chrysler kid

Hello all, starting a build thread for my civic hx.

I have had problems buying and selling daily drivers however I fell in love with my last Honda civic hx and wanted another. **

The hx is known for its lean burn Vtec which under the right throttle and speed settings restricts fuel flow to enter lean burn. My best highway mileage observed was 51mpg on non ethanol gasoline

I had no preference when choosing civic models, I just needed a clean body with no major quarter panel damage, no engine swaps, ac absolutely necessary, coupe and 5 speed. This combination took me 4 months to find the first time, and 6 months the second time, both cars just happening to be hx cars.
With the black car I'm going to be building on a budget. Wife was against this build because I basically had to jump on the deal without telling her



So I immediately texted the owned to see what sort of dented primered abomination he was selling. I was shocked to see this pic.



So being that the owner was less than 5 miles away from my home I purchased the car after confirming the ac worked and the engine was in good shape. The car feels extremely strong compared to my old hx, its possible the silver car had weak compression as I would never get over 36 mpg mixed driving and felt like a dog

Owner gave me a folder of receipts which in unfortunately included a receipt for a low mileage s40 d15b transmission from JDM direct imports motors. However with my commute being only city driving I have found the shorter gearing to help acceleration while still keeping the car under 2300 rpm

I would like a stock intake, the car currently has an aftermarket intake on it

Here it is, sketchy guy I bought it from was strange. I knew he wasn't telling me something but I knew it had a salvage title from light hail damage on the hood and roof. The check engine light was on but the car ran fine besides having 293k miles which were documented with receipts for timing belt and water pump and a JDM d15 trans from that place in Richardson.

Anyways first task was to re align the bumpers. *The back was covered in duct tape to hide a crack. *


Not bad you say. Well after taking bumper off I found this









Soo there's not much I can do about that however everything on the trunk and bumper still line up. Using picture frame wire I was able to mend the cracked bumper. Came out very well except for a spot that is missing




This time I opted to re do the factory lights instead of buying new ones on amazon. They came out very well done and I was shocked at how far the lenses came back with a polish





After a Wash and wax




Might just need to see if I can find a Crv like mentioned, and grab that interior cabin filter tray too

I would really like to be able to have keyless entry which I need a stock head unit for and they are hard to find these days. Maybe I should check goodwill

So the condensor fan wasn't kicking on so went ahead and ordered a new condenser fan. Car runs much better now just need to up the tire pressure to 5 psi over max and I'll be back to getting 38mpg mostly city driving.

Still has black rubber window trim that hasn't flaked off to chrome. Has hail damage on the hood and roof and of course the salvage title but I really take pride in saving this car from the gutter. *Clean cars are so hard to find these days

My knock off front lip should be here tomorrow, yay. I tried to tint the back window myself however it just ended up too wrinkled around the rear defroster tabs and I wasn't able to get a clean cut while working it from the inside

chrysler kid

So yesterday driving home at lunch I had the urge to check the plugs. Cylinder 3 when I removed the plug wire poofed dust and carbon in the air. The plug was not even hand tight and when pulling the rest of the plugs the NGk zr4f plugs had a gap of over .07 when spec is .044 I had gotten 34.3 all city with the ac on with these plugs so I am excited to see what I will get on the new plugs.

I went with auto lite xp iridiums 5244. I know I know they aren't the same heat range however they are not spec listed for the other civic models and are tied only to the hx so I'm hoping they are a hotter plug

Bit of an update I cleaned off the egr system and got rid of the code.

I also got the vacuum gauge installed



I also changed out the eBay filter in favor of a paper style. No specific performance or mileage reason however the oil type filters seem to always leave intakes and sensors in my vehicles dirty. The paper filters do a better job of actually filtering out dirt . *the car came with the intake and I have not been able to find a stock intake system for under 80. The eBay filter had also worn a hole through the bottom of the filter element, as they always seem to, where as the paper style is more rigid and thicker with foam rubberish ends





Also has no effect on efficiency however I stumbled upon a civic clear timing cover on eBay. While not really of any important immediate use I feel this modification will add tons of residual value to keep the next owners involved In this car should I ever sell it





No real gas mileage update, I'm at 200 miles at a half tank of gas. I'll receive the cover sometime next week and post an update



Still at half tank of gas now at 250 miles

Pretty excited about this cover. It is a unique piece, if you image search google there are only 2 pictures of one on a car

Picking up a valve cover gasket on the way home from work and installing tonight

chrysler kid

Yeah so wasn't as easy as planned. The cover fitment was decent but it was much tighter than my factory 300k miles cover

I also broke a valve cover bolt off in the head however it came out extremely easily thank god

Pretty clean for 300k miles


Only a little bit of build up.



Timing belt is a fresh Kevlar. Good to see the previous owner was honest about maintenance*



Grrrrrr



All wrapped up. Pleased with the results, only $20 shipped for the clear timing cover




Took a few pictures of the interior. It cleaned up nicely but was not in bad condition to begin with.

One of my favorite features is the shift light indicator. Before I got this 96 hx I was not aware of this feature. My 1998 hx did not have it and from my readings I thought it was only available on vx models, however it appears the Eco shift light for the sixth gen was only on 96-97 models. It's hard to see but it is a green arrow on the bottom left of the gauge cluster.

The vacuum gauge is actually mounted to the under side of the gauge cluster bezel, so if I ever need to remove it there will be no visible holes

A few of the modifications I forgot to note:
The dimmer switch was faulty, and not repairable. It caused the dash lights not to function. By tapping the power to ground the lights fully illuminate. The dimmer switch was only available on US spec civics. I hollowed the dimmer switch and made it into my fog light switch. (a new oem switch is $80 from Honda, and of questionable status from any junk yard.

I purchased and installed led bulbs for the gauge cluster

I moved the radio to the lower location behind the cup holder to eventually place a triple gauge pod in the slot above the ac controls



Ah the build data, it says dark gray but it has to be the lightest dark gray and bluest gray combo around




Weeeeee!

Cleanest $1500 car ever

I took some random pictures of stampings while I was cleaning the under side of the car. It was extremely dirty, had to power wash the driveway afterwards.

I cleaned the entire under side of the car using a brush and heavy duty driveway cleaner. I used a brush with the concrete cleaner and loosened everything up, and hit everything with a power washer to destroy the dirt. I also cleaned the barrels of the wheels and rotated the tires







No idea what the A stands for, it is one the gas tank and rear shocks and B is on the front shocks*





Bling bling!








Heavy day of sweating !






Not that I ever questioned honda s reliability but it is very surprising to see that this car is still on the factory suspension. It was also odd that the control arms on the front and back, upper and lower, the brake drums, and a few other suspension pieces were all painted black. This was not done by the previous owner otherwise I would expect the front calipers to be painted as well

chrysler kid

Not a lot to post pictures of as of yet. I have my radio located near the lower cup holder and I have been wanting to get a factory radio and a few other misc pieces like trunk panel trim, sun visor, and ex mirror tweeter speakers. I was way out of my normal commute so why not double it and hit the junk yard.

I must say the car requires a lot of throttle to stay above 60mph, feels like it's dragging a parachute.

Filled up before the trip Down town


got to the yard and it was as expected, I would say it is maybe 6 acres and cars are quickly turned and burned for scrap.

All of the sedans were junk inside and Un remarkable. The first car I dug into was a red 98 civic ex coupe. Despite being partially picked it was in the best condition of the other cars in the lot. The yard pulls Un damaged engines and transmissions and "sets" them on the roof of the car. Nearly all of them were ex models with moon roofs being shattered by the transmissions on top of them but this red one was still complete and water tight

I pulled the radio and sun visors from this car




There was also a green ex completely smashed from dropping the engine on the roof of the car. It was a shame the interior and body were all complete but now covered in mud and dirt.

The second car was also an ex with 317k miles. This car appeared to be fully loaded and was also completely intact. I snagged the floor mats and trunk panel out of this one.

Worth observing the transmission on the roof of the white car






and the wiring schematics for power locks





I also removed my tint and installed window visors. The yard was unremarkable with nearly 8-10 civics all having around 178k miles except the white coupe with 317k. Every single car had a red mileage indicator for maintenance needed (a button you push when you change the oil every 5,000 miles. Blatantly obvious oil changes were missed as all engines were considered non responsive to tradition starting techniques.

It was fun exploring but also kind of startling to see how people neglect and mistreat their primary mode of transportation. To me my civic is a point of pride to keep it clean, however to the general population a vehicle is only as useful as long as it requires no maintenance and then it is sold to a cash for cars place like this. But yeah

Got the factory radio wired to turn on, just had to wire up 12v constant and accessories and ground. Couldn't get the dimmer function to work so that the lights come on at night but none the less I have a functioning clock now and have ordered a key fob so my keyless entry will work now





I had to pull the trigger on new headlights and foglights. They retail for $55+ each so $68 shipped is a steal.

I also ordered a 20 pack of #74 led bulbs to complete the hvac lighting in the civic and camaro


Yay

tony_2018

Nice work.

SpeedRacerEX-R

That's awesome! I plan on doing something similar. I'm actually getting the same 95 si back that we had in 1999.

scottcraft

Your car looks really nice.

furious94ls

Very nice, I love my HX 5MT, I had an EX auto before. This one is amazing on gas. I paid $1500 for mine as well with 190k. It now has 208K. Not a day goes by where someone doesn't ask me if I want to sell it.

chrysler kid

Thank you all for the compliments! Cars are my hobby and this civic fits me perfectly as there is always some kink or flaw to fix in my free time

Next on the agenda once the weather clears up is re doing the trunk seal as it has a tendency to leak

My fog light relay went out recently

But i did get my replacement hoses off of amazon and I replaced the thermostat. At now 299k miles the radiator hoses wer all near bursting, and this set was $60 shipped. Surprisingly they say Samco sport on them and they feel high quality. Again this was more of a maintenance modification than a performance mod but it has seemed to make the heater war up much more quickly, the old heater hoses had to be cut off they were so rotted and worn. I'm a bit worried the radiator may need to be replaced soon, but I think this summer will tell me for sure if it has some blockage in it, I've flushed it at least six times now but there is a definite pressure drop from the top hose to the lower

I would still really like to find a stock air box and it may be time for a new set of wires, but maybe I'm being picky about their color not matching

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Best thing to do is report it. Mods don't read every thread. I reported it for you

Looks good. I'm not huge on the clear timing cover, but meh, different strokes.

Fog lights, not auxiliary. Try to pay attention before posting.

furious94ls

If those plug wires are NGK I'd leave them. I put them on my car and it helped smooth out the idle a lot. Luckily I still have the factory airbox, you should def get one because with the SRI, or CAI it's more difficult to get into lean burn mode. The car is coming along nicely.

chrysler kid

Thanks I appreciate it, this site tends to have a few bugs in it to keep post counts high for ibforums

It should be the fog light relay, I spilled a bit of coolant and it is mounted under the radiator support and I figure it must have gotten in there or unplugged.

The clear cover is more for increasing the next owners involvement with the vehicle, and building trust since it does have high mileage. For $20 shipped its a neat little feature

I found the receipts and the NGk wires are 3 years old. The car runs buttery smooth and it's like driving a new car. I have a 2011 ford fusion fully loaded and both of the cars ride extremely well and take the roughest roads very easily.

It's very easy to lean burn in the summer with the aluminum intake pipe as it seems to heat soak very easily, however this winter and In the rain it's very difficult to maintain lean burn. I refuse to pay $60 for a stock one when people use to throw them away

I've had people ask to buy the car many times, then I tell them it has 300k miles and they immediately wince and say oh, wow. But as we all know condition>mileage

furious94ls

Have you searched local junkyards? I believe the D16y8 also has the same intake system.

canadaek

I think your missing the keyless entry module it fits in that large recessed area in the factory radio.

chrysler kid

Nah I thought the same thing at first though. I pulled the radio out of 3 ex cars and they were all identical. The missing piece up top is the security module for the alarm and shock sensor for alarm. Even on base model dx cars they have the receiver in the radio they just dont have the door brain for the module. My keyless entry functions flawlessly

A local junk yard wanted $60 for the air hose and intake box. Literally told the guy he could take $20 or he could throw it in the trash because he had 8 other civics in the yard all with their factory intakes and he insisted on $60 non negotiable so I threw it in the trash can as I left. EBay is the same price

canadaek

Oh cool that's good to know I will have to try swapping in a stock radio and see if I can get it to work on my hatch ( I have power doors/ windows from a coupe installed already )

chrysler kid

Then you just need to have the green plug from the radio harness plugged into the factory radio. There are 3 plugs in my car behind the factory radio in the dash, white for radio, green for keyless and dome light, and another green for the alarm/security option

If you search for threads that I have created you will find a thread where I had to re pin and trace the wires from the door lock control box back into the cabin to the fuse panel. The door plug was all kinds of messed up.

I'm not sure how you wired your power locks but if you have the door lock control module in the drivers side door and can activate the passengers side actuator you should be able to at the very least make your own plug into the factory radio from the factory radio. If you're really lucky when you did the power door swap and floor harness swap you'll already have the plug and just need to get a keyless remote.

I have a remote for my alpine head unit and the factory radio works as a clock and keeps and thieves from thinking I have anything fancy

I bought my honda keyless remote on amazon for $32 shipped from keyless4u. It's a refurb but works perfectly

Heisenberg

Very nice. I will suggest to do a big 3 upgrade, did wonders for my 96. The old wires degrade and being miniscule didn't help. I was surprised with the significant voltage drops.

In the Philippines, an HX equivalence is a VTi, since it has D16Y5 engine. I don't think I'm going out on a limb if I say it's the most famous car here, and compared to other cars of the same age on the streets, almost always well maintained and looks fresh. Until now, I prefer it as my daily driver, sentimental value I guess.

White_EG1

Wow, nice progress man. Clean and simple! I actually dig the clear timing belt cover, theres clear distributor caps also, so you can see the sparks. Keep up the good work!

chrysler kid

Cleaned her up yesterday

tony_2018

hmm...I'm able to get into lean burn no matter the conditions. I can stay in lean burn all the way up to 75-78mph. I have an indicator in my cluster to tell me if I'm in eco mode or not. It seems to kick in when the engine speed is below gear speed by about 30-40%.

My setup is the d15b 3 stage vtec 5spd, with cruise control.

chrysler kid

Yeah the d15b and vx models are not limited to a cruising speed for lean burn.

There were complaints in the VX about the car going in and out of 3 valve mode in city driving and causing customers to think the car had a hesitation or miss fire, so they changed on the hx only to engage lean burn in 5th gear by rpm and vss readings

So lean burn in my car is only in 5th gear from 52-78 mph

chrysler kid

Spent some time cleaning her up with my rotary and some meguiars black wax

Thinking about painting the short ram intake black to blend in a little better

bri09dac

I love it. Looks very clean. What are the plans for it though?

f15Civic

Nice build man, great job on restoring this car condition. I picked up a 99 Dx coupe 5spd with a blown engine, that I am fixing my self to be my DD. This are great cars when taken care of.