First swiss EK9 (TypeRx) and modding story


thanks guys! This weekend i'll dust it off and take it to the japanclassic.ch also my 240Z project is at the bodyshop for the coming months, so the lift workspace is free and therefore i hope i can install all the parts which are waiting in the garage and get the car fit again...
 
Soo, a while ago i bought this tool. the "Bissell Spot clean heat pro". Basically a wet vacuum cleaner with integrated water / cleaning spray.
To be honest i wanted to go for a cheap option and test it furst, but i should have gone for something more expensive. the "heating" is more or less inexistent, and i expexted it to bea more of a "steam" cleaner like in those proffessionall videas, but nevertheless, i have tried it a few times now on home-furniture and it works. Not brilliantly, but it works.
https://www.galaxus.ch/im/Files/3/1/8/8/2/9/0/9/XL1_bissell-spotclean-proheat-fleckenreiniger.jpeg




When i recently drove the EK9, i realized how dirty the EK9 seats have become and thought i give it a try.


The OEM Recaros used in the Honda Integra DC2 typeR and the EK9 are definitely a bit of a weak spot. they're super nice and comfy and also high quality, but their cheeks tend to get visibly dirty quick with the bright colours, and since you have to get over the foam cheeks to get inside the car it is very prone to wear and tear. Nevertheless, the results were quite good, if you ask me.


The result was quite good if you ask me for a five minute job the lines and rough surface you see are not from the cleaning it self but a general wear-issue.


I missed to take a pic in the right moment but you can see in the sink how dirty brown the water (brown soup) was from cleaning this seat only.


You might also have noticed that the fabric of the seat got even a bit more worn out due to this procedure. but don't worry. i have plans to rebuild the seat any way. I already the most criticial part a while ago, but i decided now to get all parts as spares and have both seats redone with parts from the excellent https://www.capitalseating.co.uk/honda-civic-type-r-ek9-recaro-seat and a local car upholstry specialist. Capitalseating makes spareparts for those recaro seat in OEM quality with all the right deatails.
The seat restauration It's not the top priority but i'll get the parts order placed soon and have it done in near future...
 
Definitely a difference ,looks more in keeping with the bolster fabric colour (bottom bolster ) capital seating sell.
I've heard the bottom bolster cover is more pink when ordered, Looking at how yours has cleaned up ,it looks a better match when cleaned?
 
I'm not sure, but from what i understand, capitaseating sells original Recaro material, or works closely together with them, but i might be wrong.

Nevertheless, i think their fabric matches the original seats pretty good. maybe a tad brighter, but really hard to tell.
Note that the capital seating fabric is new, vs my (still slightly dirty and worn) seat. see my picture below, taken today for comparison.

What i can definitely say, is that the EK9 / DC2 original recaro seats often get (from light to massive) bright and pink-ish when exposed to UV-rays / harsh sunlight over many years.
DSC_1741-Kopie.jpg


maybe not the best picture, but here's a slightly faded pink-ish seat for comparison. I have seen much worse, but can't find any good pictures atm.
I'm sure you get the idea
images.jpg
 
I'm not sure, but from what i understand, capitaseating sells original Recaro material, or works closely together with them, but i might be wrong.

Nevertheless, i think their fabric matches the original seats pretty good. maybe a tad brighter, but really hard to tell.
Note that the capital seating fabric is new, vs my (still slightly dirty and worn) seat. see my picture below, taken today for comparison.

What i can definitely say, is that the EK9 / DC2 original recaro seats often get (from light to massive) bright and pink-ish when exposed to UV-rays / harsh sunlight over many years.
DSC_1741-Kopie.jpg


maybe not the best picture, but here's a slightly faded pink-ish seat for comparison. I have seen much worse, but can't find any good pictures atm.
I'm sure you get the idea
View attachment 47603
Looks a good match from the picture you posted.
I definitely see the difference in the bottom pic. I'm going to order a sample first and wash my seats.

My front seats don't look faded to be honest not like the pic you posted.
 
Looks a good match from the picture you posted.
I definitely see the difference in the bottom pic. I'm going to order a sample first and wash my seats.

My front seats don't look faded to be honest not like the pic you posted.
I may need to mention here that i ordered my Capitalseating part, shown in the pictures above, a few years ago, so i can't guarantee the material and quality is still the same today, but i hope so, because i'd like to place a big order there soon :)
 
I have a week off and decided it's best to "finish" the EK9 project, so i can put it in hibernation. At least I'll finish all the work i can do myself.
After putting the car on the lifut, i first inspected the work done from my garage recently. Like installing the Endless brake pads:


And the full spoon bushing kit (which make the car handle like a completely different car. And i don't mean it was bad before...)


Then? Off with the front bumper and get the parts ready:


I drained the oil and replaced the standard Honda oil drain plug with a High magnetic neodynium magnet drain plug from TopFuel Japan / Zero1000:


The advantage is the strong magnet collects all metallic debris in the oil at the magnet. Not that i really need that for my usual drives, but hey - why not?
And then i had this thing lying in my garage for years now and thought it was finally time to install it :)


Next? Radiator. The Original honda item started to "sweat" minimal. it is still more than OK, but i thought i'll swap it out and preserve it for the future and instead put something more modern and safe into the car. After long searchis for a standard-width unit, i found this recently released Trust / Greddy item:


You can clearly see the difference in thickness:


Unfortunately this meant the old SSWorks radiator shroud i had installed would also not fit anymore:


So out it had to go:


After draining the whole system:


The old one (surprisingly light unit) came out:


You have to swap the rubber feet / bushings to the new one:


I decided to give them a quick clean and some vaseline (petroleum lube) treatment, so they look almost new again:


The fan when to the new item too. Unfortunately i realized a screw had damaged threads so i will need to replace it. but for short drives it's not critical:


And back in it went. Forgot to take a picture. Unfortunately also the Greddy radiator shroud wouldn't fit anymore. so outit went.
Either i will cut it or leave it away. not sure yet.


I had replaced the original honda radiator valve cap with a Seeker item. but this one only barely fit. it seems they have slightly different tolerances. So i had to install the included Trust / greddy item (not shown in picture):
 
Next`up was to install the Laile / Beatrush under panel. First you need to install these mounting brackets at the front control arms:
(@No_Fear : you asked for those pictures :-D)


And five screws later, the whole panel is installed:


It uses all original mounting points which are not originally used but are there. So it gives the front bumper additional stability. And i love to unwrap this stuff :)


Installed: You still have access to the battery drain plug and it has some nice vents too. Great piece ,if you ask me. However not sure about the effect.


Next on the list: The window visor mounting plugs. I had sourced them from an EK9.org member @Dzero4 Thanks again for helping me with these!. Those fasteners are incredibly hard to find. but luckily my visors are complete again-


After i cleaned all the spilled oils and tools i called it a day. What's next? In spring (hopefully) the car will go to the paintshop). This old original Honda battery tie-down was in the corner for years now, after the original paint peeled off- I decided to have it repainted in original black and reinstalled. The Skunk2 unit is nice, but somehow it doesn't fit the "JDM" theme and it's another flashy item in the engine bay. back to OEM will look nice.


And then the car has quite some "Battle-scars" which require a repaint of the front bumper and lip:


the scratches on the bottom are unavoidable i guess and not so much of an issue since you don't see them. But at a random hi-pressure washing station, suddenly the paint peeled of on the front lip in large chunks. most probably from a previous stone-chip or something. Thisd really looks ugly and i thought it would be a good opportunity to have the whole fromt bumper and lip repainted. maybe even the hood...


That's it. I might give it a test-drive if the weather is nice in the coming days, otherwise i'll put it in hibernation, since the temperatures are alraedy cold outside.
I have planned some work on my Z project though :)
 
I just realized i forgot to post this, which is the overhaul pt 1. which obviously came before the last two posts. the order is wrong. but that doesn't matter:
Wow, almost 10 months since i got the parts and planned to do the overhaul, but for various reasons i had to postpone it to this winter. Luckily stars aligned and i got the first part done.
well ok, the first part was already done a few weeks ago but that was really minor.
This time i brought the EK9 to the workshop and dropped it of for some work, which included:

- Adjust the suspension by +5mm to be approved by the MOT (seems it came down since the original setting was made)


- Replace the timing belt. Picture shows the japanese replacement milage sticker which came with the belt:


- Upgrade the brake pads all around with Endless Y-sports. They're like upgraded OEM Pads for less fade but still very streetable. So far i love them!
The original pads where still good but i thought i kind of like to preserve them and have something upgraded at the same time.


- Replace all ruber bushings with SPoon sports PU Bushings (also required to pass MOT, since on bushing was cracked). It's not as hard as expected and the driving feeling is superior so far. Now you're even more connected to the car for that extra-bit of go-kart feeling. it's incredible fun to go up some curvy roads :)


- I also asked them to clean the engine bay a bit with the steam cleaner. seems i need to paint my spoon resonator pipe again. well :)


- And then there was this annoying "singing" rattle noise that was terrible by any means. It made the car sound like a crappy rice-box tuned car with some ebay parts, but with my several attempts over the years i failed to find the problem. I kindly asked my honda dealer to have a look. and well. they found this as the root cause for all rattling. i don't know where they found it but well. the rattle is gone...


Oh and this also happened :)
You might remember when a young nice dude named Kay gifted me a custom Eibach EG6 Honda Hothweels model at the recent Cagedude anniversary party?


Since he owns an EK-civic himself, he told me he wanted to build my EK9 as a custom hothweels - just for fun. Who am i to say no? A few weeks later i get a message with these photos:




And today i got an unexpectedly full Diorama in the mailbox.


Excellent replica of my EK9 with the Advan wheels, Advan Flag red toolbox, and even the red GP-sports tow-strap which i have on my car.


Here it is with the Eibach Drag EG6, which i got from him last time:


And here it is in front of the real car. I'm in love! Thank you so much, Kay. love the work and you will get something from me in return for sure!

Make sure to follow him on:
https://www.instagram.com/khxy_design/ and https://www.instagram.com/kay.ung/
 
When installing the new radiator and under panel last week, i realized that some of the bolts, screws and other hardware was either missing, badly corroded, damaged or wrong. This happens with most of the cars when many people do a lot of things with them over the years. No Problem, but i thought it would be a good thing to rectify things. So i got my original japanese parts manuals out, which a bought a while ago:

I love those japanese manuals. even though i don't understand a word, it's super easy to find the correct page and number:


I contacted my Honda dealer and the next they they were able to pickup. Unfortunately Honda has discontinued some of the items and replaced them with others. While they do fit and work, the design is sometimes slightly different.


But luckily most of the hardware was still available in original shape, so i replaced them:


When opening the door, i realized that some rubbers have become a bit "sticky", so i thought it was about time to bring out the old shabby rubber treatment flask and give all seals a wipe before putting the car asleep.


Then i hooked the battery up to the excellent "floating" AEG Charger (it simulates a usage cycle instead of only charging, so the lifetime of the battery is longer)


And at the end i put the car back in her original parking lot and threw the dust cover on it. In spring i'll bring the car for a front-end respray and I'm also thinking of heaving the worn seats reupholstered with original fabric. Nevertheless, I'm happy i've done all the work and i'm ready for next season.
 
Found some more useless but cool stuff to put in the car: An original new Mugen Sports pedal kit (still available new at Mugen) to nicely fit with the Mugen gauge cluster i have installed.
See both here from the original Mugen Civic special sales brochure:


Not sure when i'm able to install it, but definitely want to have it ready for the 2023 season:
 
Today i made a great deal. After getting my Datsun Dealer sign for my workshop, i thought it would be nice to get one from Honda for the Civic too, but really didn't want to spend a fortune. I put a Search advert online and then forgot about it. A few weeks later, while looking for someone else on the website, i realized that some guy had just answered me the day before and said he had an original Honda Dealer sign.
A few messages back and forth and today i was able to pick up the sign an hour away from my home:


It is a bit rough around the edges, but otherise really nice. especially the TypeR red colour of the honda sign which will fit my EK9 perfectly.


I still yet have to find out where i hang it, or put it, but i will surely find a nice spot for it after a bit of a cleanup.


The cool thing is. that it was an old Honda workshop who is cleaning out their stuff, so he also offered me a set of old workshop manuals for the EJ/EK series. which will come in handy, since the japanese ones from the EK9 are a bit hard to read.



I think i got quite the collection of original EK-series documentation on hand:


And then i also got this free Serviceplan manual for the EJ / EK series for workshops. On one side you find what kind of work to carry out at which kilometer service


On the backside you find some basic information like a few standard values, torques, how much oil to fill, what spark plugs to use, etc.
They might be wrong for the B16b engine, but still a nice collectors item.


And the best of it, the Seller sold it for a Honda-workshop cleanout price rather then a collectors price. And he also told me he's happy to know that this stuff will end up in a good home, which always makes me happy to hear.
 
So, the Honda dealer sign is LED retrofitted and refurbished. and ready to go to a nice place in my garage, when i find a free minute to hang it somewhere. If you're interested see the full restauration here: https://www.jdmjunkies.ch/word…r-sign-restauration-pt-2/
20230220_195400-Kopie.jpg

Recently i acquired a set of Japanese "Mooks" (Magazine books) about the EK9. They're both of the prefacelift model evolution, since i wasn't able to find later versions. I think they didn't produce a lot of "facelift" magazines, since they changes were mostly cosmetic.

The first one is the "GoldMook GT-Series No.3". It includes a full reprint of the original pre-facelift EK9 brochure in the centerfold:


But also design sketches of the EK9 rear wing by Chief design Akira Shimoyama Of Honda's design studio C, responsible for the EK9 and others:


You'll find a lot of information from the lead engineers of the EK9's various parts like suspension:


Engine, chassis, and much more with loads of technical details and background information:


There's aslo no shortage of nice pictures, comparisons, test drives and much more.

The second one is the "TypeR Mook" by MotorFan. It includes a lot of detail photos, closeups, catalogue reprints


And again a lot of technical background and engineering information, as the chassis details, shown here:


Or the drivetrain shown here.


Again there's plenty of more information in the books and still have to go through them. The content is a mix of copies from factory documentation and engineering details, interviews with specialists or engineers of the RnD team, and own content such as test drives, pictures and much more. Generally very interesting details and background information about the EK9 and it's specification.
Both books are very similar, but still different. Both also contain information about the other "typeR"s of the time like the NSX-R and the Integra TypeR and their history. Perfect information for nerds like me :)
 
So. the 240Z project has gained a bit of speed again, so it's time to also take care about my beloved EK9 before summer sason starts.
I'm going to send it to the paintshop nect week. so i decided to remove the under panel again for some easyier access for them. Once you have installed the brackets, it's only five bolts to install / Remove this panel, so that's really great.


The main reason is this nasty paint chip on the front lip, which you can see from far away:
20221128_084951-Kopie.jpg


But i also thought it might be worth to take care of some other battle scars:


And stone chips:


While at the paintshop, i will also ask them to paint a few OEM pieces which have lost their paint completely. like the original battery tie down.
I have currently replaced it with a chunky milled SKunk2 piece. it's great but first of all it's american, and second it looks a bit flashy and i prefer it more factory looking these days.


I cranked up my sandblaster and reomved all rust and remaining paint so it's ready for a new layer of paint (I included old paint chips for reference *lol*)


Then i also wanted to install those fancy new Mugen pedals, but only to realize that the facelift car already had som kind of sports pedals.


I'm now trying to find out if they can easy be removed (temporarly) or if you have to destroy them, or if it's possible at all to install those mugens.

Let's see. And while at it anyway, i also installed the swiss Autobahn annual fee sticker.


Let's hope for a glossy nice front end in a few weeks :) then there is only one last topic remaining at th emoment: A refurbish of the OEM seats, which i have also scheduled...

Oh and the old Honda dealer sign is also refurbished, LED-retrofitted and hung up in the workshop.
If you're interested, you can read that story here:
https://www.jdmjunkies.ch/wordpress/2023-02-13/other-the-honda-dealer-sign-restauration-pt-1/
https://www.jdmjunkies.ch/wordpress/2023-02-21/other-the-honda-dealer-sign-restauration-pt-2/
https://www.jdmjunkies.ch/wordpress...a-dealer-sign-restauration-pt-3-installation/
20230307_183425-Kopie.jpg
 
are the pedals mounted with rivets ?
A3J52q9-6-400x400.jpg


cant see clear from the image ,if yes,a drill is your best friend for this.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top