Gearheads?

[Wyrd-Hotd]

I know we have a "What car do you have" Thread SO!

Who here is a Gearhead?! be it an enthusiast, someone who would like to be, even just a car buff, or anyone like me that is constantly working on their on vehicles!

Me? Like I said above, im always working on my car (funds providing) and i actually have a HUGE list of things im about to start working on now,  I drive a 1996 Honda Civic Sedan EX, and I will be re-building the engine (this or next paycheck Providing) Its fubared XD the rings are shot, it has nasty amounts of carbon build up in it, even AFTER i have done two treatments on it, the transmission also has some shot bearings in it XD BUT! the suspension, And body are BEAUTIFUL on it ^.=.^


My baby!

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1605940/ <--- And this is the basic list of parts im going to be looking at getting!



So? How about you guys?!

[drewdle]

I would reasonably call myself a gearhead, but presently. I have no vehicles.

That said, I was long enamoured with the K platform Chrysler had out in the 80s. It was a great idea that's widely emulated today, building multitudes of vehicles off of a couple of basic platforms, sharing similar parts. The problem with them is they were pretty cheap and rudimentary, but that didn't stop me from considering my '88 Reliant wagon the best car I've ever owned.

I also have a soft spot for small displacement motorcycles and scooters. Right now, I'm pining after a Honda Super Cub 90 / Passport 90, which is a three speed semi-automatic motorcycle. Honda sells them in over 50 countries to this day, except for North America, because we're spoiled brats. Some places import them used, and hopefully I'll be able to find one for getting around town. Eventually. I'll probably be two years without a vehicle before I can afford one.

I love working on vehicles, especially simple ones, like the aforementioned Cub. Something about it is very satisfying.

[Wyrd-Hotd]

K cars are wonderful! there very much like my honda, TONNES of the parts inter-change, and i find them immensely easy to work on ^.=.^

So... its a 90cc Honda, that has essentially a simplified (and smaller) Honda-Matic in it? thats pretty cool! i like bikes, but i need something with a bit more oomph then 90cc i used to own a Suzuki RM 250 Dirt bike (Two stroke) and that thing SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME XD but i live for that ^.=.^

And i know exactly what you mean, working on something simplistic, is so much fun! ^.=.^

[mediar]

I can fix minor things on a car. Ive done fuel tanks, water pumps, starters, spark plugs/Distro hub and cables, front control arms, brakes, tires. That is about as far as I can go :P

[Wyrd-Hotd]

I can fix minor things on a car. Ive done fuel tanks, water pumps, starters, spark plugs/Distro hub and cables, front control arms, brakes, tires. That is about as far as I can go :P

Some things? thats quite a bit more then some things! if you can do that you can do much more! thats how i started, was doing many of those tasks, it does not take much more to be able to do an engine swap, or even more! ^.=.^

[Vanilla Skunk]

I've overhauled the engine in my Ford Chateau.  Which is equivalent to a Ford E350, except that it's a luxury van.  It was a high-school project.

The instructor commented that I had the biggest motor to ever set wheels in his shop. :3

I wish I still had that van, it's a crushed cube now, because I couldn't afford to keep storing it while I was living on the streets back in '04...

I drive a 1996 Honda Civic Sedan EX....

I'm curious, why does Honda advertise so much reliability, but yet everyone I know who owns one is constantly fixing it?

[drewdle]

I'm curious, why does Honda advertise so much reliability, but yet everyone I know who owns one is constantly fixing it?

Usually, at least from what I've seen, it's being "fixed up", not "fixed because it's broken". When a gasoline engine can get 400,000+kms without blowing up or requiring a rebuild, I'd say that deserves some praise. I've only seen Hondas, Toyotas, and Volvos do this.



That's the bike I'm talking about. Have yet to find my old pictures of the wagon. Supposedly Scooter Underground in Victoria imports and rebuilds Cubs, so I might be in luck once I move.

[mediar]

I drive a 1996 Honda Civic Sedan EX....

I'm curious, why does Honda advertise so much reliability, but yet everyone I know who owns one is constantly fixing it?

My guess is that a lot of people rat-bag the crap out of the "stock" civics thinking they are rally/street race cars. Then the next owner needs to fix them up OR want to be able to rally/street race so they upgrade it. I just a guess, but I see it a lot of kids put on a bumble bee muffler and think they are Vin Diesel. D:

[mediar]

I can fix minor things on a car. Ive done fuel tanks, water pumps, starters, spark plugs/Distro hub and cables, front control arms, brakes, tires. That is about as far as I can go :P

Some things? thats quite a bit more then some things! if you can do that you can do much more! thats how i started, was doing many of those tasks, it does not take much more to be able to do an engine swap, or even more! ^.=.^

Heh thanks ^^. I mainly only fix stuff that breaks. I don't really have an interest in upgrading vehicles myself :P PC games take too much of my time.

[drewdle]

I can fix minor things on a car. Ive done fuel tanks, water pumps, starters, spark plugs/Distro hub and cables, front control arms, brakes, tires. That is about as far as I can go :P

Some things? thats quite a bit more then some things! if you can do that you can do much more! thats how i started, was doing many of those tasks, it does not take much more to be able to do an engine swap, or even more! ^.=.^

Heh thanks ^^. I mainly only fix stuff that breaks. I don't really have an interest in upgrading vehicles myself :P PC games take too much of my time.

As long as it gets you from Point A to Point Z, right? :) While we're on the topic, ever tried swapping out the water pump on a Mitsubishi/Chrysler 3.0L V6? What a pain in the padded ass.

[Drake Wingfire]

Mah baby!

1993 Civic SI hatch, 5 spd, SOHC

I have only done real minor stuff, I don't have the guts to do the knitty gritty mech work so I have only swapped body pieces and interior stuff, basically im grabbing the more fancy interior parts from other 92-95 civics and slapping them in mine to sorta make the most feature-full stock civic I can

I have done a fait bit of body work and paint though, on my car and my mates (more so my mates) I had to bondo some rusted wheel wells and re-paints them and a front bumper that looked like it was abused by the last owner.

[mediar]

I can fix minor things on a car. Ive done fuel tanks, water pumps, starters, spark plugs/Distro hub and cables, front control arms, brakes, tires. That is about as far as I can go :P

Some things? thats quite a bit more then some things! if you can do that you can do much more! thats how i started, was doing many of those tasks, it does not take much more to be able to do an engine swap, or even more! ^.=.^

Heh thanks ^^. I mainly only fix stuff that breaks. I don't really have an interest in upgrading vehicles myself :P PC games take too much of my time.

As long as it gets you from Point A to Point Z, right? :) While we're on the topic, ever tried swapping out the water pump on a Mitsubishi/Chrysler 3.0L V6? What a pain in the padded ass.

No it was on a 89 Buick Century wagon. D:

[Wyrd-Hotd]

Felix: Awesome! thats a wicked re-build! bigger then enything done in my shop years!

As for Honda people always working on their cars, its usually keeping them in good shape, usually wear items like ball-joints, water pumps, timing belts etc.  My old 92 had over 340,000 km on it, and i drove it HARD and it never faultered once on me.  This new civic is in such bad shape at 260,000 due to lack of maintenance, the previous owner never replaced the thermostat when it died, so the engine is ALWAYS running too cool, Causing it to have Carbon build up, this carbon build up took the rings out, and from there it went down hill.

BUT this engine of mine? Should be dead.  Most other engines would have been by now.

Drewdle : Thats pretty cool looking! O.=.o and i would call and find out, the only way you get something is if you ask for it, right?

Mediar : people DO bag the HELL out of Civics, and i HATE THOSE STUPID FART CAN USELESS "MUFFLERS" its THOSE people that give ME a bad name for liking and tuning a Civic... /Rant  And hey of course! ^.=.^ all my money goes into my cars XD

Drewdle : No i have not, although... i have swapped an engine into a Toyota Celica (1991) AND THAT WAS A PAIN XD but fun ^.=.^

Drake : heh heh heh i know for sure i know all about your work! ha ha (for outside peeps Drake and i are constantly talking about our cars) once again! tell me whats up with your front end!

[drewdle]

As for Honda people always working on their cars, its usually keeping them in good shape, usually wear items like ball-joints, water pumps, timing belts etc.  My old 92 had over 340,000 km on it, and i drove it HARD and it never faultered once on me.  This new civic is in such bad shape at 260,000 due to lack of maintenance, the previous owner never replaced the thermostat when it died, so the engine is ALWAYS running too cool, Causing it to have Carbon build up, this carbon build up took the rings out, and from there it went down hill.

BUT this engine of mine? Should be dead.  Most other engines would have been by now.

See, that's the thing. I've only ever seen Hondas and, well, Volvos with that kind of stamina. A former roomate has a 240GL 5spd that had the piss beaten out of it the point where chunks of clutch could be heard rolling around with the pedal in, the engine couldn't rev past 3500rpm, there were no brakes, second gear wouldn't engage unless you asked it nicely, and there was a hole rusted through the side of his trunk. You could literally pull things out of the trunk through the hole. The floor was going the same way, which is why it hit the junkyard, but it still made it there under it's own power. Never seen a car take that much abuse. If you look after Volvos, it's not unheard of them to rack up 500,000kms or more.

Honda has a reputation for reasons other than what we see here in North America. Take the motorcycle I posted for instance. Originally designed and built in 1958, they've sold 50 million of the damn things. In most developing nations it's not uncommon to see four or five people riding one bike, or one guy and half a dozen dead pigs, etc. They're utility vehicles. The design itself was so simple and effective that it's simply been carried on, with minor upgrades like 12V electrical and (apparently in 2008) fuel injection. Most vehicles are continually redesigned and replaced, but why fix what obviously ain't broke?

[mediar]

The ONLY issue I have had with Honda is rust, at least up to the mid 90s, never had a newer Honda. I dunno if they don`t have snow, ice and road salt in Japan, but we sure do here lol. Seems to start in the wheel wells, and the corners of doors oddly enough. That being said I currently have a 92 Suberu Lagacey and it has the same rust issues Hondas do/did.