Aerocivic - Restoration and further modding

[Ecky]

I'm thinking I won't drive Aerocivic in winter, or any salty conditions, unless out of necessity. I've seen firsthand what salt does.

[skyking]

Hi Ecky congrats again
Not driving in the winter is a sound plan. all your tight fairing work does not love the heavy concrete snow.

[freebeard]

Heated wheel wells would really bring the average down.

[falkin42]

I'm very glad to see this. One of the most iconic aeromod cars I know of.

[Ecky]

This weekend I signed over the title of my second Insight to my brother-in-law, after spending quite a few weeks restoring it. Aerocivic is now project car #1, though it will have to share time with home renovations for the next few weeks.

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Heated wheel wells would really bring the average down.

The front wheel wells are heated since, when the smooth under panels are installed, the radiator/engine compartment heat is exhausted out through the front well wells to melt any snow that might accumulate there. I’ve driven Aerocivic through the western NC snow many times while commuting to work without any snow related problems in the covered wheel wells.

[Ecky]

Comical update:

I needed to move Aerocivic from its spot next to the garage, so I could pull the siding off and work on the building. Before I got in the car, I said aloud to myself, "I drained the brake fluid from the system. I have to use the hand brake." I then got in the car, backed it out of the driveway, and as I was rolling across the road toward the ditch on the other side, I pressed the brake pedal (which went to the floor) and my eyes nearly popped out of my head as I continued to roll toward the ditch. In a panic I yanked the ebrake and the car came to an immediate halt. Where is my head?

I then placed Aerocivic front and center on the front lawn, where it has been drawing constant attention and has been constantly photographed by people driving by.

[California98Civic]

That car makes a legend of its owner. Basjoos occasionally found photos of it floating around the web. You will too. You could parade in it one day.

[MakitaDiesel]

Originally Posted by Ecky

On a related note, the air intake, runner and plenum sizes are pretty comical to me. Anyone know if a smaller volume plenum like Honda used leads to higher efficiency? I could see some possible gains from a lower volume to create vacuum in.

I wondered the same thing back when swapping the original D15B6 out of the CRX for a D15Z1. Both had intake tubes that would choke on a golf ball. B6 = 62hp, Z1 = 92hp.

[Ecky]

It's been too long since I worked on Aerocivic. I keep telling myself, "Just finish the house projects, put it up on the market, and then you can work on the car as much as you want until closing." Today my partner worked some overtime though, so I got in a bit of time swapping all of the bulbs in the cluster for LEDs. They're whiter and that seems to have done some funky things to the colors of some of the indicators, and I may end up looking for some warm white or even amber bulbs for those.

In the pic with the tach, you can see the color temperature of the LED (left side) and the incandescent bulb (right side).

I believe the original bulbs are 1.4 watt and, when the headlights are on, there are 6 minimum in the cluster lit at any given time, just for background illumination. I need to pull the climate control and see what else there is. The LEDs are, of course, effectively zero watts.