I hadn't really touched on any of the finishing details, like the exhaust system. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not a huge fan of how many "modified" Hondas sound. I used to have a 2-liter Volkswagen with a Borla exhaust, and it was very throaty. It was a little much for a daily driver, but this car isn't a daily driver.
Unfortunately, Borla doesn't make an exhaust for the 98s (they make 2-liter Civic Si exhausts, which sound beautiful though!), so I opted for the Magnaflow (15643) stainless 2.25" catback exhaust.
Since it's made for this chassis, the rear exhaust hangers fit up very nicely! Unfortunately, the center hangers don't.
In order to get the car running ASAP, I rigged up something kinda functional, but that I'm less than 100% proud of. I got a roll of this from home depot or lowes or something...
and did this
Again, not the cleanest of jobs. It's held up without corrosion or breakage, but it's a temporary job.
By the way, that's Jegs adhesive heat shield material that I affixed to the bottom of the shifter bracket. It's good stuff.
By the way, that's Jegs adhesive heat shield material that I affixed to the bottom of the shifter bracket. It's good stuff.
Went to Jegs and picked up these items:
and
and began piecing together a front hanger. As you can see from the pics, one of the challenges with these "off the shelf" hangers is that they require more clearance between the exhaust pipe and the chassis for the rubber element.
So out came the die grinder.
Here's how the mockup looks.
So, I'm going to grab a washer and a nut and bolt the rubber directly on the U-bolt itself. I'm going to drill through the chassis and use a long bolt to secure it, using washers to set the correct amount of pre-tension on the hanger.
Still not the prettiest, but it will be a functional, long term solution that allows for some "give" in the exhaust support system.
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22-April Update
Instead of making a new post, I think I'm going to add all the topical details (exhaust, etc) in one post for each and just update it... make everything easier to find. Moving on...
Spent some more time in the garage over the last couple days and matured the layout a little.
From the previous picture of the mockup with zip ties and all, you can see the bolt / nut / washer strategy to get the spacing I need.
In the next picture, you can see the hole I'm shooting for. Actually it's not a hole just quite yet. The sheet metal in this area is multi-ply, if you will, and the bottom piece has the hole already. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I'll just shoot for that one.
It's this one circled in the lime green. With the arrow. Before you drill, center punch the sheet metal. I did the pilot hole from the bottom and did several steps of enlarging the hole from the cabin.
So you can see the result. I'm using an M8 bolt and a locknut (don't know the Honda part number... it was hanging around in my 'spare bolts' box).
So it's pretty much mocked up now. I'm going to score a bunch of zinc plated M8 washers from Fastenal tomorrow or Friday so I can button this up over the weekend.
BTW this blog is getting a surprising number of views. If any of you are doing a similar build and have any questions please don't be shy.
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03-May Update
After a combination of longer work days, household duties, and laziness kept me out of the garage for a bit, I finally finished up the exhaust hanger.
I ended up buying a bunch of M8x1.75 and 3/8x16 zinc-plated hardware from Fastenal, which should provide plenty of corrosion protection, especially for the driving this car does. I also added shift cable heatshielding, which I bought from K-Tuned (link) back in 2013, but had been sitting in a box in my basement since.
Anyways, peruse the pics for results.
Got one thing crossed off the list!
Still not the prettiest, but it will be a functional, long term solution that allows for some "give" in the exhaust support system.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
22-April Update
Instead of making a new post, I think I'm going to add all the topical details (exhaust, etc) in one post for each and just update it... make everything easier to find. Moving on...
Spent some more time in the garage over the last couple days and matured the layout a little.
From the previous picture of the mockup with zip ties and all, you can see the bolt / nut / washer strategy to get the spacing I need.
In the next picture, you can see the hole I'm shooting for. Actually it's not a hole just quite yet. The sheet metal in this area is multi-ply, if you will, and the bottom piece has the hole already. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I'll just shoot for that one.
It's this one circled in the lime green. With the arrow. Before you drill, center punch the sheet metal. I did the pilot hole from the bottom and did several steps of enlarging the hole from the cabin.
So you can see the result. I'm using an M8 bolt and a locknut (don't know the Honda part number... it was hanging around in my 'spare bolts' box).
So it's pretty much mocked up now. I'm going to score a bunch of zinc plated M8 washers from Fastenal tomorrow or Friday so I can button this up over the weekend.
BTW this blog is getting a surprising number of views. If any of you are doing a similar build and have any questions please don't be shy.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
03-May Update
After a combination of longer work days, household duties, and laziness kept me out of the garage for a bit, I finally finished up the exhaust hanger.
I ended up buying a bunch of M8x1.75 and 3/8x16 zinc-plated hardware from Fastenal, which should provide plenty of corrosion protection, especially for the driving this car does. I also added shift cable heatshielding, which I bought from K-Tuned (link) back in 2013, but had been sitting in a box in my basement since.
Anyways, peruse the pics for results.
Got one thing crossed off the list!
