Calabek : 1987 Accord Aerodeck LXR-S

[B0CKS]

haha, that's what we call LHD over here. :P



Aw thanks Seth, yeah it's been a journey for sure.

So we ordered in two part numbers:

Attachment 9403

Pictured above - 45041.009 Throttle Leveller

Attachment 9404

Pictured above - 45048.005 Balance Leveller

I should probably also note the kit I was referring to as 'cheap china ebay crap' was actually a Redline kit. So... buyer beware.

Awesome!! Massively useful info, thanks a ton! I'll have both of those on order ASAP! But dude, it's been so rad seeing this build getting the proper recognition it deserves, can't to see it with a final look and polish!

...also, you wouldn't happen to still have one of those Fuse Box Decals sitting around that you'd like to turn into money?

[Calabek]

Awesome!! Massively useful info, thanks a ton! I'll have both of those on order ASAP! But dude, it's been so rad seeing this build getting the proper recognition it deserves, can't to see it with a final look and polish!

...also, you wouldn't happen to still have one of those Fuse Box Decals sitting around that you'd like to turn into money?

Haha, thanks so much dude. I'm very happy. It's going to be a good year!

Hell yeah, I sent you a message on Facebook to arrange payment. $25 USD shipped anywhere in the world.

[Calabek]

Just a few snaps from the event last week.



Even though I had lots of people coming up and taking pictures and talking to me, I've seen very few pictures surface. Ah well. I'm hanging out for later this week as I was interviewed about the car, so looking forward to seeing how the footage turned out. I will post up on here when released.



Absolutely LOVE this shot ^^

Not much to report at the moment. This week has been hot! Around 40C (104F) everyday and the shop is in a tin shed. so it'd be about 50-60C in there - no bueno. But we have picked up a center muffler. I also picked up a set of brand new Blox Cam Gears.



Just waiting for the muffler to be put on until I take it home.

[Calabek]

Here's the interview I was talking about. Have a watch, leave a like. It's about 10 secs in.

[Dr_Snooz]

Representin'!!

[MessyHonda]

awesome

[Calabek]

Thanks for the support guys!
Bit of an update. Got that center muffler put on.



Sounds great. We also identified a bent throttle shaft on the slave Weber, so now that that's been fixed it's running muuuuch better. Have a listen.


^ Click to play

Replacement catch can came in.



Not sure if I mentioned it but I also picked up a set of Blox adjustable cam gears.



Got it booked in for a final tune and dyno run next week. Keen.

[Calabek]

Some snaps of the gears on.







Looks sexual.

[InAccordance]

nooice... what jets are you running with?

[Calabek]

nooice... what jets are you running with?

36mm Too big, they should 32/34mm as you'll see in my next post.

[Calabek]

Got the car to the tuning shop. Scary ride, kept stalling at the lights and we ran into a few cops which was hella nerve racking. A quick duck down the side street and we managed to avoid them.



It looks so good.







So I went down today and took it for a test drive and holy fuck it is amazing. So pleasant to drive now. 99.5% of the popping and crackling is gone.

Before the tune we had to pump the accelerator to prime the carbs with fuel 3 times and then sit there on the accelerator for 30 seconds until it warmed up. Now we pump it once and that's it, it sits perfectly at 900rpm afterward.

There is a small problem which is that if the car is sitting below 2500rpm and you put your foot all the way to the floor the car does nothing. It just hums along. From what was explained this is because the venturi is too large. They are currently 36mm and suggested 32-34mm would be better but did advise the power output would go down and it would be more low-mid range as opposed to the hi range power we've got now. I chose to stick with the 36mm and just drive it around, see how it feels and whether I want to upgrade. From the few drives I've had now (albeit just city driving) I haven't really ever needed to slam my foot down below 2500rpm anyway. I'm usually a bit higher when I go to floor it and there's no problem with it's acceleration there.

He did mention it's blowing a lot of smoke on a cold start which for a new engine that's been run in isn't good. However Jake from SLT (the shop who has been doing the swap for us) suggested because it still has it's run in oil, loaded with moly assembly lube and such and a change should sort it. So I will keep you updated on that.

On the test drive the car just sounded and felt so much better and smoother. It was quieter and felt less like it was going to leave me stranded on the side of the road. Sounded aggressive under load - the new muffler is great! I'm over the moon.

And now the time you've been waiting for...



85KW is nothing to shy away from. I thought it would have been a bit more, but not bad not bad.

Picking the car up Monday/Tuesday. Keep ya updated.

[InAccordance]

I've got 36mm in mine atm too. Did they tell you what the popping was about because I get the same thing. Its amusing sometimes cause I can scare the shit out of people if I do it right and make it backfire. It can get ungodly loud lol.
Been trying different idle jet sizes and so far the 55f8 that they came with are working the best. 45f8 was just bad all around 50f9 massively helped heavy load but drivability under light throttle went out the window. My transitions are perfect, I dont get flat spots or hesitation, just a shitload of exhaust popping in higher rpm off throttle.

[Dr_Snooz]

The popping is unburned fuel dumping into the tailpipe. It ignites on its way out. If you pay attention, you can hear a lot of the supercars doing it when you watch car shows like Top Gear and such.

@Calabek, I would bet you have leaky valve guide seals. Blue smoke on startup on an older engine is almost always that. Now if it smokes when you hammer on it, that's rings and you'll be bummed.

[InAccordance]

So I'm a dumbass and had completely forgotten that I had put 34mm venturi in mine. Going to swap back to the 36s and see if they help. Could explain a few things...

and apolgies if it seems like I'm trying to jack your thread. Really not, just looking to talk to others who have the same carbs so I can learn more.

[Calabek]

I've got 36mm in mine atm too. Did they tell you what the popping was about because I get the same thing. Its amusing sometimes cause I can scare the shit out of people if I do it right and make it backfire. It can get ungodly loud lol.
Been trying different idle jet sizes and so far the 55f8 that they came with are working the best. 45f8 was just bad all around 50f9 massively helped heavy load but drivability under light throttle went out the window. My transitions are perfect, I dont get flat spots or hesitation, just a shitload of exhaust popping in higher rpm off throttle.

The popping is unburned fuel dumping into the tailpipe. It ignites on its way out. If you pay attention, you can hear a lot of the supercars doing it when you watch car shows like Top Gear and such.

@Calabek, I would bet you have leaky valve guide seals. Blue smoke on startup on an older engine is almost always that. Now if it smokes when you hammer on it, that's rings and you'll be bummed.

It was down to poor tuning I believe. As the Doc said, unburned fuel. Might pay to call around to your local dynos and see if they've got a Weber specialist in house that tune it for you.

Below I've attached the invoicing for the job they did.



I hope it gives some insight into some of the work they've done.

Well, the guys who did the swap suggested I look at the catch can. They think it could be full. My dad thinks the rings are still bedding and he suggested to just keep driving it for a bit and see how it goes.



Dad and I took it through the hills on the weekend and I gotta say it performed amazingly. There was a bit of oil smoke at start up but none following warm up.

I've gotta stiffen the springs a bit cause I've almost lost my sidewalls on the rear.. lol. But wow, the car is so raw, the sounds it makes are gorgeous. I love it! Very happy and keen to get out driving.

Few things to fix and do. Needs an alignment, hasn't been done with new wheels and suspension. Brakes will probably be the next big thing I do as they are shit and the only part of the car that let it down at the moment.

Chat soon

[usj101]

Have you sold off one of your Accords?

You mentioned that you are moving to a new house.

[Calabek]

Have you sold off one of your Accords?

You mentioned that you are moving to a new house.

Yeah I sold the purple CD a few years ago. It was subject to severe unforeseen water damage during a flash flood which fried the trans ECU. I was mucked around by insurance for about 6 months before getting an answer. Eventually they decided to write the car off so I made the decision to sell it and move onto a car that would attract less police attention - a stock 2006 Honda Civic.

I've moved back home with my parents. It's worked out well. I manage to save an extra $400-$500 a week. It's been good. They live in the hills too which is great, lots of fun roads to take the Aerodeck. I took it out again today actually after adjusting the rear damper settings. It's very bouncy and it scrubs a lot. It's better but I'll need to readjust.



I'm loving how it sits right now. Very good tings.



We took it through Hahndorf and the surrounding hills. Such a fun drive!

When we slowed down (walking pace as it's a tourist area) it did begin to overheat tho. It got 2 bar from the max which had me worried. I know the fans work and the thermostat so I'm not sure why it did.

Anyway, booking an alignment next week. See ya

[Calabek]

Ahoy! Been some time. After my last post I did drive it for a while but it kept shooting blue smoke out from the exhaust. It became really bad. I remember pulling onto the freeway and I couldn't actually see the car behind me.

Took it down to the guys who tuned it and had them tear it down. They found that the pistons were undersized which was resulting in a compression of 8.3:1 instead of the expected 10:1 (stock is 9:1). This explains why it was slow on power.

The guys who built it offered free parts and labour warranty, and I have been patient and received it back about 2 weeks ago. They gave it back and found that at the time the block was being machined, the pistons were accidentally swapped with another B18A. This was missed during QA.
It was also found that the manifold was warped, and when the tuners had taken it off, they had replaced the gasket with sealant.

Don't have any pics of the warped manifold... but trust me, yikes!





Anyway I drove it home, feels great, has so much more power. Running much better, less rich. Still looks great. Loved the smell stepping into it. Taken it on a few small trips - mainly to the shops to see how it'd cope. No issues! Very happy. Got a huge list of stuff I need to get done on it before I'll be settled, but yup, keen.





P.S. I won't name names but I had multiple messages upon logging back into 3geez of people trying to see if I would sell my parts to them. Please stop. I find it very disrespectful. Happy to help you find stuff, not happy for you to try and pillage my car just because you haven't seen an update in a while.

[Oldblueaccord]

Yeah pilferers are about!

Thanks for the update and interesting story of your machine shop swapping pistons with another engine. I bet it runs great now!

[Dr_Snooz]

Glad you got it running better. For the record, I'm not trying to cannibalize your car!

[Oldblueaccord]

Moved thread to project central....you aint no noobie.

[carotman]

Glad the car is still running strong!

[Calabek]

Moved thread to project central....you aint no noobie.

Hahahaha I know right, it's about damn time! Thanks buddy :P

Glad the car is still running strong!

Uhhhh yeah, in a matter of speaking. Haven't driven it in like 3-4 months. I haven't even cracked the first 1,000 kms after the rebuild. Been super busy with a new job and winter in Australia sucks. I'm living with my parents too so there's no where warm/dry/even ground to work on it. AND, the coilovers are eating my tyres something hardcore and I've lost my c-spanners so I gotta order new ones.
Lots of excuses, but it's back home now (so no rush) and running much healthier. Got a list of things I wanna get done on it. So as the weather warms up, I'll be back out working on it and updating the thread accordingly.

[Calabek]

Haven't driven it since last post. It moved to the left a little for New Years so dad could take his MK3 into the shed.















Hope you are all safe (given recent US events)

[usj101]

Haven't driven it since last post. It moved to the left a little for New Years so dad could take his MK3 into the shed.















Hope you are all safe (given recent US events)

May I know where you source the Aerodeck part from Australia?