king grant

So here is the beginning of this story. I bought a 91 CRX SI from a guy in Fontana. I crashed my 07 Caddy CTS about a month prior and needed transportation and had always wanted a CRX. Found the listing on craigslist stating the car had a B18 with no leaks and a clean title. Fast forward I drove it, knew it was gonna be a project to make comfortable but the car seemed to run pretty well so I paid him $1000 and was on my way.

I'll limit this description to the engine troubles I'm having and spare the details of the interior exterior side of things.

So the car has no radiator core support or bottom front support bar so the radiator is held in with bailing wire (tie line). One of the spark plug boots is raised up which I'm assuming is because the plug is too large. Apparently the previous owner did a wire tuck but did a crappy job of it judgeing by the 3 lbs. of electrical tape, the two dozen screwed in wires that have been cut and left, the multiple sensors that are just hanging freely around the engine bay and under the dash. The battery is behind the seat and if your not 5'8 your not gonna fit in the passenger seat. No AC, I believe there is no power steering, and there is a full straight pipe exhaust underneath but a stock air box.

So to sum things up I'm looking for advice on where to start in fixing the hole in my pocket that is this CRX and if anyone can link to a useful post that can help me in any way.

So far I changed the battery over from the stock CRX battery that couldn't hold a charge to an Integra battery that works great. I picked up a radiator core support from the junk yard and will be putting that in tomorrow. I'm torn on the decision to go get the front support from the junkyard as well or if I should weld in a fresh piece of 2x2 steel tubing. I have discovered that there is something wrong in the harness as some of the time the car wont have any power and I open the hood to jiggle the power cable mess and when the radiator fan kicks on I go back to start the car. I'm most likely removing the seats, carpet, and if it's simple enough the dash and rebuild the harness tomorrow. From the posts I have seen lately a Chilton manuel, wire, heat shrink, and patience can tackle the job in a days worth of daylight.

From here I want to throw some sound deadener down to reduce that straight pipe rumble inside the car because without any sounds in the ride yet I don't wanna listen to the sound of wind mixed with exhaust all day everyday. Problem is to get a good deal on sound deadener it's gonna take at least 7 days to get here. Considering fat mat from amazon.com 100 sq. ft. for $100.

Then I've got a handful of misc interior parts from the junkyard that I am using for the base line of some fiberglass work. And moving onto a new hood and fender to pre-game my rattle can paint job which will be flat black with a matte clear coat.

If anyone can shoot me a link for maybe identifying components that will be included with the harness job it would help a bunch. I seem to have a 94 Accord cluster in this pile, the 91 B18A1, and who knows what other surprises I will find along the way. I'm trying to find some tune up parts for the engine (plugs, plug wires, belts, gaskets, and a new thermostat)...Also when I look for suspension parts which vehicle should I use for a reference. Should I use Integra Front shocks, and CRX rears...or all Integra, all CRX. Also will I see benefit from replacing all suspension bushings with Poly Urethane, and will strut tower bars really show any benefit for a normal commuter that can chirp gears all the way through third.

Thanks ahead of time. This board is definatly in my top 3 for most informative so I'm confident I can at least get pointed the right direction.

vtec4thgen

personally I would install the oem rad support for fit and functionality and second I would strongly suggest pulling the engine harness and possibly the cabin harness as well and tossing them in the trash. Go to your local autowrecker, find one that hasnt been hacked and plug it in. Once ricers get ahold of wiring, theres no telling where they will stop with the tape, crimps and scotch locks. Strut bars are a waste of time if they are not paired with other suspension upgrades.

crx_si-r

get the car back to as close as stock form as possible. from here you can continue once the car is back to 100%.

if you need a harness for your car i can make you one. check out my link below.

king grant

I think I hit you up already SI-R...details should be in your inbox

crx_si-r

yea you did. messaged you back

KINGVEM^^ED6

iTrader: (1)

I have a buddy who lives in fontana he can help you pm me for details

NOFX

This is what I would personally do this this car is I planned to keep it. Please keep in mind that I am very **** retentive about the condition and quality of my vehicles.

Check eBay or your local Honda dealership for a shop manual. Used ones might be as cheap as $30. You're probably also going to want an electrical troubleshooting manual, by the sound of it. Honda had both at one point, though I got both of mine from eBay.

So here's what I know from your post so far:

1991 CRX Si
B18A1 swap
- Needs radiator core support
- Needs bottom front support bar
- Needs radiator secured properly
- Needs spark plugs
- Needs wire harnesses replaced/repaired (engine, dash)
- Needs battery put back in stock location
- Full straight pipe exhaust

Let's try to focus on getting the car reliably driving before we address creature comforts.

The exhaust, though probably illegal and you describe as uncomfortable, works for now. I'd put it down on the list of things to do, but it's not top priority. Top priority is making the car drive reliably and safely.

I would stick with just replacing things with used OE at this point and new spark plugs. I'm always a fan of doing a tune up to cars that are new to me asap as well.

Understandably, that harness that's cutting power to the car is the one you want to address first.

Creature comforts (secondary concerns):
- Add air conditioning?
- Add power steering?
- Add sound deadening
- Interior fiberglassing
- Cluster
- Suspension
- Bushing replacement
- Strut tower bars

None of this is currently needed. Focus on fixing the stuff that really matters and use the time to research and learn about the car.

I can tell you I wouldn't personally fiberglass the interior, but it's really up to you.

88LsRex

No crx's had power steering in the first place.
except some EDM and JDM models

NOFX

I wasn't for sure. I specialize in 6th gens though I daily a CRX. I can't imagine they need it though.

king grant

Yeah the steering isn't horrible... I am working on vacuum lines and electrical issues today. I'll come back with an update or two. Thanks NOFX for your projected priority list and it matches up almost identically with mine...only exception being that the cluster is right in there after getting the reliability squared because as of now my Tach goes crazy and the needle jumps to redline about 75% of the time even when I can hear the engine is only around 4500-5000 rpm and causes the car to stutter, and the speedo isn't working, and I can't tell if the temp gauge works or not because it never moved but then again the engine hasn't gotten that hot either. Not to mention the check engine light which I'm hoping vacuum and electrical will solve enough problems for me to at least see codes because now when i trip the ecu it just keep the CEO on solid with no blinks.

NOFX

When I get a new car I always end up making a list of everything I see wrong with the car. Helps when it's in a list. Then you can pick and choose what to do when. At first it always seems like a lot, but then it gets done really quickly.

king grant

Unfortunately if i made that list when I bought this car before I handed the cash over I would have never bought it in the first place. I've now removed 2.5 lbs of electrical tape, uncovered so melted plugs, found out that the corner lights were held on with duct tape...theres rust patches in most of the rear and a 2 inch hole where the spare tire was. If anyone is interested in parts let me know and I'll take a pic of the condition that part is in...Gotta try and get my money back somehow...

B18A1- runs strong and has 80,000 on it.
Decent sounding exhaust- not sure what brand it is but it sounds deep
Headlights are in great condition
All glass with exception of windshield is intact
Hatch shocks are in excellent working order
Some kind of cheap coilovers
SI interior= door panels, all the side wrap for the rear, dash console is intact
e- brake surround from 96 prelude
94 accord cluster- I think it all works but cant confirm the speedo= reads 66000 miles
SI Seats 8/10
ebay steering wheel
radiator core support with radiator brackets
All exterior panels are in good condition except drivers fender and the front bumper has seen better days but everything else is clean and straight

If anyone wants to pick up the whole car I'll take the 1000 i paid for it and eat the rest I put into getting it smogged and registered. Tags are good till september.

king grant

Hopefully the mods here see this as me waving a white flag and giving up on this car and not deliberately trying to sell on this thread. once I get some prices determined and get some parts stripped I'll post in the market place in about 13 days.

NOFX

List it on Craigslist. Easiest place to get rid of something like that. Bump the price up to $1200 because you're going to probably get low balled.

wchowc

so did you finish the build? or selling it? Gotta love these cars from back in the days, but hard to compete with putting in the same money instead of picking up a few decade later car that has a lot more creature comforts

NOFX

Even my great little '88 HF with only 160k miles when I bought it had issues. It needed exhaust work, has a leak in the rear hatch, had the ignition harness go bad (that was weird to figure out...), distributor needed to be replaced, main relay went out, transmission blew up spontaneously, after transmission swap the engine burned oil badly (went to higher geared Si transmission)...

Plus the driver seat still sucks and my speedo stopped working entirely. Headlights leak. Seems I might have another leak in the rear hatch area/taillights area even though I just did the seals on the taillights (didn't do the middle piece though).

They're old cars. Things are bound to break.

EFlove66

By the sounds of it you're in the deep with wiring, lucky you picked the right auto manufacturer to have wiring issues with. Hondas are the easiest cars to work on, and even though it may look like a rat's nest, once you take out your engine harness I assure you it will look much better. First things first. If it's a 91 you'll be running obd0 which is nice (in my opinion). First thing I would do is completely remove the engine's wiring harness. The plugs on the back of the block (coolant and oil sensors and alternator) are tricky to get to but it's not too bad. More good news, you can use an obd0 D series wiring harness if they're easier to find. You'll have to extend the 02 sensor wiring to reach around the back. the plug will be on the distributor side of the cylinder head. Next, cap rotor plugs and wires, and valve cover gasket. Once that's taken care of then address the body harness. start by taking out the dash, radio, and climate control and remove the gauge cluster. I have a civic DX cluster with no tach if you can't find a cluster with a tach. Head to your local junkyard and grab a good harness. Once you've finished that then work on any kind of modifications your heart desires. One lesson I've learned throughout the years is someone else's mess is not a starting point for a build. Factory or bust. Good luck though I'm sure you're capable of doing this.

king grant

Man I wish I could delete this thread now with all these offers coming in. Best of luck to the next guy. I learned through the community and maybe he will too.