(I have read the whole thread, and apologies if this has been discussed before.)

Have you tried Deox Gel in place of Hydrate? Am I right in thinking your preference for the latter is due to not having to wash down afterwards? Any other thoughts on the relative merits of both products?
Does the Hydrate appear to promote (or hinder) adhesion of whatever you overcoat it with? For example, is the Epoxy happy enough on bare metal?
Are you degreasing the panel after the application of Hydrate?
Are you laying Electrox down under the Epoxy? If so, or not, why?

Sorry for all the questions! I'm looking to do something very similar quite soon and appreciate you sharing your process in such detail.

Many thanks in advance.
Tom
 
#237 · (Edited)
Hi Tom, well Deox Gel (as with Deox C) is for rust removal, whereas Hydrate 80 is for neutralising the surface after you've removed the corrosion (or as much as you can). All the parts I refurbish get a Deox Gel or C application (depending on their size), but for bits of bodywork, underframe etc that aren't removable I tend to grind back to fresh metal where possible and the Deox Gel any crevices I can't get to. After that, everything gets a Hydrate 80 coating as a precaution.

Hydrate doesn't appear to affect adhesion at all really. I've gone over it with primer and epoxy and its fine. As for the epoxy, that can go over bare clean metal, hydrate, electrox or standard primer. Pretty versatile to be honest.

As for electrox, where I'm back to bare metal across a complete area I'll lay down electrox but there's not much point in laying down both hydrate and electrox in myopinion therefore I use them as an either/or kind of deal (unless I've run out of normal primer and electrox is all I have!)

As for degreasing, I degrease and clean the areas after most stages to be honest. Never hurts to ensure the prep is right.
 
#239 ·
Got a couple of hours yesterday to do a nice bit of re-assembly. A nice change from all the grinding, painting and generally messy work.

First up, the transmission mount and bracket back on the car.

IMG_20180318_132841 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

First up, I got the lower airbox plate and the expansion tank bracket installed. New black oxide and yellow passivate bolts.

IMG_20180318_134010 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180318_134016 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Next up, I got the fan mounted cleaned up and back onto the new radiator. Again with new yellow passivate bolts.

IMG_20180318_135556 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Then got the rad fitted, newly refurbed upper mounts fitted, earth strap re-attached, expansion tank on, new yellow passivate hose clamps.

IMG_20180318_145106 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180318_142635 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180318_143605 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180318_145257 by PoobahUK, on Flickr
 
#241 ·
Mainly using black ones where they're not visible and yellow passivate where they're visible. Nothing more than that really. I've also yet to find a reliable supplier for non-flange bolt type bolts in yellow passivate so that's also an issue currently.

Eventually I might get round to buying a passivation kit so I can do my own but that'll be one for another time I think.
 
#244 ·
Only the small finishing bolts that aren't carrying significant load i.e. non Honda specific bolts. They cost very little bought in bulk and in the Teg has large numbers of M6 and M8 sizes so makes financial sense just to swap them out.

Want to get into doing my own though so that I can deal with all the more difficult to source Honda specific fasteners.
 
#246 ·
Few new bits in. When I removed my NSF headlight i found that one of the lower mounts had a crack in it, which turned out to be the reason it was getting a little fogged up. Procured a new unit, rotary'd it up and got it ready for fitting.

IMG_20180324_092929 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Back in the car and got the front bumper half installed. Still refurbing a few of the fasteners etc but nearly there.

IMG_20180325_155646 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180325_191649 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Also picked up a new sump gasket to fit when I replace the sump. Now I know this is an OEM build, however I'm allowing myself one small variation from this and that is in the form of the sump gasket. Frankly I'm not willing to spend good money on the frankly crap Honda designed gasket and have gone for one of the Felpro Permadry Plus gaskets (not to be confused with the normal OEM copy Felpro gasket that they also do). Rather than the floppy, feeble OEM gasket, this has a metal core and this resists weeping, bulging and it bursting out the side under oil pressure. Most of the DC2's I've seen have got a weepy sump gasket to some degree (usually coating the sump in a mist of oil) and having refurbed the sump, underfloor and all the fasteners I'm not going to fit an OEM gasket which will probably do the same again.

IMG_20180326_190416 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Usually I'm religious about OEM gaskets, seals etc but the OEM sump gasket design is pretty pants and is completely untolerant of 20 year old tolerances (even if you get it torqued exactly right) so it's an area I want to improve.

Link below if anyone is interested.

http://www.felpro.com/news/permadryplus-oil-pan-gasket-honda-b-series-engines.html

The Felpro is also nice as it comes with snap-ups to make sump fitment easier with two hands, and also the RTV silicone needed in a couple of spots.
 
#248 ·
Few small updates this week. Nothing major but thought I'd update the thread just to keep track of everything.

So, first up I got the steering bushes replaced. Bit of a pain to do clearance wise (the small bushes anyway) but got it done in the end.

IMG_20180411_073858 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

The old ones weren't cracked and looked to be in reasonable condition but you can tell that the rubber had lost alot of its integrity. A perfect example of bushes which look in reasonable condition but are actually well due changing.

IMG_20180411_073612 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180411_073625 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Also started flinging the manifold back on. So new gasket and manifold on.

IMG_20180411_081106 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180411_081700 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Finally I picked up some yellow passivate OEM upper bumper securing screws from R Motion. I didn't want to fit the ones that came off the car as they were a little chewed up and nasty looking and thought these would finish off the slam panel nicely.

IMG_20180412_094117 by PoobahUK, on Flickr
 
#250 ·
Ok so, had some time at the weekend so got the subframe brace bar, manifold and cover reassembled. Looking much better than before.

IMG_20180414_121501 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Also got my refurbed upper bumper plate and yellow passivate fasteners fitted. Really happy with how it all turned out. Properly factory fresh look.

IMG_20180414_121511 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180414_121521 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

That all meant that I was ready to fire it back up. It hadn't been started since early December. First up the new oil filter and a liberal filling of oil.

IMG_20180416_193710 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Next up, a test of the newly installed cooling system with Honda Type 2 coolant

IMG_20180416_165036 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Fired up first time and no coolant or oil leaks on the shakedown test. Ideal. :D
 
#252 ·
Been away on holiday but got back and finally extracted the Teg from its cave. Been a while since it's been out in the fresh air! (and yes I still need to paint the rear face of the backbox black after its refurb for top OEM points!)

2018-05-22_11-23-40 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Got a new MOT on the Teg. It'd lapsed at the beginning of winter but didn't see much point in getting it re-done given I was taking it to pieces!

Anyway, it went through with no advisories which was nice.

2018-05-19_09-34-57 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

I also got chance to fit re-fit the rear seats and trim. Got the new unfaded seats in. Really happy with how they look.

IMG_20180521_164717 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180521_164747 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Hopefully take it out later tonight to really clear the cobwebs out and see how it feels.
 
#254 ·
A little bit more progress. When I bought the car the cam cover was in decent condition but over the last year the finish has started flaking at the edges. A bit odd given it's garaged all the time but then looking at the finish I suspect it's been painted before. Here's before.

2018-06-01_02-19-01 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

So first up, a liberal application of paint stripper.

2018-06-01_02-18-41 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Cleaned up and masked. Just a little bit more sanding left to do at this stage. Following this it had an IPA wipedown.

IMG_20180528_141435 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Wrinkle paint applied and left to wrinkle up.

IMG_20180529_193620 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Finished job. Sanded back the letters and logo. Just need to do a little more sanding with some finer grade paper and we'll be done. New OEM rocker and spark plug gaskets ready to go on. Just need some new rocker bolt seals and then it can go back on.

2018-06-01_02-14-44 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

2018-05-31_09-12-17 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

To be honest it was a bit of pain to do. Despite prepping it to within an inch of its life and making sure it was spotlessly clean before applying the paint, this was my second attempt as the first just didn't wrinkle evenly. All's well that ends well I guess.
 
#255 ·
Car is looking fantastic.

With regards to the cam cover how many coats did you apply and did you heat the paint in any way to get the crinkle finish.

I've almost stripped mine of paint for my ep3 and ready to repaint soon.

Any advice would be welcome.

Cheers.

Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk
 
#256 · (Edited)
Car is looking fantastic.

With regards to the cam cover how many coats did you apply and did you heat the paint in any way to get the crinkle finish.

I've almost stripped mine of paint for my ep3 and ready to repaint soon.

Any advice would be welcome.

Cheers.

Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk
I did the three heavy coats on mine in the three directions the instructions suggest. As for heating the paint, the first time I did straight away and the results weren't great. The second time I let it dry for an hour or so and then got some heat on it. That seemed to give better more even results.

One thing I would say is that, whilst the instructions say three heavy coats, I think three normal coats actually gives a better, more even finish. Certainly on mine anyway.
 
#258 ·
Had a few hours on the Teg this morning so got a couple of jobs done. First up I got the new rocker cover gasket, spark plug gaskets and rocker washers fitted to the refurbed rocker cover.

2018-06-09_08-33-25 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Rocker cover all fitted. Feeling pretty happy with how the engine bay is starting to shape up.

IMG_20180609_114007 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20180609_114017 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

2018-06-09_08-27-05 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

I also got a new set of front mats thrown in. The originals aren't in terrible condition but they need a bit of refurbishment so got this JD set to use whilst I do that.

IMG_20180609_145740 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

Finally just a quick picture to prove that it does go out occasionally. A nice set of dirty wheels after a well earned sunny B-road blast. :thumb:

IMG_20180609_135911 by PoobahUK, on Flickr
 
#260 ·
Yeah that's the stuff. Personally I wouldn't recommend keeping and using the mixed epoxy beyond 24 hours. I tried it on a previous project and found issues with it adhering properly later on so I'd say mix only what you need at the time and mix more later if you need it.
 
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