So, yes it has finally happened! I am a new happy owner of 'project Emerald'. First impressions after initial ride: refined and quiet. Bit of a jerk, from what I have been told by the expert originates from the torque converter, which will be sorted by a couple more ATF changes. Other than that I can't believe its a 16 year old car! This thing does everything effortless in comparison to my other accord saloon (2.4)... and all electrics still work (quite a few electrical/electronic niggles with the other one being 6 years younger). It just shows how good these cars were built. Looking forward to a longer drive over this weekend! Some more pics coming up soon. Thanks Stu for all your efforts.