The blog has been silent, but the work and planning carry on. Near the end of last year a nearby fellow F23 enthusiast/builder completed his very impressive Turbo build/rebuild. Soon after, he left the country for exactly one year. I took the nice, round timeframe as a sign and decided to set his return date as my deadline. I figure if I can be up and running by the time he returns we could each sample one another's results at the same time.
The goal is set. I have until the end of the year, 2013 to complete the motor and get it installed.
So what has been going on in the garage while the blog was left idle..?
1. In conjunction with the rebuild of the currently installed D16 following a spun rod bearing the garage/workshop was also completely overhauled and reorganized. it is now a much more functional and efficient work space. This has aided in maintaining motivation and momentum since it's very easy do complete tasks and move on to the next level.
2. I've also begun using a new strategy: breaking up the project into smaller, more manageable sub-projects or "action items" to borrow a term from my day job. Then focusing on them one or two at a time.
3. The first of these sub-projects is the bottom end. Though not yet in the final assembly stage, the rotating assembly, oil pump, and cylinder block have all been pre-assembled, checked and are ready for final assembly. Some small details do still need addressing in this area. The clearance cut for the inner CV joint needs to be made and the cylinders will be honed before the pistons are installed for the final time.
4. Clutch hydraulics- due to the design of the adapter kit and the larger block size of the F23 the original location of the clutch slave cylinder is not feasible. Included in the kit is a pull-type slave cylinder from CNC. Pulling rather than pushing the clutch fork allows the slave cylinder to be relocated alongside the gearbox, away from the engine. As handy as this component change is, it does require a fair amount of work to install. I've already drafted a more detailed post on this item so once it's complete and I have pictures of the final product I'll post it.
5. In deciding to keep A/C I must also eliminate P/S as there is only room for two accessories and running without an alternator isn't really an option. Initially my thought was to "loop" the rack for the time being and then replace it later with a manual rack. As it turns out the ratio in the power rack is a little quicker than the manual so the plan now is to stick with the "looped" set up.
Essentially looping means plugging the high pressure feed and low pressure return ports in the pinion housing then creating a loop between the left and right rack cylinder ports. This relieves the build up of fluid pressure in the rack cylinder that is created when a pump-less rack is moved side to side.
The end result should be fewer under hood components, less parasitic drag on the engine and the feel of a slightly more responsive manual rack.
6. The H23 intake manifold had the runner dividers hacked out almost immediately. They need to be cleaned up and cut flush to the port walls before it is ready for install. Progress has been made with a cheap-o "non-ferrous" burr, but stock removal is very slow and there is a lot of stock to remove. A set of high quality carbide burrs have been ordered and I have high hopes in them making short work of the ports. I also plan to use them to clean up the intake ports on the head and de-shroud the valves in the chambers a bit.
7. I want this to be as close to a plug and play swap as feasible. To accomplish this I've begun to process of rewiring a stock civic harness to fit the "franken" F23/22 combo. While I'm at it I'll probably tuck it a little bit. Nothing "show quality" but while I've got it all out of the loom there are several areas that can stand to be tidied up.
That took a lot more words than I thought it would!
So check back soon, check back often. I've made a point to try to include more photography in each post. If my words don't make any sense at least you can look at the pretty pictures.
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