weatherall123

It’s time to start a build/restoration thread for my 1994 Honda Civic SI hatchback. After debating whether or not to even make a restoration thread, I decided for it in that it would be a nice thing to look back at once the car is complete. Here is one of the first pictures taken of the car after purchasing:








I’ve owned Hondas my entire life due to their reliability, with cars ranging from a 1988 Honda Accord LX-I to a 2001 Acura Integra GSR (I still own this one!). However, my goal has always been to have a 1992-1995 Honda Civic SI. Specifically, I wanted a 1994 model year in Frost White. After years of searching for the right car, I finally found this one-owner two-owner car in Oakland, California. I was on a plane the very next day after making contact with the seller. The car drove great and was exceptionally clean for its age. One drawback was that it had been in a small front-end collision back in 1996 accident around the year 2000 where the front hood, bumper, and passenger fender were replaced as well as some minor bodywork to the right rear QP. No apparent damage/replacement of the core support or front apron. Besides this, the only other negative thing about the car was that the original owner didn’t keep any of the past service records.

***Please see post #87 on page four for updates on the car's history.

The drive back to Portland went well besides the fact that it overheated once while at a rest stop. After popping the hood, I found a small coolant leak under the IACV. I filled the radiator, and we made it home safe. Fast-forward one week to when I’m going through emissions and what do you know – FAIL. It was due to high hydrocarbons, completely unrelated to the coolant issue. Anyways, at this point, I replaced the following:

Spark plugs
Spark plug wires
Fuel filter
Air filter
Oil / Oil filter
PCV valve
Upper / Lower radiator hoses
Various coolant hoses
Brake pads and rotors
Muffler (car had a cruddy universal muffler when purchased, so I replaced it with OEM)

The next run through emissions passed without issue. At this point, I could finally start building the car to how I see fit.

My goals for the car are different than what most people desire. I want to make a reliable example of a 5th generation hatchback that uses rare parts from all over the world. The build will be more about function rather than looks/speed. I’ve received so much inspiration from everyone on HT, however, one user in particular deserves a shout out. That user is Deschlong. He has contributed so much to the Honda community by sharing his knowledge of rare/optional parts as well as putting together extremely well written articles outlining various improvements on our cars. If you haven’t had a chance to check out his DIY articles or his build thread, please do so. I followed his articles when installing the JDM low-fuel and JDM door-open indicator lights into my gauge cluster. Additionally, I believe it was Deschlong that had the idea to use the leather wrapped steering wheel from an Integra (one of my favorite upgrades).

I’ll do my best to update this thread on a regular basis. It’s definitely going to be a slow build, but I’m excited to see where it goes. It will be nice to see all the parts that I’ve collected over the years finally go to good use. Some parts will be used right away; others will be used after the car is repainted (sometime in the distant future). Speaking of paint, feel free to chime in on reliable painters in the Portland area… I need to make some connections!

Cheers everyone!

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Annnnd.... scrubscribed.

If anyone is reading this and is interested in my DIYs, check the link in my signature.

evan221

clean

wavesosick

Man your carpet is super clean. Just wanted to point that out

DVDr

iTrader: (2)

Great canvas to start on.

weatherall123

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

I installed this set of EDM head/corner lights a few months ago. They look great on the car, but the illumination is absolutely horrible (which surprises me considering people give these headlights great reviews). Since the headlight beam is power adjustable, I'm hoping the poor visibility is due to the fact that they are simply out of adjustment. I'll update you guys when I find the time to wire them up.









I have a spare set of EDM lights, but the glass is completely shattered on one side. However, the power motors are still useful. User HiTec did a great write up on retrofitting these motors onto USDM spec headlights. If anyone is interested in doing this retrofit, PM me and I'll send you the spare motors for whatever it will cost to ship them.

On a side note, I was finally able to check/adjust the valve clearance and install a new timing belt / water pump this past weekend. Everything went smoothly! I'm feeling better now that I know when things have been replaced on the car.

weatherall123

Finally got around to installing the JDM stanley yellow fog lights yesterday. During the installation, I noticed that the EDM power adjustable headlights also have a manual adjustment screw. After a few turns of the screw, my visibility issues were solved!






Since I was already installing the switch wiring harness, I decided to de-pin and replace a couple broken female harness connectors. They are the ones attached to the top of the fuse box, and I broke them when removing the fuse box a few weeks back.

Now, I need your help! I installed the optional audio console, and I'm planning on using the JDM amber pocket as well as a standard open black pocket to fill the space. Apparently, 5th gen civics had two different sizes of black pockets, one slightly taller than the other. I'm in need of the smaller version. Does anybody have a spare one of these that they would be willing to sell? Worst case scenario, I'll use one of the pockets from an integra, but I'd rather find a 5th gen civic pocket because it will have the proper mounting points in the back.

r_Senik

oem lip will set this car on fire.

weatherall123

OEM lip and mud flaps will probably next! How is your FW eh3 coming along?

RotiEatter

iTrader: (1)

Hey, glad you decided to do a build thread man. I still haven't found a Si and kind of feel like giving up on the search.

I recently get a used audio console and I may not use the pocket that came with it. Do you know what size you need? I'm not sure if mine is what you are looking for or not?

weatherall123

Hey, good to hear from you man! Don't give up on your search... the right car will come along sooner or later!

As for the pocket, one is approximately 2.25" in height and the other is approximately 2"... I need the one that is 2". Let me know which one it is that you have, and we can work something out! Thanks!

weatherall123

Installed OEM Civic EX front lip along with OEM mudflaps over the weekend. These aren't the greatest pictures to show the new parts, but you get the idea. My wife (in the passenger seat) recently finished her website and wanted me to share it with you all... Check it out!

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

You know what, it's weird: Site doesn't want to work properly for me in Chrome. Tabs don't update pages. Firefox is fine.

Edit: Had to turn off my pop-up blocker. Works fine now.

weatherall123

Strange... were you ever able to get it figured out with Chrome?

weatherall123

Setting the Civic aside for a moment, I was able to fix an issue today on my Integra that has been bothering me for quite awhile. The crank pulley has had a slight wobble (approx. 2-3mm deflection), which I noticed after replacing the timing belt. The wobble would go away with any activation of the throttle.

Up until this point, I believed that it was the pulley itself going bad, but that wasn't the case! It turns out that the outer drive belt on the pulley was tensioned too tight, thus putting excess stress/force on that part of the pulley. This force caused the wobble when idling. Whoops, lesson learned. I'm hoping that this didn't cause too much (if any) wear on the crank and/or bearings... :/

Here's a pic of my integra for those interested:

SiRBranno

Those 2 cars are gems, subbed for progress

RotiEatter

iTrader: (1)

Damn, the Integra is nice too!


Checked out your wife's site - I wish her the best with her business.

I decided to use the radio piece man. Sorry to let you down, haha. Hopefully you can find another one.

r_Senik

haven't done anything to it after i sold the BYS lip/spoiler back to its original owner.
only drive it once a week since i got an Is250 for my daily duties.

weatherall123

Thank you, sir!

No worries, man! I appreciate you considering. And thanks for checking out her site, she appreciated it!

Awww, well, I hope to see some updates soon!

weatherall123

Quick little update. Last weekend, my computer's hard drive developed the "click of death", which apparently means that a replacement hard drive is almost always necessary. Shortly after this, my cell phone decided to fail on me. Luckily, I make sure to keep back ups of all important files.

If all that wasn't enough, the gauge cluster on the civic developed some issues today - no speedometer, odometer, fuel gauge, temp gauge, turn signals, or clock. No time to diagnose at the moment, but I'm planning to start with fuses, grounds, and fuse box connections.

Rough week. :/

weatherall123

Another quick update. Got some new headlight bulbs installed, and the headlights are now so much brighter! Sooo happy about this because I have horrible night vision.

Still having the same cluster issues only when it's relatively hot outside (>90F). I can correct the issue briefly by reaching down under the dash and 'pulling' the fuse box towards the driver's seat. Doing this causes the cluster to function as it should. Releasing the fuse box will make the cluster stop working again. Again, this problem only happens when it's warm outside.

Installed power windows and power door locks from a 1995 Honda Civic EX coupe. Probably my favorite and most fulfilling modification so far!

Pictures to follow this weekend.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Probably a bad connection after mucking about there doing your PW/PL/PM install.

weatherall123

I was thinking that too, but it all started prior to the conversion. When I installed the power windows and door locks, I physically removed the fuse box and reinstalled it making sure everything was properly latched into place. Same symptoms before and after the PW and PDL install.

RotiEatter

iTrader: (1)

I wonder if the cluster itself is going bad.

I recently put in a low mileage cluster (128k) and the tach was all over the place doing it's own thing. I put in another cluster I had (171k) and it's working perfectly.

weatherall123

I'm definitely leaning more towards a wiring / poor connection issue. 90% of the time, everything functions as it should; only on warmer days do things start to become a little wacky. In addition to various parts of the cluster failing to function during times of high heat, my dash clock also will stop working.

Again, If I put some tension on the fuse box itself, everything will function correctly until I let go. I'm guessing all of the non-working parts belong to the same group of wires, and somewhere along the line is either a bad connection or a faulty ground.