As you can imagine, I was keen to get the engine and ‘box into the bay of the EJ9.
A lot of these photos show how much deeper the Milano Red paint is compared to the exterior panels which are faded to heck!
With this being the first engine I have pulled from a car with only two pedals, I was having a proper headscratch, wondering why the engine crane kept getting pulled back towards the car whenever we tried to swing the entire assembly forward in order to lift it all out of the bay…
Turns out I forgot all about the shift linkage cable, connecting the shifter to the transmission. We found it easier to unbolt it from the shifter end, and dragging the entire cable out with the engine and gearbox.
Days getting brighter…
…car getting lighter.
The car has seen very little use, so what corrosion there is, is minimal. This spot on the driver’s side chassis leg is probably the worst of it under the bonnet. I applied some Bilt Hamber Deox rust inhibitor gel, which did work to some degree, but to be certain, I’d like to get a wire wheel on it.
Random photos I took here and there. For reference more than anything, but also to show the lack of rust!
Could have gone the route of a lot of others (including Kristian Wong “@studytuned” and his EK pictured below) by getting rid of the core support in the centre and fitting a full-size radiator. I opted to leave as much of the original metal intact, just because it’s solid and not exactly dangling by a rusty seam.
Moving into the cabin of the vehicle, I made do with the parts I’d already collected and were ready to install. Being the first drill bit I was putting to the car, I made sure to measure twice and all that.
The EK exhaust tunnel is a inch or so too narrow for you to simply bolt down a shifter assembly, due to the width of the bolt holes. This means buying a shifter adaptor plate, from one of the K-swap parts outlets; I went for a used K-Tuned item. I also obtained a used Integra DC5-R shifter box, because they’re cheap and from what I remember when driving a DC5-R, they allow for precise and slick shifts.
One thing to note, try mount the shifter as far rearward as possible. I chose to retain my centre console surrounding the handbrake, which meant grinding away some metal off that bracket you see held down with two bolts.
It should be obvious, that plastic trim surrounding your gear shifter will need trimming to clear the DC5-R / CRV shifter assembly. I even lopped some of the shifter assembly’s plastic casing in order for the trim to go back on.
Initial fitting – the shift lever was a hair’s width from the dash-centre console. This nearly made me scrap the idea, but luckily, Circuit Hero in the USofA make a couple bits that reduce the shift throw distance. A two-piece kit that basically alters the lever ratio for both the mechanisms for shifting up/down and left/right.
10/10 would not recommend that Fuel Line Kit Hybrid Racing sell. The push-on fitting for the braided (sheathing) rubber hose slid off when I tried it over the hardline pipe. I tried to get it back over onto rubber hose, but the damn sheathing frayed. I chucked it, and ordered some plain, fuel-rated rubber hose off eBay instead.
By the way no slander is intended, these are simply my raw, uncut experiences, so that you are aware of the quality some of these aftermarket parts. More moaning to come, haha!
I’ll end it on that note for now. Here’s the car front bumper-less. In a bit…
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