Crow555's Civic Type R FN2 and Mrs Crow's MX-5 20th

[Crow555]

Now that I've been here a year and a half and owned my car for over a year, it was long over due making this thread. Well that and I didn't think anyone wanted to read about yet another red FN2.

This is how it looked when I went to view it in March 2014.

Admittedly, it wasn't the car I'd been looking for. I'd pined after everything from old Silvias, Integras etc up to the newer Imprezas. After reading a thread on Pistonheads about what the FN2 was like and after the typical "it's crap cos Clarkson said so" responses (I myself was guilty of thinking the same), there were plenty of owners who defended it and said it was still a very good car in its own right.

That got me looking through the classifieds and I spotted this one at Lindsay Ford, a mile from my house. Normally during one of my flirtations, I'd have stopped right there, closed the browser and got back to work. Since it was so close, I thought I'd be cheeky and take a drive in it. (I am happy enough to test drive a dealer car, not a private sale one) Fast forward to Saturday, I test drove it and was pleasantly surprised at the interior and how well it pulled. Even when they offered me a decent price for my Ibiza Formula Sport, it was a no brainer, I signed there and then.

A quick check with Donnelly for the car's history revealed it had a flywheel and 3rd gear syncro done under warranty. They also offered a nice 2 year service plan so I opted for that since I didn't trust Lindsays servicing the car right.

Since I've owned it, I've taken it from 51,700 miles to 62k. I've replaced the comically bad Accelera Phi tires for some Michelin PilotSport3s which are a fantastic tire and replaced the front pads with some Ferodo DS2500s. The gearknob in the car when I bought it was all scratched so my kind wifey kindly bought an official Honda version from Japan which looks much better. I've replaced the front maps with Honda rubber ones to keep the carpet ones nice. The only mod on the car is a K&N panel filter left there by the previous owner.

Little jobs to do
- replace the Type R badges on the grill and rear quarters for genuine honda ones, as the ones I have are clearly fakes.
- getting a few dents pulled out by Brian Tweedie from Removeadent, car was left with him last night in fact.
- respray of the bonnet, wings and valance (some shoddy touchups, some road rash and a few scuffs on the valance to cover up)
- work out the source of a leak in passenger door (seems worse when I put the wind deflector in, suspect clogged door drains are the issue)

In the year and a bit I've owned it, I've absolutely loved it. It might not be the fastest out there but that engine makes me smile every time it's worked hard.

 

[Crow555]

Next up is Mrs Crow's pride and joy, her Mazda MX5 20th Anniversary. She'd always pined after a mk3 MR2 but when she spotted a brochure for a new white special edition MX5, (white wasn't an available colour on the mk3.5 until this model came out) she was smitten and had to have it.

She's had it since new, in March 2010 and in that time, it's only covered about 26k. It's essentially the 1.8i model from the MK3 range with the 2.0 17" wheels applied. That means 126hp and an open diff sadly, but even at that, it's a lovely car to drive quickly (if not fast) down some country lanes.

Whilst wifey loves it, there are a few niggles I'm not happy with. Pearlescent white paint looks fantastic in the sun. It does not look so nice with road grime or tar spots. I also wish she would upgrade to a hard top version. While fabric tops are great for weight distribution, they are a bitch to keep clean. Added to that, our ginger cat likes sitting on the roof meaning I go through lint rollers like they are going out of fashion.

Some shots of it with its roof down...

 

[mcmurray]

Remove a couple of the black plastic inserts in the bottom of the door. Water seems to lie in there. I just kept mine out.

I loved mine. Not massively fast, even when I added a few bits, but I didn't mind.

 

[Big Pimp]

two lovely looking cars mate!

 

[Crow555]

Cheers Ross. The tyre slick is great stuff by the way, it's been 2 weeks and the effect is still there. Not got round to trying the articulate or the stone brite as yet.

Thanks @mcmurray , I'll do that. I was just worried the 3 black plugs had some other purpose and should be left back in place.

I got the Civic back last night from Brian Tweedie at Removeadent. Pretty much every dent has been corrected perfectly. He even sorted a wee door ding on the MX5 while we waited. The guy is an absolute gent and I'd happily recommend him if you're looking some dent work done.

 

[Neil_M]

Good to see these are on here @Crow555

I say get the alignment, camber shims and springs sorted on that car and it will transform it ... It makes sense

 

[big_pete]

Brian is great used him myself until he got so busy

 

[Neil_M]

Brian is great used him myself until he got so busy

I put @Crow555 on to Brian, he spoke very highly of you @big_pete

 

[jshek007]

Brian is great, I've recommended him loads of times on here and to my friends as well. Top job and handy paid

 

[G N K]

Very nice, Milano is hard to beat. Wheels done in a nice grey would look great.

It appears a lot of RMSers live beside me.

 

[Crow555]

Not done much to the car but thought I'd put another wee update.

Following @mcmurray's advise about the door plugs, I took them out and left them in the shed and then put the passenger side deflector back in. To date, the footwell is bone dry. Job jobbed. Cheers, @mcmurray

About 2 weeks ago, I took the in-laws and Mrs Crow out for a bite to eat. The missus sat behind me and pointed out the seat belt was damp, but it was the bit that came out of the spool. Quick google, some reported water getting in through the seam under the rubber runstrips, down past the trim and it collects in the seatbelt enclosure but Honda should be able to sort it easily.

So, took the car to Donnelly, told them what I thought it was and how it probably needed just a bit of silicone and left it with them. Got a call at 12 to say they wanted to take out the headcloth, hold onto the car for an extra day and then put it all back together all for the princely sum of between £300 and £400.

Eh.... no.

Instead, left it with @AIRFORCE1 who looked under the strip, put some sealant down and also on the cable cover to the boot for a few pound and hopefully that has solved the issue.

I might look at getting the front end resprayed in the next few weeks or arrange for it to be done while I'm on holiday. I also am sorely tempted of late to get ABP's fast road setup done.

 

[Neil_M]

The alignment would be the shizzle @Crow555 .

 

[mcmurray]

Good job on the doors.

You planning on making the trip to England for the setup or doing it another way?

If you're over that direction, I'd recommend heading to Stevie at Grinspeed for the FRSU. Thoroughly nice bloke and know's his stuff. Spent about 3 hours setting mine up before Spa this year. Difference was night and day.

He's in Leyland so only about 50 miles from APB.

 

[Crow555]

No, when I phoned ABP last year, they suggested getting a printout of my current alignment settings. I'd then email those across to them and they'd pick out the shims I need for the back along with all the other bits and bobs and post them over, along with their settings. It would just be a case of getting them fitted and then set up over here.

 

[silver_bullet]

Cars look well buddy. Htd. fn civics suffer really badly from stone chips. I had mine resprayed in feb this year and it makes such a difference to the front end.

 

[Crow555]

Can I asked where you got it resprayed and if you were happy with it? And what to expect for bonnet, wings and valance, just roughly?

 

[silver_bullet]

I got it done by hursts. My brother in law works in toyota and he sourced the car for me and got it painted. Think it was around 400 to get the front end done.

 

[Crow555]

Very reasonable fee. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[andy_gdon]

I got it done by hursts. My brother in law works in toyota and he sourced the car for me and got it painted. Think it was around 400 to get the front end done.

Fr the pics it looks like you two guys are almost neighbours Baz!!

Car is looking well Crow - health to drive

 

[silver_bullet]

I thought it looked like blackrock @andy_gdon

 

[Crow555]

Just a small update to report.

I added the "Euro" badge, just for JDM points.

A bit of clarity might be required here. Back in 2011 when Honda stopped selling the type R because of Euro V emissions, they had a number of cars left over they couldn't sell. So they shipped them over to Japan, stuck a Euro badge on them and sold them along side the FD2 saloon type R.

The badge was ordered from a company in Japan called RHDJapan and took a few weeks to arrive but I only got round to applying it today.

 

[HWW]

I got it done by hursts. My brother in law works in toyota and he sourced the car for me and got it painted. Think it was around 400 to get the front end done.

I paid £200 to get the bonnet and wings painted in Ards. Really good job. Had a couple of bad jobs at Agnews which is over twice the price of Angus and Agnews wouldn't stand over it.

I fancy another fn2 again but a later low mileage one this time with LSD.

 

[Crow555]

Time for an update, and it's not a happy one. I got to work, parked my car up behind someone else in the office and went to move it at lunch to let them out and found a note on my windshield. It was to let me know that the author had grazed my bumper. This is the result. (excuse the dirt, I've not had time to scratch myself let alone wash the car)

Having spoke to the guy, he's apologetic and did try to find who owns the car after he hit it (he tried the nearest building but it's not the one I work in) and said he'd pay for it. He's from the south (based on the mobile number on the note) and said he's a private van driver and would prefer to keep it off the insurance if we can help it. I've to now see about getting some quotes now and email them back to him. Annoying but at least I was hit by a seemingly decent soul so I should count myself lucky.

I'll probably start at Robert Hair on the shore road (nearby to work) for quote hunting. Any other recommendations?

 

[Neil_M]

@Crow555 honestly not surprised as there are some nut jobs around here.

Without a doubt go to WJ Blair accident repair. IMO it's not something to skimp on. You could get a few other bits and bobs done at the same time which could work out well...

On a positive note, its not that bad. The arch trim and rear bumper will probably clip back in.

 

[Crow555]

Granted, I don't want to skimp on anything but I'm at the mercy of the guy throwing his hands up at a ridiculous quote and leaving me with the damage to sort myself. The arch trim should be able to be saved, but I think the bumper might need replaced. The photos don't show it too well, but it's been deformed pretty badly at the corner, not sure it can be saved. I'll give Blair a shout but I honestly think this guy will baulk at the quote.

I agree with you about the parking in work. It's gotten ridiculous in recent weeks.