Honda Accord Type R - Complete Strip & Rebuild
Discussion
I have been lurking on here for some time and added to a few posts here and there, so I thought I'd better put up a thread of my own. I'm a regular contributor to the Accord Type R forum anyhow but i've always like Pistonheads as I like all types of cars.
So where to start.....It all started back in 1998 when I saw the first ATR in a Honda showroom in Leamington Spa (Tachbrook Honda) and I was in love. As it turns out it took me nearly 14 years to actually buy one. I saw a lowish mileage (86k) one for sale in 2012 near Stockport, which had a full service history and was in pretty good order. It was in the colour I wanted which is Pirates Black and a pre-facelift version, again which I wanted. It was pretty much stock apart from a full Bilstein B12 kit and a mongoose decat system.
After a bit of haggling I took it home. It didn't disappoint drive wise and the VTEC cross over put an instant smile on my face! My plan with the car right from the outset was to take it off the road and completely strip it and give it a really good refresh.....What then it morphed into was something I hadn't really planned on if I'm honest, because I had thought 18 months and it would be done....ha ha fat chance. I had always really wanted a show car and that is what the plan became. The more I thought about it, read about it and studied (and trust me did I read and study this car) the more I wanted the best Accord Type R that was on the road.
From there things took on a totally different life..very fortunately for me one of my best mates at the time (my sincerest and heartfelt thanks to my good friend John McG) had his own commercial workshop and we struck a deal that meant I had the use of his workshop and facilities for as long as I needed it. Added to this he would help me do some bits and charge me for other stuff that needed to get done.
Now I might add at this stage that what I ended up doing as I mentioned earlier was not what I ever envisaged myself doing. I will also admit that I am not the worlds best mechanic but boy did I learn how to do a lot of stuff under John's guidance. I was also very lucky in getting a completely and I mean completely rust free example. Not a single hole, or bit of rot on the whole car, unlike many who you will have read that suffer the dreaded bulkhead rot. Mine was utterly solid, so I had a great base to start with.
The ATR was on the road only 6 weeks before the task of stripping it completely began.......And what a task that was. It's not until you strip a car that you realize when it is stripped, just how much space all the bits actually take up
This process took a few weeks and I was left essentially with a shell and a lot of bits a hell of a lot of bits.
Few pics of it before, during and after being stripped and some of what it was like underneath and a few detail pics. Yes it had an oil leak and plenty of surface rust and looked pretty darn tired and dirty underneath and in the engine bay.....By the way my build thread on the Accord Type R Forum runs into 62 pages and War & Peace would be actually shorter so I will try and keep this as brief as I can to stop you falling asleep......
Engine bay as it looked then:
Underside
So where to start.....It all started back in 1998 when I saw the first ATR in a Honda showroom in Leamington Spa (Tachbrook Honda) and I was in love. As it turns out it took me nearly 14 years to actually buy one. I saw a lowish mileage (86k) one for sale in 2012 near Stockport, which had a full service history and was in pretty good order. It was in the colour I wanted which is Pirates Black and a pre-facelift version, again which I wanted. It was pretty much stock apart from a full Bilstein B12 kit and a mongoose decat system.
After a bit of haggling I took it home. It didn't disappoint drive wise and the VTEC cross over put an instant smile on my face! My plan with the car right from the outset was to take it off the road and completely strip it and give it a really good refresh.....What then it morphed into was something I hadn't really planned on if I'm honest, because I had thought 18 months and it would be done....ha ha fat chance. I had always really wanted a show car and that is what the plan became. The more I thought about it, read about it and studied (and trust me did I read and study this car) the more I wanted the best Accord Type R that was on the road.
From there things took on a totally different life..very fortunately for me one of my best mates at the time (my sincerest and heartfelt thanks to my good friend John McG) had his own commercial workshop and we struck a deal that meant I had the use of his workshop and facilities for as long as I needed it. Added to this he would help me do some bits and charge me for other stuff that needed to get done.
Now I might add at this stage that what I ended up doing as I mentioned earlier was not what I ever envisaged myself doing. I will also admit that I am not the worlds best mechanic but boy did I learn how to do a lot of stuff under John's guidance. I was also very lucky in getting a completely and I mean completely rust free example. Not a single hole, or bit of rot on the whole car, unlike many who you will have read that suffer the dreaded bulkhead rot. Mine was utterly solid, so I had a great base to start with.
The ATR was on the road only 6 weeks before the task of stripping it completely began.......And what a task that was. It's not until you strip a car that you realize when it is stripped, just how much space all the bits actually take up
This process took a few weeks and I was left essentially with a shell and a lot of bits a hell of a lot of bits. Few pics of it before, during and after being stripped and some of what it was like underneath and a few detail pics. Yes it had an oil leak and plenty of surface rust and looked pretty darn tired and dirty underneath and in the engine bay.....By the way my build thread on the Accord Type R Forum runs into 62 pages and War & Peace would be actually shorter so I will try and keep this as brief as I can to stop you falling asleep......
Engine bay as it looked then:
Underside
Edited by 99PBATR on Monday 4th December 12:08
And some pics of it in various states of being stripped...
So that was the car stripped of parts and then came the task of stripping all of the individual parts....this is where things started to really change. What was originally a strip and refresh build suddenly started to become a strip, restore and completely enhance and individually detail operation.
Some years previously I had taken to bits an Opel Manta GTE Coupe (about 20 years previously) and had many of the parts chromed and polished, so this is something I started to think about for the ATR. However I really wanted to go to town on this. I've always liked going to car shows and seeing cars every bit as good underneath as they are outside. For me that makes a TRUE show car because the level of detail has to be there. In my mind it's not enough for a car to look shiny on the outside and have a tarty engine bay. For me it needs to be carried right throughout down to every screw, bolt and bit of trim, whether you can see it or not.
I envisaged going to shows and having it on ramps to show off what I had done underneath with mirrors under it, like the great show cars that I had much admired over many years of going to shows for every type of car. Now I had not also seen anyone do this at a Jap car show, or at least not one I had ever been to. I also spent over 15 years in my spare time running my own detailing business, so excellent paintwork was essential, which is why I went for a Pirates Black car as they look sublime when the sun catches the paint....a deep pearlescent almost burgundy/aubergine colour but black normally out of the sun. That said Honda paint is the most infuriating bloody soft crap and mars just by looking at it. It holograms just by the lightest of touches which drives you mental but hey ho.
Bit by bit I started to dig into the detail (we won't talk about the cash as it will make my eyes water) and I wanted to see how far I could add little touches and do a few different things differently.
The first thing was to prepare the shell. Fortunately I didn't need to bare metal it all because mainly it was surface rust and the factory sealant was still in really good order. However I did get at the shell and grind back a lot of the old sealant and check every single inch of the car including the dreaded bulkhead which was to my delight, utterly solid with the smallest sign of surface rust let alone rot.
As you can see, surface rust only....
Then I started with a combo of wire wheels and grinding discs to get rid of the old sealant and expose any under rust and grind back all of the visible rust.
So that was the car stripped of parts and then came the task of stripping all of the individual parts....this is where things started to really change. What was originally a strip and refresh build suddenly started to become a strip, restore and completely enhance and individually detail operation.
Some years previously I had taken to bits an Opel Manta GTE Coupe (about 20 years previously) and had many of the parts chromed and polished, so this is something I started to think about for the ATR. However I really wanted to go to town on this. I've always liked going to car shows and seeing cars every bit as good underneath as they are outside. For me that makes a TRUE show car because the level of detail has to be there. In my mind it's not enough for a car to look shiny on the outside and have a tarty engine bay. For me it needs to be carried right throughout down to every screw, bolt and bit of trim, whether you can see it or not.
I envisaged going to shows and having it on ramps to show off what I had done underneath with mirrors under it, like the great show cars that I had much admired over many years of going to shows for every type of car. Now I had not also seen anyone do this at a Jap car show, or at least not one I had ever been to. I also spent over 15 years in my spare time running my own detailing business, so excellent paintwork was essential, which is why I went for a Pirates Black car as they look sublime when the sun catches the paint....a deep pearlescent almost burgundy/aubergine colour but black normally out of the sun. That said Honda paint is the most infuriating bloody soft crap and mars just by looking at it. It holograms just by the lightest of touches which drives you mental but hey ho.
Bit by bit I started to dig into the detail (we won't talk about the cash as it will make my eyes water) and I wanted to see how far I could add little touches and do a few different things differently.
The first thing was to prepare the shell. Fortunately I didn't need to bare metal it all because mainly it was surface rust and the factory sealant was still in really good order. However I did get at the shell and grind back a lot of the old sealant and check every single inch of the car including the dreaded bulkhead which was to my delight, utterly solid with the smallest sign of surface rust let alone rot.
As you can see, surface rust only....
Then I started with a combo of wire wheels and grinding discs to get rid of the old sealant and expose any under rust and grind back all of the visible rust.
Stripping it took me about 2-3 weeks work, to get it to a stage where I could think about the treatment process and what I wanted it to look like underneath. I knew what I didn't want was just to underseal it, I wanted it to look like something that not only stood out but also would last for another 20 years! The irony is that now the car is finished I don't drive it when the roads are even vaguely wet 
After a fair bit of research and talking to Classic car folk at shows and the like, I decided on the Rust Bullet treatment system, which basically comprises of 3 stages...
1) Metal treatment - This is a metal conditioning treatment which you paint or spray on. This is only put on when you have ground all of the surface rust and like the title suggests, conditions the surface for the next stage of the treatment and prevents and rust forming.
2) Rust Bullet shell automotive primer is next....damn this stuff is a bloody nightmare to put on because it is as thick as axle grease to apply, brush being best but it sets like frigging concrete and it set's quick as well. I went through countless brushes applying it, so you need to be methodical and concentrate. Spraying it isn't an option. But let me tell you it forms a shell like nothing I've ever seen or used before. Here are a few pics of it after I applied it...
Then onto stage 3......
After a fair bit of research and talking to Classic car folk at shows and the like, I decided on the Rust Bullet treatment system, which basically comprises of 3 stages...
1) Metal treatment - This is a metal conditioning treatment which you paint or spray on. This is only put on when you have ground all of the surface rust and like the title suggests, conditions the surface for the next stage of the treatment and prevents and rust forming.
2) Rust Bullet shell automotive primer is next....damn this stuff is a bloody nightmare to put on because it is as thick as axle grease to apply, brush being best but it sets like frigging concrete and it set's quick as well. I went through countless brushes applying it, so you need to be methodical and concentrate. Spraying it isn't an option. But let me tell you it forms a shell like nothing I've ever seen or used before. Here are a few pics of it after I applied it...
Then onto stage 3......
Stage 3 - Rust Bullet Blackshell - Now this is the fun part when you get to make the underside of your car shine like its brand spankers as it makes the car look brand spankers. None of this dull crap, this stuff looks the nuts when it's on. They do it in two colours, Black and White, so for either of those two colour cars, it looks amazing. I must admit I wished my car was white after doing this as the white looks epic to be frank and anything against it looks just sublime. This stuff you spray on. It stinks and too long without breathing gear on and someone will be getting you down off the ceiling with a broom
Anyway less chat more pics....
As you can see the finish is just superb and the perfect canvas against which to put your new shiny suspension parts etc.....this is where I got to thinking about the colour scheme underneath the car......
So what about the rest of the sorry looking parts dragged off the car and what needed changing? Well obviously a lot needed changing, refreshing, renewing, so I literally went part by part starting with the underside of the car first...but one part changed the whole direction of what I was going to do with the car and what I learned next.....here it is
Anyway less chat more pics....
As you can see the finish is just superb and the perfect canvas against which to put your new shiny suspension parts etc.....this is where I got to thinking about the colour scheme underneath the car......
So what about the rest of the sorry looking parts dragged off the car and what needed changing? Well obviously a lot needed changing, refreshing, renewing, so I literally went part by part starting with the underside of the car first...but one part changed the whole direction of what I was going to do with the car and what I learned next.....here it is
ALawson said:
Great stuff. I have a 2001 SORN in my mums garage, not turned over since 2012 on 198k miles, I got her in 2002 on 21k miles.
I am planning on getting it sorted out so your thread is timely reminder. I suppose I better check the bulkhead for rust.
Looking forward to you updates.
198k miles...wow that really is a testament to what longevity the ATR has. Fair play to you friendI am planning on getting it sorted out so your thread is timely reminder. I suppose I better check the bulkhead for rust.
Looking forward to you updates.
The part in question in the previous pic to clarify is the bracket that holds on the fuel return filter. The big issue with it is that it sits right underneath the car on the body and is exposed to the elements and they rust like hell as you can see. The other issue is that it is one of the few parts that Honda do not offer as a replacement for.
As an aside I was astounded by the parts that you can still get for these cars. Almost everything is still available, which nearly 20 years after they were first made is something remarkable. That said forget trying to buy a starter motor for one....as every single motor factor says they can get one, but not one single one I tried not only fits but even looks remotely similar. So a good used one is the best option.
Off topic....right so how to solve the problem of a rusty crusty bracket that is no longer available and a waste of time trying to get one off a breaker....Thank god for YouTube...I started to watch video's of how to do electrolysis and I ain't talking about removing body hair neither
No i'm talking about getting crappy rust and leaving some good metal behind. So a few hours later there I was with a old plastic box, two pieces of metal, a piece of wire, an old car battery charger and a packet of soda crystals...made my anode and cathode, attached the crappy old bracket, first having put some water and dissolved the soda crystals and turned the battery charger on.
What happened then was a revelation to me and lead onto what I was to do with many many parts from the car after that. I had learnt how to get rust of parts easily and bloody cheaply...the simplest things....
It had dissolved all of the rust and left me with a nice piece of solid metal. I was amazed. Here is the final object after powder coating...
This got me to thinking about if I could do this with a bit of rusty metal, how easy would it be to learn to plate my own bolts and save myself a small fortune and more importantly make stuff look good....So I did some research and invested in my own plating set up...Not expensive I might add but also not for either the faint hearted or those lacking in the following:
a) Patience
b) Organizational skills (you will not have a clue which bolt came from where or for what unless you label everything - trust me I know all about that
)
c) Somewhere to set up your little lab/production line that won't poison the kids
d) Care - The chemicals are not horrifc or anything but there is a sulfuric acid process involved so you have been warned
e) Methodology - You need to be methodical as there are several steps in this process
Basically this is like setting up a production line. Also you need a good way of getting rust off the bolts or items quickly as to put each bolt into electrolysis means you may still be there in 10 years time doing this, so I used a benchtop machine with a rotating wire brush, as its quick and easy to condition the parts before the process.
Here is my setup:
|https://thumbsnap.com/wzKCSMG9[/url]
Personally I loved doing it.....rusty to shiny. What's not to like....and you can go for several finishes...shiny, olive drab etc as you can see from the before and after...Be warned it takes a lot of pratting about and it's really a bit of a bugg*r to master but it is worth it...
As an idea for some before bits (bolts)
And lots of shiny ones after
[url]
As an aside I was astounded by the parts that you can still get for these cars. Almost everything is still available, which nearly 20 years after they were first made is something remarkable. That said forget trying to buy a starter motor for one....as every single motor factor says they can get one, but not one single one I tried not only fits but even looks remotely similar. So a good used one is the best option.
Off topic....right so how to solve the problem of a rusty crusty bracket that is no longer available and a waste of time trying to get one off a breaker....Thank god for YouTube...I started to watch video's of how to do electrolysis and I ain't talking about removing body hair neither
No i'm talking about getting crappy rust and leaving some good metal behind. So a few hours later there I was with a old plastic box, two pieces of metal, a piece of wire, an old car battery charger and a packet of soda crystals...made my anode and cathode, attached the crappy old bracket, first having put some water and dissolved the soda crystals and turned the battery charger on.
What happened then was a revelation to me and lead onto what I was to do with many many parts from the car after that. I had learnt how to get rust of parts easily and bloody cheaply...the simplest things....
It had dissolved all of the rust and left me with a nice piece of solid metal. I was amazed. Here is the final object after powder coating...
This got me to thinking about if I could do this with a bit of rusty metal, how easy would it be to learn to plate my own bolts and save myself a small fortune and more importantly make stuff look good....So I did some research and invested in my own plating set up...Not expensive I might add but also not for either the faint hearted or those lacking in the following:
a) Patience
b) Organizational skills (you will not have a clue which bolt came from where or for what unless you label everything - trust me I know all about that
)c) Somewhere to set up your little lab/production line that won't poison the kids
d) Care - The chemicals are not horrifc or anything but there is a sulfuric acid process involved so you have been warned
e) Methodology - You need to be methodical as there are several steps in this process
Basically this is like setting up a production line. Also you need a good way of getting rust off the bolts or items quickly as to put each bolt into electrolysis means you may still be there in 10 years time doing this, so I used a benchtop machine with a rotating wire brush, as its quick and easy to condition the parts before the process.
Here is my setup:
|https://thumbsnap.com/wzKCSMG9[/url]Personally I loved doing it.....rusty to shiny. What's not to like....and you can go for several finishes...shiny, olive drab etc as you can see from the before and after...Be warned it takes a lot of pratting about and it's really a bit of a bugg*r to master but it is worth it...
As an idea for some before bits (bolts)
And lots of shiny ones after
[url]bern said:
Awesome stuff! Love anything like this.
Have you got a link to the accord type r thread?
There you go Have you got a link to the accord type r thread?
http://www.accordr.org/index.php?/topic/43015-deta...
I had an ATR In Silver when it first came out, 25 years old and it just put a smile on my face, was certainly a lot more fun than civics and accords I normally had - the howl from the engine as the profile changed never failed to put a smile on my face - and the crazy spoiler - it went back at 5000 miles needing a new set of front tyres as and I quote the defleet manager “we can see the cords through the rubber”
That's great!
Do you have any pictures of the car after you'd removed all the rust, and before you applied the metal treatment? I'm just wondering if you have to remove every speck of rust, and what it looks like after grinding.
Am I right in thinking that if a car is pretty rusty then this sort of treatment isn't going to revive or save it? Is it the sort of thing which would best be done to a new(ish) car?
Do you have any pictures of the car after you'd removed all the rust, and before you applied the metal treatment? I'm just wondering if you have to remove every speck of rust, and what it looks like after grinding.
Am I right in thinking that if a car is pretty rusty then this sort of treatment isn't going to revive or save it? Is it the sort of thing which would best be done to a new(ish) car?
Coakers said:
Excellent thread. I've got a few of these plating kits on my ebay watchlist as it looks so satisfying to do yourself and you've got plenty of shiny corrosion resistant bolts/brackets etc that will really add to the completed look of your car. Hats off
I've got more bling on my ATR than in a rappers bedroom The plating is seriously satisfying. For big brackets I cheated and did a combination of both powder coated items and also chrome plated stuff for the more visual apart from my bonnet hinges which are nickel plated. The bolts were all plated by myself with the exception of any replacement bolts I needed to buy from HondaGassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff