2000 Honda Insight. Whatever.

In reply to Dusterbd13:

Right on. I knew you pulled the old wires, but hadn't caught up on the new. I'll be following along.

New started tonight, so you haven't missed anything yet.

Moved the Insight into the Grosh to put the new wheels on. I want Deucekid#1 to help me with this, but waiting for a teenager who is on their first day of summer vacation to get up and work on a car is a fool's errand.

Petrolburner wrote: This is really making me want one of these while they're still at the appropriate price/condition/useful life remaining point. They're all about 4-5 grand in my area though, and that seems a little high.

That is high, because they all either have a failing battery pack or are about to. It's way more cost effective to buy one that the battery is already broken on and spend the savings on a good battery. Which is exactly what Mazdeuce is doing.

In reply to Vigo:

Found one for just under $3 grand as you described. Still, with only a 2.5 mile commute at the moment, I'll stick with my C6.

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/5604662659.html

PM'd you about how high that still is. I'm seeing them broken for ~1500 and thats around what i paid for this red one a couple years ago with brand new 195/50/15 sport comp2s on it.

The 911 seems to have sharted itself!

Deucekid#1 helped me put the new wheels on. 14x5.5 steelies with 185/60 generic all seasons. They were $500 shipped mounted and balanced. It was just easier than tracking down wheels locally collecting them from someone sketchy and getting new tires put on them. If I decide to bring this to the challenge for fun then I'll find a much cheaper local option. I reminded her to loosen the lug nuts before lifting the car, except for the last time. Sometimes you have to forget to remember. Allmost all of the nuts were loose enough for here to break loose by herself. When we put together a tool kit for the car she's going to need a cheater pipe. Tiny little guns. She had a hell of a time getting the wheels into position. Any wheel changing tips for noodly armed teenage girls would be appreciated. And lastly she learned about proper torquing lug nuts. It was a successful job.

mazdeuce wrote: She had a hell of a time getting the wheels into position. Any wheel changing tips for noodly armed teenage girls would be appreciated.

Sit cross-leg in front of the wheel, and use the legs as fulcrums to lift the wheels. And don't jack the car up any higher than you have to.

That thing is coming along very well.

I typically jack the car up just past the point where the wheels leave the ground (about a 1/2" air gap under the tire). And I kinda sit on my feet while putting the wheels on. That way, I can use my knees to help push the wheel onto the studs while I'm lifting it up with my arms (and it's easy to get a hand on each side of the tire from that position).

Works well enough for my noodle-armed self to get my 65lb (wheel+tire) rallycross tires on the Jeep.

Was there ever a more attractive aftermarket alternative to those rear fender skirts?

In reply to Woody:

The rear skirts look pretty cool (to me) when it's all properly together.
These are the beauty shots after it's first drive around the neighborhood. No wet car tricks, this is how it looks. Still a bit of nook and cranny and trim work to do but I'm very happy.

There are some drips where something removed paint. I need to figure out if I can touch them up or cover them with creative vinyl or just let it go.
Interior is quite nice. You can see the passenger door panel still needs to be put back on after a washing if we ever get a sunny day.

Thanks for the wheel advice. We need to put together a tool kit for the car including a jack. I think a regular scissors jack would let her raise and lower the car the little tiny bits needed for her to get the wheels on easier. She'll have plenty or practice before she can drive by herself.

I adjusted the valves this morning. Specs are .007-.009in intake and .008-.010in exhaust. Intakes were all set to .016 and exhaust to .019. that would explain the noisy valve train. This is my first valve adjustment in a couple of decades so I'll check them again in a couple hundred miles. Also replaced the smushed flat valve cover gasket. Why someone would mess with RTV to stop a leak when the gasket is $8 I can't quite imagine.
So the valvetrain sounds good. Maybe a bit of piston slap when cold, maybe something else. Like a wiggly little sewing machine when warm.
Took for a drive. It's........slow. first gear is fine if you wind it out. Every other gear is really tall. First and especially second gear synchros aren't great. You can't downshift to either gear without grinding at any speed without rev matching which is not easy because the electric motor acts like an absurdly heavy flywheel. Cruises at 55 great as long as you don't try and accelerate, at all. I'm looking forward to getting the electric motor working in the fall.

I think 2 seaters make a lot of sense for a new driver. My driving was much more distracted when I had a car full. Also, if you don't have extra seats you don't have to haul all your broke ass High School friends around!

That paint sure looks good after the buff job! I really like the interior of this era from Honda. It's like an economy version of the S2000. Looking at the Insight makes me want an S2000 even more.

Those are 4 bolt wheels right? I'm not sure if this will work on 5's, I don't remember, but have the studs in a diamond shape instead of a square, 1 top, 1 bottom, 2 sides. Lean the wheel on the hub, then just lift from the bottom to get the hole over the top stud and start on the lugnut. the rest will fall into place. Put your foot or lug wrench under the tire and use it to lift into place, but once you get that top lug on everything will be fine.

That sounds a lot more confusing than what it is, but it's hard for me to describe the exact action I use. I'd almost make her practice outside in the rain, just to be prepared for an emergency situation. But I've never had a flat in dry weather on pavement. Always in the rain, or way off road, or on gravel. Mostly in the dark no less. So you know, the jack wants to fall over, and you're trying to hold a cellphone for light while working on the tire and getting rained on so the ground is getting worse. The the truck falls, and you pray to all the gods from human history you never considered believing in before that you didn't just break a stud or oval out a wheel hole and start with the jacking again. UGH. sorry, having flashbacks to my last offroad excursion.

Funny you say that about he S2000, one of the projects for fall is to scout out a leather wrapped wheel from an S2000 to replace the slowly degrading stock one. They can be found on eBay for less than $100, bolt right in place and use the stock airbag and everything.
Now you have me wondering if S2000 seats fit too....

Yes to the two seater thing. Turning around to participate in the conversation or looking in the rearview to do the same is the old fashioned version of texting while driving. More than a few accidents are caused because you were paying attention to something other than the road.

In reply to revrico:

Headlamp will be part of the tool kit. Flat tires are dicks.

mazdeuce wrote: In reply to revrico: Headlamp will be part of the tool kit. Flat tires are dicks.

How haven't I thought about that before? I keep one in my tackle bag for obvious reasons, but that's genius. I've just been happy to have a cellphone with an actual flashlight on it as an upgrade to the Zippo lighter I've had to use in the past. Changing tires by zippo light should be punishment on a reality show.

Another thing to use is a 24" pry bar and lever the wheel into place. I use this trick sometimes with a t45 on a semi tire.

How wide of rims can you fit under the car? Also what type of et does this run? When I was looking at one I found a place in Portland called Bumble Bee batteries. They have nice upgraded battery packs for this car for $2099. Looks to be about a 2-3 hr job to replace with new one as well.

In reply to brad131a4:

Word is that you can fit a 205 under the rear skirts with the right offset on (I think) a seven inch wheel. Stock is a 5.5. I have 185's on a stock width 5.5 and there is much less than 1/2 inch between the tire and the skirt. I think a sticky 195 on a very light six inch wheel would be the ticket. 1/4 mile is in the mid/high 17's. It is NOT a quick car.

As far as new batteries, Bumble Bee looks like a good source. You can either buy a whole pack that has new cells and has been tested, or you can buy just the sticks. Sticks are cheaper, plus there is a bit of a secondary market for used sticks especially if you recondition them and can provide data to buyers on how they act. I'm pretty sure I could get a pack of brand new cells for $1500 or less all said and done. I'm still hoping I can bring my cells back enough to get acceptable driving out of it.

This thread is simultaneously making me want and not want a hybrid...

In reply to Woody:

Hybrids are kind of a crappy choice for enthusiasts. Their sole advantage over any similar car is not using gas.
Compare a gas Civic to an insight of the same year. On the secondary market the Civic is cheaper and can easily be had with a manual. It performs better, parts availability is better, it seats two more people and on and on. To add to that, the battery is an expected wear item. In the very best case scenario it just loses capacity over time which would be like a regular car losing power and having the gas tank shrink. And if you drive it enough you will need to replace it at a cost greater than the gas engine in a regular car. And on top of THAT, you still have a gas engine to worry about with oil changes and maintenance. So really ALL you gain is the ability to burn less gas. At least the Insight is kind of interesting from an engineering standpoint and ticks a bunch of kid car boxes for me. If I get another nonconventional car it will be something that plugs in so I can run it without using gas at all. I'm hoping sub $5k Leafs become a thing soon.

mazdeuce wrote: If I get another nonconventional car it will be something that plugs in so I can run it without using gas at all. I'm hoping sub $5k Leafs become a thing soon.

Last night, I read that Toyota sold a few plug in RAV4s out in California a few years back. I'd be interested in finding one that made it's way out here.

mazdeuce wrote: Compare a gas Civic to an insight of the same year. On the secondary market the Civic is cheaper and can easily be had with a manual.

The Civic Hybrid is even cheaper, and can also easily be had with a manual.