HYPR Garage v 2.0

A lot has happened since my last post! Gathering more part and, wait for it, relocation! We have secured a new, smaller location in Clearwater for the next 5 years!¡! My EH9 DD has some maintenance work that needs to be done, minor shit like camber correction, oil change, little shit however BIG changes are in place for the EJ8. Power plant AND drive train swap! Stay tuned, more awesome shit is on the way!!!

Function Kings - Tampa chapter

I have joined a car club, Function Kings Tampa chapter. It's an awesome group of guys who love Hondas as much as I do! So far I have only been to two meets however I really like chillin' with these guys. Everyone is super cool and not a single person has talked shit about my car (one of the reasons I stopped going to USF Meets & the BK Clearwater Meet). Could it be? A group of Honda guys that appreciate ALL builds? No matter how far along the process is? I could not believe it the first time I came out to a FK meet however after the second meet it was clear - this is the group for me.

As I hang out more I will post some pics, hopefully I can get some money in to the black beauty and get her back on the ground and running (sometime this year!)

New hardware for the garage

I am the somewhat proud over of two very well used PowerMacs. A dual 2GHz G5 with 4GB of RAM and a dual 1GHz G4 with 1.5GB of RAM (what I am currently typing this on) that I plan on replacing the workstation in the garage with. I picked a Mac as I want to start making videos and what not so expect big things soon!

I hate the waiting game...

So in my lapse of posts, I have been stockpiling parts to fix my daily - a (somewhat) white 94 EH9 4AT. I had installed an Eibach ProKit on factory struts about 3 years ago so needless to say I was riding on springs however the bolt connecting the strut to the rear LCA was frozen. Once I got the ProKit installed I knew that the only way I was going to change the struts was to get new LCAs....

I picked up a set of Ground Controls and Koni orange struts some time ago and needed new top hats and LCAs to install everything. For the LCAs I went with Skunk2 (they have decent bushing) and went with Ground Control again for extended top hats. I also picked up a BWR subframe brace and StopTech stainless brake lines. 

While on the lift at work

The outcome? I now drive a slot car. The entire driving dynamic of the car is completely changed, so much more responsive. 

Today after measuring and adjusting for even ride height:

I will be posting more of the EJ8 build soon, just needed to take care of the daily first (need to make that paper!)

Parts, parts, parts!

Parts are starting to come! So far LCAs, brake lines, and extended top hats but more parts are coming in today, tomorrow, and Monday! I'll be posting pics once I get home today!

Suspension parts assessment finished!

Finished the suspension assessment and boy do I have a shit ton of work to do! The gloomy weather set the tone for today's work...

The entire rear end needs to be replaced - the stamped LCAs are total shit so they were on the list. Rear disc brakes were a factory option with the 6th gen EX (not standard like on my 5th gen) so getting rid of the rear drums were already on the parts list but digging deeper the trailing arms have a broken bolt and the body mount bushings are gone so they have been added to the parts list as well. 

Moving to the front of the car: it looks like when the car was transported over here the core support was somehow bent as when I went to remove the hood it would not come off the latch. It took about 45 minutes of beating it with the BFH in order to get the top-side low enough for the hood latch to release. Thankfully a replacement core support will not break the bank ($100). Other than that the front suspension is pretty much good to go (after replacing the stuts & coilovers) as I had replaced the tie rod ends while the car was on the road. 

I did not do anything with the engine yet, I will most likely wait until I have a cherry picker & another engine stand so I can remove the Y8 and get it mounted on a stand. I know the head is pristine from the last time I was in it but the block is pretty much toast just from what I know during the last repair when the car was running (and the fact that it spun a bearing). For the bottom end I plan on using a Z6 crank as it has better oiling than the Y8 crank, this is why more Y8s spin bearings that Z6s do. 

Parts list so far

• Core Support
• Trailing arms / disc brake swap
• Rear LCAs
• Rear camber correction
• Brake lines (front and rear)
• Struts & coilovers (Ground Controls + Koni oranges)

Keep in mind this is just the suspension, I have not even opened the can of worms known as the D16Y8 SOHC VTEC engine sitting in the bay. Slow and steady wins the race!

Matt

hyprgarage[at]gmail[dot]com

Prepping for tomorrow

Two more full days to finish my over all assessment! So far I have the majority of the suspension done / removed, tomorrow will be the front clip and if I have time start on the engine on Friday

Documenting my EJ8 sedan build

Greetings!

I will be using my blog to document what I feel will be a very long adventure in building my 1998 EJ8 sedan track car. Expect my posts to be sometimes long, sometimes short, most of the time frustrating / confusing if you do not know about Honda or cars, and full of images of Hondas and/or cart parts. 

I have named the garage HYPR Garage after the old street team that Jason & I had back in the mid to late 90s. That was when I first started my love affair with racing and Honda in general. It seemed only natural to use the name again...

So stick around and enjoy the ride! Feel free to post a comment if you have any questions through out my journey!!

Cheers!

Matt 
hyprgarage[at]gmail[dot]com