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Concerto: Conclusion?


Ghosty

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17 hours ago, ProgRocker said:

As it was from Norfolk I'm 99% sure that I have seen this car a few times on my way home from work. It was queued behind me on one occasion. Don't think I ever managed to get a photo. 

You most likely have. The eBay seller was in Diss, previous V5 is addressed in Beccles, and it lived in Fakenham for a while too. 

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Not a lot done over the weekend as lack of parts stalled me. 

However I changed the ignition barrel this morning, restoring the steering lock and it now retains the key in position 2 as it should. 

Back box arrived today though, and the cambelt kit and water pump were picked up this afternoon. 
Just waiting on the gasket set to arrive now.

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Even though this is auto, that sentiment rings true as some absurd fucker broke/lost part of the shifter latch to install one of those massive transparent 'dildo' shift knobs.
On a fucking automatic.

So in theory it can be accidentally slammed into R and P with the car in motion.

I'll be installing a new shifter at some point, I've already got a lead on one.

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9 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Even though this is auto, that sentiment rings true as some absurd fucker broke/lost part of the shifter latch to install one of those massive transparent 'dildo' shift knobs.
On a fucking automatic.

So in theory it can be accidentally slammed into R and P with the car in motion.
 

 

Genius. It's not like cars don't go wrong enough by themselves without help from walnut-brained barries. Thank the lord than they never tried it to see what would happen...

 

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JDM on a UK built Concerto..... FFS yo bro how low can u go.  

I would agree with OP if the head pitting matches the gasket cut outs, run the wet’n’dry with a block over it, plenty of WD40, it will clean up a treat.  When clean you can check with a straight edge, torch and feeler gauges.  I did that on a K Series 5 years ago and 50k Miles ago, been right as rain ever since.

Looking at those bent dowels and shagged pulley would tell me that the same lack of attention went to tightening the head down correctly

 

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Head's looking promising. I've used some aluminium epoxy on the worst of the pitting, let it cure and sanded it back. It's tough stuff. 

Anyway, today's activities. 

First thing to do is make use of yesterday's delivery. 
Jack up the offside rear wheel, and in a matter of seconds, the back box is out. Very easy on these, the two bolts are easily accessible ahead of the rear wheel, and the back box when freed off just lifts over the ARB and subframe, and slides right out the back of the car. 

This revealed this pikey back box delete:

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It's the original rear section, cut off in front of the backbox, where a mildly bent piece of stainless and a tip has been pigeon shat into place, with a piece of old spring or something tacked on working as a hanger. 

Here's the new box:

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Mercifully the other two exhaust rubbers had been left in place when the back box was thrown out, and all three were in good condition, so in went the new box, a perfect fit that hung up in seconds, with only mild annoyance when one of the nuts stripped as I was bolting it on . 

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That's better. No idea how it sounds yet due to the engine not all being in the same room.

Oh, while we're in the arch...

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sigh. 

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Bodged with mastic. 

I can't say I'm surprised. As far as Rondas go this actually isn't that bad though, I'll get it done with the MOT. There's also a small hole in the same place on the other side, but not nearly as bad. 

With not a lot else to do today, the water pump was removed: 

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The old one is a Keihin part, which is OE... never been changed, then. Replaced the cambelt tensioner too. 

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The oil filter on the D-Series is on the back of the block under the inlet manifold, so that went on too. It is a hell of a lot easier to do this now than with the engine in one piece.

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Finally, the gasket kit arrived, so tomorrow I'll start on the valve stem seals. 
 

I need to go out and get some ATF at some point. While I'm changing the gearbox oil the nsf wheel has to come off, that's the one that's painted gold so I'll take the opportunity to rattle can it black like the other three. Especially as the wiper arms (well the two that aren't AWOL) and the battery tray would also benefit from some paint. 

 

 

 

 

 

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23 hours ago, Ghosty said:

some absurd fucker broke/lost part of the shifter latch

While I don't think it was done deliberately, the automatic shifter on the Daewoo seems to be like this. I can't/won't try for sure, but you can certainly go from P into N and D or R without pressing the brake pedal, and at idle in park there is a weird clickity noise from the lever end of the transmission (i.e. inside the car, by your left thigh) - I have a horrible feeling the 'thing' that stops you changing between modes is broken - meaning careless fiddling with the lever at speed may have catastrophic results.

What is the actual thing that stops this from happening called, and how hard is it to replace one?

Sorry for thread derailment, top work so far. Have you ever considered setting yourself up as a mobile D-Series repairman? Serious question.

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7 minutes ago, Stanky said:

What is the actual thing that stops this from happening called, and how hard is it to replace one?

Sorry for thread derailment, top work so far. Have you ever considered setting yourself up as a mobile D-Series repairman? Serious question.

Not too sure of the name, it's just some kind of locking mechanism. They're reasonably easy things to replace, remove the trim around them, unplug/unscrew multiplugs, bolts etc, and then just disconnect the shifter cable. The hardest part will probably be getting the knob off (ooer), but there should be a fairly obvious screw. 

Honda specialism isn't the worst idea tbh. It's certainly food for thought (and would extend to the F-series as well). 

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Is it a physical locking thing, or an electric gizmo on yours?

I would hesitantly suggest that there is enough love for older Rovers and Hondas (particularly the JDM crowd) that fixed-price, mobile engine work - HGF and the like - could be a decent way to earn a living? Or at least supplement your income. I know its joked* about, but you really do know your way around these engines now. Assuming you had all parts to hand and a dry working space how long do you think a head gasket replacement would take you start to finish?

 

edit to add - likewise cambelt changes?

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It's a physical latch/detent thing yes. 

Cambelts aren't too hard, they're a prerequisite to get the head off, you just don't have to remove as many ancillaries, or the manifolds (inlet can be a twat). They're non interference so hard to bugger up.
HGF is a good way in excess of a 10 hour job depending on severity, and if it's a twincam half the valve train has to come out too. SOHCs are easier. Also, the twin cam gasket sets are either special order items with a three figure price tag or a week plus to get from Autodoc. SOHC parts are cheap.
At six hours a day I could turn one around in a week or two but it's tiring work, and I have a dodgy back. It'd be something like £5-600 a pop, and for a lot of cars (especially tired R8s and Civics) it isn't worth it economically unless the car's a minter. 

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That's what I wish mine looked like. There's a set of 1.6i-16SE alloys on eBay for £100 delivered, but there aren't any tyres on them and they need refurbing, so I'm giving them a miss. Especially as I suspect the 318is replica wheels I'm running are 14x6, and I like the look of them. Having gone from a 5J to a 6J on my old Civic also transformed the handling and steering feel for the better, so I'll stick with the width.

Only a small update today.

I dug out a radio cage and mounted the radio properly, spent about an hour cleaning off the old inlet manifold gasket, then started on the valve stem seals. 

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Complete valves on the left, collets and spring removed centre, valves out on the right. The end set are a pain to do but the closer to the centre of the block you are, the easier it gets. It doesn't help that I'm sort of improvising tool wise, but it gets the job done and this is the second time I've done stem seals (I also did them on the GTI, which is still running). 

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I also went on eBay and ordered a set of pressed numberplates (the acrylics are tired, and for a fiver more I'll happily get pressed), and a brochure with a 1991 Honda price list included as it was cheap. 

Fun fact: this Concerto was £14,995 on the road new in '91. That's £32,435 in today's money - a brand new Civic Type R today, is an extremely comparable £31,870. 
Someone referred to it as a CR-X's little brother, they weren't far wrong, as a CR-X VTEC was close in price at £15,835, or £34250 today. 

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Yep, it's roughly 120bhp. I'm sure manual twincam Rovers are rated for 130bhp though. 

SOHC D-Series VTECs indeed go up to ~130, those ones are mainly in Civic Coupes and del Sols. 

The engine I put into my old Civic was 126bhp. 

If you want more power from that from a standard engine, you're into B-Series territory.
 

Again not much to report today, but thermostat installed as it turns out the one in there was duff, and the valve stem seals are done (I 'forgot' two that had godawful clearance and would have resulted in the invention of new expletives while attempting to reseat the collets).

First thing tomorrow (after a telephone interview - customer retention at Vodafone on 19k, had a mate refer me) will be the camshaft oil seals, and after that, the head's going on! Should be running by Sunday. 

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