XPLOIT's #ProjectN360

[XPLOIT]

Discussion: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=32136

Hi all,

Was recently pointed out by a friend of an Estate Auction for 70 odd classic cars... I was asked there to go check out and bid accordingly on a particular car my friend was interested in. Turns out, that car wasnt looking so flash, and then ended up going for A LOT more than anyone would have anticipated.

So many cars there caught my eye and thought I would stay for the auction and see what sold for how much. There was some very cheap and some very expensive bids being placed. I didnt get the chance to bid on some of the vehicles I may have been interested in due to some bid wars between others and going over my budget (Which I didnt even consider before going...)

But the time came to the car I was most interested in (Within my non-existent budget).

I feel I got this car for an awesome price. It's something different, it's something old and finally (For me..), it's something Japanese which is what I've been wanting for a while after having so much British stuff lately.

So here it is:

My new Honda N360, 1972.

[XPLOIT]

I waited around until almost the end of the auction before I better shoot home and grab a trailer as it had to be out of there by 4pm.

These are photos of it arriving home.

Got it off the trailer ready for a decent look at what I had just bought....

I didnt know anything about the history of the car, nor the current state of any of the running gear or even the registration due to CarJam being down when I needed it the most! Bought it completely as-is, no idea if it would start and not much time to find out what was missing.

After some research, it has been off the road for 18 years and de-registered. BUT, it's is NZ New and as you can see, it still has the original plates on the car which is a very good thing.

First thing you do to a car been off the road for 18 years? Check oil, add fuel and jump start....

This thing fired into life completely effortlessly. After seeing it running for a bit, checking things out, I jumped in and went for a drive. Gearbox and engine are sweet. the only thing that needs attention are the brakes. It doesnt have them. Later to find out that the MC is completely dry and i'd imagine a lot of seals will need replacing. But that's further down the track.

I gave it a quick clean and some better photos. Enjoy.

[XPLOIT]

Now for some details of the car:

354cc Twin Cylinder Forced Aircooled OHC

31 BHP

Top Speed, (an unfortunate) 115km/h

4 Speed Manual

Whopping 505kg

All this combines to a claimed 28km/L fuel consumption with around town driving.

The only thing that is actually missing from this car is one of it's wheels and hubcaps. The spare has been put on and the original is nowhere to be seen. So I will be on the look out for a hubcap and a 10" rim.

[XPLOIT]

Found a spare rim now, wasnt as hard as I thought it would be.

But aside from that, Slowly but surely i'm finding things I want to replace. I need a side window, one was made of perspex and doesnt roll well with compliance, nor actual vision.

So, got onto it and started stripping it back.

Once this was done, I inspected it all for rust and decided what I was going to do with what. Seats etc

I gave the car a good waterblast with everything out of it and peeled back old sealer. Vacuumed all teh crap from the interior.

Also chucked a couple of new spark plugs in to help it run a little better, still needs to be correctly timed. Will probably replace the points at some stage too. But one thing at a time.

Ive got the seatbelts out ready to take down to Fiddymonts to get priced up and the seats are going to a local upholsterer on Tuesday.

One thing i've learnt is to go to the smaller companies for this type of work. All the bigger companies i have approached are simply not all that interested in helping.

I am still waiting to hear back from Smith and Smith about the window. They're pretty slack and misleading.

More updates to come!

[XPLOIT]

I've bought myself a new windsceen, just in case I ever need one. It was brand new (Still in JDM packaging) and cheap.

Ive pulled the brakes apart, checked all the hoses, seals and linings as the MC was empty when I got the car.

Everything was in really good condition, so I bled some new fluid through the whole system and the brakes all work fine.

I waterblasted the floormats which would be ideally replaced due to holes in the driver foot well but it'll have to do for now.

Have started stipping the rear parcel tray and repainting actual black, not sunburnt grey...

Have had a little trouble finding the correct paint code for the vehicle though.

[XPLOIT]

Rust repair.

Stage one, the body....

And what you see here is some of the rust that's been cut out. Long parts are the Sills.

So now, I need to find out what parts of this are actual structural rust and need to be Repair Certified. Which is another massive expense.

Later this week I'll have the Drivers door and both front gaurds back. Then it's just the passenger door and bonnet left

[XPLOIT]

Time for some random photos! Biches love photos.

On the way home from auction:

OMG, I just bought another car v - What I said the the GF once the auction had finished.

Teaser photos:

Halfway through stripping:

Original Sales Brochure: Complete with pictures of Luggage that would NEVER fit in this car.

Brand new parts! With JDM packaging and all.

What I've done tonight...

[XPLOIT]

More photos, I must be bored. My kitchen looks like a wreckers yard.

Tail lights, before and after. A screw has rust seized in the bacl of the other tail light, may need to drill it out :/

And front grill. Will need more polishing.

[XPLOIT]

Have gone and got some prices for the seatbelts. I've been given a choice in colours..... If I don't just settle for black, I'm looking at a nice light blue colour (Very 70's sty) that is very similar to the paint colour but a little lighter than the seats themselves.

Help me decide!?

Good price, so I just need to phone the order through.

I also dropped the seats off at a local upholsterer (Again, bigger companies didn't bother replying to my inquires, so my business goes elsewhere.)

He's going to strip down the worst seat and see what he can work with. He tells me they've been home sowed before and there may be very little material to work with. Will see how we get on....

Does anyone know where I can buy some board that the door cards are made from?

[XPLOIT]

Hooray for new parts coming soon.

Managed to finally get a window made. For a good price too. That'll be ready next week. Still waiting to hear back about the seats. I need the seats back before I can order the new seat belts. as I need to measure the length of the stalk.

Going to get some material for the door cards over the weekend. I just need to find a very shallow stapler.

Not this car, but the Triumph will have a fully refreshed cooling system. Radiator be back next week too. Looking forward to having it available to drive again seeing as my daily driver seemed to be a target for thieves last night. Got the car back without all the stereo equipment.

So please, keep an eye out for a 12" Atomic Sub, Clif Designs Amplifier and Sony CD/MP3/USB Faceplate only.

Other car news, taking the Austin to work tomorrow for a leak down test to see what the #@$% is going on.

MG is still for sale, struggling to justify Trade Me's price increases in order to list it.

Civic, Awaiting some info to get it going again. Stupid Vacuum systems.

Commer, Collecting dust.

Other Austin, the gf doesn't believe it's exists cos she's never seen it. Thinks it's a cardboard cut-out :/

[XPLOIT]

Long time no update.

I have a new window, exciting stuff that. Actually feels like I have achieved something - going forwards, not backwards.

Whilst going over the car looking for surface rust to attack with some paint, I noticed a fully paint cracking crease in the roof, just above the B pillar. gave it a wee tap with a screwdriver handle to find it caved in effortlessly. [More backwards]. Was a perfect spherical hold cut into the roof and then patched up with bog. I don't know why. But now it's something else I need to get welded back into place. Which means the roof liner needs to come out - which I really don't want to considering how mint it actually is. Will probably never go back in the same way. To be completely honest, I don't even know where to start it taking it out! Damn you, well built 70's Japanese cars.

Little struck for spare cash at the moment so things are moving slowly....

I'm STILL waiting to hear back on a QUOTE to get my seats fixed up. I need them back so I can get the seatbelts made.

Once Ive got this surface rust sorted, i'll start re-assembling the vehicle getting it ready to take for re-vin and/or repair certification.

[XPLOIT]

I found out what the hole in the roof was for. Another optional location for a radio antenna. I now have an original rubber bung to cover it, but i've also found an original antenna to fill the hole. So i'll use that and weld up the holes on the A-Pillar.

I'm having trouble remembering where I was up to.....

I bought a set of wheels. 13" SSR Formula Mesh in Gold with polished lip. All had original centre caps and valve caps. Wheels are near perfect, so very happy purchase they were. I just need to get the right size tyres now which isn't going to be as easy as i'd like.

The guards will need a slight pumping. I have thought about bolt on flares but finding the right shape etc is a bit more work that I need at the moment.

Hopefully these images work - Please let me know if they don't.

Seats are going to cost more than they're worth to fix. They're not that bad and it would involve a complete re-trim to fix them, so I'll leave that for now. I acquired a set of N600 seats in black with headrests. They might find their way into the car at some stage. I kinda like the blue/white interior for now.

I also needed a new steering wheel due to mine cracking when I bought it. It had a seized rear wheel bearing and I put too much pressure on the steering wheel trying to push the car. Thankfully a guy got hold of me who helped out significantly. N600 Steering wheel (MUCH nicer), a fourth hubcap, tools and Jack. It was awesome.

I've pieced the car pretty much back together now. I also went down to Oamaru to pick up a parts car. Got a few got bits off it, including a fuel cap which I desperately needed. I'm selling a few parts off it that I don't need. I think i've pretty much got rid of most of it to people I know, hah.

I have got heaps of little bits of interior plastics that I needed that mine were either missing or broken.

[Ineedtoy]

Hey my flatmates got an n600 I was wondering if you had or know of Anyone who might have any n600 parts or even a parts car, could you please private message me? Cheers heaps.