Sold Dollywobbler's Honda S-MX - Provisionally sold

[Liggle]

I had a 1999 Civic which had really light PAS too, must be a 90's Honda thing. 

 

I do love the S-MX, we are after a family wagon and my missus isn't the slightest bit interested in anything JDM which is disappointing, I'd love her to have something like this. 

 

The B20B engine in these is very tough, a lot of people in the Honda scene (including me 5 years ago) use this engine as a base for a 'Frankenstein' engine swap. B20 bottom end, B16/B18 VTEC head and pistons and appropriate mapping saw 207bhp in my Civic. But I got a friday afternoon special with the company that built mine and it didn't last long. 

 

This is the golden era of Honda for me, I had a modern (2008 vintage) Civic and although was more stylish etc. the build quality standards were definitely better in the 90's despite them being a bit plastic. 

[dollywobbler]

Aye, my 1991 Civic was rather let down by super-light steering, as was the Daihatsu Sirion.

 

I'm polishing the S-MX at the moment. I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

[dollywobbler]

I'm getting carried away now. Got the polish out and everything. Did the bonnet, front bumper and the tailgate before deciding I couldn't be arsed. 

 

The paint is pretty terrible. I am actually starting to wish I had a clay bar. Mrs DW is very worried about me. It was bad enough when I said I was getting the polish out. She looked at me like I'd told her I have an incurable disease. That only worsened when I admitted that I'd cleaned the engine bay. It is most unlike me.

 

Having decided enough was enough in the polish stakes, I grabbed my Vactan and doused the crusty bits with it. That didn't take long. This wheelarch is about as bad as it gets.

 

I do need to underseal the underside, because it's very good under there, but you can see rot creeping into every seam. If I leave that through a Welsh winter, there won't be much car left come Spring.

 

The fact that I'm prepared to lavish so much attention upon the car the day after completing a 260-mile trek in it is encouraging though. I think I must like it.

[r.welfare]

How is the suspension over the more challenging Welsh road network?

[dollywobbler]

How is the suspension over the more challenging Welsh road network?

 

Generally fine. I sailed over a crest that was absolutely horrific in the XM last night, and it was only a couple of hundred yards after that I remembered I'd been over it. Does get a bit bouncy at times, and is very 'Honda' over broken terrain, but I'd place it narrowly ahead of the 600. I suspect new dampers might help it a bit.

 

Just ripped the dash out with the idea of replacing the stereo. Only the one I had in my stash is knackered. Can I be bothered to raid the Rover's ruined corpse? (I say corpse, I think it's still sat there entirely untouched, awaiting the crusher). Or do I just put it all back together and admit that I rarely listen to stereos anyway? It's some Monster unit with hideously small buttons and a CD player that doesn't work. It does have an SD card slot and an aux input though. 

[gadgetgricey]

pm me your address.

Pretty certain have an old CD player in the shed that I can dig out the weekend and contribute to the Smx cause.

[dollywobbler]

Ooh, thanks!

[oldcars]

Finish the polishing, it deserves it, cool wee thing.

[Shep Shepherd]

I saw a silver example of one of these on the A127 this evening. They are much bigger 'in the metal' than they are in photos.

[dollywobbler]

Finish the polishing, it deserves it, cool wee thing.

 

It's pissing down now. That'll be remaining a (not even) half job then.

[Ghosty]

I know how light Sirion steering is, I was baffled by how quickly it went to full lock! Then again it's a small car so it at least sort of makes sense. In something that big though, I can imagine it possibly being a bit concerning.

[dollywobbler]

I know how light Sirion steering is, I was baffled by how quickly it went to full lock! Then again it's a small car so it at least sort of makes sense. In something that big though, I can imagine it possibly being a bit concerning.

 

It's like driving on ice to be honest. You've no idea whether it's actually going to go around a bend or not, because there's absolutely zero feedback. It's why I'm keen to get it equipped with some decent rubber. I need to find why it's wearing the inside edge of the nearside front tyre too, despite at least two alignment checks in three years...

[dollywobbler]

I have finally managed to get the decent camera out. For those still struggling with the size, see if this series of shots helps.

 

In isolation.

 

I love the deep pile carpet mats. They do seem specific to the S-MX.

 

The front bench seat, with armrest down. 

 

The luggage area. This is with the seat right back. It slides forward, folds up and, of course, makes half a bed.

 

Limousine legroom in a 4m long car.

 

I've now perfected the knack of dropping it from P into D4. It requires a delicate flick. Hoping the thermostat will arrive tomorrow.

[egg]

I guess the blanking plate next to the stereo is for sat nav?

[dollywobbler]

I guess the blanking plate next to the stereo is for sat nav?

 

No blanking plate - it's one of about a zillion cubby holes. I'd image it was replaced with a sat nav possibly, just as the tray below the stereo may have been a double-DIN space instead.

[drum]

Are there only 4 seats?

[dollywobbler]

Are there only 4 seats?

Yes. Only four seat belts.

[Parky]

That's pretty cool - are the orangey bits standard Honda? It reminds me slightly of a Jaffa Cake.

 

Some JDM cars are brilliant, I really wish manufacturers would start selling Kei cars over here as some of them are absolutely incredible. And very practical on crowded roads

[Uncle Jimmy]

I is confused; JDM but no coin slots?

[vulgalour]

All you've done there is make me think Nippas are bigger than I remember.

[dollywobbler]

All you've done there is make me think Nippas are bigger than I remember.

The more you look at it, the more confused you end up about the size of it.

 

As for orange bits, they are entirely standard. Orange seats were optional!

[dollywobbler]

Thermostat arrived this morning, so I set to. First challenge was that it's so low that accessing the drain tap (yes, a proper drain tap!) was a pain. My uneven driveway and a set of ramps had that sorted. No way the ramps would fit under the spoiler on the flat. 

 

Another benefit of this location is that the car remains level. Annoyingly, the 'stat housing is buried down the back of the engine so once drained, I had to reverse down the ramps in order to reach it. The car spat a ramp out on its way down, which was exciting. One bolt you can see, but not get a socket on. The other one is beneath the housing and entirely invisible. Ratchet spanners proved ideal though, and Japanese bolts do have a delightful feel to them. Off came the housing, out came the stat and the new one fitted - using the old rubber seal as this makes it easier to refit apparently. 

 

Job done!

 

Went for a test drive. Heater now gets super-toasty pretty briskly, temp gauge stays bang on halfway, whether going up hill or down. Brilliant.

 

Even better, the torque converter appears to be locking up now, so the cruising rpm has come down. It's very, very smooth, so I wasn't sure at first, but at one stage I did reach 70mph at slightly below 3000rpm (rather than the 3250rpm on the way home). 

 

All set for the weekend then. Mrs DW did give the bed a quick test, improved with a self-inflating mat.

 

It's still a pretty uneven bed, but I may well find myself kipping in it again on Saturday night...

 

Now I'm trying to work out why the 'door open' light is on continuously. It flickers a bit when I play with the passenger door switch, so I reckon that's the problem. I suspect the metal blade has corroded away within the plastic, destroying continuity. Until yesterday, I knew where there was a Rover that probably has an ideal replacement switch...

[egg]

Hope it is just the switch, probably said this before, but on my Fusion the door actuator failed causing door open light to be permanently on meaning I couldn't lock the car. Solution was for auto leccy to bypass the door open actuator on just that door. New actuator prohibitively expensive.

[dollywobbler]

Hope it is just the switch, probably said this before, but on my Fusion the door actuator failed causing door open light to be permanently on meaning I couldn't lock the car. Solution was for auto leccy to bypass the door open actuator on just that door. New actuator prohibitively expensive.

 

This is old enough that switches and actuators are unrelated. I do have some central locking issues though. Driver's door only locks that door and the tailgate, though unlocking it also unlocks the passenger rear door as well as the tailgate. 

[dollywobbler]

Fixed the 'door open' issue. Cheap fix! 

 

I'm also camping again tomorrow, this time with improvements* all-round. I've decided to actually pay for a campsite as well. Actual facitilies FTW.

[oldcars]

Have you sold your caravan? Nice curtains, sure they will catch on

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I still can't work out what size this is. It's big, but small, but big....

 

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[dollywobbler]

Have you sold your caravan? Nice curtains, sure they will catch on

 

I think we're giving it away to Calais refugees.

[vulgalour]

TATDS:  It's how Father Dougal sees everything.

[dollywobbler]

Refugees are fussy buggers it seems, so that's the end of the caravan plan. Oh well. I don't care. I've loaded the S-MX up with camping gear and I'm ready for another weekend of fun.