A Sentimental Honda Civic Restoration

[JMotor]

Stunning work sir! 

 

[stuboy]

credit too you dude!!

[Roverjoe]

Hi Guys sorry for the lack of posts, ive been busy with work recently so i have not had much chance to get on with the Honda. Thankfully with the Extra long weekend i managed to get some progress done on the Front jacking point. 

As you can see its pretty crispy, but to be fair, i have seen way, way worse on these, Especially the Rovers and MGs. Its quite an awkward place to repair, but after opening it up and seeing what it consisted of it didn't seem that bad in the end thankfully. It looked quite daunting on the outside, but as soon as i cut it out i was quite surprised how little it had spread up. The Problem is all the layers of metal joining and meeting up at that one seem, The sealer breaks down over time letting water in and just starts rotting it out. Very bad design to be honest as it also acts as a Scuttle drainage thats why it has them two big holes there. 

 

 

Heres what it looks like after me hacking at it with an angle grinder for about 30 minutes trying to make sure i dont cut too much off so i can get references. 

 

It ended up being one of them places where i had to cut more out than i needed to just gain access to rust that was hiding. At this point i decided to just break down the repair, firstly by starting off with the floor section. The floor is spotwelded to the firewall panels, and curves around in the corner.

 

With some really dreadful welding as i was upside down, i managed to get the piece i made in. The Sharpie line is the line of the next panel that was to go over the one i had just put in. 

At this moment i had ran out of gas so i need to get some more this week. 

I also did a little job regarding these handbrake mechanism covers, mine had disintegrated so i needed to get some new ones. I found a pair on ebay for £30, so i decided to get them and  refurbish them.

 

 

 

[Roverjoe]

Another Update, We are getting very close to finishing the Welding work on the Civic. Which means the next phase of the restoration. Putting it all back together! 

its been awhile since i did a post but the good news is that the jacking point is now all welded on the car!

 

the welds aint the best as i was working upside down, the main thing is they are holding and are strong. This section welded in is apart of the fire wall and finishes at the seam on the front floor. I wanted to replicate the seam from factory.

Heres the next part of the Jacking point area, The inner reinforcer section. i also added some drain/ access holes so i can get in and give the cavity a good waxing as water drains here. 

Here is the Reinforcer piece all welded in. I used 1.5mm steel for this as well.

 

i did a bit more cutting and measuring as the next step is to weld on the outer section. 

Heres the jacking point section getting welded in. I did make the inner reinforcer piece a bit too big, which to be fair is not much of an issue as this will all be covered in seam sealer and underseal. 

 

i ground the welds down and made sure it was smooth for when i go to paint and seal it. 

 

 

here it is all painted in Electrox Zinc Primer. Not a perfect job but im very happy with it. 

Here was a before for reference

 

So all whats left to do is to get the rest of the sill welded on the front and then its done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[delux]

10 out of 10!

Great write up of high quality repairs.

Well done, keep it up!

[Low ontime]

Nothing wrong with how that came out! 
 

very neat job.

[stuboy]

that really good work, well done

[Datsuncog]

Hat doffed, my guy - that's very tidy work.

Great to see this car getting so much meticulous care; it'll be a really nice, well-sorted example once it's done. A credit to you.

[Roverjoe]

Cheers Guys, I appreciate the kind words. Not long now. I reckon this week and the car will be fully welded! 

[Roverjoe]

And with that...

All the Welding is now finally complete! 

Apologies for the lack of photos but yesterday i just ploughed straight into it and got the rest of it done as its now october and the colder weather is starting to set in. So the front section of the sill is now all done!

All i need to do now is get the welds ground down, get it epoxy primed and seam sealed. 

I also moved it out to the front so that i can start putting the interior back in!

[crad]

MEGA

 

[Roverjoe]

25 minutes ago, crad said:

MEGA

 

Cheers! So glad its done haha! Im looking forward to getting it all tidied up as thats when you start to see it all come together.

[JMotor]

Glad to see you got the metalwork finished.

Such an epic job you've done!

[junkyarddog]

3 hours ago, Roverjoe said:

All the Welding is now finally complete! 

That's a great feeling!😎

[Angrydicky]

Excellent welding and fabrication, really impressed with that considering you haven’t been doing it long. 
There is a bloke I know who is always bragging on fb about how he’s been in the motor trade for 50+ years, knows it all etc,  his welding is absolutely dreadful with no strength and yet he’s happy to splash pictures all over the internet and won’t listen to criticism or gentle suggestion on how to improve his work “I’ve been in the motor trade since I was 15, I know what I’m doing  la la la”

You need have no such qualms about showing your work, it’s excellent and very strong.

As an aside, I recently bought the same air powered hole punch as you on a recommendation from a classic car restorer mate, and I was very impressed with it. Saves loads of time drilling holes and much neater too.

[Roverjoe]

Cheers Guys for the Replies and for Following along with the project! im hoping this week i can get the inside painted and all seams sealed so i can get the interior back in. i think its gonna be a bit wet at the start of the week so im going to leave exterior paintwork until it brightens up at the weekend. Im just hoping the temperatures aren't too cold as it will affect the epoxy primer. Its really crappy as i have no cover and can only work outside as i have no garage or car port. so if it rains and the paint has not set it will cause a load of headache. And this time of year aint the best for that.

[Roverjoe]

so with all the welding done, ive now started to work on painting the inside of the footwell. ive used some Bilt Hamber Epoxy Mastic, I removed all the old seam sealer and got it back to bare metal, I then keyed and degreased to make sure it will stick well. I brushed it on and im pretty happy with how it looks. Now i want to do the whole inside floor with it 🤣 

Although im also thinking of starting the underside of the car. There is one question though that id like to ask, Epoxy Mastics, can they adhere to existing paint. as underneath in some areas are really clean and tidy and to save some time i thought about keying the paint and perhaps brushing over it. If not then i can always strip it back to bare metal even though itll be more of a task.

 

Heres some photos and a Photo of the Passenger side to show a comparison between the two. 

 

[Roverjoe]

Haven't done an update in a while, being busy with other stuff but i thought id let you know that the Interior is now back in! 

After getting some bits for the floor, such as plugs, grommets and seam sealer i finally managed to get it all back together, still need to sort a few things out but not an issue. 

 

I also sorted out an issue with the seam sealer around the scuttle panel it was quite rusty and needed sorting out before it got worse. 

 

I think over winter im going to try and get the brakes sorted, and more of the mechanical side of things as its now too cold to be doing any sort of painting. When the warmer weather comes round ill get round to cleaning up underneath, epoxy priming and stonechipping. 

Im hoping i can get the Honda MOT'd around April time. all depending on what the weather is like as if its salty it will have to wait.