Captain Obvious

Haha!! How far from the original subject do we want to stray? With apologies to the OP....... I've got a 6th gen Civic (96-00). I always hated the steering ratio. Always felt like I needed to readjust my hands in the middle of a turn because I needed more wheel rotation. Got fed up one day and started experimenting... The pinion gear on the end of the power steering spool valve has eight teeth. The similar pinion gear from a third gen Integra (93-97) has NINE teeth (one more than the Civic). Problem is the spool valve bodies are different so you can't just toss the whole Integra body onto the Civic steering rack. However after poking around with both of them in my laboratory, I determined that the GUTS are interchangable. So it's a "simple matter" of pressing both valve assemblies apart and reassembling the Civic valve body using the Integra spool valve. Then reattach the modified spool valve onto the original steering rack and put in back in the car. "A child could do it." Take the valve off the rack: Pressing a spool valve apart on the hydraulic press: Spool valves. Integra on top. Civic on bottom. Note that the Integra has a tighter pitch on the gear: Pinion gears. Civic on left. Teg on right: How did it turn out? Fantastic. Would I do it again? If I had the sub-frame out - Maybe. If I wasn't going in for something else? - Absolutely not.

Well that's my DD and not supposed to be the project, so I put as little time and effort into it as I can. LOL! So... The answer to the question about what engine did I put back in is "The same one that came out." I only pulled it because it needed work done on multiple sides of the engine and at that point I thought it was just simpler to pull the whole thing and do everything with the engine out. Belt side needed new timing belt. Bottom side needed oil pan gasket. Rear side needed new engine mount (taught kid how to drive stick). Transmission side needed new main seal and clutch, etc. So since I needed to work on left, right, rear, and bottom, I just pulled the whole thing out to do the work. I did do one "bonus" item... I pulled the subframe and put in an Integra steering gear for a faster steering ratio. But that car is not the project.

Over the past few years I've purchased a couple things from Spark Surplus and can attest for their legitimacy. I'm not sure where their "surplus" comes from, but they are a legit entity. Don't always know any details about what they have, but with that many auctions, who would?

Did this a couple years ago on my daily:

Thanks for the offer bud! Appreciate it!

Thanks Bud! Yeah, I'm OK, but honestly have been better. I got covid at Thanksgiving and am still working out a couple kinks. Still. Hoping 2023 is better than the end of 2022.

I don't even know what to say. This should be ripe with all sorts of great comments, but I'm in analysis/paralysis.

For some additional input about air dams... @Av8ferg

Yeah, if I took my car into the dealer for a problem and it came back to me with that huge thing on the hood "to fix it", I would not be very happy about it! "Massive"... In your part of the world, that reminds me of other things like "snarlin", "bone dry", "hobblin" and the Good Ship Grease.

Couple comments... First, the Obvious one. That's a master cylinder, not a slave. Second... Be real careful about burrs kicked up into the cylinder bore as a result of the tapping operation. If there's a burr in the area swept by the cup seal, it'll chew it up right quick!

I'm pretty sure the brakes are supposed to rub when you hit the brakes.

It's part of a line from an old Beatle's song. "No thank you please, it only makes me sneeze. Then it makes it hard to find the door." But they mispronounce the word "the" a little bit, and it sounds more like "dee", At least to me... After sniffing the houseplants. https://youtu.be/Ag6wyMNLv_A?t=34

And then it makes it hard to find dee door.

It's been pretty cold here too. It went below zero last night, and hit about 20 today in the sun. Tomorrow I think is supposed to be slightly warmer... Like 26 maybe? In any event, mighty cold. But still way warmer than the north central US and central Canada, so I'm not complaining. That's brutal.

Haha! Try to stay warm, my friend!!

I think "tumbler" and "wafer" are pretty much synonymous when referring to this kind of lock. Yes, the "Right" or "Left" style of lock comes down to the cylinder casting, meaning that the key blank will only fit into the correct style cylinder. But they all share the same tumblers. As for the wear grooves in the outer shell, I don't have any good suggestions about how make those better. The lock cylinder and other body parts are (I think) cast zinc. Cheap, easy to work with, easy to get fine detail and accuracy. All of that makes it a popular choice for locks. Note that "durability" is not in that list of properties. And I don't think epoxy will last long. It's softer than the zinc. Ideas? Find a NOS replacement. Pay someone to make a whole new one. Live with it.

I suspect our resident librarian is too cold... Huddled up in a chair in front of the space heater with a warm fireball? Let me cover for him on this one: https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/35919-new-challenge-anyone-had-warped-tail-light-flanges-before/#comment-644526

I re-keyed my glove box along with the rest of the locks on the car. However, my 77 uses the newer (74 on) style lock. I haven't messed with an older style glove box lock. Mine looks like this: While the older style looks like this. I've not messed with one of these, but I expect it to be conceptually similar to the rest of the locks: So about the tumblers for the ignition locks... I believe the only difference between the tumblers for the ignition and the rest of the car is a slight change in profile at the top of the tumblers. Here's a pic of a couple ignition tumblers. Note the concave shape to the top of the outline. The doors, etc do not have that concave feature: Everywhere else on the car, the tumblers are domed (convex) on both top and bottom. With that in mind, ignition tumblers are able to be used in other locks, but I don't remember what that concave feature is for, so I can't offhand tell you if door tumblers would work properly in an ignition application. I'll have to dig my (three) lock box off the shelf and re-familiarize myself with that detail.

Uh-oh.

That's what I did. I had enough tumblers that I re-populated my locks the way I wanted them and then cut my own key to work with them. Turned out great. I'm gentle with the door locks now. I try to apply juuuuuuussst enough pressure to unlock. Trying not to smear the soft metal so I don't have to ever mess with them again.

Yeah, I was sure the math you cited was sound, just misapplied. We're good now. And, the duplicate thing exists, but unless you go trying your key in other people's cars, then how would you know? Just like you and your buddy with the pranking. Haha!

And if there was a left and a right option for key blank, then the numbers double. So 1024 for each blank resulting in 2048 possibilities total. But no... I really don't think there were any "locksmith adjusted" tumbler modifications in the field to get more than that.

Respectively submitted... I don't think you are reading everything correctly. As an example, I know that if you have ten different choices and two different spots to put them, you have 100 different combinations (00 to 99). Ten to the exponent of two. Four different choices and five different spots to put them results in 1024 combinations. Four to the exponent of five.