sidewayz2013

--Hello! Never made a build thread, so any tips on organization would be super.
Let's get started!

I got my Civic in about August 2013, just before I sold my old car, a 97 Nissan Sentra GXE 5Spd.



Sometimes I miss it. The Civic started out as a Flamenco Black Pearl, Automatic, oil-consuming, LX econobeast. It had 103,000 miles or so, and as of the time of writing this, it gets crap mileage. It has ever since I bought it, for $1600. It had slight rear and front end damage, but the frame was still relatively straight.

I got it with 17" ADR mystery wheels, and a set of 13 year old, still unknown coilovers, the front shocks being blown.



Let's get started.
The first thing I replaced were the tie rod ends and the axles.



Then all the basic tune up and maintenance, oil, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs and wires. I sanded some of the old faded clear on the trunk, because I told myself when I got this car that I would do more to this than my Sentra. I would try new things. I polished it up nice and shiny:



Then I fashioned up some brackets...





And got some glass hatch shocks from an EG hatch to make a DIY Hood strut mod.



After that, I went to the junkyard for the first time, and damn I was excited! There was so much stuff there! I got a better condition steering wheel, and put that sucker in:



After that, I got under the car, and noticed the subframe looks bent. Is this bad?



Anyway, moving on. I decided to paint my car. I decided to use aerosol spray paint. inb4 bitching and moaning about aerosol, I followed the directions. At first, I did the small stuff:



And got my buddy (and soon to be roommate) Chris to help me out with some of it.



And this is how they came out:



They didn't come out too bad, so I found a really good trunk and a decent bumper at the yard, and sanded and painted those, followed by wet-sanding and polishing the **** out of them.

Sanded:



Sanded:



Primered:



Primered:



Base, 2nd coat:



Base, 2nd coat:



Mom's garage, until I can get my own place. Also primered bumper!



Kinda wet 2nd base coat:



Throughout this whole process, I'd been trying hard to find a low mount sedan spoiler, but I can only find the SI and Ferio spoilers on eBay. So I gave up on the internet. Lo and behold, I finally found a freakin low mount at the yard, and it was either buy the spoiler and have a quarter tank and have to skip a meal, or it was no spoiler, have a decent meal, and 3/4 tank. Being the car guy I am, you may be able to guess which I chose. I mean seriously, who needs food when car?

Painted low mount:



Rear bits all done:



Somewhere in the midst of painting the parts I could take off, I went on craigslist and got a roof rack, of a brand I'd never heard of (Saris):



Then I used it for the first time... a couple months later.



And again to help a friend move:



Now I got a roof basket. It's from Wal-Mart, but it works well for what I use it for, and it was also about 1/3 the price of a Thule or Yakima.



I started painting some Integra knuckles I got at the yard, and rebuilt the calipers. I still need to do the bearings and ball joint. And, my stock LX knuckle, the bottom ball joint just WILL NOT come off. Any tips are appreciated. (EDIT: Got it off, finally!)





Then I made some brackets, so I could put on my roof rack fairing on without it slapping on the roof:





Put the fairing on:



Started disassembling the front end:



Front end all apart...



Could you believe this thing would still pass inspection?



I started primer on the fender:



I mocked up the fenders:





Semi-finished product! My only problem was that the panels weren't aligned. The guy before me hit someone, and threw it all out of wack:



Thankfully, I have a mom. She's decently well off, but she recently got a ton in back child support, about 30 grand. So she paid for my front end body panel alignment. Thank you mother!!

(Needs pic)

Between putting on my painted front end and the panel alignment, I did a big fat dumb... It was raining, and I slid into a ditch. **** happens. I got super ****** lucky, and the only damage was the zip tie on the bumper, and my pride... the people who lived nearby help me out of it with their truck, and I got off scott-free, in a legal sense, and the cop that showed up was a county officer and left it at me having learned my lesson.

Only problem now, was I had a bent trailing arm from being pulled out. I went to the yard and got one, and finally learned how to change a trailing arm. Now I'll know for that GSR brake swap later!

After that, I was filling in small dents on the doors and rear quarter with body filler, and when I was almost done I finally found time to put on my rear end.





I think it looks pretty alright for aerosol.

I filled in all those dents eventually, and primered them as I got them done. I found three days where I was off on every one, except for one night shift that I could get a ride. So I started getting ready to mask. And it took fivever. A full day and a half. But after that it was easy. I started primer mid-day:



Wet paint:



And it's dry!





Now I just have to wet sand and buff and polish. But first, I'm doing a hand painted design on the roof. After that, I'll wax.

As soon as I remember what else I'm halfway through, I'll post an update.

Until then~

tony_2018

Not bad, not my color but you did a good job.

sidewayz2013

Thanks mang. I still have yet to do the right side, and work prevents me from leaving the car at home , and I'm moving outta moms soon, so it may be a bit before that's done.

tony_2018

I'll say this, those rims are probably killing your mpg though.

bri09dac

I'm not a fan of the color but considering you used tin spray I think it's fricking amazing. Anyhow; other than the paint what are your plans for it?

sidewayz2013

I hate them anyway, but I do wonder, is that just because they have a lot of drag?

It's all good, I like the color
To start off, I'd like to do my suspension (control arms, coilovers, subframe brace, and a couple other things), rebuild my Y7 motor and automatic trans for practice and to finally get the MPGs I should, and slowly, SLOWWWLY build a K24 in my bedroom XD

Also, wheels. I don't remember what they're called, but it's 5-spoke, with what I think is called a step lip. I see them on showcar Civics sometimes.

EDIT: Found them!

sidewayz2013

Update!

I forgot to mention a couple of things from before. I got a Del Sol radiator since it was the same price of about $71. The del sol radiator is dual core (or so I've heard) and it's thicker, so I'd imagine that helps keep things cool in this TX heat.



Then, in the last month, I had to get two tires replaced, one due to this:



It still kept air, so I drove home to get my spare and it was still at 15psi lol
The tires were no cost to me because I got them with a warranty at Discount tire. By this point I figured I might as well replace the other two. So I did. New tires, I had a good day.

I've been taking my tint out, slowly due to work and school. I got the right rear window first and the right front second, and though I don't have any before pictures, this is the only pic I took of the after:



When I do the left rear, I can do more of a write up on how to remove and put back the rear sedan windows. Hopefully I can give some good advice.

Then recently I got a CEL, and it pointed me to the exhaust system. I took off my heat shield, and this is what I found:



Right down the middle! So I opted to buy a new part instead of going to the junkyard, and I'm currently in the process of getting a couple bolts off. Those suckers are stubborn.

Directly in the middle:



and on the top left:



I've used PB blaster, let it sit for half an hour and sprayed it again, and still neither of them turn. I think I need a longer ratchet, or a breaker bar.

Anyway, I do believe that's all for now, I hope I can get those bolts off so I can go to work in a couple hours. Until next time~

h2bej6

Cool

sidewayz2013

Thank.

sidewayz2013

Update!

I did get those bolts off, and finished up just in time to get some of the pizza mom ordered. Rad.

No exhaust weeee:



Took out my upstream O2 sensor, came out like this:



I searched and read around, and I learned that it's apparently normal to have white on an O2 sensor. Perhaps not the amount that's on there, but it should look like what my downstream did:



Pretty...
I really should've cleaned the block while I could, but oh well, another day:



So that downstream went back in, upstream got replaced, and I put the new manifold and catalytic converter in, torqued it down in the right sequence, and rechecked it. I went to AutoZone and cleared the code (I did it, because the guy isn't supposed to.), and here it is after a couple days:



Not much noise difference, if at all, and haven't thrown a code, so I deem it successful. Honestly how could I **** it up, it's easy.
I think what I do, is I build up these thoughts in my mind, that if I haven't done something that looks really challenging, I hype it u to be something that will be difficult, and that it'll be something I mess up in at least SOME way... and then when I do it using some common sense, it's super easy.
That's how I am about rebuilding Honda engines. I'm sure I'll be decent one day, but until then it's something I can look forward to.

That's all for today, next time I hope to be wet sanding and polishing my paint and hand painting the roof design. Or I might get it vinyl printed... I dunno, whichever one is proven to last longer.

Also next time, I'd like to have some interior lighting finished, as I've had it on my to-do list for about the last year. Until then, have a wonderful day!

asilva732

Have you checked these guys out?

http://www.elitespoilers.com/1996_2000_honda_civic_spoilers?b=1

They seem to make factory replicas of all the spoilers made for the 96-00 Civics. I am curious if anyone else has worked with them. I am looking for the 99-00 Sedan spoiler myself!

sidewayz2013

Oh nice, I hadn't heard of them. The one I found was a coupe spoiler, and the coupe trunk is flat, not a little curved, and the mounting holes are spaced different but it works well enough lol
Wish I'd known beforehand

asilva732

OK I am little confused. So at the yard you didnt actually find the 99-00 sedan spoiler? The photos of the car now show a 96-98 coupe spoiler?

Sorry for the confusion I am just looking for some good visuals on how each of the spoilers compare. And I want to be sure I am looking at the correct spoilers before making any decisions on which one to get.

deproux

This is a great build thread so far, can't wait to see more!

sidewayz2013

I got the 96-98 coupe spoiler, yes. I can take a pic of how it sits on the trunk, but I have to get home from a pony convention lol...


Thank you, I appreciate it!

sidewayz2013

Update! I done stuff!

Using this write up, and electrical being my forte, I relocated my cruise controls from the steering wheel to the rear wiper switch. But wait! My sedan doesn't come with a rear wiper! Well you see, I went to try and find one off a 5th or 6th gen Civic hatch or Integra. But alas, I could not locate one. I did, however, find a couple of EFs with a (functioning) rear wiper switch. With a... discount, I managed to get it for what the entry fee costs for the yard. (shhh)

The wires weren't exactly the same color, being a couple gens and a model difference from the write up. I just read the wiring diagram and figured that **** out. Pics of the goods below...

The EF switch housing wasn't the exact same as the 6th gens...

EF switch:



EJ Sedan switch:



The EF housing is smaller. But its innards are the same. Here's how to get the switches in pieces I can work with.



The rear wiper controls are just an extra harness add to the inside of the switch.



Inside the EF switch:



So I take the housing of the EK, and the switch and rear side (?) cover of the EF and trim the screw holes a bit...



And it's done!



Just hit the 'wash' function either direction and it Sets the cruising speed. And I also figured out, I only have the Set/Decel function. I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I tried to disect the **** out of the wiper switch without actually cutting it open, to see if I could get the wires for both sides of the wash function separated so I could restore the Res/Accel function... It didn't really work out very well. The switch looks massacred, but it still works. I just need a new one for aesthetics.

I figured since I could only use the Set function, I should do something with the Off/On part of the switch. So I got in some under dash lights I've had for... a year. Shitty pic, but you get the point:




I'm doing some under the dash and front seats (for the same-ish effect in the back seats) that's hooked up to the rear wiper switch. Except there's one thing I wanna add. You know the Dash Lights Brightness Controller? Next to the Main Cruise switch. Yea, that one there... Well, I never use it for it's intended purpose. So I'm going to do something with it. The lights under the rear seats are going to have brightness adjustment.

At first, I disconnected the harness from the switch and jumped the pins on the harness. I blew a fuse, and tried again, and blew another fuse. Sounds wasteful, but I keep extra fuses around, sue me. I figured I can't just connect the wires directly. So I'll put the switch that came on the car behind the dash, and have another OEM one for the rear lights. Sweeeet.

I have yet to implement these things. I'll probably have it done on my next update. If work, school, and living situation allows. Speaking of...

My buddy's family is being evicted from their house for BS reasons. ("Late fees for the late fees that you've just paid off" the landlord says...) so he's gotta be out by next month. He can live at his uncle's for a bit, but it just means we gotta find a place sooner. He's found one, but we gotta look at it still. It's 2Bed/2Bath, a 2-car garage and a yard, because he wants a yard to make look nice. If we got it, I'd get a room in the 2-car garage. I'd get to sleep in there.

Now, before you say it's unfair, I eagerly volunteered (out of my 3 other roomies) to sleep in the garage. I thought about it. If I get a room A/C, and sealed the garage a bit better, I'd STILL get a bigger room than I have now, and I'd get to sleep next to my Civic. That way, I could still build my motor in comfort, in my room like I'd wanted to, but it WOULDN'T be ridiculous. Perfect solution for me. Chris (the buddy) proposed that I could have a "wall" of sorts to separate me from the other side of the garage where I'd store the car. I was like nahhhhh that sounds gay, and he was like lol I knew it you nerrrrd. So yea, I'd be happy in the garage.

Back to the car progress. I don't like the way the grey door panels look. So I tried to redo it in leather, it didn't stretch enough. I tried it in Vinyl, it STILL didn't stretch enough. I finally just googled (that **** is magical.) and the general consensus was that, for door panels with a lot of variations in height, Vinyl paint was the best option. So I did that:

Measuring the faux suede inserts:



Aaaand a decent quality picture of the finished right front.



It looks good to me, but I don't know what to use in order to smooth the paint a bit. And on the right side of the insert, the glue soaked through a bit too much, but the rest looks good. It was the first of four, and it took two weeks, but probably a total of 3 hours, not including waiting for paint to dry and cure. It took that much time because I was trying to be careful. I'm leaving off All the door panels until I get them all done. Three more to go!

Let's see, what else is there... Oh!

I got a famous(ish?) fan voice actress to sign my roof. Because I can.

https://www.facebook.com/BronyFanFai...type=1&theater

She sure is a cutie in that cosplay.

I also got Energy Suspension bushings. I got the front control arm ones at first. Then, in my nervousness, I melted out the wrong bushing. I melted out the lower strut bushing, when it clearly says in the directions, DON'T DO THAT ****. So I put back what burnt remnants were left of the old bushing back in, promptly ordered the strut bushings, and the sway bar end link bushings while I was at it. I have the end links done, but the rest of the bushings are taking a while because I do them at school, and I only ever have so much time at school.

I'll soon post a pic of what I've got so far, then probably replace that with the finished project when I'm done.

I also have another con to go to, so that may also delay updates. Maybe, maybe not!

Until next time, or until I remember something I forgot...

sidewayz2013

One more thing. My A/C compressor sounds like it wants to kill itself. I'm planning to replace it soon, but it's 300 or so for a new one. And with my finances being stretched, I might not be able to get one for a while. I'm thinking I'll get one off the marketplace. Anyone got a good Y7 AC Compressor laying around, that they don't need any longer? Name a price, I'd like to stay under $100, but I am not sure what used AC comps go for.

tony_2018

The weather is nice right now so ac shouldn't be priority. Haven't seen you cruising down mopac, thought you fell of the face of the earth.

sidewayz2013

It isn't too important at the moment, I'm glad its going out AFTER summer.
Honestly didn't know you were local to Austin lol. I work off 2222 and balcones, some days manager, some days driver..

sidewayz2013

Small update.

I changed my distributor cap and rotor, and seafoamed the motor and promptly changed the oil. I was 3k overdue... :/

I also went to the local Acura dealership and got new banjo bolts for the brake line-to-calipers, so the brake swap should take place... probably this Tuesday. Then I start at my new job the day after! I probably won't change the lower ball joint, it honestly looks fine. The bearings are giving me trouble though, they're a bit wobbly on the right knuckle. That's all for now, gotta go to work soon. Until next time!

sidewayz2013

Guys, please forgive this personal post.

Why is it, that when I go to my local meet, my old friends who chose to go the v8 route always have to try to convince me to race, or to convince me to get a v8 car? I seriously don't understand, why the **** does it matter. If its fast, its fast, I don't ******* care how many cylinders it has. I have a slow car because I pay for what I have. I don't have a brand new camaro, or a procharger, or headers, but I also don't have more debt than I can pay off. I make my payments, my finances are manageable, and I have a slow car, but I don't care. It makes me happy.

I'm SO sorry its not to your liking, why don't I rip out my auto single slammer, convert to rwd, get a ******* big block, make it EVEN bigger, and put four ******* turbos on it? Why don't I do that, JUST because you didn't like the way it is? ...I don't know how many times I can tell this ******.
I don't want to race.
I don't want to get a V8.
I am building this car for me, and only me. If you don't like it, please give me ANY reason why I should give half a ****.

Am I not allowed to not like v8s just because? I don't like them. Sure, I can appreciate the work put into building one that's been properly restored. But I hate when someone gets a brand new camaro, mustang, or challenger, doesnt do **** to it, and touts it around like its something special. And what I don't get, is why they have to force their "no replacement for displacement" agenda on me. I'd prefer to surround myself with likeminded individuals who are supportive and offer constructive criticism, not tell me to trade it in for something thats brand new and supposedly "worth a damn."

There was a brand new, SRT10 Viper at the meet, and yea, it was cool for like the first five minutes. But I still spent more time looking at the Hondas, because they are what I enjoy. People put time and effort, blood, sweat and sometimes tears into their cars. No amount of money can replace that.

tl;dr: why do all the v8 guys I know have to be such dicks...?
/rant

If I were to get a V8 tho... 2nd gen Infiniti Q45. Lowered, wheels, cammed, boosted, built in and out... Giggity. I may get one later in life. If it had to be American... It's between the Challenger (for relative low price), and the CTS-V (if money was no object). But I don't like most US V8s.

sidewayz2013

Update!

Got a little more of the interior done. I finished a door panel, and I'm in the process of finishing another.



Mama helped me with my armrest! She's never worked with leather before, and neither have I, but she's been making quilts as a hobby for about 28 years. She did quite nicely for her first time using leather! It looks good, and more importantly feels very nice!

I wanted a bit of padding added to the armrest lid piece, so she used a couple layers of black fabric batting. She glued the first layer on, and used the second layer as a template for the leather. After that, she placed the second layer of batting, then sewed up the leather a bit on the corners. Then she wrapped the leather over the second layer, no glue. Then it wrapped around the edge, and we glued that on the inside of the cover.

Template below:



It helps to have another person to hold the inner piece of the lid while you put the screws in to hold it together. The two short screws go in the center. I put it back in the car after like 15 minutes, but I should let it sit for a bit longer and dry. Too bad, don't feel like waiting!





That's all for now. Gunna try to finish those other door panels and have them on by the time that convention rolls around. Until next time!

sidewayz2013

Hai guise, the time for the updating is now! :D

I got a new job recently, so I attribute my slacking off on my thread to that. Gotta make dat money doe.

First off, I got those door panels on! Finally!!
They aren't the best, but it was my first time doing that sort of thing. And I admit, I could've done better. I used wood glue for the fabric, because I didn't have anything else on hand. And the bottle said 'bonds stronger than wood' so uhhh...



They look pretty good, and besides the normal little surface rubber from my shoe hitting the driver's door pocket, they feel good and have lasted for about a month so far without damage. Hopefully they last a good while!

The morning after I'd put the door panels on, I went to a convention in Dallas called Nightmare Nights. I am a HUGE nerd for the newest generation of My Little Pony. Judge me all you want, just don't be a dick about vocalizing it. I had a TON of fun, I got to see my Aunt and Grandma while I was in town, they complimented my car's progress, (yay family approval!) I took over a panel...


I'm the blue haired unicorn up front, GOD I look like a doof.

... I met a really cool dude who was a furry that I'd met a the PREVIOUS MLP con I went to...



... and overall, it was a beautiful time. There was even a Brony wedding. Hell yea.

Okay, back to Hondas. Man things. Man things. I EVEN LIFT BRO.

At one point, Mom asked me to tie up some f@gs so the trash man would take them away, or take that bundle of twigs (what'd you think I meant?) to the recycling center. She said I could just put them in the back seat. Uh, no. That is not happening, I JUST put these panels in. Therefore, I used my imagination:



I took like two trips, I think.

This is about the point where I started to not do as much work on the car, as it was getting colder outside already. I started having to put up Xmas decorations at work, and I got really bored because I'd finished up my list for the day. I figure... why not have some fun? So now when my drifting friends ask me what the first RWD vehicle I've ever drifted was, they will question my sanity:



Also since I don't own my own place yet, in the holiday spirit I figured this would do just as good:





I think it's cute.

I also went to a local sticker shop in town, and I'm getting some custom stickers printed. But you'll have to wait for the next update to seeeee... or I'll edit this post, because I take forever to update.

Kbai guise~

kcarroll491

[QUOTE="sidewayz2013;49999216" I am building this car for me, and only me. If you don't like it, please give me ANY reason why I should give half a ****. [/QUOTE]

Could not have phrased this any better myself.. amen brotha.. amen... keep up the good work.
#Hatersgonnahate

kcarroll491

sorry this was what I was trying to post...

Couldn't have said it better myself brotha... keep up the good work.
#Hatersgonnahate