triumph_013

Picked up this hatchback a few weeks ago. It already has a few mods, but the previous owner done a lot of short cuts that will need to be fixed before I do anything else. First, a pic of the car:



Current mods:
B18B1 w/ GSR transmission
4-1 header, straight pipe back to a cheap muffler
Skunk2 coilover sleeves w/ KYB struts
15" Rota Slips
Replica BYS spoiler and lip
Green HIDs in aftermarket headlights
Amber corners

Now, on to the current plans.

Exterior:

It's pretty, from a distance haha. When you get up close you start to notice a few things. The paint and body work, done in a hurry and probably by an amateur. It's supposed to be Midori Green, can anyone confirm this? Doesn't look like it to me. The BYS lip and spoiler, fake. The tags were screwed on, and aren't even center. They also need a little more work to get them mounted properly. The lip sticks out a bit from the bumper, and the spoiler rubs on the roof when opening the hatch.





Notice how off center the tag is? Front is the same way.



I plan on fixing the lip and spoiler by removing the tags, filling in the current holes, and riveting the tags in the proper locations. I will not pass these off as real pieces, I will simply allow people to assume they are real haha. If someone asks, or points out that they look fake, I will confirm that they are replicas.

The front bumper needs replaced, but that probably won't happen anytime soon. I will probably wait until I get a summer job and can afford some power doors and some EK skirts, so I can have them all painted at the same time.

The engine bay was painted terribly. Doesn't look like any prep work was done and there is a lot of over spray. Apparently, the PO wanted it to look like a watermelon (notice the seeds?)





This atrocity won't be fixed anytime soon. I don't have the time or money needed to repaint the bay, so it will have to wait til sometime this summer, or maybe even next summer. For now, I will just have to keep my hood closed at meets lol.



Colored HIDs aren't my thing. HIDs in a headlight not meant for HIDs aren't my thing. So I will eventually be doing a retrofit using Morimoto D2S projectors. I used these in my 4th gen Prelude and loved them.


Suspension/Wheels:

First thing I did when I got it to my shop was put it on the alignment rack. Noticed some pretty scary stuff haha. The drivers side LCA was welded back together. The nuts for the LCAs that are supposed to be welded to the inside of the subframe were broken off on both sides. They cut open the subframe on the drivers side so they could get to the nut. The passenger side, they just welded the bolt in place. I've already sourced a DC subframe, LCAs, and front swaybar that I will be installing soon. I wish I took some pics of the damage while I was under there lol.

The current Skunk2 coilovers and KYB struts are good enough for now. I may end up lowering it a bit more sometime soon, but I need to figure out why the rears are all the way down, and the front still has a good 2-3" left. Did the PO get the front and rears switched? In all of my other experiences with coilovers, the front bottoms out way before the rear.

Eventually I will be upgrading to a better set of coilovers, as well as adding a rear subframe brace, aftermarket LCAs in the rear, and a swaybar. It won't see the track, but will be on the Dragon quite a bit (Google 'Tail of the Dragon', it's practically in my back yard).

I'm not a fan of Rotas, but I don't hate on them as much as some of you guys. They are cheap and look better than some other options out there. But, I will be trading these off for some LS meshes or some blades. Hopefully I can get the trade with some boot so I can use the money somewhere else. I will eventually get some nice looking wheels, haven't really decided what look I'm going for yet. Stay tuned.


Interior:

First on my list of unnecessary purchases will be a better looking aftermarket steering wheel. I have my eyes on a Momo Monte Carlo woodgrain. The current steering wheel is just awful.



There are a few interior pieces I need to replace, and the rest I will be repainting. It was already painted once before, terribly might I add. Again, doesn't look like anything was prepped before they painted the original blue to a black. I will be using this method for removing the current paint, found in the FAQs: Removing paint from interior panels. I will repaint them black, but a more matte, OEM looking black. I will also be dying the carpet black eventually.

When I first got the car the drivers side window was off track. The regulator was also bent pretty bad. I removed the regulator and bent it back into shape, and sprayed the tracks with silicon.


Disclaimer:

Although this is a "build thread", I am a broke engineering student. Everything seen in this thread will be done on a budget, but I will attempt to do everything the right way when necessary. Don't expect a lot of money to be poured into this build right now, unless I get a good internship this summer

Stay tuned, I will be posting detailed pics and how-tos on everything I do from here.

mikekh10a

iTrader: (2)

you have some respectable plans! good luck with the build!

KevinVX

I'm a college student myself. I admire your plans and motivation. Good luck!

gzes

Hs student here n i got no job but hustle.and hage a build aswell. Like the watermellon theme what was the previous owner? White?

triumph_013

Thanks guys

Yeah, original color was frost white

HDSlo...GUY

Besides the engine bay you have a starting point better than what I had myself with my 93 si (it was painted with spray paint when I got it and engine had a nice hole in it). Can't wait to see how it turns out. I just graduated college myself and understand how yeah feel just keep it running!!

ej6fade

I'm a student as well, 20, should be graduating sometime this year with my bachelors haha this is a much better starting platform than I had, I got ripped off by a guy who jerry-rigged the whole car and I didn't know better at 18 with no prior car experience, original repair bill was almost $4,000. I know how disgusted you feel by what the previous owner did. Build as much of it yourself as possible, you'll feel much better about your ride. If you have friends that are into cars or know mechanics, it makes for good times working on your car while having a few coronas

On another note, ALWAYS buy quality parts first, NEVER buy cheap ebay stuff or knock off crap. Not only for the safety reason of some things, but quality is always superior to quantity, regardless if it takes you 6 months longer to save for the same part as someone else. It feels much better to buy the quality part first then cheap parts, only to sell them for 1/2 of what you paid and buy the quality part anyways.

Definitely do the retrofits, I promise you won't regret it! And for suspension, look into Koni/GC or progress cs-II's. Not sure how badly you want the woodgrain, but if you like smaller steering wheels for a bit more fun versus a big wheel, check out 320mm/330mm wheels. Check out ebay for used Sparco/Momo wheels, I've seen them before between ~$40-200.

Best of luck in the build!

triumph_013

Must be nice to be graduating on time haha. I've been in school on and off since I graduated high school, so I'm a bit behind. Just turned 25 and I'm still trying to finish up on some sophomore level classes haha. I plan on sticking with it this run though.

And I know what you mean about quality over quantity. Although this is a budget build, I don't plan on putting money into anything that isn't quality. But, the fake lip and spoiler will stay until I can afford something better, which will probably be a while.

And yeah, I'm definitely doing the retrofit. The current lighting situation isn't cutting it haha. I will probably buy the Morimotos, bulbs, and the amp to D2S connector and reuse the current ballasts until I can afford some better ballasts. That's what I did with my Prelude. And the Koni/GC setup is probably what I will be doing. Again, that's what I had on the Prelude and it didn't let me down. I only want a woodgrain because I think it will look great with the color of the car. I haven't made my mind up on it though, it just depends on what is available at a good price when I finally have the money.

I'm currently talking to a couple guys that are interested in my wheels. One has a set of steelies and is prepared to add cash, I asked for $350 but we will see what his counter offer is. The other has a mint set of blades with almost new tires, not sure if I should ask for cash since my tires aren't even close to being new.

ej6fade

I'm just lucky I was able to jump straight into DeVry right after high school.

If you want simplicity, I would say check out theretrofitcource.com and get one of the kits. I got the Morimoto Mini H1's in my hatch, base cost is about $270 for the full kit (projectors, ballasts, bulbs, etc.). 100% easy plug and play, minus probably having to dremel some of the reflector housing in the e.g.

I love my Koni/GC set up haha, I would recommend getting some sway bars as well eventually, knock out that body roll.

I'm tempted to say blades because I love them

triumph_013

theretrofitsource.com is where I got my first set of Morimotos, and I'm pretty sure there is no cutting required for the EG.

I will be getting a front sway bar for sure. I need a new subframe and LCAs, and I have a friend that has what I need out of a DC, so I will be snagging that front swaybar as well. I will get a rear eventually.

I love blades too, but I also need cash haha. Not sure what I'm going to do yet. Just depends on how much the guy with steelies can add.

ej6fade

I believe with the gattling gun shrouds no cutting necessary, but some of the bigger shrouds might need some cutting of the reflector housing.

triumph_013

I would probably trim the shrouds before I cut the reflector housing

GeneBoydEllis

what size are those rotas and tires?

ej6fade

What shrouds are you gonna get? I <3 retrofits lol

street_racer_271

iTrader: (8)

lol at the watermelon theme, good luck with the build

triumph_013

Not sure what the offset is, but they are 15s. 185/60s in the front, 185/65s in the rear. Looking to change that when I get a chance though.

No idea. I had the Ocular shrouds in my Prelude. I like oval shrouds in wide headlights. I might do the same this time around.

Thanks haha. Once I noticed the seeds painted under the bay, I laughed as well.

triumph_013

Actually, now that I'm looking around at other EG retrofits and browsing through the different shrouds, I will probably use the Iris shroud. I can probably put the flat end of the shroud on the bottom, and it should look pretty good. I'll have to look at my headlights in more detail. Luckily I already have some aftermarket headlights with a clear lens, not sure what brand they are though.

ej6fade

The Iris look good. I got the E-55's cause I am a huge benz fan and love the look of the shrouds. Just make sure to reseal them well and it should be fine.

triumph_013

Now I just have to decide what I need to do. Buy the Amp to Mini D2S upgrade kit for 200, or the Mini H1 projectors for 110 and the Iris shrouds for 40. I already have a pair of H1 bulbs that will probably work with my current HID setup.

92lxsleeper

why does it look like the vin number under the hood has been bondo'd over -__- be careful, you may have a stolen shell.

triumph_013

The sticker in the door matches the title. The vin on the dash doesn't match though, it had a dash swap at one point. Kinda relieved about that though, because the cluster is from an auto I was thinking the car was an auto converted to manual. Nope. Decoded the vin in the door, it is a manual '92 DX. Dash is from an automatic '94 LX.

CX-Adam

If you're putting in HIDs please please please adjust them so they aren't blinding everyone else on the road.

Otherwise, that's a nice car to start on. Good luck. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

triumph_013

It already has HIDs. They are green haha, not sure what temp that is. They are adjusted pretty low though, and I haven't been high-beamed by other cars yet, so I don't think they are blinding. I hate them though, that's why I'm wanting to do a retrofit.

triumph_013

Hey guys, can anyone tell me what the numbers are on the front and rear Skunk2 coilover sleeve springs? The coilovers on my car are all the way down in the rear, and the front still has quite a ways to go. This can't be right, can it? All of my previous experiences with coilovers are vice versa. You think the PO could have switched the springs or something?

triumph_013

Anybody?