Matts96HB's EJ6 Build

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Had to replace a water heater at my parents' house last weekend, so not too much was accomplished on the car. I did get some stuff in the mail though
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Broke a bolt off in the block while switching water pumps. Fail. Slight wrench in my spokes but I'll get it out :) I did get some things done this weekend.. so here's some pics
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test fitting the VC. finished prepping it today
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DO NOT BUY BWR VTEC CONVERSION KITS.. they drilled the holes for the dowels out on the wrong side of the gasket. I tried drilling it out myself which was a fail of course :) OEM VTEC gasket worked just fine for me
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Lol, shoulda used a punch to put the holes in the gasket.

These things work awesome for bolt extraction. A little different design then the typical ones. And they come in different sizes. Just center punch the bolt first.

Craftsman
 
I didn't have anything that was the right size to use as a punch :/ just had to work with what my dad had out in the shop. I tried using the dowels as a punch, and it just wasn't working.

Thanks for the tip on the Craftsman stuff. I'll have to go get a set of those to get this bolt out. I probably won't be touching the car until I am done with school for the year though (about a month.)
 
Like the exhaust gasket - looks like one of my failed experiments. It may have worked if you could line it up and sandwich it between a couple of pieces of hardwood or other media.

For the broken bolt, I keep a helicoil set on hand - major stress reducer!
 
Yeah, I clamped it to a piece of wood and used our drill press with a bit that was slightly larger than the hole - epic fail as you can see :)
As for the broken bolt, I think I am going to either remove a couple mounts and tilt the engine to get at it, or maybe I'll just pull the engine out and work on it that way. I am probably going to put a new harness in the car anyway, so I might just end up pulling the engine out for a day.

Anyway, ordered up a couple more little things to finish the car properly. I decided I didn't want to hack up my tucked harness to wire for VTEC, so I am simply going to remove the exisiting harness and swap in a 96-98 EX harness. I am going to put the battery back in the stock location for now, and also put the fuse box back where it belongs. I am getting tired of chasing electrical gremlins into the fender wells. Function > Form. Also picked up the stuff from Xenocron to convert my ECU to VTEC. About an hour of soldering and desoldering and I'll be good to go. So, my engine bay will be packed again, but I'd rather do it that way and have it easy to troubleshoot any future difficulties.
 
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^ I couldn't begin to tell you have many failed "Science Projects" I've had over the last 45+ years - but many! That goes with the territory. Fortunately, I still have all 10 fingers and both eyes. Hearing has a little damage, but not too far gone. Too much loud rock and roll in the 80's playing sound engineer. The women.......

Your rationale is sound on the wiring change - there comes a point when ya just get tired of working on things and go for function.

Good job! You've got a very good handle on things for a dude barely into your 20's. That's nice to see sir.
 
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Haha well as long as you aren't completely deaf, it sounds like it was worth it ;)

Yeah. I am definitely tired of fiddling with things that really have no function. I want the car to function beautifully. It already looks good from the outside. Under the hood is nobody's business but my own :)

I appreciate the kind remarks! :)
 
Lol, shoulda used a punch to put the holes in the gasket.

These things work awesome for bolt extraction. A little different design then the typical ones. And they come in different sizes. Just center punch the bolt first.

Craftsman
To ADD to your suggestion and not contradict it. (just being careful here cuz I don't know you well yet)

To drill out broken bolts and studs, something I picked up while doing my ZC swap was to use a CENTER DRILL to get the hole started in the broken piece. Where a regular twist drill will in many cases have a tendency to walk and/or break off, usually stuck in the work piece. A center drill is much more robust and won't drift around as much.

Even a countersink works sometimes to get things started.

That Craftsman set you linked to looks real nice. It's basically the same concept as a center drill for the pilot hole.

Center%20Drills.jpg


Heli-Coils.jpg
 
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Lol its all good.

Ive been a machinist for quite a while now, so Ive got a lil experience with this. THE most important part is to center punch before anything else.

The difference between center drills and twist drills, is that center drills cut with the sides of their flutes too. Like an end mill. Twist drills mainly use their tips, while the flutes carry chips outa the hole.

By the looks of that tool box, Im guessin you might have already known that tho.
 
Yer guessin' right sir - the box is a Gerstner. :) I like that Craftsman set you linked to - real nice. As we all know, depending upon the circumstance is when the decision gets made as to which tool to grab. Next time I'm at Sears impulse buying, I'll definitely bring one home to add to the tool arsenal.
 
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Yer guessin' right sir - the box is a Gerstner. :) I like that Craftsman set you linked to - real nice. As we all know, depending upon the circumstance is when the decision gets made as to which tool to grab. Next time I'm at Sears impulse buying, I'll definitely bring one home to add to the tool arsenal.

Very true. Lol, Im about due for one of those "quick" impulse trips myself.

I'll hopefully be able to tackle removing that bolt this weekend, so the tips are much appreciated. :)

I wish you luck, good sir.
 
Well, I left the bolt alone for this weekend.

Got a ton of work done on the harness. The new one is now sitting in the car. I am waiting to plug everything in until I get the vacuum lines re-routed. I want the bay to be close to factory, but more organized. I see a lot of turbo cars that have lines running all over the damn place, and I'd like to avoid that if possible.
 
How is things going with your build? I just read all 70 pages in the last 4 hours. Your hatch looks DOPE! JDM!
 
Damn, this thing IS 70 pages long. lol Can't believe its 5+yrs in the making.
 
How is things going with your build? I just read all 70 pages in the last 4 hours. Your hatch looks DOPE! JDM!
Things are going pretty well, I just recently installed a GSR head. Progress is slow because I am away for school. When I get back I'll have about two weeks of free time to get the VTEC conversion completely finished. The car will be going to Utah at some point this summer because my parents are moving.
Damn, this thing IS 70 pages long. lol Can't believe its 5+yrs in the making.
Yeah, kinda crazy to think that I started messing with this thing in high school.. lol
 
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