Project Sarge

Old School Cool.

2008-07-06T14:34:00.004Z

My first post in ages and it's not even related to the Sarge. (Although, update on that soon, I promise!) Just thought I'd throw out a link to a friend's new blog detailing the revival of his Mitsubishi Starion. "What's that?" I hear you ask. Yeah... thats what I said to. Think of it like an '86 Corrolla...but with power. Very querky, but very problematic. He also writes better than I do, and updates more often to.

Check it: http://jibijib.blogspot.com

Peace!

Why We Tune / Good Times

2008-01-06T23:57:00.000Z

When telling people about the amount of money spent on car upgrades, they often ask; "Why don't you just buy a better car?"
When telling people of the hardship and agony of doing-it-yourself, they ask; "Why don't you just pay someone to do it?"
When telling people I spent new years surrounded by oil instead of campagne, they ask; "Why don't you go out and enjoy yourself?"

This one picture answers all those questions.

Good times.

New toy

2007-12-08T19:34:00.000Z

JDM B18C. Nuff said.

Smooth as a baby's bottom

2007-06-27T17:34:00.000Z

In preperation for the arrival of my '99 spec bumper back from the bodyshop, I decided to de-badge the hatch, and do some general tidying up of the derrier. Me = happy with results.

Spoooooooon!

2007-06-20T21:39:00.000Z

YaY, it finally arrived =D Well, take a good look, bc it'll never be that shiny again.

Out with the old, in with the new :] It needs a B-series blowing into it to make it sound pukka, but the ol' D15 makes quite a nice sound! Well, thats my excitement for the month.

Pvt. Panda.

2007-06-19T15:57:00.000Z

Well, as Sgt.Panda is waiting on parts (not cool Spoon, not cool) I decided to finally start work on Pvt.Panda. Eventually this will be Sgt.Panda's partner in crime. Still needs a lot of work, but im loving it so far, haha.

CTR interior, y0!

Restoration commences!

2007-06-06T18:59:00.000Z

I hope there's no Pepsi cans carelessly left on the road!

And so it begins...

Old Vs. New.

First step in retsoring the sarge to it's glory was to re-lower it. While I was at it I threw my front camber kit on, in preperation for corner-weighting and setup that should come later in the month. I adjusted camber by-eye after some fun trial and error (So.Cal camber, y0!) The end result is the car is 20mm lower than it was when it was at it's lowest. The rear coilovers are wound all the way down, which is a shame because it's not quite tuckin' tire. The front however is nicely tucked... no more full-lock... pah... like, when do you ever use that anyway?

Mmmm... Missing arch liner.

Some "modification" (read: cutting with scissors) of the inner fender (aka: Arch liner) was required, its a snug fit, but I like how it handles now!

The "error" part of "Trial and Error"

June is the month

2007-05-30T23:13:00.000Z

June starts tomorrow.

I have the whole of June to myself, which means I have the whole of June to restore the sarge to his "former glory." There's quite a lot to do actually, also going to correctly setup the ride height / caster / camber / toe, which was never done before. So, by the end of June, it should be better than ever! Hmmm... like I said;

June starts tomorrow.

Oops!

2007-04-28T14:52:00.000Z

Meh, shit happens!

Photoshoot - March 2007

2007-03-27T23:40:00.000Z

Finished odds n ends on the car, so went for a lil' shoot.

Interior - B.Spec.

2007-03-13T18:00:00.000Z

^ Just need to get my hands on some Ek9 Recaros!

^ Sunroofs are awesome for pics. ^ NRG rule.

^ Without the wheel on. ^With the lock on.

^ Momo tuner FTMFW!!!!!111111111111oneoneone

I think the colours match the ek interior colours quite nicely. Looks almost-OE.

^Word.

^ A little video showing how quick it is to attach / detach.

Parking Tickets

2007-03-13T17:54:00.000Z

Parking tickets. Not the "you've been naughty" kind... but the pay-to-park kind. I cleaned my car, and this is what I found inside. £208 worth of parking tickets, lol. Swish. Just think what I could have spent £208 on! :(

Woah!

2007-03-11T19:53:00.000Z

Hmm... what am I installing? Looks messy.

Oooh. Delivery! :)

2007-03-02T22:01:00.000Z

After payin' off Mr Customs and Excise... Parcel Force decided they'd deliver my parcels.

Hmm... Boxes...

... Four Boxes. Black. Black. Black. Red.
What could be inside?

Oooh!

YaY! 320mm Momo Tuner FTMFW!!!!!!!!111111111oneoneone

From left to right:
NRG Quick Release Lock
NRG Short Hub
NRG Quick Release Mechanism - Gen 2.

It's a Thursday... not much happens on Thursdays...

2007-03-01T18:24:00.000Z

Got bored. Took this today. Yeah.

Cleaned.

2007-02-28T20:46:00.000Z

Well, the paint-match SUCKED. Thanks bodyshop!
But, if there's anything I've learned from this project so far, it's that the ingredients to success are experience, hard-work, patience, and doing everything your fother-mucking self!

So, I had to make the old paint match the new. Quite a challenge with 9yr old paint. The process:

-Washed the whole car with a bucket of water + washing up liquid and a whole bunch of elbow grease!
-Clay-bar'd the car to stop myself from "rubbing-in" any crap into the paintwork.
-Cut the paintwork back with Farecla G3 cutting liquid.
-T-Cut the car with good old carplan T-Cut polish.
-Waxed the whole car with Carnauba wax.

I'll post up a side-by-side before and after later. But these pics show the shiny factor.

From the ashes...

2007-02-28T20:12:00.000Z

and so the Phoenix rises from the ashes. Well, okay, more like the Panda crawls from the deer-accident damage, but... that just doesn't sound as cool, ya know?

Oh, you KNOW I'm bad.

S0 JDM! y0!

Still need to do the bumpstrips!

Rar!

Fresh

2007-02-28T19:57:00.000Z

s0 fresh.
Main reconstruction complete, just tidbits to do! (bump strips, handles, the like)

Back to Black

2007-02-28T19:55:00.000Z

Okay, the bodyshop painted my shiz, but they painted the fact brake ducts and the main intake struts white. It looked hella-lame. I masked it off, and sprayed the stuff black myself. DIY fo' lyfe, y0!

Home entertainment heaven

2007-02-28T19:53:00.000Z

My life is complete, y0!

Rattle-Can Powah!

2007-02-28T19:50:00.000Z

The one man spray shop was in full effect. Ghetto-fabulous rattle cans. Everyone loves orange peel, right? Plonked my wing next to it for colour comparison. Swish.

Trying it on

2007-01-26T15:20:00.000Z

Ripping off the old front was easy, even with it all caved in and crap. However, my car is missing both front and rear bumper beams... erm... the car was previously owned by a grandma, so unless she was REALLY into weight reduction, I just dont know where they've gone. Hmm. I'll investigate!

The 2a.m. fitting club made an appearence, this time with special guest DJ James Blowa. 2a.m. at 0 degrees celcius and peeing it down with rain. Swish. Mad props to Jay and Rich for holding it down though. As usual, I was acting supervisor.

^A shot in the daylight. Hmm... to the bodyshop!Well, bodyshop is booked for in one week, so the blog may be quiet for a week. But when February comes, the Sarge returns!

Another Package Delivered...

2007-01-17T20:48:00.000Z

Another package from a far-away land... this time America. :] What could be inside...

Ta-Dar! The final piece of the '99 spec front end puzzle! Now I just need my bonnet replaced, and the rest spraying, and it's JDM time, bitches! Hahaha. The only concern with these lights is that I think they're different to UK ones as far as sidelights go. Well... to the point that I dont think american cars have sidelights. LoL. Hmm. Well, the Japanese ones have "City lights" but I think they're like sidelights...mabye...? I dunno. Whatever. As long as they make the dark light, and flash when I wanna turn, it's all good. I'll probably have to put some masking tape on to get through an MOT too... because the kick-up will be on the wrong side...but... whatever. This is the price we pay for the JDM lifestyle, y0!

Back to full (mechanical) health

2007-01-09T21:19:00.000Z

Did some tinkering today. It basically came down to fitting the new tires, re-attaching the rear anti-sway bar, adjusting the rear camber, and lowering the ride height 15-20mm more. I'm gonna see how it sits, mabye lower the front a little more. The back however, is now all the way down as low as the Spax RSX coilover will let it go. Sniff sniff.

Mechanically my car is back to A plus condition. Just need to sort out my mashed up bumper, and it'll be happy days.

I Love Nuts!

2007-01-09T21:05:00.000Z

I Love Nuts!
Haha! Ahem...erm... yeah. Lug nuts. These little pieces of metal are the only thing that keep your wheels from careering off their hubs as tremendous forces pull and push your car through it's 4 small feet of metal and rubbery goodness. They're also what stops some random from stealing your £1,400 worth of RAYS VOLK TE37s. Futhermore, don't underestimate the weight issue. 4 stock nuts weigh approximately 200grammes. Thats the difference between a Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 and a OZ Super Leggra.

Bah, who the hell am I kidding? It's all about aestetically value. I just love looking at nuts!

The Entrants

1. Stock Honda OE Lug Nut for use with steel wheels + plastic wheel trim
2. ROTA wheels lug nuts. Acorn ended.
3. eBay crap-o-rama "tuner" nuts. Acorn ended, but really small contact patch.
4. RAYS Duraluminum anodised long lug nuts. JDM, y0!

Weigh in

2007-01-09T20:14:00.000Z

8x Honda OE nuts = 420g
210g per wheel
53g per nut
(+/- 0%)

8x Rota lug nuts = 490g
235g per wheel
61g per nut
(+15% over stock)

8x eBay Lugo Crapo Nuto = 350g
175g per wheel
44g per nut
(-17% over stock)

8x RAYS long lug nuts = 240g
120g per wheel
30g per nut
(-44% over stock)

New Rubber

2007-01-08T16:41:00.000Z

So, this looks like it will be my winter setup. Yoko/Advan Paradas up front, with Yoko/Advan A539s on the rear. The A539s are better at clearing water, so in the wet she should be more sure footed at the back. Oversteer in an FF is just hell. In the dry, the Paradas should provide more grip, meaning the back should slip first, which should cancel outthe natural understeer of the FF.

Now, just need to fix my busted-ass bumper, and The Sarge will be tearing up the streets again.

P.S: The flash is broke on my camera, thus all the pics are hella blurry... I'm working on it... I swear EVERYTHING I own is broke at the moment...

PARADAs

2007-01-05T23:03:00.000Z

Man. What a ball-ache.
Apparently Yoko phased out their A539 pattern. I only needed ONE, I scoured half the damn country and no joy. So, I settled for Advan PARADAs. 205/45/16, same as before. I'm gonna run these at the front, with my 539s on the back. They have good reviews, but I dont think they have anywhere near the looks of the 539s. And, we all know... its alllll about the looks.

Will update when they're fitted!

It's HERE!

2007-01-04T19:23:00.000Z

A Box.... what could be inside... hmm... looks mysterious... ZOMG CARBON FIBRE BONNET. Hella-sick.
At last, the final piece of my '99 spec puzzle is here. After 5months of waiting and collecting parts. I'm gonna run down the spray shop tomorrow and get my pieces sprayed up...oh...uh...wait... whats that?

LAAAAAAMEEEEE! LAME LAME LAME LAME! Cracked! WTF? That's some serious BS! Well, more waiting I guess.

Grrr. So pissed.

Oh Deer.

2007-01-01T18:37:00.000Z

Deers have to be the motherfucking dumest animals on the planet. Dumb bambi piece of shit jumped right infront of me. What the fuck! So glad I was going slow. Well... a great start to the new year. Guess I better get my new front end on ASAP.

In the mean time, I have this hella JDM-style plate to wear. Representin' y0!

More body parts

2006-11-24T16:57:00.000Z

CTR-Style lip arrived. I placed it loosely on the bottom of my bumper to see how my '99 spec jigsaw was looking. Getting there, getting there.

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!

2006-11-20T20:55:00.000Z

Mere days after fitting my rear suspension goodies, I was pushing it, testing it out, and the end-link came off mid-corner. The result? One and a half turns of counter steer at no effect. Destination: A hedge.

Credit to the Sarge, he started first time, and drove himself out of the hedge, and limped home, where I found the following damage:

^ Half a hedge in my wheel, and another tyre stripped off the rim. Dang.

Always double-check your work kids... make sure everything is TIGHT.
I guess another life-learned lesson. Could have been nasty!

Another delivery

2006-11-08T17:14:00.000Z

More Stage One sauce. Please Sir, May I have some MORE?
Rear LCAs, 21mm anti-sway bar and lower tie bar. Swish.

Another delivery

2006-10-06T12:45:00.000Z

Another piece of the '99 puzzle. Bumper sitting with grille in place. Swish.

Low rider

2006-10-06T11:47:00.000Z

SUPERSONIC BLUE PEARL ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG.
Ride-height is looking about right, not sure about the camber though. I'll see how it settles as the springs break-in.

Stage one begins

2006-09-26T23:52:00.000Z

Late night fitting is the way forwards. Suspension fitted after lots of bleeding knuckles and curse words. Mad props to my bro Rich for helping out.

Wheels fitted the same night, I think the wheels got on at about 11pm or something sick. I really should learn to start earlier. There's not much light when you drop a lug nut.

My bro Rich working his magic. Hard-turning, Hard-hitting, Hard-tightening... he does the manual stuff.

Test flight. This shiz is so fast it goes back in tiiiiiiime.

Tyres! YaY!

2006-09-25T10:25:00.000Z

Yokohama/Advan A539 in 205/45/16
YaY, I can finally fit some shiz, about time these things arrived. I do like the A539s, mean looking tread pattern. Although having "Sumer Tyres" as my winter tyres seems a bit...yeah.

I guess we'll see. Hope it doesn't rain...oh...wait... this is England. Hmm.

Wheely good.

2006-09-22T18:54:00.000Z

Rota Slipstreams 16x7 in Matt Black.
Yeah, I know they're not Spoon, but whatever; I can't afford that at the minute. These are gonna be my winter wheels and trashed to hell anyways, mabye some TE37s for my summer rims, or Spoon SWs. Hmm... but yeah, I'm digging Rota!

Peace.

Delivery!

2006-09-20T14:59:00.000Z

More Parts Arrived!

Lug Nuts

Errr.... Okay, these are a bit ebay-chic. They're certainly lighter than stock, and better looking...but... they look a bit tachy, and the finish on them seems a bit cheap. Meh, they'll serve their purpose I guess! Gotta have tuner lug nuts if you wanna roll O.G. style, no? :/

EK9 style grille

Non-OE EK9 grille, '99 spec. First piece in my 99 front end conversion puzzle.

SSBP!

Supersonic Blue Pearl is the sex. So, I decided to spray my under-car strut bars SSBP...yeah...because now all the worms can see how hella pretty that colour is. You see, I'm always thinking about the worms.

s0 JDM, y0!

2006-09-11T19:06:00.000Z

Wind deflectors AND soshinoya? That's so JDM, yo! Haha. Well, it had to be done. On a more serious note, the wind deflectors rock, all cars should come with them as stock. Much less wind annoyance, but still get good airflow. Now A/C isn't needed... less weight. Yeah!

Slam that biatch

2006-09-03T22:45:00.000Z

First Part Arrived!

Time to start this project. I think I'll probably end up importing some higher-end suspension at a later date, but in the UK the choice isn't all that great. Anyway, I settled for a SPAX RSX coilover kit. Adjustable ride height and damper bound/rebound. It should hold out as good street suspension.

What lies ahead...

2006-08-09T18:40:00.000Z

Deep in thought about the path that lies ahead.

Busted!

2006-07-27T22:46:00.000Z

Shit. Don't speed kids, the cops will catch you. Meh, my county is the speed camera capital of the country, so... I guess it's just another price of motoring. For the record, it was a mobile speed van. Sneaky bastards!

Meh, life goes on!

Proving Trials

2006-07-13T14:36:00.000Z

Stock tests. The Benchmark. Look at that terminal speed! 82.2mph! Woah...thats like... rocket fast...yeah....for a turtle.

The only way is up I guess. Or...down...in time... rather. :/

2006-07-11T17:57:00.000Z

This is the start.
A blank canvas, a fresh start, a dent in my bank balance!

a 1997 Honda Civic Ek3. Factory standard with a D15Z6 with 36,000 miles on. Man. That 97 front end if FUGLY. A '99 front end conversion is definately on the cards. Also looking to drop in a B18C5, and...well... I can't reveal ALL the plans, else you'd have no reason to keep reading!

Fell in love at first sight when I saw it. The painwork is divine. "Frost White" although it doesnt carry quite the love that I have for "Championship White" mabye a respray :pFirst time I floored it, I was totally underwhelmed. I mean, I'd read about VTEC, I'd driven cars in video games with VTEC, but I put my foot down in 3rd gear at 2,000 rpm and there was just NOTHING. lol. It felt like I was driving my mum's old 800cc Hyundai Atoz. I quickly let off the gas so as to not crush my dream further. Shortly afterwards, I decided "fuck it, lets see what's it's got" put it in 2nd gear, about 10mph... floored the gas... Nothing...nothing...nothing... 5,500rpm... woah woah woah... change change change!and thats when I fell in love. The "VTEC-Grin" made it's first appearence. And this is only single-cam VTEC.
Woah. I want my B18 nowww!

Peace, and me out.