I traded my em1 in similar condition (maybe a little nicer) outright for this 97 cx hatch a couple months ago. Hatches are few and far between here in middle tn, so I went ahead and went through with the trade knowing I would be ***** deep in this build, but i'm in no rush and perfection is one of my strong points. This car has been quite neglected and have had alot of negitive remarks about the condition of the car. So we will start with 3 days ago.

This hatch has some, what I call minor damage to the frame rail. This car was in an accident and the frame rail (at the tip) has suffered some of the impact. The previous owner did a hack job on the repairs, so nothing is even. I have taken it to two body shops to get quotes to put it on the chassis machine and pull this front end back to spec. The first body shop (Autobody America) refused to do the work as it is against their "business model" to work on "aftermarket" cars and attempt to correct the hack job. I will, however, add that autobody america has worked on my 05 mkiv jetta and the work was sub par at best, and has been a huge headache to me and I would NOT recommend them for ANY body work. The estimator obviously did not know his *** from a hole in the ground as he said "these kids come in with body kits and are never happy with the final product". He obviously couldn't tell that this cx is COMPLETELY stock with the exception of the poor fitting spoon rep wing.

Because of this moron's remarks and poor business ethics, I took it to a highly recommended shop (however it is expensive) that has been in the business for over 50+ years. Without hesitation, the estimator said "this is very minor, but will take some time to fix the hack job, but we will gladly do it... I was estimated at 4 hours on the frame machine at $60/hr. I gave them the go ahead and set up an appointment for next wednesday Sep 7th. I may have them remove the core support, then do the frame work and replace it with an all new core support (at their discretion).

With that being said, all the negativity has only made me more motivated to continue with the build, and as always c&c is always welcomed.

From the balcony of my apartment

PO cut the stock springs (doesnt ride too bad though) but coilovers are soon to come

Rear shot, spoon rep wing will be replaced

Definately needs some TLC

As you can see, the middle bolt for the fender is about 1/2" off from being threaded. This will require using the hydraulic ram on the frame machine to push and pull the frame rail back in position

Windshield is busted to hell


Until next friday, when it's out of the body shop, no updates.
Feel free to comment until then.

 

 

Thanks.

 

why would you trade a em1 for this? i hope you got cash on top.

 

Nope.
Dont care though.
Both cars required similar work.
Hatches are hard to find here and you will pay a small fortune for a clean one with decent miles.

 

i hear ya on that...sometimes gotta trade thru a few cars to get the one u want...good luck with the build man!

 

Looks nice. Though i don't think the only thing aftermarket on this is the spoiler.. Looks like its been lowered and has a 99-00 front end.

 

As i've said the previous owner cut the springs and did the 99-00 conversion after he wrecked it. It's all oem stuff.

 

Is that wing made out of marshmallow? Looks chewy.

 

Just got word from the bodyshop... he said it would be best to replace the core support as this one is aftermarket, has shitty fitment, and is slightly bent. As well as replacing the panel in front of the strut tower housing. He quoted me $1800 to do the work and replace with oem parts. I am weighing my options on having them just remove the core support, push the frame rail back into position, and rewelding the old core support on as he told me it is 8-9 hours labor to do a core support job. Any idiot would know this is not true. New core support from majestic is only $190 shipped. All I would need to do is clamp on the support,fit it, and weld it. He said he will have the tech put it on the rack and measure everything and let me know what he can make happen. We will see.

 

Had some free time today so decided to gut the rear of the car.
Removed upper rear seats and 6x9's. The brand of the 6x9's was roadmaster (wtf?) and the speaker wire was wrapped in scotch tape to make that good connection to the original speaker wire

Pulled out the guarter panel plastics, grabbed the grease lightning,scotch pad, and shop towels and got to work

My new toy I picked up today for $45 at Lowe's to aid in the cleaning

A little surprise I found under the seat.

Reconditioned the quarter plastics (you wont believe how nasty this stuff got since 1997!!!

Squeaky clean!!!

Installed the newly reconditioned quarter plastic with a few new clips,screws, and what not

Bought a 4x8 sheet of masonite and traced out a new template since mine is warped and all messed up

My hatch carpet is pretty faded and all stained. I plan to dye this carpet black in the next few days


Im also ordering a new core support tomorrow and should have it wednesday or thursday to get the ball rolling on the front end work. Updates later on in the week. Couldnt get a finished pic. It started to rain and I was losing daylight... Hopefully I can snag my brother camera and wont have to use this shitty phone.Also got a new battery from autozone as a spur of the moment deal. I want a yellow top but my battery was completely shot and had no choice at the moment.

 

core support will be in tomorrow.

 

Fresh from the dealership!


This thing is rock solid! no flimsy paper thin aftermarket junk here!

Lemme know what you think...

 

what color was the si ? if it was blue , i wouldnt have done it ..

 

It was milano... Can we stop mentioning the em1? It's LONG gone.

 

lol sorry ; just a big fan of ebp si's so i wouldve felt heart broken lol . but keep the updates coming !! want to see the outcome of the hatch . goodluck with it

 

Locked, per OP's request.