The latest in a long line

[dollysprint]

I don't normally post up my projects but this one was the last 800 a friend of mine had. He sold it to a member on here who has past it on to me.
[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20093.jpg[/img][/img]
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[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20099.jpg[/img][/img]

A fairly early 2.7 auto Coupe which hadn't seen tarmac in many years and as you would expect it came with a few issues. In fact its easier to list what did work to be honest.
It would start, albeit this could take some time, unusual for a C27 and 2 days later it wouldn't start at all
It went into gear but would struggle to move and the S4 light is stuck on.
One headlamp worked
Think that was about it.
Bodywise the passenger door cladding was off and the cladding on the front wings was loose, the bumpers had popped on every corner, the rear wheel arches had sustained damage whilst in storage, not rusty just paint damage mainly and the boot lid was its worse feature, rust under the number plate had actually perforated. Other than some scratches and minor paint blemishes the rest of the body is solid and the sills are probably the best I have seen on an early Coupe
All brakes were seized on hence the car being reluctant to move in gear, on the plus side all discs were in excellent condition.
The back box had blown, the fuel filler was missing and all tyres had perished around what was otherwise excellent condition alloy wheels.
The radiator and auto box cooler pipes were looking distinctly iffy and coolant poured out the water pump as quick as you put it in.
The dash had slight lift as did the glovebox and fuse panel cover but this was a Mk1 item in coffee anyway so needed changing. The seats are pretty good allbeit dirty from age and the headlining is very good.
I can't remember a single internal electrical circuit that worked with the exception of the instruments, everything else was dead including the radio and cd player, even the electric aerial was an aftermarket item that was too big for the wing and looked wrong
Apart from a few minor interior trim items the car was complete and full of potential and is quite remarkable for an early Coupe and before I leave the workshop I always find myself looking back at her, as Rover said "simply stunning".
I'll update what needed doing to put her right over the next few nights.

Dave

[SJG]

That looks a lot tidier than your description Dave. Good to see you back on the forum, hope you are well.

[dollysprint]

Very well thanks mate, although still dealing with the Estate of my sister in law and various other issues surrounding that.
Yeah the Coupe is in very good condition to be honest, this is my 3rd early example and by far the best just everything needed "waking up" after 11 years off the road.

Dave

[Slamm]

That is quite a list to keep you busy, but from the pictures looks worth doing.
As Simon said I was expecting it to look a lot worse.


Shaun

[dollysprint]

So the first problem was the non starting, as mentioned before it could be pretty reluctant anyway. The immediate problem though was no fuel filler and with the tank being open to the atmosphere I didn't want to stick petrol in it for it just to evaporate. So crack rear wheel, jack up car, remove wheel................shit. At some point in its life when the filler was removed all the rubber hoses that connect it to the tank had been cut, so 3 hrs later after rummaging through my spares to find a set of hoses and dropping the tank enough to be able to change them all I had a new fuel filler in place and 2 gallons of fuel in the tank. Next thing crack the filter and crank, plenty of fuel. Sparkplug in no1 lead and crank, pathetic spark. Changed dizzy cap, rotor arm and brand new genuine leads, nope wouldn't start but with a spare plug I was now getting a good spark so out came the original plugs Been a while since I saw a set of plugs that badly fouled. New set of plugs and success. Water pump bearing and or tensioner sounded a bit rough and the back box was blowing, car would hardly move due to seized brakes. Them next then.
Discs were excellent but pads were breaking up and calipers seized. Many hours later and a whole litre of new brake fluid we have movement although the autobox feels a bit sluggish, only to be expected, fluid looks good so we see how it feels after 50 miles once she's on the road.
As mentioned hardly any of the electrics worked, most external lamps were just bulbs or corrosion but the seats, windows, heated window, internal lamps, fogs and boot lid remote release, central locking had to be something else and it all had to be connected. One donated CCU later and it was like watching a space ship powering up, one by one all systems came back on line except the drivers seat.....................one donated memory seat unit later and the final electrical failure was no more.
Time to sort the back box so back into the spares, no 827 back box, bugger. 820 one for now until I can source the correct one.
Cladding reglued, sills cleaned and painted, radio and cd changer and genuine Coupe aerial, front air dam and fog lights replaced and a spare set of MK1 prestige alloys to replace the perished rubber that was on otherwise excellent alloys, new tyres to come later.
Bumpers rehung with Mk1 side fixings and headlamps re-aligned, new radiator and auto box oil cooler pipes whilst I had it all off and its first wash. Starting to look good.
Dash board re-glued along with lifting glovebox and door cards rehung. New door switches and door catches.
ECU flashing 13 blinks, PA sensors u/s. Back into the spares, fit ,pull fuse 19, clear ECU...........................no. Yellow LED now blinking, idle out of spec, round to the throttle body and adjust screw, made no difference, touched fast idle and electronic idle control valves, stone cold, no coolant circulating through them, this could be bad.
Ever since the car came out of hibernation it had been leaking coolant from the water pump, actually that's a lie it had been leaking water, rusty water and I knew what that meant. One thing the C27 won't forgive is neglecting the cooling system, its well known that you can't use radweld in a C27 and one of the reasons for that is the small bore cooling pipes employed all over the engine. Well its wasn't radweld causing the problem here but rusty water was having the same effect.

[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20145.jpg[/img][/img]

Honda saw fit to put steel small bore tubes into an aluminium manifold, mind they did also expect a 50% anti-freeze mix at all times. Plan water leaking out so a cooling system half empty most of the time and rust and oxidisation have a right old party.

[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20153.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20177.jpg[/img][/img]
Fast idle and idle conrol valves.
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Old and newer coolant manifold.
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central coolant pipe, water pump to coolant manifold.
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These are now very hard to get hold of, I hope I may be lucky with this one, we shall see.

[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20173.jpg[/img][/img]

Once I have changed the water pump, cambelt and bolted everything back together its off for the mot.

Dave

[midnite]

i reckon this one is a keeper for you dave, i think you could replace that black mk1 sterling with it that you have, coupes are much nicer and no one really wants mk1 sterlings anymore especially black ones, i could easily get rid of it for you mind.

[dollysprint]

Sorry Matt, when I die my son will be keeping the Sterling, besides my daughter got married in it too. It won't be going anywhere any time soon.
The Coupe will be a keeper too, which leaves me with a manual 2 litre Coupe and what to do with that is uncertain.

Dave

[scoobyh123]

i reckon this one is a keeper for you dave, i think you could replace that black mk1 sterling with it that you have, coupes are much nicer and no one really wants mk1 sterlings anymore especially black ones, i could easily get rid of it for you mind.

Nice try Matt!

Dave - that's a very nice looking coupé you've got there - looking past the "idiosynchrasies" that is! It's certainly got potential to scrub up very nicely. What's the mileage on it?

Re the ATF, someone once told me that it's slightly hygroscopic and in normal use the water evaporates off. HOwever it becomes a bit of a problem when the car is laid up a while. It might be a good idea to do a part change once it's been driven round your good-sized yard a few times and things are starting to loosen up again and the seals are starting to work again.
This stuff is Z-1 compatible and i'm told has an almost exactly the same composition as Z-1 (which is no longer available) and has been running in both mine for some time with no problems whatsoever - in fact the boxes are much smoother than they've ever been and acceleration/economy is also improved. The person that told me the composition is like Z-1 uses it to service many of his customers cars which use the same or a similar Honda auto box. Said person also advised me not to use the "new" DW-1 ATF as it can damage older transmissions and doesn't do newer ones too many favours! Even Honda admitted on the QT that it's not really backwards compatible with Z-1 although nothing has been admitted officially/publicly.

http://www.gsfcarparts.com/980aa0471

You've probably used GSF before, if so you know they have discount codes from time to time and often it's 35% which makes that about £22 delivered. EuroCarParts also stock it but their discounts aren't usually so good. One thing about GSF - for some reason they think it's the wrong ATF for the Honda box and insist it should be Dexron II (or Dextron as they insist on calling it! The only "T" near any Dexron or ATF of any kind should be in a mug while the ATF drains! ) so you may have fun ordering it from them.

Back to the car though - i take it you'll be renewing the cam belt, water pump etc? That will get rid of the leak on the water pimp anyway! Don't forget the tensioner spring XHM463 - for the cost it's cheap insurance that the cam belt tension is right and it won't jump!

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-XHM463

The original is bound to be stretched to hell and back by now, or possibly rotted away!

Will definitely be watching this thread with interest! Your wood looks like it's all very good by the way!

[dollysprint]

Mileage is 125,000 and I'm fitting the cam belt and pump tomorrow. I will probably be cleaning out the autobox solenoids as well and I have enough genuine Hondamatic for 2 changes. I'm sure it will improve with use though, oil in it looks good to be honest just needs to get warm and circulate a bit I think.
Interior wood is very good just a slight sign of milkiness on the ashtray but very faint.
Glipstone should arrive next week to clean and feed the seats.

Dave

[midnite]

bahhhhh I'm never gonna get a shot at a black sterling am i, wish i was interested in citroen dyanes instead.

[Slamm]

Going at it like a man possessed

That is a lot of crap in the cooling system, be interesting to see the state of the water pump and what comes out after flushing.

[dollysprint]

Water pump not removed yet as had little time today, however I did find this
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If you look closely you should make out the letters NDA.................a genuine Honda timing belt, which looks good but its at least 11 years old so has to go, water pumps behind it anyway.

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This is the "V" of the V6, this one being full of grit, dead bugs,dirt and all manner of things, it does have a drain hole at just before the 12 o'clock position in the picture although its hard to make out and it was blocked anyway. This is where the coolant pipe sits resting between the water pump and coolant manifold.

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water pump end.

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coolant manifold.

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coolant pipe, now sprayed in VHT. this is another pipe from my spares stash as the other I was hoping to get away with was too bad after closer inspection.

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[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20204.jpg[/img][/img]

The old and new coolant manifold have a slight difference and its to do with a car being cat or non cat, this car has a cat being 1993.
The coolant manifold from this car has a thermo-valve fitted.

[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20203.jpg[/img][/img]

it fits here, the new manifold does not have this drilling as its from a non cat car.

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The thermo-valve has a feed from a the vacuum hose that keeps it closed when coolant temp is below 55 degrees. Above this temp the valve opens which in turn open a valve on the charcoal cannister. from there all the stored fuel vapour is released into the inlet manifold and reburnt. It going to have to be omitted on the new manifold, but being non electrical I'm hoping it won't throw up a pgfm fault light. Also 55 degrees coolant temp is probably reached within a mile or so.

Whilst I had the VHT out I thought I would change this.

[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20183.jpg[/img][/img]

into this..............

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[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20182.jpg[/img][/img]

it'll match the one in the background.

[img][IMG]http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/ ... %20173.jpg[/img][/img]

Dave

[scoobyh123]

Lots of good work there Dave!

Have you ever considered using caustic soda as a flushing agent for the cooling system? The cooling system in my last Skyline C210 was pretty similar and i dissolved a 500ml bottle of caustic in 5L of water (as per spec) and put that in the cooling system, ran it up to temperature, let it cool then back-flushed it. I don't think there was a single molecule of debris left in the cooling system after that! Refilled with water, antifreeze and (because i could on that) some Barrs Leaks. The cooling system was then like new in terms of internal cleanliness.
Only recommended in extreme cases obviously but if nowt else will shift the gunge, that will! Don't leave it in too long though for obvious reasons.

bahhhhh I'm never gonna get a shot at a black sterling am i, wish i was interested in citroen dyanes instead.

Think you'll find there's certain models that are coveted amongst the "upturned pram" brigade so you'd have a similar problem there!

[dollysprint]

Lots of good work there Dave!

Have you ever considered using caustic soda as a flushing agent for the cooling system? The cooling system in my last Skyline C210 was pretty similar and i dissolved a 500ml bottle of caustic in 5L of water (as per spec) and put that in the cooling system, ran it up to temperature, let it cool then back-flushed it. I don't think there was a single molecule of debris left in the cooling system after that! Refilled with water, antifreeze and (because i could on that) some Barrs Leaks. The cooling system was then like new in terms of internal cleanliness.
Only recommended in extreme cases obviously but if nowt else will shift the gunge, that will! Don't leave it in too long though for obvious reasons.

bahhhhh I'm never gonna get a shot at a black sterling am i, wish i was interested in citroen dyanes instead.

Think you'll find there's certain models that are coveted amongst the "upturned pram" brigade so you'd have a similar problem there!

Used to use caustic soda to decoke the exhaust baffles on 2 stroke motorcycles, not entirely sure how all the rubber o rings and a fragile expansion tank would take to it though, could be a bit much.
To be honest Dave by the time I'm finished the only part of the cooling system that will be original will be the block itself and the heater matrix, and I'm fully expecting the matrix to go within months of regular use. I haven't checked it but it can't be pretty, I will back flush though.
The genuine Honda cam belt, the Honda oil filter and the general condition of the car as a whole shows that someone once took great care of this old girl.

Dave

[scoobyh123]

Good point about the "O" rings and expansion tank but on the good side, if it springs a leak in any of those then you would have needed to replace them some time down the line anyway.

I always think it's a shame when cars have been looked after and then for whatever reason, they are neglected - it's almost an insult to the person who obviously took meticulous care in the first place!

That said, i would go for well looked after then neglected every time over well looked after then bodged, bodged and bodged yet again to keep it mobile. At least that way you know what you're looking at to start with, rather than thinking things have been done and then finding they haven't or only been half done!

For example, on my coupé, it had odd front discs, springs and shockers. Even the pads were different side to side and had vastly different amounts of wear on them! One side was near new, the other side were a few thousand miles of gentle braking or one or two hefty emergency stops away from being metal on metal! One set were Ferodo, the other i think were Eibach but it was difficult to tell due to their age. New discs and pads sorted the front braking and a replacement (from a 98 825 Sterling) set of front springs/shocks has finally sorted the handling. The 26mm ARB has tightened the front up no end and i just have to fit the 21mm rear ARB having already fitted NOS springs and shocks to the back end. Happily the rear discs and pads are all the same and not in need of replacement any time soon.
The list of bodges i've found on my coupé is extremely long and definitely not distinguished! After 2 years i think i've found and corrected them all now although i expect there's still one or two yet to be unearthed!