SVX's Car Adventures

[SVX]

Some good sleuthing there! So which steering wheel are you going to fit, the Mugen or the Type R?

The original plan was both. I was thinking keeping the Mugen for track days- get it alcantara upholstery to look like a more like the JTCC cars I love.

However, with the legality issues of the EK9 steering wheel, I might have issues running it. Right now it's either getting it a regular, more original leather covering, and keeping it as is, or finding a substitute for the EK9 and going with my original idea as planned. As it stands, the Mugen wheel might not even be all that suited to the track- 360 is a rather large size of wheel, so it might be a better idea to go for a Personal Grinta (which are the actual wheels the JTCC Civics ran).

The Impreza’s gearbox issue is very strange. Did you end up switching out the sensor? I’ve not known an automatic to so hopelessly hunt for a gear.

I lost interest unfortunately. Some issues with my dad lead me to really giving up on the whole idea- the fuel consumption issue needs replacing first, because it's impossible to really test it without it burning such a massive hole in my pocket. The car is just sitting neglected now, just like the rest

The Civic! Great choice! Legendary little track car with everything you’d ever want for a project. Every time I see a cheap one for sale, I have to remind myself I already have way too many broken cars. It seems to get harder each time

Oh man, I am the same! Ideally, I don't want to hold onto one car too long. My goal is to try and expose myself to owning lots of different cars, tidying them up, and keeping them through as survivors. I live in such a unique opportunity for oddball cars, so I want to take full advantage of it before it's too expensive!

Just as an aside, your writing style has developed really well mate. The anecdotes and side thoughts in each post are very interesting to read and are extremely well written. It gives a lot of insight into where you’re at and always seems to be a good reminder of the pure joy that cars can bring. Top job 👍

Thank you for noticing! I have always had a real keen interest in writing. If you check out my Instagram, I have been trying to develop a similar style with my posts for the last few years. With my recent revival of this thread, I sought to try and take more time and effort into my posts to make them more compelling to read. I think a lot of it is due in part to having a lot more to talk about, and more freedom with it: my last few posts I was strapped for money a bit, so I never really had a chance to do something to my car- and if I did, it was usually quite boring.

I've been aiming for a halfway between a Speedhunters project entry and a blog post with my latest writeups, hence the image breaks. I'm really happy with how it's turning out so far, as it's allowing me to express my ideas a lot more freely. I had been mulling over creating a personal blog for all of my work, but I figured the niche to have someone redirect themselves specially off a site for it always turned me away. I think GTP will work for me in the meantime, though maybe I will expand to Drivehub at some stage. That's a bit where my MX-5 post came from. I had been wanting to fully expand my thoughts on the experience for a little while- recently I have become a bit intrigued to the mental thought processes that go behind a lot of commonplace car culture ideas. What makes a good car culture, what makes a car inherently special (other than just driving nice), why do we grow attached to our first cars?

Edit: I literally went on marketplace straight after typing this, and this is the very first thing that came up.

3Gs are really, really neat. Hard to modify, though, as they are relatively thin on the ground making a pretty small aftermarket! It would be hard for me to say no.

 

[homeforsummer]

As it stands, the Mugen wheel might not even be all that suited to the track- 360 is a rather large size of wheel, so it might be a better idea to go for a Personal Grinta (which are the actual wheels the JTCC Civics ran).

I've always liked larger steering wheels so 360mm doesn't seem so bad to me - the wooden Nardi I fit to my MX-5 was 360 I think.

It's not just a feel thing either. Smaller steering wheels often look aesthetically a bit weird to me too, like they're lost in vast expanses of dashboard.

Incidentally, you're always welcome to pick my brains on writing-related stuff too.

 

[SVX]

It's not just a feel thing either. Smaller steering wheels often look aesthetically a bit weird to me too, like they're lost in vast expanses of dashboard.

I agree. The current wheel in the car is a nasty wheel that's woefully undersized. Maybe around 300 to 320? It doesn't feel great in the hands because it's like I'm driving a toy car. Big wheels can feel kind of overwhelming to me, though. I have short arms with small hands (I'm not Trump though!), so a big wheel might be a wrestle on a track- I don't have experience so it's hard to say, and that might be the ultimate defining point of what I prefer.

Incidentally, you're always welcome to pick my brains on writing-related stuff too.

Thank you

 

[eiriksmil]

The current wheel in the car is a nasty wheel that's woefully undersized. Maybe around 300 to 320? It doesn't feel great in the hands because it's like I'm driving a toy car.

You will have very little control with a steering wheel that small as well. For instance if that lift-off oversteer comes

 

[SVX]

Continuing off with the steering wheel talk, I've ended up with a third I might turn into the @eiriksmil of steering wheels!

Slightly less exciting, but good to have nonetheless. Factory non-SRS steering wheel which would've come factory with my car. A nice design I think- a lot nicer than the airbag wheel. Considering it was only about $5 on Yahoo Auctions, I think it will go well with my factory shift knob I've gotten. As far as I know, these were the same wheel offered on every non-SRS EK, from the EK1 to the EK9 race base.

With the Corolla, made the use of the decent weather and did a three stage correction on it. CarPro Clear Cut compound (two passes), Mernzerna Finishing Polish, Rupes Protective Sealant to protect the paint. Have seen a lot of good comments for Fireball Hydrophobic Foam being a really simple way of putting on a good layer of protection, so might look at that in the coming weeks.

​

Been in a bit of a war with it lately! Past month or two it's had an idle missfire that has gotten constant. It's always had a bit of a slight off pattern with it's idle and power delivery, but nothing too noticeable. However recently, it's been doing it all the time. I figured the most likely scenario would be the coil packs, so I ordered some with about 80,000km on them from Japan, which improved things slightly. Looking at maybe doing a new fuel filter and pre-cat oxygen sensor, as at 274k, I'd imagine they would be pretty past it as well. I'm not actually sure when the last fuel filter was done!

I've also had it booked in for a windscreen-out rust repair in August. It's had a replacement windscreen in previous ownership which hasn't been properly installed, causing a rust issue down the line. Not cheap, but won't pass it's yearly inspection without it.

 

[eiriksmil]

Not bad.. I got one extra OEM steering wheel for two of my cars plus 5 aftermarket ones. So I am still the eiriksmil of steering wheels as well, but I have no doubt in my mind you will get there

Clean the MAF on the Corolla.. I clean mine with connector cleaner spray once in a while, works very well.

 

[SVX]

Clean the MAF on the Corolla.. I clean mine with connector cleaner spray once in a while, works very well.

Yeah, might need to do that again. Was less than 30,000km ago it was done, which sounds slightly premature. Doesn't hurt though!

 

[SVX]

A recap of what I've been up to with the Corolla the past few months.

There had been a rust spot just above the windscreen that was getting worse, month by month. It got to the point where it would be failed in the next inspection, so while I went off to America to see Heldenzeit and friends, I had it booked in for a complete windscreen-out job. They did an okay job, with ruining the clearcoat, leaving a tonne of dust in the paint, and general scratches - but the car gets so many scratches by the day due to living outside, I don't really care. It's had at least five appointments with the body shop, all with varying levels of quality - it's not worth any more effort.
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After that, I was down to trying to track down a weird engine missfire. The car had always had a slight off feeling since I got it, but it was so minor for a high mileage car, I didn't really become concerned about it. GDII noted numerous times that it had a weird 'surging' feeling as you apply power, but I found it hard to notice - until recently. Coupled with a weird tenancy to idle really roughly (despite being well within the 700 RPM warm idle spec), I sought to try and do something about it.

My initial thought was the coil packs. I bought a cheap set off Yahoo Auctions Japan with only around 84,000 KM on them - other people I knew with experience of this engine, stated similar things happening, and noted that the coil packs seemed to fix it. I didn't really notice a difference, so I went to other solutions to troubleshoot.

I bought a new oxygen sensor. These generally have a use-by date, and with the very high kilometres, I figured it was worth doing. It was very sad looking, but again, no difference.​

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While tending to the coil packs, I checked the spark plugs and found they were fairly white. They weren't overdue as I replaced them not long after I got the car, but with the signal of excessive leaning out, I figured it would maybe be impacting something. Unfortunately not.

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Next was the MAF. This was a really cheap replacement, and upon removing it, had a fair amount of corrosion - nothing that cleaning it (which I had done previously), would fix - no effect.

The latest replacement was an IACV. This wasn't too bad either. I replaced it with a slightly updated part number, and while there were some slight differences, it was all for the same engine, so there must've been a good reason for it to be changed. This has made the biggest difference thus far. The idle is a lot less rough - still rougher than it should be, I think, but prior to the work it was borderline old diesel rackety. The idle was never jumping or moving, but it felt like it was just about to stall. Kind of like when you don't have enough throttle when taking off in a manual car, and it slightly judders.

(these clamps should die)​

At this point I have a feeling it's something that is a lot more of a job. There's a few more ideas - like a new throttle position sensor, fuel filter (which I will be doing anyway, as I found one that my dad had purchased back when I got the car), or getting the injectors flow tested and cleaned with an ultra sonic solution - but I think it's going to be a losing battle. In the coming days I'm going to try and give it a compression test, as I think after 280,000 hard kilometres, it's finally starting it's state of decline. Decline is probably a tad harsh, as it still receives really good mileage for the type of car it is - but it's not getting any newer.

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A few other bits and pieces I've done, like a bolt to replace the missing one for a random bracket on the manifold, a missing clip for the scuttle panel seal, some square fabric for the centre console cubby, and finally a replacement floor panel for the rear seat overlay. I have done so many small tweaks and fixes that it's gotten to the point where I've ran out of things to do. There's one or two things that I'll pick up if I see one come up at the yard, but even the most obscure of clips I'm missing, I've found. I'll just keep driving it for now, but I'm wanting to get rid of it before the mileage gets too much higher. I have my eyes on a 2014 Mazda Axela/3 hatchback at the moment, but I'm suspicious if it'll be too small. I just want torque - there's so many times I have to drop down several gears just to make it up an incline at the speed limit. That's a ways off now, so for the time being, it's just a complete daily.

 

[SVX]

2002 Toyota Corolla GL - 15/08/2015 - 01/12/2019

So that's a wrap!

I wasn't really looking at selling it this soon, but at a family gathering my aunt mentioned my uncle was looking to upgrade his old 80s Corolla to something a bit newer. I mentioned for the right price, I'd probably sell - they checked my car out and then wanted it right from that word go. The original idea was to wait it out and buy something super modern, like a Volvo V40, or a Mazda3 - but that wasn't going to be until next year, and this was my best chance at getting a good price. I could maybe get the price through Trade Me or Facebook, but with this going to my family, I have no success fee, but I also get a chance to see it once every couple of years, so I can be sure it's not going too far astray from me.

Snapped this on the Desert Road on the way back from another Tongariro hike - Mt. Ruapehu in the background.​

Without reiterating too much of what I said about my 'discovery' of why I began to love the car so much, @Hayden really nailed it as one of the very first posts in the thread.

Your first car, regardless of what it is, in the moment, will be the coolest car you ever own. After all, coming from push bikes, public transport and legs, anything with 4 wheels is bound to be something special. Trust me, I'm proud to say I own some nice cars, but the coolest thing I ever owned was my base model 2000 Ford AU Falcon auto. I look back on the adventures and journeys me and my friends had in that clapped out old rig with a fondness nothing since could evoke.

The Corolla is actually a really good place to start. Bulletproof, economical, very practical, manual (), cheap to maintain and in pretty good shape. You'll have a blast in her mate! When you feel you're ready, that Miata or SVX can come calling, but for now, just enjoy getting your first true taste of freedom!

Do road trips, explore, learn and have fun with your car. Make it your pride and joy. Treat it like a $1,000,000 car, because the habits you create now will follow you forever.

Congrats on the ride mate, I guess I just want to say have fun with her and good luck! Look forward to seeing this thread progress!

Every one of these statements came true - the adventures, friendships, discoveries, drives, trips I all took in this car are ones that will be forever ingrained as the last few years of being a teenager, and becoming someone of my 20s. Going through college, getting my first jobs - my car was (almost) always a part of that, which just makes it such an integral part of that time in my life.

Even right down to the terrible clutch feel which trained me to have an instinct which has helped with every other manual car I've driven (Bunta said it trains the driver... I mean it's no AE86...) - for the most part, every lesson it's taught me has been something that has put me on a great track. I'm proud to have been meticulous with the cleaning, servicing, OEM parts-only replacements because I full well know it was now one of the nicest E120s in the country once I was done with it, which is what I set out to do from the beginning. I wanted people to sit in the car and be surprised at how homely, nice smelling, tidy, well adjusted it was. These cars just never have this chance, because they're bought as a workhorse end and all. That's what makes me even happier knowing it's gone to somewhere that'll cherish it, because then it wouldn't have been done in vain.

To cap it off, I thought it would be fun to do a comparison between the day I got it, and the day before it was officially out of my ownership;

4 1/4 years, 43,600km. My final average fuel economy for 33000 km (bare in mind a lot of it is from pizza deliveries): 8.4 l/100km (28mpg US/34mpg UK) rated at 7.7 l/100km (30mpg US/37mpg UK) my Fuelly - I'm pretty happy with that considering the mileage.

After all of the guess work too, I was also able to find the quoted weight - and it was even lighter than expected. 1073kg. Crazy for something that was a somewhat large wagon in it's time period - full specs here.

Yeah, I already have the replacement too.

 

[SVX]

2004 Suzuki Swift Sport - 31/11/2019-

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Yeah, so this is the replacement! I was left in a tight position for a replacement, as the new owners were wanting to pick up the Corolla sooner than later. While I was away on my trip climbing Mt. Tongariro, I had this sent to me on Trade Me. The mileage was on the higher side, but sitting on CP035s (which turned out to be reps - made it easier to get the price down though), it was unlike anything else I had been looking at. I kept coming back to it. It helped it was also very local too. The silly proportions, Recaros, flared arches. It just seemed like an awesome compromise- fitting a bill of being really neat, but also not totally dreary.

@Skython and I went to check it out, and from a short drive, I knew this was what I wanted. The sound, the feel, the rawness - in Honda terms, it feels like an EF with the way it's so bare bones (without being too much so). I threw my Racing Harts on (yet again...) and brought it home, confident that this is the best thing I've ever bought.

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The previous owner had it for a similar reason - he had his Glanza V track car, so he was ideally after something to drive on occasion that wasn't his big Legacy, or his work van. The bits where it falls short are the cosmetics - there's a bit of grazing, and it's dirty - like, I don't think he had cleaned it at all since the 1400km Gumboot Rally earlier this year. But, that's what I'm good at, and makes it even more satisfying to know I'm sure I can bring it up to my standards relatively simply.

Inside, it's all stock, with the factory fitted 240km/h speedometer, Suzuki Sport dead pedal and the all important Recaro fishnets with yellow embroidery all in their places. Some rough edges along the way, with a few trim pieces missing or broken, but with it sharing so much with the regular Ignis, just in the way my Civic does, it's all relatively straight forward.

Under the bonnet, these featured a high compression (11.0!) M15A 1.5 litre engine making 115hp (export markets were down to 110hp I believe). It's very light stature of 935kg makes it scoot along just as anything else would with a bit more power, due in part with it's rally style short ratio gearbox. Somewhere along the line it's had a no-brand pod filter fitted, as well as Cusco underbody and bonnet bracing. I don't see myself doing too much to it, but I might look for either the Suzuki Motorsport carbon intake, or the open intake with the metal shroud, just so I can make sure it's not sucking in hot air. Suspension wise, it's been fitted with RS*R lowering springs, which are fairly rough, and some KYB rear shocks due to an inspection failure. Other than tyres I see the suspension being the first thing to go - overly stiffly sprung is a trait of RS*R springs and for a road car, it just doesn't keep connected to the rougher b roads as much as I want. I think the factories would be a good enough compromise, but it'll probably be an instance of just taking what I can get.

Other than the after mentioned, there's no big plans really, but we will see how long that sticks. It's a shy away from 200k, so a big service will probably be first on the agenda, followed by an extensive seats-out extractor clean. I'll update the thread with the full to-do list once I've been able to go through and find everything that needs replacing.

Jobs;

Spoiler

-Interior detail
-200k service (oil change + filter, uprated brake fluid, cabin air filter, coolant, spark plugs)
-Emissions tune up (clean throttle body, etc.)
-New tyres + alignment, wheel balancing
-Exterior detail
-Replace scratch panel clips (x6)
-Replace rear trim clips (x6)
-Replace centre console screws (x2) and clips (x2)
-Replace kick panel clips (x4)
-Replace card holder
-Replace driver's right rear seat bolt cover
-Replace passenger right rear seat bolt cover
-Replace spare wheel clamp
-Replace cigarette lighter
-Replace third mirror
-Replace driver's sun visor
-Replace grill
-Source pod filter heat shield
-Remove aftermarket earth kit
-Replace rear number plate bulbs
-Remove guard trims
-Replace speakers
-Replace upper dash trim
-Replace headlight bulbs
-Replace plug leads
-Wetsand headlights
-Replace rear number plate light covers
-Engine bay fresh up (clean/paint bolts, surface rust)
-Paint wipers
-Source screw for sideskirt
-Source clip for widebody
-Replace arch liner clips
-Replace/source rear panel clips
-Source missing climate control shroud screws
-Source missing rear seatbelt bolt covers
-Source headunit bracket
-Track down random black wire
-Clean headliner

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[homeforsummer]

Love this thing - such a great choice, and as I've mentioned elsewhere, a car I sometimes wish I'd chosen over the Rallye as I'd be less precious about it and inclined to use it more regularly.

I think the factories would be a good enough compromise, but it'll probably be an instance of just taking what I can get.

From what I remember in contemporary reviews, they were pretty firm even as standard, so it'd be worth looking around to see if there's a setup that keeps their agility and body control but maybe soaks up bumps a little better.

The one test of the car I have to hand states the power output for UK cars at 107bhp at 6400rpm too (which is probably 110PS - torque was quoted as 103lb ft @ 4100), so a bit less than Japan got.

Edit: Also...

 

[SVX]

Love this thing - such a great choice, and as I've mentioned elsewhere, a car I sometimes wish I'd chosen over the Rallye as I'd be less precious about it and inclined to use it more regularly.

It's been an alright daily so far. A bit hard to drive every day - tougher suspension, and an insanely heavy duty clutch (not sure if that's an OEM spec or not, I'd imagine not), but has been returning the same mileage as my Corolla with nearly 15 litres less capacity!

Edit: Also...

Dang, that's wicked. Read my mind about the wheels too. Wondering if I go a gravel setup with Suzuki Sport blue mudflaps, or a more tarmac spec, like what the JWRC cars ran. Orrrr, NT01s?

--​

Oh yeah, I temporarily had another Civic.​

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A little something behind the scenes I've been working on. A few of you may know that a personal goal of mine has to work within my own business, importing and exporting cars.

The story started way back when I flew to California for the very first time. I had just finished college, and was still deciding on what I wanted to do, after my initial interest in journalism fell flat. I had a new found interest in retail, but I still wasn't sure about how I could use that moving forward into something that would be my future. I was graciously given insight to the triumphs and failures with a few people I had met through mutual friends in California - and that was where it all began. I remember taking a few steps into Top Rank Importers and knowing straight away, this was what I wanted to do.

A lot of people advised me against it - saying it was such a length to go to, but one thing that I was told, always sticks vividly in my mind. Yes, there's other career avenues you can take, going to university and all that - but when you have a goal for something that you know you want to do, damn well, give it a go before giving up! I stand by these words each time I question why I continue pursuing this goal, or have to explain it - and, I feel this should be the case for anyone else as well! Failure is the fastest and easiest way to learn. Taking it as a form of a negative is only that if you think about it that way. If you learn from what caused it to prevent it from happening again - it's put you better off than if you had lucked out.

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For the car itself, it isn't much - 1991 Honda Civic 25X S-Limited. 100hp D15 dual carb, four speed automatic - however this isn't why it was so appealing. Being a facelift, it's already on the rarer side here, and being a low mileage facelift is even more so - being the lowest mileage car I've ever owned while being simultaneously the cheapest, at $600 off Facebook Marketplace!

The real ticket was the interior. Being this trim, it was essentially the anti-SiR - in fact, it was exactly that. Coming with the less than appealing D series engines and automatic transmissions, from factory they were an EF9 SiR without the internals. SiR specific striped interior, bronze glass, spoiler - a lot of kit for something that wouldn't go any further than a grocery getter.

A long time parts client had been interested in buying a car for awhile, and when this popped up on Facebook Marketplace pending being parted out, I just had to see how much the entire car would be. Sure enough, a response was quickly received and the very next day I head out to purchase it. The 170,000km was definitely seen in it's very tidy bodywork (bar the driver's seat), but most definitely not felt throughout the mechanicals, with a slipping automatic transmission and a suspected stuck open thermostat smoking it until kingdom come. Also sourcing some RC Star Sharks to finish off the look, it was a real shame to see it go!

It's already left NZ, and now will be arriving on the ports of Long Beach, CA, early January

 

[eiriksmil]

This is very cool. I was under the impression shipping cars to and especially from NZ was very costly?

 

[homeforsummer]

Dang, that's wicked. Read my mind about the wheels too. Wondering if I go a gravel setup with Suzuki Sport blue mudflaps, or a more tarmac spec, like what the JWRC cars ran. Orrrr, NT01s?

I used to always prefer the look of tarmac-spec rally cars - big wheels, low suspension, chunky tyres etc. But more recently I'm all about gravel spec. Loose surfaces are what rallying's really all about! Something very appealing about a car that looks like you can throw absolutely anything at it.

Congrats on shipping the Civic!

This is very cool. I was under the impression shipping cars to and especially from NZ was very costly?

Yeah, but the buyer pays for that...

 

[SVX]

This is very cool. I was under the impression shipping cars to and especially from NZ was very costly?

Complete opposite, actually. Importing wise, our roads are made up of maybe around 70% imports. According to Wiki,

Very clear to see that during the 1990s, quite how many imported cars made it to this country (and why this car has such an insane level of weird cars about!). It's a little less cool now with Japanese car prices increasing overseas due to also having competition from America, but with my previous job (discharging imported cars off the car vessels), occasionally you'd see an R33 or GC8 come about. A surprising amount of American stuff also making it through from there too. I think the regulations now are that the car must be 20 yrs old to be pardoned from laws, or if newer, must level with Euro 4 and equivalent safety regulations.

Exporting wise, surprisingly cheap actually. Shipping itself was $1550 USD - I was expecting closer to the $2000 USD mark.

I used to always prefer the look of tarmac-spec rally cars - big wheels, low suspension, chunky tyres etc. But more recently I'm all about gravel spec. Loose surfaces are what rallying's really all about! Something very appealing about a car that looks like you can throw absolutely anything at it.

I think the main thing is that I want to go white on white. Completely forgot about NT01s actually, and would be a good wheel to keep once I'm done with the car (4x100 is handy!). Hmm. I think I'll go through my Hyper Rev tonight, spam pending.

 

[GDII]

I do have to say this is a fun little car to drive even with the mad heavy clutch and only being able to drive it slow due to the rain. Good little buy!

 

[eiriksmil]

Yeah, but the buyer pays for that...

Obviously. But it needs to be competitive. If it did cost a fortune, an overseas buyer will look elsewhere.. It doesn't help that the car is priced right if shipping from one country is many times more expensive from another. Especially as exporters in Japan is really well set up for this market. I'm looking at this from a business perspective.. It needs to be competitive and it needs to be scalable.

I recall some guys in the UK looked into shipping a set of wheels or a car, can't remember (but chances are it was a Daihatsu...) and shipping turned out to be immensely expensive.

I knew importing cars from Japan to NZ was a big thing but I think few cars leave there. Like with Cyprus and other countries where used JDM cars are sent to die

NZ does make perfect sense; cars are usually exported from Japan at the age of 3-5, if they stay in Japan until they reach classic status they are often good grade so coming across cheaper older cars there is harder. So you gotta look elsewhere. In Africa they don't really have the economy to keep their cars well maintained. In Russia the cars are beat to hell from vodka and bad roads. Paraguay takes a lot of JDM imports but they are LHD converted. NZ cars will probably have little sun damage and little rust?

PM me with pricing for shipping cars to Europe and the UK.

 

[homeforsummer]

I recall some guys in the UK looked into shipping a set of wheels or a car, can't remember (but chances are it was a Daihatsu...) and shipping turned out to be immensely expensive.

That's because we've spent the last three or four years absolutely boning our economy.

For a time when I had the MX-5 I wanted to import a set of Watanabe wheels for it, as it was far easier to find the right size in Japan for a decent price.

But while I was looking the Brexit vote happened and all of a sudden the exchange rate tanked and the exact same set of wheels was 50% more expensive.

In Russia the cars are beat to hell from vodka and bad roads.

Russia seems to import them in vast numbers and it makes me kinda sad, as all those cars will die very quickly indeed out there. Whenever I've done searches for some of the more obscure JDM stuff (picking one out of the air: Toyota Sprinter Marino) the vast majority seem to now be in Russia. Usually wearing some utterly awful modifications.

 

[SVX]

Russia seems to import them in vast numbers and it makes me kinda sad, as all those cars will die very quickly indeed out there. Whenever I've done searches for some of the more obscure JDM stuff (picking one out of the air: Toyota Sprinter Marino) the vast majority seem to now be in Russia. Usually wearing some utterly awful modifications.

It's very unfortunate and it's similarly bad here - most of them ending up at junkyards (don't get me started on the epidemic of FTOs ) - but clean examples do exist, they're just never manuals. It's like my Swift, you might just have to be prepared to make a 200k one mint, because I guess as long as the internals are good, it'll still return the same fun.

 

[SVX]

The first and for me, most important thing to do with a new car - a seats out, extractor automotive archaeology-ridden extraction detail!

Personally, I can't stand a dirty interior. Exterior, sure - but the interior is where you spend all of your time.

The first thing I noticed was mould developing on the sun visors and passenger grab handles - I imagine it's had it's windows cracked open a few times (it wasn't driven much in the past year), and a bit of moisture was repeatedly left inside the car. This was the first thing I attended to, leaving them to soak in a bucket of strong Sugar Soap solution to hopefully kill the bacteria. There's been some weird stuff going on with the visors, with some weird paint on the driver's side that has left me to replace it completely, and the passenger side having a retro-modded vanity mirror install. I might end up installing a proper vanity mirror, as I'm pretty sure they were standard on the Cruze rebadge.

After:

Items used;

Extracted with a Bissell Professional Spot Cleaner, which I must say is amazing value for money for a hobbiest! I can't recommend more. Most scrubbing done with cheap Trade Me drill brushes, or various other generic hard bristled brushes, with Chemical Guys interior shampoo.

Dog hair removed with Lilly Brush interior car detailer.

Random tape stuff removed with Dis-olv-it.

Sealed off with Meguiar's Shine Protect.

Dead pedal polished with Silvo.
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Before;

During:

After:

The archaeology:

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[SVX]

Took advantage of the Boxing Day sales and did some maintenance. It's just about to come up to 200k, so it's never a bad thing to do. Started off with some spark plugs. I opted for NGK nickel - seeing as they're so easy to access, the factory fit iridium plugs were a little pointless (and also lower performance, if we want to further create some reasoning). Upon removal, I was a little shocked, for good and bad reasons.

The good was that the plugs installed turned out to be Suzuki Sport upgraded GTi #7 plugs.

Which turned out to have never been replaced since the car was in New Zealand (it was imported in 2011, for reference...), seeing as there was no records of being changed, and being a specially ordered part which certainly looked the part...

While under the plug cover, I also found someone had opted to replace the plug leads with Suzuki Sport upgrades there, too:

​

...which then prompted to melt today. So I'll get some factory spec replacements.

One of the first things I noticed was that the night driving visibility was atrocious. While on sale I grabbed some +110% (supposedly the percentage of visibility improvement over a regular bulb) and noticed a slight difference. I think the fogginess in the headlights is the main thing, so I'll get some more sand paper and rectify that.

​

I decided to inspect the springs, then caught the eye of some familiar kanji. Turns out the exhaust is not factory, but a Kakimoto replacement! No wonder it sounds so good.

 

[GDII]

Bulbs are definitely whiter and brighter.

 

[SVX]

Started the day off with changing the bulbs for the rear number plate bulbs. As I was inspecting some weird yellow fatigue, the cover fell out of my hand and onto the concrete, cracking it. No matter, it's a standard Suzuki part, so I'll pick up some better condition ones at the junkyard later today.

While I was getting the bulbs, I decided to do the number one thing that had bugged me since getting the car. The headlights had done the natural thing of fogging up, as 90s cars do - but in a weird way, with the top 1/5th of the headlight being fine, leaving the headlights in a weird, almost angry style. Then I realised that when it was imported, the car probably came with some terrible eye lids tacked on - weird marking where the headlight is clear sorta confirms this.

The process was pretty similar to last time. 600 grit wetsand (instead of block sanding), followed up with 800 then 2000. Much better! Night time visibility has improved tenfold.

 

[eiriksmil]

The cover likely cracked because of that yellow fatigue, which is probably down to heat from the bulb making the plastic yellow and brittle and more prone to cracking.

 

[SVX]

The cover likely cracked because of that yellow fatigue, which is probably down to heat from the bulb making the plastic yellow and brittle and more prone to cracking.

Yeah, figured as such. I'm not too worried - it's just a bother that I can't buy just the covers new (only with the complete holders). I'll see what I can find today.

 

[Katiegan]

Always amazes me how much faded headlights can improve with a little sanding.

 

[SVX]

'so where did your Civic go?'

Yeah, I often ask myself the same question.

Long story short:

'what's under here?'

'o'​

​

🤬


The day after I got home from picking it up, it was quite wet - I felt a drip on my pants, and noticed a stream of water coming from the windscreen. I thought at first it was just a poor seal done by whoever repainted it (spoiler: it was one of the leaks), so I taped it up and went on my merry way. It wasn't until I had some work done to it when it was suggested to maybe have a look at the carpets, and well, they were more a raft by that point. I stripped the car the following day to see the extent (to hopefully just dry it out), and was greeted with the following.

I freaked out quite a bit. It was my first car purchase, so I was really up in arms about buying a lemon. I wasn't expecting such an intensive project (for my standards, anyway), and I really didn't want to bog it up and call it a day - I argue on the internet about bad decisions, I can't be a hypocrite!

As a result, the car was essentially parked up after having the interior gutted, while I mulled over the next cause of action. The Corolla having issues, the EF Civic taking way too long to be shipped out all put it onto the back burner - as I'm the sort of person to dedicate 100% of attention to one thing, and one thing only. The biggest issue was where it was leaking from. I took a look at a lot of the hot spots of where it can leak - but it was such a deal getting it to leak that made it all the harder. Yet, each bout of rain continued to show puddles in the same spots.

While having it continuously in the back of my mind - I remembered the rain gutters, and the vague rust that was fixed prior to picking it up - and dreaded to to think of what I'd find under the headliner. Fast forward to the past couple of weeks, and a lot of progress was made.

I prodded the rust spots, fearing the worst - and while small holes appeared, the metal was very largely still intact. This was the real do or die for whether I could feasibly fix the car - each of the rust spots were wire brushed back and double coated with rust converter, ready to be sealed up with some black primer. The rain gutters under the headliner were almost completely fine - and with the headliner off, it was a great chance to sit in the car and watch for water to come in while being blasted by a hose. The culprit was found with the window seal after all - so this was professionally removed and refitted.

I decided if I had come this far - I'd take the guards off and reseal all of the frame seals, which is what I was doing in the first picture. A notorious leaking spot for EKs is that the frame sealant cracks, and seeps water in to leave very wet carpets. I figured that even if this wasn't the culprit, it doesn't hurt for preventative measures. I also removed the Ultra Racing guard bracing as I don't care for their products. I had dodged a future bullet after noticing that it was already starting to crack in some places, and while it wasn't the prettiest, it's entirely unseen behind the bodywork, and would rather have that than a leaky car. I still need to do the seals under the A/C, but I'm waiting on the sealant to be returned to me.

I'm still undecided about the rust repair. The a pillars will be okay painted - they are still mainly intact. I can't weld either of the holes, the spot under the bonnet being too hard to access, and the rain gutter spot would destroy all of the surrounding paint. I've been suggested bog with a few layers, as well as using the frame sealant. Would appreciate suggestions or alternatives, as I do not have the conscience to pass on a pile of junk held together with bad practices.

 

[SVX]

Sealed the rust up, and was progressively getting the car back together...

then, I managed to crack the windscreen putting it back together. 🤬 is cursed, forreal.

So, I -

1995 Honda Civic SiR - 07/03/2019- 08/01/2020

sold it!

I think there was just nothing left in the car as a project - knowing that it was a quite rough shell was always going to be a bummer, but the fact it need serious body work was always going to bring me down too. Each time I worked on it, another thing seemed to go wrong - and I was just getting sick of it. The Swift had filled it's place as a fun, light car - so other than having a bit more legs, it was seeming more redundant by the minute. I threw it up on Facebook for a small loss, had someone drive it and then they ended up buying it. Seeing the back of it was a great relief. It's gone into good hands - the guy that has bought it will be looking at getting it back on the road as soon as possible. Which is what it deserves, but it just wasn't the car for me. I'd love, love another EK4 someday, but next time making sure it's the right one will be the crucial step.

This means full steam ahead for the Swift - I also started my new job which has me working alongside a Suzuki dealership, which has already proven very advantageous in getting discounted parts. I have a new cabin air filter and plug leads on order already.

 

[SVX]

Been plodding away at small things -

First deal of business was to get some parts through work. OEM replacement plug leads and cabin filter.

Yeah, I think it's safe to say that is was needed.

Then finished it off to 200k!

​

Still a few things that need to be sorted out. Ordered a new grill which has arrived a few days ago - and @Korza has done a great job finding me all the small interior pieces I'm needing to replace. Unfortunately, Swifts in junkyards are scarce here as opposed to other places in the country, which causes issue a bit with sourcing generic parts. Getting there!

 

[SVX]

Sure enough, one finally did crop up, abiet in the guise of the facelift Holden Cruze - but no matter, because the interior parts I were to be after are the same!

​

Sure enough, I got to work and got all of the small bits and pieces I had been trying to come across. Just to further complete bits of the car that otherwise drive me crazy.

-Clip on covers for the rear seatbelts
-Locating clips for the passenger a-pillar trim that I was also replacing
-Rear boot panel clip (+spares)
-Arch liner clips
-Centre console clips and screws
-Interior clips
​

One of the biggest things that bothered me about my interior, was the scummy looking a pillar trim;

I would be reminded of it's existence every time I looked out the passenger window - helped by the fact it rattled, as it was missing these;

Sure enough, this was a quick fix and the interior looks so much better for it.

Compounded by the fact I picked up all of the other missing screws (like the centre console ones, where it was missing all but one!), although this is insanely small stuff, I can't help but feel the most satisfied by it.