MY mew Project

[O'Brien s600]

Have been givem an S600 Coupe :-) has been in storage for 10+ years, prior to storage the chassis and brakes were restored and apparently a new body from a Museum in Portland was sourced to replace the rusted old one. Am yet to see the condition, but keen to get it on the road. It is missing engine and gearbox (which is why it has remained in storage and an unfinished project for over 20 years).

So probably wont go original but will be keeping body / drive modofications to a minimum. Will post pictures when I see it.

Any suggestions on a suitable engine / gearbox will be appreciated. Also any info on converting the front drum brakes to disc would be Helpfull.

Cheers
O"Brien S600

[curtis265]

Welcome abourd!

we need pictures asap, very eager to see this


I would love an s600, They're beautiful little things. Fell in love when i saw one at tokyo autosalon earlier this year

[dougie_504]

Sounds bloody awesome. What engine are you thinking? B16A?

[curtis265]

i reckon it deserves a f20c

would be easier to mount i'd imagine

there's one on carsales with a k3 corolla engine in it, maybe that's an idea worth looking at

[Jccck]

i reckon it deserves a f20c

would be easier to mount i'd imagine

there's one on carsales with a k3 corolla engine in it, maybe that's an idea worth looking at

K3 Rola' engines are reliable but awful.. It does suit the size of the car but.
F20C would be interesting!

If you've got to source a Motor anyway, and put in the hard yards to make it work.. Might aswell make it something special.
Don't bother with a B or D series lmao.

[curtis265]

Good point - if it's worth doing all the custom work to chuck an engine in, it's worth picking the right engine

[Setanta]

Having owned an S800 I couldn't imagine a modern motor in one unless it was the size of a K3 which is a god-awful lump compared to the roller bearing original motor. B series motors are out as they rotate the wrong way (S series cars are RWD). F20C is being done in the US and will require some cutting, but I have a feeling getting it engineered in Australia will be difficult (displacement -> weight calculation anyone?) http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2399761

4AGE does fit but will need a big brake upgrade. Cheap, tough little motor that will dump out decent power (and could later switch to 4AGZE). I'd be going down this path.

Do you know if your 600 is chain drive or converted to live axle? S800s had the live axle but 600s ran chains through an oil bath to power the rear wheels - you need to factor that into your conversion.

It's been done as a track car already http://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/13187-4age-into-honda-s600/

[O'Brien s600]

Well, The coupe is now at my place. What great condition it is in. Seats are perfect full interior still in place. NO RUST, all glass, original wood grain steering wheel and gear stick knob. The hood lining is still in place and perfect.

Found out the car was pushed into a storage facility 15 Years ago and has not been seen or moved since. everything except an engine is there. Cannot believe my luck.

Here are some photo's

224452244622444

[O'Brien s600]

Setanta

Rear is chain driven and would like to keep it that way. one day would like to go back to original engine, but currently I dont have the 10+ grand that will take.

Engine choices, well I can upgrade to 3 times the TAR weight of the car 715Kg's from memory, so a 2.145L. That said the bigger the engine the more suspension and brake modifiations it will require. Rotary would be great due to there small size, but you double the CC's of a rotary to get its judged size. So a 12A 1.1L equates to 2.2L.

My mate who restores cars and builds hot rods as hobby is helping me with the engineering and engine. we were thinking 1600 Cortina, not my choice, but reliable and he has a great knowledge of them.

Or a 1.3L Suzuki engine. So we will do some mock ups and see what fits without cutting the guts out of the girl, or altering the bonnet line.

[O'Brien s600]

OK All thanks for your interest no to pick your brains. From what I can work out the PCD and Bore is 5 x 130 and 81mm. DISC BRAKES to fit???????

[curtis265]

i think rda can custom make them for you

[Drifter995]

Hit up 1stgencivic.com
They have a section for these cars... May or may not have some useful info for you, and they may be able to help you with world wide parts or what not.
But yeah, very nice looking car :D

[O'Brien s600]

OK, investigation and planning continues. as I have the entire car except the engine and want to keep it as close to original (and HONDA) as possible, anyone heard of issues taking an engine out of a early civic and turning it around to run RWD???????

Cheers

[Drifter995]

I imagine it'd be interesting... lots of fab work needed. depending on gearbox and everything that is. if the box is too big, you'll have to cut the floor... it will be lots of work, that's for sure.


also, obligatory mew picture:
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110212044143/pokemon/images/archive/9/99/20110601034947!Mew.gif

[O'Brien s600]

Ok I have the gearbox, want to mate a FWD Honda engine to it using an adaptor plate. thining small like 1.3-1.5 early civic engine, do not want to butcher this car. Too rare and too cool as they are but Want it on the road ASAP. Also the day will come when I have the time, money and an original engine to put back into it :-)

So can a FWD engine be turned around and run nth south as opposed to east west?????

[Drifter995]

Not 100% sure... one would imagine the starter motor would be on the wrong side for a start... but other than that, I can't think of many issues you'd have with connecting the motor to the gearbox.

[curtis265]

It's also possible that it'll spin the wrong way.

I also think it'll be equally as 'custom' trying to fit a transverse motor into your car rather than a longitudinal motor.

[O'Brien s600]

Have investigated and the S600 sins counter clock wise, as do the majority of Honda engines, As honda have only made a few RWD cars a RWD motor is the only option I can see without changing the entire drive train.

[Drifter995]

I'm pretty sure the ec motor (which I have) runs counter clockwise. So I'd be wary. and I'm not sure if most early engines do as well

[was8001967]

Before changing the motor, drive an S600 with orig motor... it is what makes the car...
Join our group and should be able to track a motor and box down..
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Just-S/
just have a listen to this :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9WvY9kyw0w
Cheers Aron

[O'Brien s600]

Before changing the motor, drive an S600 with orig motor... it is what makes the car...
Join our group and should be able to track a motor and box down..
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Just-S/
just have a listen to this :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9WvY9kyw0w
Cheers Aron

If I could get an original engine I would love it, Have just joined your group. Thanks so much.

[Drifter995]

What gearbox do you have? What is it out of?
But yeah, as I said, it's probably going to be an issue for you with engine choice... and you may have to cut up the firewall and floor for the gearbox, tailshaft and such... then you'll need to mod the back end to suit an axle... You would probably have to take the fuel tank off to do this (Assuming the fuel tank is under the ass end, like my civ) In which you could probably custom make one to fit in the boot.
So all in all, you'd need to fab a lot of the body probably, source a rear axle (independent possibly... may need to source a leaf spring one. I don't know much about s600's) and diff, and hubs and stuff to run off that. Not sure if the front hubs could be closed over on the back, and just be left as is. Would also need to custom make brackets and stuff for the engine, and if it ends up being longer than the bay, fab that up a bit. find somewhere to mount the radiator, battery, etc etc...
Worst case scenario, it could end up being a massive pain in the ass, and be a lot of work. Best case scenario, it could cost you <5k (just a guess) and you could have an awesome little car.

[O'Brien s600]

What gearbox do you have? What is it out of?
But yeah, as I said, it's probably going to be an issue for you with engine choice... and you may have to cut up the firewall and floor for the gearbox, tailshaft and such... then you'll need to mod the back end to suit an axle... You would probably have to take the fuel tank off to do this (Assuming the fuel tank is under the ass end, like my civ) In which you could probably custom make one to fit in the boot.
So all in all, you'd need to fab a lot of the body probably, source a rear axle (independent possibly... may need to source a leaf spring one. I don't know much about s600's) and diff, and hubs and stuff to run off that. Not sure if the front hubs could be closed over on the back, and just be left as is. Would also need to custom make brackets and stuff for the engine, and if it ends up being longer than the bay, fab that up a bit. find somewhere to mount the radiator, battery, etc etc...
Worst case scenario, it could end up being a massive pain in the ass, and be a lot of work. Best case scenario, it could cost you <5k (just a guess) and you could have an awesome little car.

I have evrything orginal except the engine, idea if I cant get an original engine is an early (from the 70s) honda engine, get an adaptor plate made to connect it to the S600 gearbox and bobs your uncle, should not require any body or drive train mods. But then again I am an eternal optomist.

Cheers

[Drifter995]

I have evrything orginal except the engine, idea if I cant get an original engine is an early (from the 70s) honda engine, get an adaptor plate made to connect it to the S600 gearbox and bobs your uncle, should not require any body or drive train mods. But then again I am an eternal optomist.

Cheers

Oh right, I thought you meant you got a rwd transmission. my bad.
If that's the case, that plan could work, but again, make sure the engines spin the same way. you'd want to make sure.
Having said that, the gear ratios could be interesting... I'd get some advice from the s600 forum, see if it's worth just getting an early civic engine and gearbox combo, and dropping that in?

[ajcmbrown]

Did you ever work out which engine to use? I am in exactly the same position as you, except mine is a Roadster, no motor and some minor rust repairs to the body. Had you thought about a motorcycle engine? CBR1000RR, CBR1100XX? Due to the unusually high numerically (low ratio) final drive of these, any engine you fit will need to be ok with 1000rpm for every 16KPH, or 6000 rpm at 100kph, I don't know too many car engines that will do that for long.

[SHOGUNOVDDRK]

I do have an EW2 available from an 85 Civic if that tickles your fancy.