I love reading this post. Still one day I hope to be able to have the time space and money to do something like this ... And by that time I'll also have the know-how

I have to ask, do have any idea of how much the final build will have cost?... Including your man-hours obviously as if you were building it for someone else

this looks amazing but what happens with the front engine mount ? i like the look of the adjustable traction bars that looks a really neat solution to the big clumsy crossmember

Speechless. Plus i feel very horney again. thanks..Right where is my girlfriend.

buzz, that ooks insane.
i dont mean to pick but looking at the picture of the traction bars, they dont seem to be setup right. the position where the actually traction bar mounts to the front cross member doesnt look like its at the correct angle in relation to the Front LCA main pivot point.

Wow, good job there Rich

Awesome turn around and i think i know exactly what you were doing once you'd lowered it down in "race trim" i've been doing it a lot lately It does look very sweet and you're right, very like the super touring era

It's really looking the dogs, but i now want a custom oil can on mines when it's down there, and the drivers door mounting checking, and maybe a rear light and and and

Really looking forward to seeing this car Rich, it's a tremendous effort, if i wasn't against the clock getting mine ready for that weekend, i'd pop to Combe and have a chinwag

OMG I just got my enthusiasm back

Rich your costing me a fortune in Kleenex

That is brilliant progress, truly incredible.

It looks immense, and sooooo well done. "A proper job"

Keep us updated

Yes Rich!

As all have said before me, each and every update hits the spot.

Attention to weight saving is commendable. Looks stunning.

I'm kicking myself, as I really want to come up to the rally day (only down the road from me), but I've gotta take my mrs' dads car to my friends bodyshop and help out labouring. Bum Deal!

If I can get out early, I'll try and and head over.

The old skool lancer - is it the silver one I see at Japfest the last couple of years? Very nice.

stunning, love the colour reminds me of the driftworks orange, white rims look awsome too top work matey

Stunning. I've just read the full thread, and I'm well impressed.

I wouldn't even like to think how many man hours have gone into it so far!

The cage work looks top notch too. Stitching the shell with TIG would of put a few quid in the swear box at the very least! I hated TIG stitching panels, even with no sealer the zinc coating found on Fords made it absolute bitch.

When MIG stitching shells we sand the bulk of the weld off to watch the weight.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread- top work Richy

Rich, you're the man!!!

I'm sorta glad that I've come to this thread late... I've just spent the last 2 hours of my life reading it (impressive due to my poor attention span), and am in awe of you, the car, and the work done so far. It's been amazing to see the progress you've made. I think waiting on the next thrilling instalment would have been too frustrating for me in the early stages, however that's the boat I now find myself in!!! Can't wait for the next post.

When I first joined PUK I didn't really care much for 4th gens (am being brutally honest here guys), however thanks to this thread and the other 4th gen projects I've read so far I'm a complete convert.

Absolutely mind-blowing!!! Respect and best wishes.

wow looking good to good to track in fact, will you bable to bring urself to track it? surely your going for perspax rear window if so i feel a group buy coming on (ha ha im wishing)

Hello all


Well as usual I have a long list of excuses and reasons for not responding or keeping fully up to date on here. I'll not bore you with them here, I'll just get on and answer some of the comments made since my last update - apologies in advance if I miss anyone out.

First of all, thanks to everyone who has taken an interest or posted comments or asked questions, always happy to answer them it just may take some time so appologies in advance.

Before I get onto specific replies to comments left since my last update I'll cover a few of the more general commonly asked questions...think of it as a kind of FAQ if you like....or consider it random waffling - either way you can choose to read it or just skip through to the pretty pictures in my next post
Perhaps one day I'll run through all the comments/questions and index them on the first post as an FAQ index.

1)
I have been asked by several people why I have revealed so much information about the build so far, surely I should have kept quiet about some things done during the quest for lightness. My opinion is that as part of a Honda community there is no reason why I wouldn't share information and ways I've found to save weight - I hope it can help others in the future with their own projects rather than simply tell people I've saved X amount of weight out of the car and then clam up about where it's gone from.
Most of these things are just found by thinking outside the box and/or looking at things in detail. They are time consuming to do so nobody is going to beat a path to my (work) door and ask for me to do this for them...they simply couldn't justify the costs involved in paying to have this stuff done. Obviously different rules apply when it comes to finding certain engine build tricks that can make or break the difference between one of my engines or a competitors or likewise certain chassis/suspension tricks but mostly I still just tell it and show it like it is.
This can leave me open for criticism which I am happy to accept as long as it is constructive. I don't pretend to know all there is to know, I learn on a daily basis and am always happy to discuss or explain certain ideas with anybody that has an interest in what I'm doing.


2)
Another question asked or comment made several times both on forums and in person is usually something along the lines of :-
"looking good to good to race, will you be able to bring yourself to track or race it?"
OR
"this would be one hell of a show and shine motor. There HAS to be a small (or perhaps) large part of you that doesnt want to take this on track and ruin it?"
I have answered this in a post on another forum which I will now shamelessly cut and paste in here

I understand where you are coming from and I guess there is a tiny part of me that would love to finish the car and then just keep it as my undamaged/unmolested achievement BUT that would of course completely go against everything that I am doing with this car not to mention the fact that it would go against everything that I have done with the car in the past.
Yes I am pretty damn precious about it right now, who wouldn't be precious about something that they've sunk so much of their efforts and passion into?
However, it is being built for a reason and that reason is to go and race !!

I always loved the car looking good but it looked good at a distance... get up close and there were all sorts of scuffs, dents, chips etc from seasoned track use. It's not that I didn't care it's more that I see them as battle scars or trophys.
I'd hate to see it damaged of course but likewise I'll almost be relieved when it gets it's first rubber or bollard scuffs up the paintwork which means I can stop being so damn precious about it.

3)
"So are you going to shed some light Rich as to what plans you have for the engine?"

Well I have several options open to me.
Initially for the chassis set and general testing purposes I will run with a mildly modified H22 or H23VTEC. Basically something that is going to be treated as expendable. There are likely to be lots of hard test miles on track once it's finished and I just want something that will do the job without being something else that needs to be developed at the same time.

I make no secret of the fact that I built and was developing a 2.5lt darton sleeved high comp H22 before the big strip down began. I also make no secret of the fact that I had some small issues that needed resolving with it but on the whole the package was there and felt superb. This is ultimately what will end up in the car...potentially

There is also another option if I want to enter the car into a 2lt catagory.
I have formulated and gradually sourced many of the parts needed to build myself a nice 2lt forged H22 headed screamer. This will be based on a production block and is definately something I want to look at.

All of these can and will be couple together with the Kazz diff'd, 4.64 final drive M2F5 gearbox I have yet to put together.


As a few have mentioned..this really is a bit of a dream project for me and has progressed way beyond what I originally set out to do. This is one of the many reasons that it is taking a while to progress...that and always being at the back of the queue of cars in need of my attention.
When it's finished the last thing I want is to see it done and then think I wish I'd done that differently. I'm sure there will still be some things but that's life...I've done a few bare shell rebuilds of various cars over the years but this one is going to be the best one yet.


Thanks for bearing with me, I'll just run through a few specific comments and then I'll get onto the latest update

Nafeman
I really wouldn't like to put a figure on how much this is likely to have finally cost me in terms of real folding stuff type money. I have a rough idea of where I currently stand which is unsuprisingly quite alarming if you include all the engine build work already carried out before the big strip down started. Lets just say I could have gone out and bought something pretty decent and modern with what I've spent so far..... but that totally misses the point altogether in my opinion.
If I were then to include my man hours on top........ then it really does get into the realms of fantasy land or lunatic asylum levels of spend on a rusty old Prelude


mercutio
The absence of a front engine mount should not be an issue at all with the ultra stiff mounts in the other 3 locations. I do have the option to install a tension rod style of front mount should I feel the need to, this will simply involve the manufacture and welding of a fixing mount onto the new front crossmember with the tension rod mating up with another fabricated mount in the usual H22 location.


Hyabusa Hunter
Regarding the traction bar setup. I kinda had a feeling that you would pick up on that and ask the question because they are different to yours.
Remember, our two cars are going to have very different purposes and for that reason some ideas that look similar on paper will also have different solutions.
There are a couple of reasons why the orientation of the front spherical bearing is the way it is, one of them is purely for ground clearance and the other is to do with loadings
The spherical bearing at the LCA end may not even stay as I will also be testing a solid link at that end. Two similar yet different approaches to overcome a specific problem.


popo bawa
Thankyou for your comments, believe me when I say I'm trying not to think of how many hours have gone into this already...and that's not including all the previous many many man hours spent developing the car before the big strip even started. Scary really.
I think the right decision was taken to MiG the shell in the end... the time and grief to TiG it really just couldn't have been justified.
You obviously work in the motorsport world or bodyshop enviroment, hope you don't mind me asking what sort of things you prep?


pure led stew
Great post and thanks for your feedback. Hope I don't get you too frustrated with the very slow progress. The last couple of months have been painfully slow due to too many other commitments etc but I am hoping the next month or two will see some dramatic steps taken one way or another.
Biggest problem is that all the big "in yer face" items have pretty much been fitted and now it's at the point where I can spend say 15-20 hours on it over a weekend and you step back and take a look to see basically very little for your efforts.
Glad to hear we've managed to convert you to the 4th gen .... it's funny really because I am growing ever fonder of the 5th gens



Thanks for sticking with me and sorry as usual for the long post...without further delay I shall now post the latest updates.

Thanks
Rich

Ok this is what you wanted right... a massive list of all the progress of the now surely almost complete car !!


Errrrr sorry to disappoint


In fairness the progress has been rather errr slow to say the least.
Lots of the usual excuses such as Nippon race weekends, working all hours and needing to have some occasional down time from the workshop to recharge the batteries have meant slow progress. That coupled with lots of very time consuming tasks that really aren't of enough interest to warrant taking pics of have meant that if you stand back and look at the car now it doesn't look very much different to the last update .

Anyway, onwards and upwards...lets get bang up to date.


So following on from the last update here's a few pics of the car over the Rally Day event weekend.



On the trailer ready for it's first public outing - "Rally Day" at Castle Combe




Coupled up to the tow barge




The Performance Autoworks "Rally Day" stand.
Race Lude in the build process, Kris' race winning Civic and Dave's mint retro Lancer Turbo - all three cars getting good attention and feedback throughout the day.






Safely back at the workshop unharmed. It was a lovely sunny day on the Sunday after the event so decided it would be a nice chance to get the car outside for a few pictures. The sun really brought out the depth of colour not only in the PAW orange but also the metalic grey.

















With that done and out of my system I needed to get back on with the build up process. Now as I've said all along I am not going to rush this and simply bolt everything back on and get the thing ready to use, everything that goes back together is being cleaned, modified, lightened or replaced with more suitable items. This attitude to the build and the time taken to prepare these parts doesn't do any favours for the time taken to build it up however as I very rarely get big chunks of time spare to spend solely on the race car build. Hopefully the winter will see more available free time and much faster progress.

First up was to get the side skirts back on...

After much consideration as to how to mount the "Euro kit" side skirts and properly support them it was decided that the best effective solution in terms of ease, neatness and weight would be to re-use the original full length plastic side skirts. I looked at making several mounting brackets to do the job but in the end decided to go with the OEM sill covers but there's some modifications to be done first.






This pic shows how much lower the "Euro Kit" skirts sit compared to OEM sill cover. This may well cause drag along the length of the car so a plan was formed...




OEM sill cover with the return section removed - this normally attaches to the floor at a downward angle. The remainder of the sill cover is drilled along it's length to significantly reduce it's weight. This is the part that the "Euro kit" skirts will attach to




OEM sill cover (or what's left of it) now firmly attached to the car using all OEM mounting clips.




The "Euro Kit" side skirts are then simply placed over the top and secured at the ends in total with 3 screws. The plan is too finish the fitment off with a full flat return to the floor made of very thin aluminum, this will give the underside of the car a much flatter and smoother aero surface. This may also incorporate a verticle "drop lip" to channel airflow along the underside of the car. I've yet to finish this aspect but will update when done.






Simple one this, door and window rubbers and trim thoroughly cleaned and refitted.




Back to finding more stuff to make lighter and tidy up before they go back in the car. Bear in mind that as usual I am constantly looking at re-using as much of the original parts as I can but also to keep the weight as low as possible. This is still (despite what many people think) in no way a big budget open cheque book race car build. If the budget was huge enough I'm sure we'd all like to buy new light alloy parts here, carbon parts ther but hey this is reality...it's time to get creative.

With that said.... bring on the extremely time consuming madness


An unsuspecting innocent OEM handbrake lever assembly




Broken down into it's component parts




Mounting section reduced in weight by cutting back excess material. This would also have been drilled but the material is super hardened and seemingly impervious to any type of drill I have...even super hard spot weld drill barely marked the surface.




Thankfully the lever component was significantly less resistant so got the full on drill attack treatment.




The parts then painted, reassembled and refitted to the car.
You might wonder why it's mounted on raised "bosses", well if you remember this centre tunnel used to be multi skinned which in places was raised and included captive threaded nuts to enable items like the handbrake, gear linkage, centre consol etc all to be mounted. The handbrake bosses may be reduced in height again to reduce a little weight.






Ok so that was the handbrake done. So the next items on the agenda that I wanted to get bolted back in place were the two sections of pedal box - clutch pedal and mount plus brake/throttle pedals and mount. Trouble is they looked far to factory standard and very unfinished as they were. Also the alloy pedal which were attached although comfortable and great to use were not exactly fitted in the best way possible.






You can probably guess what's coming next.
Pedal assemblies were broken down to component parts and after some carefull marking out and consideration taken to how much material to remove and keep enough strength and durability.... some more time consuming madness continued. Ultimately I think these could have been made lighter with more material removed but I have gone on the side of caution and am still happy with the resulting weight loss. The alloy pedal retainers were also modified and welded in place so that they cannot move.

Clutch pedal and mounting after a bit of effort






Brake pedal and mounting after some more effort - You'll notice that less material was removed overall on the brake pedal than the clutch pedal. For obvious reasons I wanted to leave a bigger margin for safety on the brake.






The completed and painted assemblies ready to bolt back into the car.









Now that the pedal box was back in the car I could turn my attention to tidying up, cleaning and installing the brake servo, master cylinder and clutch master cylinder. Although the brake cylinder is only a 15/16th item it always gave me great pedal feel with the Hi-Spec 4 pots so I decided to re-use it even though I have a 1in m/cyl spare. If I feel the need to change later down the line I can but for now I'll stick to what I know worked well.
After a small worry that I couldn't refit the servo and m/cyl assembly due to the strut brace mounts I found the only way to refit it was to break it down and fit the servo first before mounting the m/cyl. In the end this worked but clearance is tight !!









So there you have it, other than what I've just posted there has not been a huge amount of progress. There has been a number of other smaller preparations and modifications to the shell and some of the parts due to be bolted back on but I haven't bothered taking pics of these as they really are even less exciting than this lot I just posted.

Thanks as usual for taking an interest, hopefully the next installment won't be so long in the making and maybe a little more interesting.

Cheers
Rich

Rich this is great work the pedal parts look like sculptured works of art. the attention to detail is great i cant wait for the updates