1974 Honda N600 Restoration

Affen · **Posted:** Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:23 pm

Hi there. I'm a new member to this forum.
Just managed to get hold of this 1974 Honda N600.
I have been into Honda cars for years, but this is my first step into the nostalgic era.

The car is sold new here in Norway, and has only 66.000 km (40.000 miles) on it, given the speedo hasn't been tampered with.
According to the previous owner it has not been a daily driver since 1984.
I checked with the registry and the plates was taken off the car in 1988.
It has been sitting in a barn up till last year when the previous owner bought it as a project car. He ended up not finding time for the car due to other projects, so he put it up for sale.

I have not been able to go through the car all that much yet, but It seems to be in good shape.
Fuel system is clogged, and the previous owner also managed to loose a few jets in the carb in an effort to try and clean it.
So it is a no-runner at present.
Other than that it seems to be fairly complete.
Interior is very good! (So I can sort of believe in the low milage)

The exterior is a bit tired.
Paint is extremely flat, and there is a few dings here and there.
There has been some surface rust around the car, but this has been treated with a chemical rust sealer at some point.
But at first impression the body appears to be quite solid.

The plan is a full restoration.
However it will probably take a little time before I can make some solid progress, as I'm in the process of finishing my garage, making workbenches, shelves etc. etc.
So bear with me...

Once this is done I will update more regularily.

Well, enough of all this boring text...
On with the pics:

Camshaft · **Posted:** Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:31 pm

Very nice project you have there! I don't believe I've ever seen a two-tone one before. It's very cute.

franciscoasilva · **Posted:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 5:13 am

Camshaft wrote:

Very nice project you have there! I don't believe I've ever seen a two-tone one before. It's very cute.

The two tone is not original, probably a owner try to make it look like a mini cooper by painting the roof black.
Originally the car would be all red.

Affen · **Posted:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 5:53 am

Yes, the two-tone is not original.
Actually, the cars roof was damaged in transport on it's way from the factory, when it was brand new.
For some reason the Honda dealership chose to put on this flat black textured paint on the roof to cover the scratches, and sold the car with a discount.

But for sure, the two-tone is not something I'm going to keep.

Still haven't decided on color yet, other than that is has to be one of the colors that the N600 was delivered with originally.

franciscoasilva · **Posted:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 10:33 am

If you want i can send you a collor catalog and paint codes.

Affen · **Posted:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 10:56 am

franciscoasilva wrote:

If you want i can send you a collor catalog and paint codes.

PM sent

Affen · **Posted:** Mon Feb 21, 2011 3:15 pm

I kind of promised myself that I would not start fiddling with the car before I had finished sorting out the garage.
However, my curiousity got the best of me today.
Had to look over the car a bit to check the state of various components.
There were some good and some bad news.

On closer inspection the body needs a bit more attention then I first thought. To many places needs attention so it would be costing a fortune paying someone to do it. I guess I will have to learn to do a bit of sheetmetal work myself.

The good news is that the mechanical components of brakes and suspension seem to be in great shape! I've seen 10 year old cars being in a much worse state than this, and this one is 37 years old!

The CV-joint pic speaks for itself though.
At least the rubber parts look their age :lol:

OK, here goes...

Dented roof...

Window rubber missing from passenger door

Right rear sidetrim damaged

Rust holes in lower front corner of passenger door

Rust hole in RH rear wheelarch

Dented bumper and rusthole in aft lower part of rear RH wheelarch

Rusthole in aft lower part of rear LH wheelarch

Rear brakedrum

In good shape and with plenty left on the lining of the shoes

Some crystalized brake fluid. Plan to fit new seals

Front struts in great shape!

No wear to speak of on either disks nor pads.

CV-joint not looking its best...

Hondafiend · **Posted:** Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:38 pm

Looks great so far! :tu:

Im in for more

andysmiley17 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:34 pm

wow thats a great find! i wanna see a video when you get it running, i love hearing these running!

Affen · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:52 pm

I have already started collecting a few parts.
Buying a little here and there when I stumble across something that needs replacing.
Had a package arriving today from "Midwest Wholesale" on ebay.
Can highly recommend doing business with Ray.
Very professional throughout the process.
And note the packaging. Nice touch with the shrink-wrap plastic.

I suspect the car has been run with an incorrect fanbelt, cause the angle on the belt into the pulley is a bit weird.
Belt tensioner is probably adjusted way off to compensate for a too long of a belt?
Anyway, the outer side of the pulley is badly worn, making its edge razor sharp.

My speedo cable has a nasty kink on it, so I cant imagine this working any more.

My engine shrouds has been molested for some reason.

Also in the package was an oil filter, some fuel filters, a battery insulator, a gasket for the air cleaner box and the retainer for the air filter.

Douglass · **Posted:** Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:19 pm

Great looking project and some nice photos. I'd be very surprised if that is actually a '74. Most likely its a 73 that was registered incorrectly. They didn't make 600's in 74, at least for sale in the USA. They were onto the CVCC civic then.

MrHijet · **Posted:** Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:31 am

Sweet project.

By the way: could you name some websites from Norway where you can find (old) used cars for sale ?

Cheers,

Daniel

Affen · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:30 am

MrHijet wrote:

Sweet project.

By the way: could you name some websites from Norway where you can find (old) used cars for sale ?

Thanks

You can try these websites.
They are in Norwegian though...

http://veteran.autodb.no/

http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/result?YEAR_MODEL_TO=1981

kev84 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:46 am

good luck with your project, N parts are a bit easier to find than S car parts, but you will have your fun too. I think most parts would be from the USA. maybe you can try looking from there too

Affen · **Posted:** Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:10 pm

Douglass wrote:

Great looking project and some nice photos. I'd be very surprised if that is actually a '74. Most likely its a 73 that was registered incorrectly. They didn't make 600's in 74, at least for sale in the USA. They were onto the CVCC civic then.

Thanks

I've had a look at your blog. Nice project you have going there.
You seem to be doing it to the same level as I'm thinking with mine.
I like the fact that you have such a long history with the car.
That alone must make this so much more than just a "regular" restoration.
I'll be following your progress

Regarding the age of my car.
Well I kind of rely on information from the previous owner on it actually being a 1974. I haven't seen any paperwork confirming it.
The registration papers were turned in back in 1988 along with the plates.
At that time we only had universal "pink slips" (car details had to be filled in manually) here in Norway.
I have this one signed by the last registred owner (from 1988) but it is signed "in blanco" without vehicle information complete.

Here is the number stamped onto the chassis/body.
Three middle-digits censored.
Are any of the digits related to the year of production?

redr2 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:03 pm

looks like a 71. They never made them in 74 as the Civic took over in 73

Affen · **Posted:** Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:46 pm

Ok, lets just pretend it's the little guy's birthday

More collecting of parts...

Blackbullet · **Posted:** Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:53 pm

Very nice project and great photo's which really bring the story alive. You were lucky to find .50 pistons. Good luck with the restoration

Affen · **Posted:** Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:30 pm

Blackbullet wrote:

Very nice project and great photo's which really bring the story alive. You were lucky to find .50 pistons. Good luck with the restoration

Thanks

Yeah, I had to take a chance on the pistons.
Hopefully the cylinders don't need to be bored to oversize.

Either way, I guess it wouldn't be a problem shifting the parts if I end up not needing all of them.

Affen · **Posted:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 2:46 pm

Some few more parts added to my inventory.
From Miles Chappel this time.
A pleasure doing business with him. Most recommended.

1974 Honda N600 Restoration

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