K20 In.

The time has arrived.  I took saturday to myself and did some final prep.  Took the airflow tube, rad hoses, and other crap off the engine.  Checked to make sure I had all the bolts I needed (turns out I was missing a few in the Hasport baggie, but found a couple around the garage).  Lifted the engine off the pallet (technically dragged it off… obviously the crane legs don't fit under the pallet).  Bolted the remaining brand-new, OEM stays to the firewall.  Then went to a halloween party.

Come sunday, some friends were coming over to help.  It's not really a high-manpower job, but the moral support was greatly appreciated.  My girlfriend brought over some pizzas and wings to go with the buckets-o-beer that I had waiting, so we made a little party of it.

At this point, we realized the driver's side bracket needs to come off before the engine goes in.

Now re-attach the Hasport driver's side bracket to the frame rail.  This includes the shim (not sure if I mentioned in a previous post) you need to use to take up ~2.5mm gap between bracket lower tab and frame rail lower surface.

Please enjoy the pics of me grinning like an idiot with my newly-installed engine.

Even though I had been complaining about the Hasport brackets (missing bolts, weld bead on mating surface, shim required but not included, etc), I must say I am extremely impressed with how everything went together.  Lined up the passenger's side mount, raised the engine and installed the driver's side bracket, got underneath and bolted up the rear bracket.  No wrestling anything into place.  It all just fit.

Bottom line is, the easy part's done.  As expensive as this car has been so far, I still have a ways to go before she hits the road under her own power.

Time to sleep off all the beer I drank this weekend before going back to the office.

Hybrid Racing Accessory Drive

I'm building this car for fun, meaning it's not going to be a daily driver.  It is going to be bundled in blankets in my garage as soon as it drops below 60 so there's no chance it sees snow.  As such, I don't need defrost, and if it gets uncomfortably hot, I'll just open the window more or sweat it out.  So AC is not needed.  And like a year and a half ago I defeated the power steering.  So that ship's already sailed.

All this to say, if you plan on getting rid of the PS and AC, you may want to buy an off-the-shelf tensioner.  I've seen them at Hybrid Racing (www.hybrid-racing.com) and k-tuned (www.k-tuned.com).  Conceptually, they're a little different.  The HR tensioner uses an OEM-looking autotensioner, and the k-tuned uses an adjustable screw to set the tension.  Otherwise, they both relocate the alternator (to the same place) to replace the AC compressor in the belt drive system.

Cost aside, I liked the autotensioner of Hybrid Racing, so I went that route.

Going through the pictures:

Here is the factory accessory drive.  The AC compressor is already removed.  Notice that, without relocating the alternator, the accessory drive just won't work.

Take a look at these bolt points.

The circled ones are where the AC compressor mounted.  The point circled in green is where your alternator is going to bolt.

Pic from the back side, for reference.  Remove the coupler and B-terminal cable before taking the alternator off.

Take the Alternator off

Again, these are the bolt points you're going to use:
The top point is for the alternator top bolt, and the lower points are for the alternator bracket provided in the Hybrid Racing kit.

Skipping a couple steps, here's the completed belt drive:
Notice that the factory belt drive is designed for a 7PK belt (on 7-rib pulleys).  The HR kit comes with a 6PK belt.  Due to the misalignment achieved with the new alternator location, the belt is offset one tooth IN on the crank pulley and one tooth OUT on the alternator.

For my application, I think this will be OK.

General comment: Hybrid Racing specifies 35 ft-lbf on the M8x1.25 bolts and 70 ft-lbf on the M10x1.25 bolts.  These torque values are so wildly above what you should use.  My advice is to completely ignore HR's recommended torque values and follow your HELM (OEM Honda) Service Manual.  You can achieve 35 on the M8s, but when trying to hit 70 on the M10s, I thought the block was going to strip before I achieved the torque value.

M8x1.25 should be torqued to 17 ft-lbf into aluminum.
M10x1.25 should be torqued to 33 ft-lbf into aluminum.

Second general comment: I don't know what aftermarket companies' fascinations with socket-head screws are.  I am going to go back and replace these bolts with OEM Honda fasteners wherever they fit.  Socket heads require a less-common tool (basically anything is less common than an 10, 12, or 14 socket) and I feel they are more prone to stripping during high-torque installation or removal than a flange bolt.  In the second-to-last picture, look at the contact area between the bolt head and the alternator.  It's not enough.

/end rant

-j peezy

EP3 Radiator Prep

So your 96-00 Civic came with a half-size radiator...  You're putting a big ol engine in there, so you want to make sure you have the cooling capacity you need.  How much cooling do you need?  I don't know, and I won't know until I get this thing on the road and I start doing some datalogging.  But I'm going to take a guess...  Hasport's install guide mentions that the EP3 radiator is a good one to go with, and I see no reason why it wouldn't be.  It's a full-width (at least quite a bit bigger than the one that came with the car), about a centimeter thicker, and it's used for cooling a K20 in the EP3 Si.  My engine will dump more heat than the EP3 K20 during full load, but my roadload is quite a bit less (low frontal area, very light weight).  So I'm going to set it as my direction and roll with it.

Here's what you need to do:

First, find a spot-weld cutter (or spot weld drill bit, whatever you call it).  I used one that was 3/8" diameter and it worked fine.  Then center-punch the spot weld (on these old, probably rusty cars, it may be hard to find the spot welds).  I used a center punch with a 4-lbf hammer and it was barely adequate.  Using the cutter, drill out the welds.

Now, entertain yourself by placing the bracket where you think it will go.  It looks right, but don't assume that's where it goes because it doesn't.

Prep the bracket by sanding the mating surface.  Use a sanding wheel on an angle grinder for the flat areas, but clean up the edges and tighter areas with a dremel and a 50-grit sanding drum.

Use the grinder w/sanding wheel to clean up the bulkhead.  If you're nervous about controlling the grinder, use the dremel with the sanding drum.  It works, but it takes longer.  Have extra sanding drums.

Mock up the brackets as shown below.  As you keen observers can see in the third pic, you need to relocate BOTH lower brackets to fit the EP3 radiator.  Or at least center it in the car.  Which I think you should do.

I made a styrofoam radiator core to test-fit the layout.

Here's close-ups of the brackets and the bulkhead sections they mate to:

Check the layout again with the mockup core.  And by all means, literally pat yourself on the back if you're so flexible.

Some pics of the final bulkhead prep after welding, but before paint.  Gotta thank Doug for helping me out on the welding.

Masked-up bulkhead shown below.  I used 3 coats of primer and 2 or 3 of paint.  I forget, probably because of the paint fumes.  Killing brain cells is no laughing matter though; open your garage door to keep it kinda ventilated.

Finished product.  Concourse winner?  Right.

If my girlfriend keeps studying for a while longer, you'll get another post tonight.

a sincere thank you for your readership though.

-j-kweezy