My Honda Accord Coupe

Re: Hey folks :D

Ok so here it is. I took these about 4 days after buying the car so it is pre-valet and pre-gunked engine.

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Note the red Honda badge. It doesn't look like the original has been swapped but there aren't any TypeR Accords this early so I guess it must have been. Ignore the red circle, I was highlighting areas for attention to remind myself. This is a rust spot *shakes fist*

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If you are familiar with 5th gens you'll notice I ripped the number plate mounting off. The plate looks a lot more flush with the bumper now.

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Note the fake TypeR stickers. Another painful reminder of the car's history and how it was treated. The bump strips will be removed and am thinking about refurbing the honda wheels in white until I can afford some Volks or Ultralites.

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I'm going to remove the foglight and smooth the gap (assuming I don't replace the bumper) and turn the spoiler brake light into the rear fog. I haven't decided whether to go for a single 3" backbox or a similar box to the stock one as the dualpipe looks nice if slightly bigger.

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Patches of rust. This is the most noticeable but it is evident underneath the rubber strip lining the rear arches so this is a priority. I read about a company in Sunderland (in an old Max Power mag) called 'Car & Bike Magic' who can remove scratches, rust, dents etc without the need for a respray so am currently trying to find a similar company close by (Staffordshire).

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Finally the F22B5. Mucky as hell, caked in oil. It has since been gunked by me (unsuccessfully) and steam cleaned professionally so looks much better now. I'll put new pics up when I get round to it. My plans for this in the beginning is a battery relocate, ABS/AC delete and a wire tuck, and will try and source a different head which flows better (good for boosting). I think it's the F22B3 or something like that.

I have eyed a tasty Wings West Lip kit and have also sourced some cheap bits on an american site, so gonna find out how much the customs charges will hit me as there is a ton of bits I want to get.

First things first though, get this bloody MOT out the way, whenever the mechanic gets round to doing it.

All comments welcome.
 
Couple new pics...

Engine bay all clean now :D
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Little shot of one of the new trailing arms fitted.
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Thought I'd repost the headlight pics. Keep this as the project thread.
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Legally you will have trouble with having the high level stoplamp as a fog light, it cannot be more than a certain distance from the floor (dont know what height that is though)
 
I thought that too, but so far two different MOT testers said it wouldn't be a problem.

That said, it's never foggy enough to merit using it, but I need to have one to be street legal.

Technically the fog lamp should be on the drivers side if it is a single unit, two fog lamps need to be symmetrical. Also it/they need to be at least 10cm from the brake lights.

I don't think it'll give me too many problems, I'm hoping there will be plenty of distracting modifications come next MOT heheh
 
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Next bits to buy:

Energy Suspension Bush Kit
OEM or Megan Tie Rods
OEM Balance Shaft Kit
OEM Water Pump
OEM Thermostat (Maybe)
Oil, Coolant

Next bits to do:

Fit new headlight connector
Timing Kit (Still not done it!)
Fuel Filter (See above)
Oil Filter (Yes I know)
Cat Shield Rattle
Get quotes for minor rust repair
 
I apologise for the late post as I got a bit smashed this evening.

Anyways.. as promised, interior strip pics!

Normally I'd write witty captions for each picture but I'm waiting for a pizza to come so I'll just whack them on quickly.

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Hope you like the pics. Any questions/comments/critique welcome.

The car isn't any louder because of the strip of interior. You can hear the odd stone bounce off the fender wall more easily but that's about it.

The instability caused by the large weight reduction in the rear is a concern though. I was taking it for a test drive and it felt like it almost tripod'd taking a corner at 55mph.

Saying that, I was following my mate in his 120bhp Lotus Elise (bearing in mind it weighs 800Kg) and I reckon another 30-50hp and I could stay with him under heavy acceleration. So I was pleased with that.

The only downside to this was the metal of the parcel shelf was so shiny, I couldn't see out the rear window due to the reflection, so I'll have to sort that soon.
 
Nice work buddy make sure you put a cold air feed to your air box now you've removed the resinator.
Keep it up mate and keep us posted buddy.
 
I'm not sure what to do with the interior to be honest. I could get it all flocked or I could smooth off all the bolt holes and clean it up before spraying it a matte black.

Not sure yet.

As for the front interior, that will remain stock until I finish the numerous other mechanical bits i.e. coilovers, bushes, wheels and rubber etc.

Plans for the inside though are lightweight seats, maybe Bride or Recaro, suede steering wheel, removal of all the centre console and fitting a Forbidden Adjustable Short throw shifter.

Eventually the dash will get ripped out, but it isn't a priority right now.
 
Ok, so my 'cord is finally going in to get my pile of bits fitted. The reason for delaying it all so long is because I was waiting on some AEM lightweight alternator and power steering pulleys but I recently found out they have been discontinued for my vehicle. GRR!

That's two items now as I wanted the Tanabe SMR exhaust too and that has been discontinued :(

Parts to go on...

Timing Belt + Balance Shaft Belt & Tensioners
Fuel Filter + Oil Filter
Thermostat
Water Pump
Magnetic plugs for oil pan and transmission.

Probably something else but I can't remember.

I've also picked up some NGK Iridium IX spark plugs and some Castrol GTX High Mileage 10w-40w oil which should help with my fuel economy a little.

I've contacted Magnecor about some new ignition leads as the UK branch don't stock my parts. Another negative for having an imported car. Magnecor USA are hopefully on the case though, fingers crossed.

Luckily the labour quoted for fitting it all was well below my expectations so I am gonna try and find a good bodyshop to take care of the rust soon. I'm moving it up my to-do list as water is leaking in around the aerial base due to the fact the seal around it has come off/worn away.

I figured while I get the rust sorted I'll get them to patch the hole where the aerial usually goes and paint over it all smooth.

We'll see anyway. Gotta get a quote for that first.

and yes, I could do the rusty arches myself but I don't have a garage and the weather is pretty unpredictable at the moment :p At least this way they will have a good view of the underneath and be able to spot any other areas that need TLC.
 
Well all parts fitted, pain in the arse they were too.

I lost about a litre of fuel trying to fit the fuel filter as it's in a stupid place.

Found out what the rattle was that was driving me mad. Wasn't the cat shield after all, turned out to be this little plate protecting the driver's side handbrake cable by the rear wheel. Practically fell off it was that rusted.

Spoke to Phil De Witt from Magnecor. Gonna try and fit some cables from a slightly different engine application, the F22A7, but I need to measure my leads first to make sure they will go on. if not, he's gonna sort out a custom job as soon as I give him the measurements.

No pics I'm sorry, didn't have my camera, but I'll try and update with some soon when obvious changes have been made.
 
I like it man. Normally I am not a Honda person but this is a good looking accord. That engine bay cleanout did wonders wow, I am going to do that myself this weekend!

So what are your suspension plans? And what about tire plans? That rear weight reduction must have made it really front heavy, as I thought Hondas were to begin with.

Good luck!
 
Hey, thanks for the comments.

Plans for the suspension are full coilovers. I think H&R are a bit softer than I'd like though so looking at K-Sport if I can get them imported, failing that Tein Super Streets.

Having some bodywork done to it at the end of the month to clean up a few little bits and then I'm gonna have a go with some fibreglass to cover up all the bolt holes which are left from when it was stripped.

I've decided to wait until Winter to finish getting the sound deadening out. I read that dry ice is good to remove it but if that isn't easily accesible, wait until it's like -5C outside and the tar stuff should pull right off.

I spoke to ABP Motorsport and TDI North a little while ago about which route to go engine wise and I've now decided to purchase a Bisimoto Camshaft, Cam Gear, High Compression Pistons (13:1), springs etc which with Hondata engine management should see around 250bhp at the wheels with a peak redline of about 10k rpm. I'd like to get some work done on the head (port & polish etc) at the same time but I'll have to see.

Need to find someone to do forged rods though as the ones Bisimoto offer I heard only last about 40,000 miles as they are aluminium.

No more pics at the moment as very little has changed cosmetically.

New tyres are a priority though, as well as brakes, as they are both naff to put it simply. Not sure if I can get 215/45's for 15" wheels, haven't looked, so maybe 215/55's. As for brand, I haven't checked them out yet.

As for being front heavy, not really. There is way too much bodyroll though which will be addressed once the coilovers are on with poly bushes and possibly strut bars if necessary. I heard that sometimes they can be detrimental though, kinda trial and error with fitting them.
 
Ok finally some new pics....

Bought some Mintex discs and pads. I thought about going with Black Diamond Grooved combined with Predator pads, but figured I might as well wait until I'm putting out 200bhp+ and then upgrade to Tarox 4 pots.

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Vented front discs
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BC-Racing BR series adjustable coilovers
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Front
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Rear
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30 Level Damping Adjustment
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Can't wait to take pics of it dropped. Updates this Friday if all goes well!
 
You and me both!

Brakes tomorrow, coilovers Friday, so I'll have a day to set the damping how I want it and test different heights over speed bumps, before the rolling road day.
 
Finally my bushes arrive after 2 weeks of impatient waiting.

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Something so small has been keeping me from so much joy!

Anyways got a space in the garage on Friday so piccies then assuming all goes well lol


Edit: For those of you who don't know (coulda swore I updated my thread) I have been rollin like a wedge of cheese due to rear lower suspension bushes being seized so couldn't fit the rears).
 
"I spoke to ABP Motorsport and TDI North a little while ago about which route to go engine wise and I've now decided to purchase a Bisimoto Camshaft, Cam Gear, High Compression Pistons (13:1), springs etc which with Hondata engine management should see around 250bhp at the wheels with a peak redline of about 10k rpm. I'd like to get some work done on the head (port & polish etc) at the same time but I'll have to see."

What engine is in this? 250whp from high compression, a camshaft and mapping? I know TDI know their stuff but I'm not too convinced. Is it getting relegated to a second car too? Because it'll be a bitch to drive day to day with that setup, you'll have to rag the balls off it to go anywhere, standard V-Tecs are bad enough as it is.
 
The 'etc' was a very loose etc. Would require a heeeeeell of a lot of work but that was the figure he threw out there as a target to work towards if N/A was my chosen route.

To be honest I'm still considering turbo due to practicality.

and then there is nitrous for value for money.

It's still early days... Tdi and I were spitballing.


Whenever I say "I've decided to buy"... that always changes like 10mins later and I think of something else. I really shouldnt think out loud on the forum lol
 

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