zmadren

I just bought a 1991 Honda Civic SI hb. I want to limit myself to $5,000 off updating and fixing. Like HGTV, but with a car. Need some good advice and pointers.

Pros: well kept interior,underbody rust protected
Cons: rear quarter rust, rocker panel rust, some dents and light scratches. Engine overheat(I think it's the head gasket but I have already purchased new timing belt,water pump, gasket, radiator, and thermostat to be changed)

Wants: engine swap in the future but first- suspension, brakes, fix rust, fix dents, paint needed areas, install front/side/rear lips, wheels/tires, update sound system, change or fix worn driver seat, replace windshield.

I want to handle old parts and updating until I can swap engine.

This is going to be a daily driver that I want to be fun and can show off.

Suggestions, advice?

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

First thing's first, clarify if it's $500 as stated in your title or $5,000 as you posted above.

sixstroke

I'm guessing $500...

Fix rust, buy tires: drive.

zmadren

lol I meant $5000

I will fix that

4drEF

$5,000?

Let's see your parts list.
I hope that $5,000 doesn't include an engine swap.

Body work and paint is going to eat $2500~$3000 if done right, but not showcar perfect.
If you can pull this off for much cheaper then it will help a whole lot.

$1000 for "ok" wheels and tires.

The rest of your list isn't that hard assuming you will stick with parts like Konis with GC shock/spring and just a decent stereo update like a head unit (decent bells and whistles like bluetooth) and a speaker update, but not an eye candy touch screen or deafening subs + amps.
I'm figuring $2500 if you keep it reasonable.
$600 for shock/spring
$500 for radio update
$200 windshield
$300 for used DA front brakes + wheel bearings, pads. Hopefully calipers are good.
Rest of $ for your lips, seat, and odd and ends for interior and suspension.

zmadren

Having fun trying to figure out adding pics....

@4drEF Includes engine, (but this is a target price) I have seen B16A's going for $1600-$2100. So that would prolly leave me round 3000-3200. Stereo: all I need is a $100 for head unit, saw a sony one with blue tooth and stereo in. Just decent speakers. Target range for that would be under $400 at least. Bodywork: have a friend that is pretty decent, but I am still going to get quotes.

Soo just a rough pre budget:

Bswap- $2000
Windshield-$250
wheels/rims $800
suspension $800
brakes $300

Leaving $850 for body work. That is prolly not enough I would assume. But anything I could save in above cost would go to the body

zmadren

zmadren

Hopefully these pics are alright. Gives you an idea of where I am starting and the potential

dopesk8er87

that's a nice little si! I have a teal dx and I did some stuff you might want to do. check out my build thread in my sig.

jonGSR

I would sell it and find a rust free clean bodied Si first. I would never buy a car with rust, period. You will spend a lot of your time and/or money fixing the body and paint with the cancer on it.

goo_punch

check all suspension bushings and ball joints. I replaced the trailing arm bushings on my CRX and it made a huge difference!

Freemananana

iTrader: (3)

You probably won't like these suggestions since it seems you just want it to look good, have a nice radio, and have a swapped engine. But if you decide to go the 'performance' oriented route, here are some thoughts.

$5,000.

-$600 Progress CSII Coilovers (new)
-$200 Traction bar (Full Race/Innovative 2nd hand)
-$??? Misc bushings/wear pieces
-$300 Drilled/Slotted Rotors+Pads (new, pick a brand)
-$700 YS1 LSD cable trans (estimate, availability may differ)
-$2,000 Engine Swap
-$700 3" Thermal RnD exhaust
-$75 Fuel Pump (Walbro 190 lp)
-$500 Tune (Dyno, well known tuner)

B20 Block
Wiseco 11:1~12:1 CR Pistons
Eagle Rods
Stock Head gasket
B16A Head
Cams (anything is an upgrade)
Toda Rep header
DSM 440cc
PnP head
Exedy Clutch

I'm not sure if you can get the motor in for under $2,000. You should be able to find blocks cheap, heads without cams cheap, and piece together the rest used.

I wouldn't worry about cosmetics. The car looks pretty good. If the rust is more than surface rust, I'd get a different body. If it is just the surface, grind it down, prime it, and try to get some color matching done. Actually, wait:

$5 Can of black paint for the trim.

Other than that, I'd keep it completely stock looking, even keep those wheels. The coilovers will drop it about an inch or two, depending on how you adjust them.

Car should run 12's all day, make over 200 whp NA, be comfortable to drive, and completely unsuspecting.

EDIT:

$1,000 for wheels and tires is ridiculous. Then again, that's never been my thing.

zrickety

iTrader: (1)

Tires alone can be $400, $600 for wheels is not a lot.
You need to look carefully under the car and see if there is any more rust in critical areas (suspension and bumpers). On the surface, the car looks pretty sweet. You can do most of the body work and even buy an HVLP spray gun to paint it. I did the exterior of my crx for under $500. Not show quality, but held up pretty well over the last 5 years.

zmadren

I have done a decent look, the whole underbody has be undercoated. No evidence of rust in any major areas, other than bolts and exhaust. I cut some of the rust out of the wheel well area and it is not to bad underneath. The plan is to do the body work and paint myself. Might as well embrace it!! Own it. Not going to be a show car, but a fun daily driver.

zmadren

Purchase so far:
Brakes- Stoptech drilled/slotted rotors, centric rebuilt calipers with pads, centric drum and shoes for back with replacement misc parts.

Suspension: Koni yellows, ground control kit with eibach springs, and ground control extended hats. Energy suspension bushing master kit.

Cooling related: Godspeed radiator and 2 slim fans, new thermostat, head gasket, waterpump and timing belt kit.

Misc: B&M short shift with ****, oil and K&N filter. Spark plugs

Got a busy weekend ahead of me. Any suggestions on something I need to check into that might need replacing? New to this

Also, does the transmission just take regular oil?

racin_jayson

You'll be happy with that suspension. Transmission takes MTF fluid, myself and many others run GM Syncromesh fluid and have great results.

4drEF

Doing rust repair yourself is usually a guarantee for rust to come back. Proper rust repair includes sealing the backside of the metal after the panel repair is welded in.

Freemananana

iTrader: (3)

This is true. A lot of people also use Honda MTF. There are still people running the transmissions on the Factory Service Manual suggestion too, which is motor oil. Those are really your three options.

1. GM Syncromesh
2. Honda MTF
3. Traditional Motor Oil

zmadren

That's the plan. I am taking all my interior in the back out so I can seal from the inside. Still trying to figure you out all the spray and stuff I am going to need for this job.

zmadren

Need to find where I can buy this at. Looked for the Syncromesh at Pepboys, no luck

Freemananana

iTrader: (3)

advanced discount auto parts has it.

ghosthatch

this

zmadren

Welp, selling this isn't an option. I am kinda of stubborn and excited for the challenge. Next Honda build I will definitely steer clear of rust, but it wont hurt me to tackle it once. Life is about experiences, so they say.