What's up gang...

I'm working on my 1983 Civic Wagon Deluxe. It's a 5sp, 233K on the ticker, and it runs great. Still has AC on it...drives great really. When I bought it, it was dumped...so much so that I couldn't get it in my driveway. The front was lowered in a neat way I thought, which was using DC Integra factory shocks and struts on the factory Civic top hats. The back was ghetto fabulous...

Previous owner was a cool guy and creative, but the car couldn't handle his plan. He flipped all the leaf springs and inverted them in on themselves. He drove it briefly that way then drove it almost 2 hours to me. I drove it maybe 20 miles total before my mechanic pointed out that the leaf springs were totally cracked because of the pressure of being forcibly inverted.

SO...I picked up a parts car, swapped the suspension, and now I sit back at factory height with some blown out struts wishing it was lower. Hopefully through this board I can find some good ways to properly get the car back down a bit.

Here's some pics !

Here's how it looked when I first got it. Looked great, but wasn't lowered properly and rode like hell...cracked leaf springs and all.

















What she looks like today:









The new wheels are Rota RB 15x7 35mm offset..I really like them on the car, BUT that was before I realized Enkei was coming back out with the 92, so I'm planning to run a set of those...

Now I have to figure out which color and what size. I think I can run the 15x8, most likely the black center ones, and be able to roll the fenders a little for a look and ride I'm really happy with.

I've put a brand new windshield in it, plus a nice new Magnaflo exhaust with new piping.

And then...it went to the paint shop !

 

So, it went to Brian's Paint and Body ins Sharpsburg,GA. My friend Brian is a good guy and loves projects that are a little out of the ordinary. There was a lot more rust on the car than I thought, and my friend cut all of it out, plus he shaved the side trim while he was at it. This thing looks so straight in person....










All the doors came off, windows out...all kinds of stuff that I didn't think he'd do for a really nice outcome!

 

And now,

Car is finished with paint. Really looks great and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Brian did an incredible job. It's D-12 tank Green, factory nissan color. We decided to paint the pitted chrome stuff rather than put it back looking half assed. I like how it kind of changed it to more of a prelude-ish look to it.

Also, we started a roof rack, and I like the bones of it, but I'm going to redo it..I wasn't there and my carpenter friend can really make it kick ***. I want it to look more like a VZ beetle rack. Smaller, thinner slats, and about 8 or 9 across.









So it's pretty sweet in my opinion. Now, the car is at Mainstream Performance in Dallas,GA where Charles is working his magic.

Swap is from a 96 Integra LS. He has 33'' of clearance for 37'' of motor and tranny, but he's a magician and got it to work. It now has mounts since this picture was taken. Lots of little stuff to figure out...like trying to keep AC cause it's damn hot down here in ATL in the summers, possible new gauge cluster, wether or not a KiddRacing header will fit...what axles to use since the factory ones are way too long.

I'm super excited that through this project I got to meet a Honda Master in my opinion. Brian Gillespie from HASport has been super helpful and Charles is using the hydro to cable conversion. Sounds like they have a new one that installs a little differently and provides a smoother engagement.



KW Suspension is still trying to figure out what we could use on the front to get this thing down since the struts on this are a little weird. I'm open to any suggestions you guys have...the guy before me used oem DC springs and struts with some crazy washer/bolt action to keep them in. Slammed it and in theory still had travel, but it wasn't done right.

I'm planning now on running 2'' blocks in the back and try to find some drop shocks, as per Old Skool, the old wagon guru, and some generic sleeve coilovers should work up front until we get something really kick ***.

I want to drive the hell out of this thing, and I am married with two kids, so I'm planning on having baby seats in the back, so I need a decent enough ride to not invoke vomiting from the kiddies.

Then, get my recaro's recovered, get a stereo in there, my Nardi Classic wood wheel and NRG QR, and hopefully one of my friends will take it to Import Alliance if it's done in time since I'm sure I'll be on the road, either with NASCAR or Top Gear.

I'm really excited because I just wanted to build something that I could enjoy and have a great time with, and so far it has been just that. I'll have lots of people to thank once it's all done, and I for one can't wait to put some miles on it.

Thanks for looking.
Rut

 

Wow, this car looks to be an interesting project. I'm curious to see it completed.

 

OH, I'm also going to update the lights upfront with new Hella's with H4's in them, and a set of the yellow rectangle 1500 foglights.

My buddy Clay who has a motorcyle l.e.d. company is turning my extra set of tails into a custom set up...I think the way he and I mapped them out they'll be cool and updated, but not too over the top.

I think that's all I can think of for right now...Charles is having to do all kinds of wiring magic of course, and thus far he thinks we'll be good to go to keep the AC, but that's probably going to be a call made once it's all put together.

 

Is this your first crack at a Honda build? If so, be prepared for years of Honda addictions.

 

No, I've been a Honda guy for years...I actually started this one because I was mad that I can't fit in an S2000, so I actually was thinking of throwing in an S2k swap since the rear end uses leaf springs, with a little work on the tunnel, I still think you could throw an Explorer rear end in there, or 4 link it and have a fun little wagon.

BUT I realized that would be a great way to **** 10 g's away, and I didn't have that, so instead, I decided to go with a reliable daily and I could have some fun in.

It was a good time to drive before and it only had 70hp, so I'd have to think this will be a lot of fun now. And I'm certainly not against more power in the future, but I'm just ready to drive it.

 

Looks like a great start.
''KEEP CALM and CARRY ON''

 

Yeah, you're not the only one out there that isn't chiseled enough to be an S2000 driver, I can assure you. An F20 or F22 swap would be pretty impressive in this chassis, though (especially when you consider how light the car really is). However, I fear you'd need to do some work to prevent the chassis from twisting on harder launches. The swap you have planned will definitely breath some new life into the car for your family run-around, though.

 

love it dumped!

 

i knew the car looked familiar from a top gear behind the scenes for top gear when u introduced your project car. good luck with build

 

Cool project!

 

Thanks man! Glad you checked out the videos...We'll have a lot more of those in the future. I want to get a nice one when it's all done.

Swap is coming along great...Charles is the man! Engine bay is going to get painted while it's there, plus he's figuring out axles, gauges and all the wiring as we speak.

I just can't wait to put some miles on her!

 

nice project

 

wow i didnt even look at your sig until integraboy said something, but it is really cool to see you posting this up here. i also saw the car in the behind the scenes videos and actually wished they'd do a piece on your progress on it, but a build thread is even better! i'm definitely bookmarking this thread to keep an eye on it.

love the show btw

 

Wow nice setup there i love it. I myself have an 82 civic 2 door hatch 4 speed. An i love these cars lol. So how much did ur swap cost?? Cause im looking into doing something like that to mine. Also let me know what kind of suspension setup u do when u finish. Thanks

 

hey man just stopping by to admire what you done to the car. turned out nice. i have an 83 wagon of my own. and I just wanted to how much you spent on converting it to fuel injected. because i want to drop a single v in it and hopefully turbo if i have the room.

 

that looks sweet, needs a turbo!

 

This is full of amazing-ness. Subscribed!

 

In for this, I love that car!

 

what a great project!

 

Here's a few new pics...Rear is lowered, new Enkei's are not on yet. Front will be a little bit lower too...

 

Update !

DriveShaft Shop made me a custom set of axles for it, so we'll finally get it on the road.
It's all wired up as a OBD II swap, using an OBDII to I connector, so hopefully Scotty can tune this bad boy at Mainstream once it's back there.
The Yokohama S drive's have been mounted to the Enkei 92's and look great.
I ordered a custom set of springs from Eibach to get a spring rate closer to what we'd want since the first ones I bought were way too stiff. We also used blocks in the back and everything looks great.
Battery has been mounted in the rear in a custom classic cooler ( love this! )
My mechanic Charles Warren, who used to own Mainstream, is finishing everything as we speak. He'll put in my hub, QR, and Nardi wheel along with some other goodies...

Then basically I just need to do a stereo and find someone to recover the seats and I'll be good to go! Can't wait for it to be done!

I'll try to see if I have some progress pics too and upload those later. I'm in LA for TG so stuff is a little crazy.

PEace !

 

Wow, this is too sick. It looked good in those first pictures, especially when it was slammed

Can't wait to see where you go with this! It's gonna like so nice with the new Enkei 92s as well.

 

Wow looked sick when it was slammmmed.. Plz plz plz... Drop it all the way down!!!!