My EK9.... take 2


danbo2002

Active Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
307
Long time member on here, this is my second EK9.
I bought her in December 2018.
Here’s how she stood at the time

2000 EK9 Rx
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Only mods were a full Spoon N1 system, Spoon Kevlar elbow, Spoon panel filter, Spoon HT leads. Spoon front strut bar, a set of Trybox coil overs (hardcore track) and a set of Advan wheels.
It had had a machine polish and new decals and badges to freshen it up

The story behind the car was it had been imported by Torque GT in 2017 and had hardly turned a wheel since. The guy who had it imported had Torque GT actively seek a low mileage, clean Rx
He bought it, drove it home to Scotland, serviced it, started moddng it but hardly ever used it.
He done about 1000 miles between the June 2017 and the December 2018 (the time I got it)
The drive from Torque GT to Stirling is nearly 500 miles so it didn’t get used much at all after that

here’s a few pics from when it was waiting to be shipped from Japan and how it left Torque GT
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I had been in the market for over 6 months looking for a car that was of a standard I would buy.
I’d been to see a few and tbh none were as described. I was getting fed up of driving half the country only to go find out that I’d been told porkys, I’d almost gave up when this popped up half an hour away from me in Stirling.

when I went to see it I was surprised at how clean it was, I’ve been into EK9’s a very long time and it’s one of the cleanest I’ve seen! It ticked all the box’s for me, no rust, well maintained, basically a fresh import, clean full interior, low mileage (67k miles) and all of the important importation documentation, an added bonus was that the wheels had just been refurbed and the few choice modifications that had already been made

Upon import the guy paid an extra few quid to have Torque GT take care of some maintenance that needed done, this included a full underside and cavity Dinitrol treatment, 4 new AD08R tyres, new Honda RTA bushes, new torque mounts and a few other small bits and bobs.
it was all there on a receipt with the rest of the paperwork. Everything was there, receipts for the mods, auction sheet, Bimpta certificate the lot.
This is rare in my experience with imports, normally there’s always a bit trusting someone’s word involved.
With this one it is pretty much all documented with proof so was not so much of a gamble in my eyes

I couldn’t believe my luck so I snapped it up.
seeing how it was December I didn’t even want to drive it home, no way is this seeing a wet/salty road.
I picked her up on my mates trailer and took her to my garage
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and that was it until I brought her out again in April 2019 to get her prepped for her up and coming MOT
 
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Looks good mate! nice to see an older member posting. Why's everyone so far away though! lol
 
Fast forward to April 2019
Gave her a good clean, a full service and a decent blast before dropping her off for it’s MOT
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Passed first attempt not even an advisory, happy days. I guess the old Forte petrol cleaner and get it hot technique works a treat

So I’d obviously started buying bits to put on while it had been tucked up over the winter, it started with the interior, the spoiler and the rear plate recess

This is how it looked when I got it
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I’m not as slim as I used to be so the OEM Recaro’s are a little tight so I got myself a pair of JDM EP3 Recaro’s to replace them. They are mounted on DC2 rails which have been professionally welded/re drilled to fit the EK bolts holes.
DC2 rails sit over an inch lower than the EK9 rails which makes up for the EP3 seats sitting a little higher than the OEM’s. I I do love the look of the red Recaro interior so this was the best compromise for me
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At the same I fitted a Spoon steering wheel/hub, a Seibon carbon fibre centre console (a one off piece), brand new leather gaiter, Alex Motorsport titanium gear knob and last but not least a FD2 shift boot collar (no more saggy/rattly gaiter ring)
if you look close you can see the tinted blue Spoon glass on the side mirrors
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Next up it was the spoiler and plate recess.
One of the tabs was broken on the recess it came with so I bought an I damaged one an had it sprayed to match.
The original one
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The newly painted one
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Next up was the spoiler. Genuine Spoon
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Then there was a show at the end of April at Knockhill... so I got her cleaned up and took her up for my first decent drive in it
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So after the drive to Knockhill and back, it had confirmed what I had already thought... the Trybox coil overs were far to hard for my liking and after I researched them bit I found out they were full on track suspension, similar to Ohlins.
Me being nearly 40 I just couldn’t handle the harshness, I live in a city with lots of potholes unfortunately. When they were on smooth roads the car felt like it was on rails but anything other than smooth was a pain in the ass
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so next was to replace it with something that was better suited. I decided to do a complete suspension overhaul, every bush, link, arm and ball joint. CV joints were replaced too.
Thought I’d upgrade and renew the brakes while I was in there and also ran into a leaking steering rack that needed refurbed

out with the old
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New ride height (I’m still not certain I like the look) tyres are standard 195/55
Its much better suited to city streets though, it feels much more stable on bumpy roads, nice, tight and composed. The brakes weren’t bad before but it stops much better now
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Parts used were
(all brand new apart from the twinblocks)
Spoon fixed height suspension kit
Tein spring iscolators
Spoon full bush kit
Spoon RTA bushes
HardRace ARB bushes and endlinks
HardRace ball joints
HardRace tie rods
Honda tie rod ends
Honda CV joints
Honda front upper arms
HardRace rear camber arms
Spoon rigid collar kits
Spoon Twinblocks calipers
OEM Nissin rear calipers
Honda OEM discs and pads
Hel braided brake lines
Cusco brake master cylinder stopper
Custom made titanium rear lower subframe bar
Energy suspension steering rack bushings
 
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So apart from having a bit of under seal on them, the Trybox coil overs where basically new under it all, I cleaned them up and sold them on to a mate

just thought I’d post a pic as these are very rare coil overs and I know everyone likes rare **** :)
 
So next up was a rolling road day with the type r Scotland Facebook group
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got some nice pictures but to say I was gutted with the numbers woulda been a understatement :(

but after having a bit to reflect I was comforting myself saying I had the cat still installed with the original airbox and the original exhaust manifold on. UK fuel, the fact it never gets driven, the fact that majority of folk was disappointed that day...
i was hanging on to any excuse :) and still am :)
Nah, once I’d calmed down a bit I actually thought it’s not bad for a 20 year old car.

Not bad, yes, could be better, yes
I’d only done the fluids, filters and plugs so it got me thinking... more maintenance needed...

couple of things I noticed that day... my fuel pump was making some loud humming noises and my Spoon calipers needed bled, again!.. I think this was the third time!

oh and it sounded awesome on the motorway :)

can someone tell me how to upload videos please?
I’m ancient and barely managing to upload my pics
 
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So I’ve been into Hondas for years, mostly 80’s an 90’s machines and I’ve watched most of them rust away. I’m determined not to let this happen to me.
I was very insistent when I was buying this car to fully go over it with a fine tooth comb. I knew to pull off the rear plastics and check the inner quarters for signs of corrosion. I went to view the car three times with different mates and mechanics and vigorously checked it over so I knew it had no rust or previous accident damage.

so once I had some time, I pulled the plastics again for access to work
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not the best pics but it gives you some idea. Apart from a bit dust the inner quarters are in pristine condition
 
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I got to work protecting them
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undersealed from the inside should help with anything starting, stank like crap for a couple of days but definitely a job worth doing imo. While the plastics were out I changed out the rear light seals as I’d noticed a slight leak into the spare wheel well area after giving it a rinse of with the power washer one day,

is it really a 80’s 90’s Honda if it doesn’t leak somewhere?!!

I keep the car in a garage that’s temperature controlled and de humidified. The car is only on the road from April to October, keeps it away from the salt, it hardly does any miles in that 6 month And it never goes out when it’s wet!

As it stands today it has done less than 2000 miles since being in the UK
 
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This looks great

Pretty sure I bought some ht leads off you many moons ago if I am thinking correctly? We met at 24hr Asda at chesser? Unless I am thinking of someone else
 
This looks great

Pretty sure I bought some ht leads off you many moons ago if I am thinking correctly? We met at 24hr Asda at chesser? Unless I am thinking of someone else

Hi mate, Yeah that’d be me, I stay 5 mins from there, many many moons ago now my friend :)

hope your keeping well
 
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So next I wanted to try get to the bottom of my dyno numbers. I decided to do a full on refresh of the engine and all ancillaries. a dizzy refresh, a new starter motor, a new clutch, flywheel, master and slave cylinder. a full on OEM shifter refresh. A whole bunch of new sensors, seals, bolts and gaskets.
A cooling system refresh with a new radiator.

i had the valve clearances checked an adjusted, all sensors electrically checked for operation and accuracy.

all the engine brackets were removed cleaned up then painted, managed to source an lightweight alloy ITR torque mount bracket.
The whole slam panel was under sealed for protection

Cleaned off all the OEM grounding points and added a few new wires and an earthing kit.
Replaced my buzzing fuel pump for a Walbro that oddly enough buzzes nearly as loud as my original. I’ve been assured this one is meant to buzz louder due to its volume/size.

As the engine bay was empty I thought it’d be a good time to get the subframe cleaned up and refreshed.
Added a new set of headlights as my originals were starting to web and generally have the bay a good clean
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then after a little cleaning
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Wow that's one clean EK9, as long as it doesn't see winter roads, it'll stay spotless for years to come.
 
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Parts used were all new
Spoon organic clutch kit
Competition clutch super lightweight flywheel
Honda master and slave cylinders, new boots
ARP clutch bolts
Honda flywheel bolts
Honda driveshaft seals
Honda clutch fork, spring and retaining bolt
Honda flywheel spigot bearing
Hel braised clutch lime
New Honda starter motor
Fresh MTF with a Spoon magnetic plug
Quick lick of paint to freshen it up
 
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Shifter refresh...
I like the feel of the standard shifter so instead of going for a short shift kit I decided to totally refresh every part of the shifter assembly.
I replaced every bit of rubber, every bolt, washer and boot. i got a new gearbox seal, new pin, clip and boot to make sure there was no play anywhere in that joint in the system

All parts used were Honda parts apart from a set of Spoon linkage bushes and the Spoon change rod
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