EF Civic K Swap Build: Interior Paint, Suspension Setup, and Pedal Assembly Conversion

Interior Paint Progress

Last night was a big one.

I got a bit ahead of myself due to these Turbo cans. They move so much paint so quickly. I ended up being able to do a second coat on the floor from outside the car after I pulled the mask off the rear and passenger door. I had to go back in with a regular small can to touch up some nooks and crannies and the underside of the door and harness bars.

Interior Protection and Reassembly

I knew the first step was to protect the painted door bars. This is a cheap roll of 2" PPF film.

I laid the fuel system covers back in. Can't/won't fully reinstall them until I can drop the tank and replace the fuel pump and pickup, but the 1988 zinc plating still looks great

Front Suspension Setup

PCI front upper control arms. I am not choosing to take the spherical bearing penalty at this time, so i moved a new set of oem replacement rubber FUCA bushings/mounting studs over to the PCI arms.

I installed them at maximum negative camber, and with the two front shocks about 5 turns different to try and arrive at a minimum shock body length. These coilovers wont be on the car longer than mid april, so this was kinda moot, but good practice in fwd honda mechanics.

max negative on the FUCAs and at full bump results in -7.7*

I'll probably start around -4 and go from there with track use and real data. There will be some tradeoff in trying to fit 245s up here. If I can do so at "only" -4 and stock metal rolled fenders, i'll be really happy.

I've already run into spindle clearance issues based on the particular wheel's inner rim flange shape. My pair of Jongbloeds fit with no spacer, but these Rotas need a spacer due to their normal weight weight clip rim flange shape design. The Jongbloeds are a flat inner flange and clear the spindle with no spacer. Both wheels are 9" +35mm

Front Bumper Bar

I also got the front tubular bumper bar thrown on. There is a rear to match.

Pedal Assembly Conversion

The next big task was the pedal assembly.

I am converting from cable to hydraulic clutch to run the K20 transmission.

I am also converting to manual brakes. Both clutch and brake pedals needed drilled for relocated clevis pins.

There is a 3rd party bracket to mount an EK clutch master inside the cabin, on the pedal assembly. The reservoir will be out in the bay next to the brake master reservoir, and I have a 5ft long DC2 integra clutch line waiting on banjo bolts.

Brake System Setup

Lastly for tonight I whipped up a quick DiY brake proportioning valve mounting bracket. There is a Wilwood part but I could not confirm/deny the mounting dimensions, so I opted for some scrap 2" aluminum.