Ghostly Goings On - over the moon

[Ghosty]

9 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

 

Edit: And unless this really is completely rotten, someone considering breaking a 2nd gen CRX really just confirms how mental some people in this country still are.

It needs standard issue Honda sill/arch work, but otherwise it's a solid, tidy car, and not that high miles at 198k km. 

[Ghosty]

23 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Edit: I see it was auctioned on fb a couple of years back. Momo looked tidy 😉

Yeah that wheel mysteriously disappeared from the car between viewing and delivery. I'm not daft so called the seller out on that and I think I've resolved it, but I'll be digging my heels in if it doesn't show up.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

3 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

When I had my Aerodeck this time last year, I realised how it drove was exactly what I wanted in a 'fun' car. Unfortunately it was fucked - I wanted something that had the same feel, but not messed about with. 
I realised later on, watching Hondas going up Santa Pod, that what I should probably look for is something with a B-series, they sound good when done right, aren't hard to work on, etc. But a car that came with a factory B, not one that'd been swapped in. 

A while later, having realised the fourth gen Civic is the right car for me, I basically concluded that a CRX was the way to go. I wanted a black SiR, and eventually I found one. It happened to be in Bristol, and I had a reason to be in Bristol, so it all came together. Price was ok all things considered, so went through with it: life's too short etc. 

 

Good man. They still make me turn my head to this day. Values have gone crazy too. What sort of tool was going to break yours? Madness. 

[Ghosty]

Oh, also - this has an intact climate control panel. They often seem to be cracked/damaged. 

The car has an alloy radiator - but all the a/c pipework is intact! The climate control only bloody works so I'm gonna get the a/c working at some point. 
Power folding mirrors too. 

[High Jetter]

Superb little cars, well done that man!

[Ghosty]

Test time. 

[Ghosty]

Clean pass, can't say I'm surprised 😅. 

MX5 is currently getting a new windscreen. Autoglass man isn't impressed with whoever did the last one. 

[Ghosty]

Tester was complimentary of the saloon. 😌 

Windscreen done. Got some Bosch AeroTwins to go on - got them from ECP, Autoglass wanted RRP for them - £22 each. 45% off at ECP though so did that. 

 

A strut brace is supposed to arrive for it some point in the next couple days too. 

[Ghosty]

The reason the screen had cracked on the MX5, it turned out, was that whoever at Auto Windscreens fitted the last one used too much adhesive and fitted it too low in the aperture. The crack had formed where an excess of adhesive caused it not to seat properly - it bloody stress fractured as the screen was installed with too much pressure on it thanks to the adhesive excess! 

Also, it was an incorrect early screen that didn't have the mount for the rear view mirror on it so I had to use a suction cup one. Correct mirror on order. 

[tom13]

7 hours ago, Ghosty said:

Tester was complimentary of the saloon. 😌 

Windscreen done. Got some Bosch AeroTwins to go on - got them from ECP, Autoglass wanted RRP for them - £22 each. 45% off at ECP though so did that. 

 

A strut brace is supposed to arrive for it some point in the next couple days too. 

That a CRX and is it yours?

[Ghosty]

37 minutes ago, tom13 said:

That a CRX and is it yours?

Yes, Japanese spec SiR. And yes. 

[Cord Fourteener]

49 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Yes, Japanese spec SiR. And yes. 

So it's Japanese Domestic Market, rather than bog standard JDM-Yo, which mostly refers to export market for Japanese manufacturers, or foreign-built Japanese-designed cars. 

[gm]

is this the bit you need for the mazda ? 

[Ghosty]

36 minutes ago, gm said:

is this the bit you need for the mazda ? 

I don't need the airbox, but yes, that's the pipe I need. 

[Ghosty]

Insurance renewal has come through for the saloon. 

£153. Fucking bargain, get in.

[gm]

16 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

I don't need the airbox, but yes, that's the pipe I need. 

pm me your address and i’ll stick it in the post if you like - can’t see it costing much to send a plastic pipe 

[Ghosty]

1 hour ago, gm said:

pm me your address and i’ll stick it in the post if you like - can’t see it costing much to send a plastic pipe 

that'd be class - pm on the way

[Ghosty]

Packages came. Improvements made. 

Better plates. 

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Nice. Need to sort the wire though. 

[Schaefft]

Dibs on the CRX, dunno why I didn't mention it earlier😄 Looking forward to more improvements.

[Ghosty]

Changed the wheels the other day - not had time to detail it since. 

The old wheels were a bit chavvy, and it turned out they were held on with three 17mm conical taper nuts and a 19mm radial taper - so effectively three nuts each. Replaced them with a matching set of black nuts - the 19s are the same nuts used on my sedan so I've got four spares out of it. 

 

It looks a bit better now: 

 

 

 

Unfortunately I've found it needs a bit more welding than anticipated (carpet out job), but nothing that isn't a surprise. 

 

Exhaust and steering wheel are next on the menu. 

[Schaefft]

Is that wing aftermarket or an actual factory option? Can't wait to see what backbox go.

[Ghosty]

4 hours ago, Schaefft said:

Is that wing aftermarket or an actual factory option? Can't wait to see what backbox go.

Not sure what the story is with the wing but it's not the original SiR one as they have a centre support. But it does have a working high level brake light 🤔

[Ghosty]

Today's job was a quick one - fit the strut brace to the MX5 before my week away in the Dales. 

Late 1.6s had less chassis bracing than other NAs, so the strut brace is a worthy upgrade. 

 

But these late cars have a weird, excessively long air intake that fouls strut braces - it covers the strut top: 

the solution to this is an earlier spec intake pipe, as kindly provided by @gm

however, it then fouls the diagnostic port. 

 

no problem - it's on a pointless bracket. just unclip the plug and unbolt the bracket:

and it fits. 

with that sorted the strut brace just bolts on to the strut tops with 4 nuts - job done. 

looks the business - I was keen to get one of these S-Special braces as they're a genuine Mazda part and it suits the green of the car pretty well too! 

steering is slightly lighter and a lot more direct - car is a lot easier to manoeuvre at low speeds too. winner!  

[Schaefft]

29 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Not sure what the story is with the wing but it's not the original SiR one as they have a centre support. But it does have a working high level brake light 🤔

It might be an official accessory:

[Ghosty]

4 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

It might be an official accessory:

That's definitely it! 

 

[Ghosty]

A year ago yesterday, a tidy but MOTless Civic sedan followed* me home. Ten days later it had an MOT with a single advisory, 'rear arches corroded'. I've never kept a car so long, and I couldn't imagine a car I'd be happier to keep forever. It's a special one, that. 

 

I've been a bit quiet since FOTU, that's as I've been on holiday in Yorkshire with some mates. I started by taking one friends Triumph 2000 north, as he wasn't coming up immediately, to save on the fuel bill - he borrowed the Civic saloon for a few days and came back reporting 52mpg! 

Civic and 2000 were faultless all week, and the MX5 almost so, aside from a sticking brake caliper that quickly unseized itself again (pattern part, does that sometimes. Need to replace it). The strut brace has really improved the usability of the MX5. Buttertubs was fantastic fun in it. 

 

In CRX news, it is fucked. While fitting some Enkei wheels I'd bought, I found out that the underseal was holding the floorpans to the sills, and nothing else. One of the tyres on the front appeared to be leaking at the valve, and with the compressor nowhere to be found I elected to put an axle stand under it to save damage to the tyre. 

 

I lowered the car down, with the axle stand under the chassis rail. 

Except when they made contact, the car didn't stop moving. The chassis rail folded like paper. 

 

Fuck. 

 

I stopped working on it altogether and I'm doing my best to cut my losses and sell it off. It's not worth me fixing it. 

 

Inevitablility has struck, especially considering recent events.

 

I'm on a train.  

[sdkrc]

There's a man up in the Scottish central belt who could turn that underseal, crust and folded chassis rail into a complete car. You'd need time and money and I also imagine he'd uncover many more horrors. I don't regret sending my rusted shitbox to his garage. 

It's a pity all CRXs rust like hell because they look magic

[Schaefft]

13 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

A year ago yesterday, a tidy but MOTless Civic sedan followed* me home. Ten days later it had an MOT with a single advisory, 'rear arches corroded'. I've never kept a car so long, and I couldn't imagine a car I'd be happier to keep forever. It's a special one, that. 

 

I've been a bit quiet since FOTU, that's as I've been on holiday in Yorkshire with some mates. I started by taking one friends Triumph 2000 north, as he wasn't coming up immediately, to save on the fuel bill - he borrowed the Civic saloon for a few days and came back reporting 52mpg! 

Civic and 2000 were faultless all week, and the MX5 almost so, aside from a sticking brake caliper that quickly unseized itself again (pattern part, does that sometimes. Need to replace it). The strut brace has really improved the usability of the MX5. Buttertubs was fantastic fun in it. 

 

In CRX news, it is fucked. While fitting some Enkei wheels I'd bought, I found out that the underseal was holding the floorpans to the sills, and nothing else. One of the tyres on the front appeared to be leaking at the valve, and with the compressor nowhere to be found I elected to put an axle stand under it to save damage to the tyre. 

 

I lowered the car down, with the axle stand under the chassis rail. 

Except when they made contact, the car didn't stop moving. The chassis rail folded like paper. 

 

Fuck. 

 

I stopped working on it altogether and I'm doing my best to cut my losses and sell it off. It's not worth me fixing it. 

 

Inevitablility has struck, especially considering recent events.

 

I'm on a train.  

Sucks to hear that but I'd probably do the same, as much of a shame it is considering the money a decent one commands now.

Looking forward to the next purchase though!

[Ghosty]

[yes oui si]

Eiffel tower looks a bit odd up close.