Libertariat

After several years of driving around a stock honda civic I've gotten to a financial situation where I can afford to do things to my car. I'm currently working at a local radio station as a radio personality and newscaster and I kept my previous job waiting tables on the weekends.

So I stay pretty busy between two jobs and going to school full-time I'm pretty frugal so I've manage to save enough to do start doing some serious suspension/appearance modifications. Engine stuff will have to wait for a few more years when I graduate college.

SO to get started:

Started bone stock, 2000 Taffetta hatchback unmolested when purchased at 98,000 miles in '06. I drove a beat up family pickup truck for 9 months looking for this car after i sold my civic I owned in High school. (a 97 rice-mobile I bought and never did anything to)

Here's some crappy pictures of it stock. I never felt inclined to get nice photos of my stock civic.







Not much to look at.

So all at one time a month ago I had saved enough to buy

Progress CS-II 350F/350R
Progress Anti-Sway bar 22mm
Konig Runaways 16" (Thanks JLB motor sports for the phenomenal black Friday pricing)
Muteki extended lugnuts
Nitto NeoGens.

The tires perform amazingly over my previous falkens and I've yet to get them to lock up in the rain. Even still I wish I had gotten a summer tire just to see how much better the car could handle, however I think these are the best compromise for an all season tire with the enthusiast in mind. I'll definitely get summer tires when these go.

I even wrote a write-up for the sway bar install:
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/how-progress-22mm-rear-swaybar-install-2874393/


ON THE DOCKET:

99-00 Oem lip on the way thanks to vndsd1 for selling me one. Great guy :thumbsup:
JDMshit Mirrors on the way.
I'll have both of these, the moldings, and door handles paint matched to t he car.

I'm also having my side skirts redone as my DIY job is mediocre at best.

Engine: I'm putting money away each month to save up for an H2b swap. That's a few years off and i plan on doing it with new parts, RMF header, skunk2 pro1 cams/valve-train, and an ITR transmission mated to an h22 from hmotorsonline.com. I'm waiting to get about $5,000 saved up to just buy it all at once and get it knocked out.



Otherwise leaving it alone once I get the suspension/aesthetic upgrades under control then I'll just be focused hard on autocross and saving up for the h2b swap.

Stay tuned for updates here in the coming days/weeks.



EDIT: New pictures. Finally played with the light settings and I think I got it right:

I'm was getting kind of mad that I can't get this $300 camera to take better pictures:












After the finish on the Konigs started flaking in the first week, I grew a pair and bought some Volks and a set of CTR Recaros in the same week:

But before we did that, BrakeExpert and I put s2000 calipers on her and converted to rear disk brakes:



and now the new setup all complete:









Much happier with the look, performance, etc of the new wheels. I could tell immediately driving the car that the wheels made a big difference in feel. They weigh 11.1lbs compared to the Konigs ~21lbs


____________________________________

UPDATE: From this weekend:

Here's a video from points 7!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awICY...el_video_title

Points 10!!

http://youtu.be/u0OyaRnJ76k


Update!! 3/3/2012
Thought since I did it on another thread, I'd post up my build cost so far:

I've saved up $5,000 for the swap, spent $4,620 on parts so far, still going to need $1500 for my custom transmission, and about ~$1000 for labor once the guy installs the kaizen kit, seals, timing belt, does the swap, and gets it running. Getting $1,800 back on my taxes is really a big help, and I just got this 0% interest for 1 year credit card with a $3,000 limit. (I've got really good credit for my age, 732@23 years old)

Here's what I've ordered so far:

Ordered so far:
QSD kit
$750
Thermal R&D Muffler & Vibrant Metal Core cat http://www.fedex.com/Tracking 360885961717872 Estimated delivery Feb 23, 2012
$339
Bronze Anodized Innovative mounts and h22 A/C bracket
$ 490
H23 Bluetop Longblock http://cf.cfmvmt.com/ 405010992 Estimated: 03/01/2012
$1100
Kaizenspeed Balance Shaft Eliminator kit & Kaizenspeed Timing Tensioner
$237
ECU and Harness & 70mm Skunk2 Alpha TB
$400
7.5lb Fidanza Flywheel B-series hydro
$164
New T-Bracket from Majestic
$57
Logic Motorsports High End Tri-Y Header
$400
Axles from JC Whitney
$126.76
K&N RU-4600 Filter and Bpi Velocity Stack
$97
14400-P13-014 TIMING BELT
13405-PT0-004 BALANCE BELT
19200-P13-003 WATER PUMP
12341-P13-000 VALVE COVER GASKET
12342-PT2-000 X 4 SPARK PLUG TUBE SEALS (4)
91213-PR3-004 X 2 CAM SEALS
91212-P0A-004 FRONT MAIN / CRANK SEAL (93 TO 97 MODEL YEARS ONLY)
91212-PAA-A01 FRONT MAIN / CRANK SEAL (98 TO 01 MODEL YEARS ONLY)
91233-PT0-003 BALANCE SHAFT SEAL
15114-PT0-003 OIL DRIVE GEAR/PUMP SEAL
$209
Exedy Stage 1 Organic Clutch
$250
And unless my math got messed up somewhere, = ~$4,620 Again, +$1500 for transmission and at least $1000 for labor on the swap. There's also exhaust work and tuning that need to be done.

Okay, someone can slap me now.

PS. I know I could have saved ~$1,200 by cutting corners, but I decided there were going to be no corners cut in this build.

Edit Went with the $2250 Synchrotech transmission. Custom built, polished gears, MFactory LSD, full synchros, b16/ITR 4.4FD gearing.

I could have skipped the KS balance shaft kit ($100), I could have modded an H22 header instead of buying the best one for the money out there for $400, I could have gotten cheaper mounts($100), I could have saved $300 on the exhaust by cutting corners, I opted for a $50 nicer TB, The velocity stack isn't "necessary" $100 savings, I could have forgone the Timing belt kit, $200, among a few others.

Here are pictures of the car doing Autocross in February 2012








Page 3: for Volks/Recaro purchase 3/19/2011
Page 4: for CTR rear lip painted and installed 4/05/2011
Same page 4, but front s2000 brake upgrade and rear disk swap 4/11/2011
Page 5: Function7 Subframe brace installed the day before my first autocross! Also painted the S2000 calipers red and put on s2000 stickers 4/12/2011
Same page, just pictures from the Novice School. Thanks Trey for convincing me to make it out! I've got the autocross bug!! 4/16/2011
Page 8: Points 7 pictures and video!!! 8/8/2011
Page 9: Exterior/Suspension complete. First "photoshoot" with a $150 point and shoot camera. 12/08/2011 when posted, taken earlier in the fall.
Page 10: Installed new window moldings; Inner/outer. Ordered my engine from JDM Source. 2/4/2012 - 2/18/2012
Page 11: Gearing talk courtesy of Tom (B18C5-EH2) 2/19/2012
Page 12: Video from Points 1 this year. 2/27/2012 Also ordered new tires. I knew the H2B and my eventual suspension upgrade later this year would really push grip levels. (pictured)
Page 13: Quality photos by Perry Bennet for Points 1 2012
Page 14: New tires installed!! Brandon Spangler at Tread Warehouse in Fairmount, GA does an AMAZING job being careful with quality wheels. 3/13/2012
Page 15: Parts collecting at the shop!! 3/15/2012 Header also arrived at the house.
Page 15: Oil pump gave out and the rod bearing went too. Was on the way to DSM Addicted's house, can't describe how amazing Walter is for helping me out on that fateful Sunday. Car gets towed to the shop only 4 days before the originally planned drop off date. 3/18/2012
Page 16: Custom Synchrotech transmission arrives!! Full Carbon synchros, 4.4FD ITR gearing, Mfactory limited slip, new seals/bearings BETTER THAN NEW 3/21/2012
^^Later on down the page you'll see more parts piling up, and some really nice guy (Kris H. Photography) washed my car and snapped a legit photo!!
Engine is also out of the car on the same page, more pictures of parts.
Page 17: for serious game changing progress on the build. Parts being put on, engine in the car 3/26/2012-3/28/2012
Page 18: Engine is in the car, header installed, startup video!! (Also, information on proper belt to use for A/C with D-series A/C compressor 3/29/2012
Page 19: Picked her up with the exhaust installed, had her dyno tuned, adjusted the A/C belt, and drove her to work that night. 3/30/2011

THANKS A TON ROBERT, JAMES, BEN, AND SCOTTY ALL AT MAINSTREAM PERFORMANCE FOR BEING SUPER AWESOME AND DOING A KILLER JOB ON THE CAR.

HatchB16

Nice man good luck with everything, btw what h2b kit are you using?

Libertariat

Not 100% yet. That's one of those decisions I'll make when the time comes. Every kit has it's ups and downs.

NOFX

Hey! I think this might be the first time I've ever even SEEN your car.

Glad to see you're finally starting some modification.

BrownDx

I wish I could have a stock white hatch.

Libertariat

The fiance is off at a bridal expo this weekend and she took the Nikon with her

Promise I'll get some good pictures. I've also got '09 Si seats in the car too I can do some interior shots. Once I clean it out

xSteve_Ox

Nice! I like the plans, sub'd

monEmakindave

it took me years to find my taffeta white cx. picked her up in june

work in progress

Libertariat

Very nice

I drove my grandad's old beat up 88 Ford Ranger for 9 months till I found mine. Still had to drive 300 miles round trip to get him.

YAGYAGAN_JDM

In for this build

Red_Army

ohhh man. after 2 years of never knowing. i know what you got now ek forever! jk.

lookin good. sounds like it'll be a sweet build when all is said and done. im in for it.
kinda wish you drove an EG though just to make your name funny.

Black-Ty [EG6]

nice start.

Libertariat

That would be kind of funny.

305civictyperaw

any updates?

Libertariat

Waiting on my front lip to get here so I can get it painted. Also being painted will be the sideskirts, door handles, and side moldings. In a week or so I'll have some brake lines and brake cables to do my rear disc swap.

Things moving kind of slow, but that's the life of a college kid working two jobs.

I recently bought some stock in BEXP though

exclusive_vtec

car looks sleek keep it up.

TwoFaced

Haha finally...good stuff. I know you'll keep it clean...in for shots of the 09 seats too.

Libertariat

It's been cold and nasty here. Rain all week




I'm also pretty sure I'm going to need to make a paypal dispute against the guy I ordered my lip from.

It's so hard to find a 99-00 oem lip.

Libertariat

Yep, open paypal dispute. No response :thumbsdown:

I hope I get my $120 back.

Now I need to find another lip.

nels00n

sucks man hope you get your cash back

putting the hatch to work haha

ken9

Clean "ek"

D Griff

Nice man, seems to be coming along. Sometimes these builds are the best because you've had so long to think about exactly what you want for the car. Hope you get everything done the way you like it in due time, I'm also a college student working two jobs, I know how that goes!

ciaran_mo

hope to do a build like this when i move over to the states next year! your teasing me now

Libertariat

Thanks man. Working on finding another oem front lip. once I get that and all the trim/handles etc painted I'll get a proper photoshoot

oneEg1Tc

nice