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Matt's S2K Project Thread
Hey Guys :) Welcome to my S2K Project thread! As some of you may have spotted I came into S2K ownership last week and already I've become determined that a) this is going to be my project over the next couple of years to try and get it as mint as I can and b) I'm going to document the progress :)
So first of all the car: 2001, 98K miles, 2 owners with a full service history, a hard top and a nice plate, in Silverstone. Awesome! https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_00521.jpg This was the evening it came back, and this was my VTEC face: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_00511.jpg When I picked it up I knew I'd have a few things to do to it, and today I spent the morning ferreting around the car hunting out other niggles. - The air filter is the dirtiest thing ive ever seen working on cars to date - The bolster wear is very unusual on this particular car - The roof is in worse condition than I thought - The headlights are super faded - Both heatshields needs replacing on the manifold due to cracks - The front wing has had a TERRIBLE respray.. I had hoped it was just clearcoat failure... But the paint is thin, off-colour and just awful... Someone had an off-day on the spray gun / paint mixing that day. - The worst bit by far... There was a swimming pool underneath the toolkit in the boot: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01041.jpg Having found some of these items out I've already set a list of things to tackle, with the main goal being to get the car in to a presentable condition for Japfest, where she'll be on stand. Here's my list of tasks: Servicing: - Major Plus service - Bleed brake and clutch fluid - Change gearbox and diff oil - Shinetsu all rubber seals - Adjust window seals - Patch roof up as best I can Cosmetics - Paint brake calipers - 2 step polish - Fix faded lights (done) - Sort the poor paint on the right wing - Re-paint cam cover - Clear side repeaters I am pretty sure I've missed loads but I'll come back and add to the list as I go :) |
DIY - Fixing Faded Headlights
So, first task for me today was meant to be sorting the clearcoat on my messed up drivers wing... However after a little bit of wet sanding and polishing, I can see that it's more than clearcoat failure, the whole wing is a different colour to the car! https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_00871.jpg So, I had my polisher, sanding gear and everything else out so I decided to attack the headlights which were seriously faded. Passenger side before: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_00961.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01021.jpg The camera doesn't really pick up just how yellow the lens is... But here's the drivers side after: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_00941.jpg Muuuuch clearer and cleaner! Comparison between the right side (done) and the left side (not done) https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01001.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_00991.jpg Damage like this can be caused by a variety of things; but the most common is the suns UVA and UVB rays which gradually wear the factory applied protective agent on the plastics down, causing discolouration and light distortion in severe cases. If you want to do this yourself here is a quick write up: Tools: 2000 and 2500 grit WetNDry sandpaper (monogrit if you can get it) Detailing tape Spray bottle full of water DA polisher (you may be able to achieve this by hand, but you'll need to add 3000 grit sandpaper, and some serious elbow grease.. I wouldn't attempt it) Cutting compound Polishing compound Heavy cutting pad Light buffing pad Jet seal / other brand of sealant Method: 1. Thoroughly soak your sandpaper in water and soak the headlight you will be working on 2. Fold the 2000 grit sandpaper into a square which fits nicely across three fingers and is the length of your middle knuckle to middle finger tip (1/3rd of a sheet should do it) 3. Mask off the wing and bumper near the headlight 4. Applying light and even pressure make nice long, smooth back and forward strokes over the light. Keep misting the light with water, you should see murky gunk coming off of the lens as you're doing this 5. Eventually the water will start running clear, indicating you have the worst of the gunk off. I usually keep going for another 30 seconds or so past this, to ensure all of the damaged plastic is removed 6. Move on to your 2500 grit sandpaper and fold it in the same way. This will remove the scratches imparted by the 2000 grit paper. Usually about 2-3 minutes of sanding is enough. 7. Dry the headlight. You should now have what looks like a foggy hazey even consistency across the lens. If you see any scratches you were pressing too hard, go back again with the 2500 grit paper until it's all nice and even. 8. Get your polisher out and the cutting compound with the cutting pad. Buff the sanding scratches out, this usually takes me 2-3 passes. 9. Get your buffing pad and polish combo out and then begin buffing the lens until the level of clarity you desire is reached. around 5-6 passes usually gets them looking lush. 10. Finally, get your sealant and apply to the lens as directed. Jet seal works really well. The light will need re-sealing after 6-12 months depending on mileage and conditions. If anyone in the Hampshire area has this issue and wants me to sort it for them happy to do so for beers / cups of tea :) Annnnnnd I also forgot to mention I did give the car a quick clean last night... So here's an obligatory snow foam shot (pre headlight restoration!) https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_00771.jpg MMMMMM Foamy :) https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_00851.jpg Next job on the list is to get all the service items next weekend... Cheers! Matt |
You need to get the boot carpets out pronto. Leak could be soft top drains or a split in the rubber rain channel that runs around the base of the soft top.
Former is easy - latter is not. If the roof is fubar then factor in replacing that at the same time. |
Originally Posted by unclefester
(Post 24168855)
You need to get the boot carpets out pronto. Leak could be soft top drains or a split in the rubber rain channel that runs around the base of the soft top.
Former is easy - latter is not. If the roof is fubar then factor in replacing that at the same time. |
Mine turned out to be the boot seal itself that had let go.
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I'd sell it dude your vtec face looks more like your scared to death of it rather than enjoying it, you need to practice that one a bit
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/\ :LOL:
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Thanks for the replies :) Going to check the drain holes and various seals in the week and report back! Pulled the carpet out for now and towelling it out when it gets wet!
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If the sound deadening panel on the boot floor has wrinkles in it that the water might have got under - you need to remove that ( royal pain to do) and dry under that too otherwise the boot floor rusts out. Once you sort the leak, you can replace that stuff with dynamat or something similar
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Thanks Unclefester - will give it a closer inspection later on today!
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Okay so didn't get a whole lot done other than inspection of the boot leak this evening... I did a little leak test and water appears to be collecting on the right hand side of the boot, so that's a start. I also have two suspect holes in my roof, one each side of the car in the same spot, where the edge of the wing meets the hood essentially:
https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01171.jpg I thought this may be the cause of the problem however, upon a little further inspection directly behind where this little rip is there is in fact a drain area: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01211.jpg So even if water was coming in through that hole, essentially is should be passing straight into that drain which veers down and then to the left, into what looks like an even bigger drainage duct which I have tried to picture at an angle from the back of the car to the front: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01231.jpg The duct i'm talking about can be seen on the right hand side, top right ish just in front of the hood. The rain rail which the hood sits in also appears to lead to here, where I suspect it should drain to the bottom right hand side of the car somewhere (in front of the rear wheel if my research is correct...) So i'm guessing either A: that duct is blocked or B: the leak is coming from elsewhere. The piece of failed hood is way to close to all the mechanical doo-hickery for me to want to disk duck taping it; if the tape falls into the hood mechanism it may cause unwanted issues.. So any suggestions on somehow bodging that dodgy piece of roof up in the meantime? |
Fester already suggested the hood drains they are a collecting box just below the ripped area and can get blocked quite easily and judging by the build up of crud in the hood channel which can also degrade through a build up of muck then a good clean out is in order, also check the ariel sealing rubber and the seam where the quarter panel meets the rear scuttle covered by the plastic trim look under and upwards where the spare wheel is
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Hey Dave, Thanks for the reply. The aeriel sealing rubber; do you mean the rubber on the outside of the car? Or is there another rubber grommit or similar beneath the aerial which is only accessible within the boot itself? Had a quick check around the seam you mentioned, it's not been siliconed unlike the rest of the boot, which appears to have already had a bit of a treatment from the previous owner!
Are the drain holes at the back easier access from the top-down or bottom up? I can't seem to find a definitive answer. My old MX-5 had a one-way valve in the drain holes which you had to rod out from the top down, else you risked wrecking the valve and causing problems. Cheers! |
Roof drain holes ALWAYS clean top down - if you clean bottom up you risk moving the drains out of position and then you really will have a leak.
That said, some trim removal to check some ot her eejit hasn't done that for you might be in order. edit: Convertible top drains will not leak with the hard top on though. So if you've done the leak test with the HT on then the water is coming from elsewhere. |
Thanks unclefester,
Actually the water was found in the boot whilst the hardtop was still on the car - my father and I had only taken it off that morning! Guess i'm going to have to go on a serious leak hunt! |
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Hey Guys!
Had a very productive weekend working on the S with a little help from my mate Viv. We haven't addressed the leak yet, however we have managed to get the car feeling SOOOO much nicer! Didn't realise how off the boil it was feeling until it was serviced. The day started with some serious unboxing duty and making sure we had all of the necessary bits and pieces, oils, seals, washers, etc. all lined up and ready to go: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01461.jpg Thanks Opie Oils and Cox Motor Parts :) Once I had verified all the bits were present and correct, I first stuffed the car up on my ramps to try and fix the heatshield rattle which had been bugging me! https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01481.jpg And then I got underneath andddd... https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01491.jpg There is literally nothing left holding that heatshield in place! So the entire thing just came off in my hand. Unfortunately the bolts I had purchased were M8's, were too long and a bit too fat for the aperture. So it has had to remain off the car for now. Any adverse effects to this? Next I gave the car a fresh oil and filter, the oil that came out STANK! Christ knows when the previous owner actually last changed it.. However, it got worst when I got to the air filter and the spark plugs... https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01531.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01511.jpg I have no idea who had been doing the work on this guys car, but I don't think they were actually doing the work they were charging him for.... Once that was done we changed the diff oil, bled the brakes, bled the clutch and tightened up the throttle cable to eliminate a bit of free play. I've now got a wonderfully idling, much better running car! And the butt-dyno definitely thinks the midrange pickup is immensley better since all the servicing! Moral of the story? Make sure your car is thoroughly maintained, because it honestly doesn't feel like its the same car anymore! |
:wine: good job...
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Rattly Hood Latches
So! A little more progress was made on the car tonight. I firstly took it to a spray shop in Basingstoke and asked for a quote to get my front wing resprayed.... £400 + the dreaded! Wow! I knew it was going to be more than I wanted to pay, but nearly £500 quid seems very excessive for one panel to me! The quest for a spray shop continues.
In my exciting news, the latch rattle that has been driving me MENTAL whenever the roof has been up got the DIY described here: pg_0001 Only instead of using the packing foam advised, I had a couple of old business cards I saw another forumer use to great effect... And to my initial surprise, success! The rattle has gone :) I also addressed the leak in my boot, but I need to wait for daylight to take some more pictures before the next update! |
In reply to the heat shield on the exhaust, i noticed mine was missing when i took my exhaust off to change the clutch, i imagine it was taken off because of a similar rattle. Or just flew off on the motorway.
Anyway got a price from Si and it was over £100 for a replacement :thud: Yeah needless to say mine hasn't made its way back on the car. Remove it and leave it off, on the plus side it makes the drives footwell warm up quick in the winter :LOL: |
Had another busy evening with the S :) Feeling like I've made some seriously good progress this week! When I bought the car I knew that it needed some serious love, so this evening I put a second coat of silicone on the leak I identified:
https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01761.jpg I think water was running down that bit of seam, underneath the boot seal and then down into the boot! Following the orange rust trail certainly seems to suggest so... https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01821.jpg Hopefully that leak won't be bothering me again! I've also sealed up the underneath, but couldnt get a clear picture of it. After that, I went onto the interior. My gosh, did that need some love! The previous owner has been wearing denim in the car frequently I'd say, and has allowed a buildup of fibre to get ingrained into the carpet down the tran tunnel. Getting it out was a mission; and for anyone suffering the same issue you need: 1) Time 2) A stiff brush (similar to one youd use for boot polishing) 3) A strong hoover 4) Interior Citrus Cleaner 5) Microfibre To clean it I first hoovered lightly over the top of what was there, then got the brush to work, loosening all the fibres on the surface. Another hoover and then I attacked it with the Citrus clearer to remove any dirt that had been left behind. Spray the cleaner on to the carpet, move the brush in circular motions and then blot off with your microfibre. Hoover again. Here's the results: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01831.jpg Before.... https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01911.jpg After! Colour looks a totally different colour. I also did a little patch repair on the "S2000" logo on the original drivers matt: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01871.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01921.jpg Not perfect by any means, but certainly much better than what was there before. The carpets came up so well after I gave them the same treatment as the centre console! A couple of other before / afters: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01861.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_02051.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01931.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01971.jpg And this is the finished article: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_01901.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files..../img_02011.jpg So happy with how it's turned out! Getting more of a sense of pride about this car with every little task I get knocked off the list! :) |
Good effort there. I would reconsider the whole silicone thing, it does look a bit Heath Robinson. It looks like the seam that you are trying to seal has a brown trace, what I would do is rake out the seam and derust where necessary then you can use proper seam sealer and paint when ready (like when you have the wing painted)
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Hey Tozer, thanks for the reply!
I absolutely 100% agree with you; it looks shocking. Like a 5 year old did it! However, I really need the water to not leak into the boot anymore and I couldn't really justify getting the whole Bilt Hamber rust protection / prevention kit this month with the other service bits i've had to buy, plus having to get the tracking done in the next few days. I will most certainly revisit it once I've got the other more pressing things done on the car first :) Fortunately, you cannot see any of the sealant when the boot is shut, and even when it's open it really doesn't catch your eye unless you're looking for it! Thanks for your comments though, I really appreciate it! |
Originally Posted by tozerman
(Post 24176282)
Good effort there. I would reconsider the whole silicone thing, it does look a bit Heath Robinson. It looks like the seam that you are trying to seal has a brown trace, what I would do is rake out the seam and derust where necessary then you can use proper seam sealer and paint when ready (like when you have the wing painted)
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Well, I haven't posted an update in forever...! To be fair, I've been far too busy doing things to my car :D
Where to start... I guess the first bit is I did a sound system upgrade; someone had already been in there before me and had put a £250 Alpine head unit in there.. But paired it with the CHEAPEST Fusion speakers you could ever hope to find.. They weighed about as much as a fag paper and one of them was blown. I replaced them with some temporary Fli 6.5" 3 way's... The sound was much improved! I also treated myself to an under seat sub, which I've neatly fitted under the passenger seat :) That was over my birthday weekend. The weekend after was an extended bank holiday for me with a couple of days off either side. So I set to work on an OCD detailing session, which lasted almost 4 days! I did a three stage correction which went all the way from compounding through to polishing and to say I was pleased with the results would be an understatement.... https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0207.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0221.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0225.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0245.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0237.jpg The paint looks and feels like glass now! My calipers were in dire need of a refurb and were frankly disgusting: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0287.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0294.jpg Like most of the car the engine bay had been neglected for pretty much all of its life as well: https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0289.jpg https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0295.jpg I popped a bit of the caliper paint on the rocker cover as a temporary measure.. But its actually turned out okay! I don't really have the cash to be spending on blinging the car up whilst it still need mechanical attention... So this may have to stay for a while! A few weeks after I acquired some "new to me" clear repeaters.. These take years off the car in my opinion! https://teamawesomemotorsport.files....5/img_0382.jpg That's it for now - there's more but I managed to delete half my post i'd spent an hour writing and just had to quickly retype most of it!! Grrr. Next post: Japfest! |
loving your work on this Matt - great to see her getting some TLC after years of neglect!
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Thanks Andy :-) I've still got a long way to go. I also haven't updated the thread in forever and I've done so much work since... you've inspired me to amend that at the weekend :)
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Urgh, I started this thread with the best of intentions but then got far too bogged down in having fun in my 'S! And then a massive change in life circumstances has meant I've not been around the forum anywhere near as much as i'd have wanted. In this time I have:
Added some sexy gunmetal wheels Added an excessively loud exhaust Fixed mechanical dohicky problems Serviced my steed twice Removed excessively loud exhaust Fitted HKS Siltent Hi Power exhaust Had Monsoon fit new red mohair hood Some douche in a carpark put a large scrape in my rear quarter last week, so I need to get the polisher out and fix it. It's meant to be raining all week and weekend, so chances of that happening are slim and none. Hopefully be done in time for Japfest, which I've just booked on to. In other more personal news, I have booked the 'S on to a Thruxton track day in April and applied for my National B race license - woo! Sorry for lack of pictures in update. |
Great job and amazing the difference a bit of elbow grease does to a car that someone obviously didn't care about.
If and when I need a new roof defo gonna go for a red one as well as I think they look great on the silver and moonrock cars. Any chance of a picture with the new hood please mate. |
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