Vinde

Hello fellow Honda junkies. I recently have picked up a 1993 EJ2 and want to start tossing in some aftermarket parts. This thread is going to consist of parts/mods I will be doing to the car along my car journey (considering its my first ever attempt don't be too harsh)

First off I will say that the car was in pretty rough shape when I picked it up. The previous owner was a very good friend of mine heading out to the marines so I picked it up for $1000 cash. He wanted to get it going and was his project car so I decided to take on that journey and get it turning heads (someday)

When I bought the car it had sat for around with a bare metal hood, no front bumper, minor dings, terrible sanding scratches, awful exhaust rattles caused from a heat shield on the factory exhaust (which got ripped off by my driveway) Thanks driveway.. The panels were all different colors. It was basically moving vomit.

On to the good!

It has a full replaced engine/tranny D15b with several new parts within the engine bay. The swap was done by my local shop by a very good friend. That being said I was very confident in the work quality and have great faith that the swap was flawless. The interior is in pretty good shape and overall it shifts out beautifully the motor idles very quiet and actually pulls pretty decent for a D15b.

Overall the car was a pretty solid buy and I do plan on building it up as much as my budget allows. This thread will be a long journey so lets go ahead and get into it.

Vinde

as you can plainly tell, this baby needs a bumper. Luckily I have a friend of mine with a nice clean bumper. Picked the baby up for 30 bucks!




yay! that was fast. Its silver, bolted right in, looks way better already.

Now that I have the bumper time to do a very awful thing and budget paint this beauty. Rattlecan style. Now before I go any further I am by no means a painter. However I dont think I did too shabby given the materials I have access to and the non existing experience. Lets get into it shall we.










Looking good. Well.. better atleast. Lets see that finished coat #1







Looking tons better, not too bad for a rattle can job I would say considering ive seen much worse.

For the next part I do not have pictures of the wet sanding that went down or any of the build up pictures from coat #2 but the 2nd coat is finally finished and I should have some pictures up tomorrow. The 2nd coat was applied much heavier as I learned a few tips from the beautiful land of the internet and its looking very glossy and very clean (no tiger stripes!!!!) Overall im very impressed, you guys will have to wait to see those pictures considering its 2:44 am at the time of this and I have absolutely no light that will get this crappy camera to even get a glimpse of the vehicle.

Let me know what you guys think. I plan on wet sanding it with 1200-1500 grit and then clear coating it. The car previously (before it had primer on it) was 4 different colors and was awful so overall id say i'm very happy with my results. More to come!

ALSO! Picking up a full N1 exhaust setup as well as a brand new manifold and cold air intake kit to boot. Really good deal so I figured why not start there! If anyone is interested ill post some before shots of the engine bay and the after as well.

bluebomber

iTrader: (2)

Just wanted to mention that the reason the bumper doesn't line up 100% is because it's from a sedan. A proper bumper can be had from a hatch or another coupe.

Not bad for $1000. You should post pics in https://honda-tech.com/honda-acura-2...-here-2485978/

Vinde

You are 100% correct my friend. The bumper came from a sedan that was about to hit the scrap yard, I just couldn't pass it up for $30. Made the car instantly look better

I actually tried looking around scrap yards and friends for a ideal bumper and after a while I just had to jump at this one to hold me off.

As for paint pics I didn't get off work until sundown so that being said I couldn't get any shots of the 2nd coat. I'm also uncertain if I even want to bother with a wet sand and clear coat just for the fact that the dents need to be fixed up before I actually get into real paint ect. Plus the clear would just be more layers to sand through later.. so I am not too sure I will go through with it.

Vinde

Here is my engine bay. Just a good before pic to have as reference for future upgrades ect. Pretty clean if I do say so myself.



And now for the 2nd base coat pictures, sorry for the poor quality and yes I probably should have washed my car before the pictures. (I have a gravel driveway )











I wish all the pics came out as clear as the tail light picture but oh well shes looking good, keep in mind this is with no wet sand and just 2 coats without a clear on top just yet. Lemme know what you guys think! More updates to come

crazyhouse2011

Wow OP. your rattle can job looks way better than mine on my integra! Great work.

S!K TEG

holy moly, that rattle can job looks great!

When I painted mine, I used a Harbor frieght $20 ( i got mine for $10 with a coupon ) and $8 worth of Rustolem from Homedepot. lol

Vinde

Thanks guys! Its my first attempt on paint, the first coat had tiger stripes so I read up on some tips and overlaps ect and tried my best on the second coat, I think by the time the third coat comes around ill be pretty happy with it, still need to hit the dents with some filler but ill be worrying about that at a later time.

UPDATE! Taking the car for an alignment as well as getting some small things fixed up. Brakes/Pedal Squeaks/ect. Not much interesting stuff but just some small things to make a difference in driving it since its my DD. I really want to get everything going 100% before I start digging into suspension/wheels/tires/exhaust the works.

Vinde

Update : Went to my mechanic today, no idea what all is needing to be done as far as brakes/suspension. Looking like a CV axel or some sort. Will have that figured out and checked into tomorrow morning. A red valve cover is coming.. because.. why not right?

Pictures soon.

crazyhouse2011

This is how you do it OP. The paint on this bad boy is a year and 4 months old. It's flaking somewhat, and faded, but for the most part has held up quite well. I just used a sheet of sand paper and sanded it by hand, NO primer, and used high-temp, caliper paint. Two coats, let it dry, then sanded off the lettering very carefully. Don't rush that part. Wrap some coarse 60 or 40 grit paper around your index finger and do each letter individually. You can also use a small flathead screwdriver to help pick off the paint at the beginning to make it easier for your sandpaper to dig through all the paint. Be careful not to let the screwdriver slip, however, as it will dig into the paint onto the rest of the valve cover, and you may end up starting all over again.

purgat0ry

iTrader: (3)

Or just get paint stripper...
Easier than gouging your VC.

ronlikesd

A die grinder with that fitting that makes the awesome design that everyone loves on sheet metal...?

Vinde

Well.. when I was installing my valve cover back on the bolt broke the thread. Ordered a new one and it should be in tomorrow morning, also picked up some new gaskets (found that I had some oil getting into a spark plug)

Gives me something to do anyways. The valve cover is red.. but at the moment im waiting on my parts.

Vinde

Got some updates! We will start with this pic.




painted valve cover red, also replaced all gaskets spark plugs and wires. New oil. Pretty stoked car is running even better than before




New clutch kit going in soon, my clutch is fried almost. The current clutch is probably super old so this should be a nice refreshing experience.

I know its Duralast but ive heard mixed reviews about it, some love it some hate it. I have never had a brand new clutch so im sure I will love it. Plus the only other option would have taken 1-2 weeks to be shipped and work is a must.. sooo I went with it, local store pickup for the win

More "awesome" updates will come soon, just trying to make sure everything is mechanically flawless before going into the fancy mods and cosmetics.. rims on a vehicle without a clutch is pointless right?

Upgrades to come :

Progress CS-II coilovers
Konig Retracks 15x7 (205-50-15's <-- maybe)
OEM esq headlights (my driver amber corner is busted)
New bumper front and rear + paint!
MORE MORE MORE!
Rags to riches..

Thanks for checking it out.

EDIT: Forgot to mention I got new tires.. I guess thats not so important but atleast its something new to talk about
Currently rocking 13 inch steelies.. kill me

Vinde

UPDATE: Clutch kit should be in the car within the next 8 hours.
New battery, new starter. Time to start saving for some good ol Progress CS-II coilovers.

Also, while lowering is part of the topic does anyone know a good measurement to lower to that will not give me super bad negative camber? Id like to keep my wheels as vertical as possible and not need a camber kit until after I get new wheels/tires. With maximum decrease on fender gap.

Norlael

dropping it even 1/16" will change the camber, Progress CS-II are adjustable so when you get them you will have to play with the height to see what you want. also you can get upper camber kits starting at like $50 for a set from ebay, just dont know how long $50 set will last, after all you do get what you pay for...

tollickj

Keep up the good work. Interested to see how this car turns out.

Vinde

Thanks, I appreciate that its gonna take a while. Its also a DD so nothing TOO crazy is gonna happen but I atleast know my direction I want to take it.

Body work is soon coming to get some dents out then a proper spray of black + clear. Should have a driver front quarter panel coming soon, mine is freaking dented to hellllll

EDIT: I forgot to talk about the Duralast clutch, it feels very nice but it is very soft in terms of pressure. It's odd to get used to but after driving it for 2 days its not that bad.
I miss the old pressure from the previous OEM pressure plate but that's about all I can say. My old clutch was down to the pins. Completely fried.

joey1320

Good progress bro!
As far as the camber, as long as you don't go all crazy and you have your alignment done after the suspension work you should be okay. Just make sure your toe settings are in spec.

Also it's call a fender not a front quarter panel - that's for the rear

mateh9

Everything looks awesome man, but the only thing I could see that I would have done was remove the headlights and taillights and tape off the key hole for the trunk lid then paint it. Im picky so that little bit of white coming through the taillights would bug the hell out of me. But everything still looks awesome man. Good luck

Shooshine

Looks really good for a rattle can paint job!
Gonna keep watching this thread!

Vinde

unfortunately the taillights were that way when I got the car, its actually white and blue.. I plan on removing them and using something to strip the paint off of them, as far as the keyhole I don't use it and didn't care for the old nasty look they had so I just sprayed them. The trunk and SOME of the panels were a really awful blue that was very poorly applied via rattle can.

As far as the compliment of the good looking rattle can job. I appreciate it man, its my first time ever painting and its going good so far. I did black over a white primer, 2 coats and before I did the first coat it was really spotty and had tiger stripes, I then wet sanded and hit it with a 2nd coat much thicker, which eliminated all stripes!! The pictures you see are actually pretty bad in comparison to how it looks in person, its pretty shiny for just 2 coats without a clear and wetsand. However, after I sort out the dents and get a proper front and less damaged rear bumper ill be getting a real paint job. awesome perks when you grew up with a painter.

The bad side to it is the previous owner had no idea how to sand to prep for paint so he went down to metal and scratched the hell out of it. That being said you can still see the scuffs through 2 coats of paint. Its getting a complete re-haul when I get going on body work.

I do however appreciate you guys checking it out! It's gonna be a long but DRASTIC change to the vehicle by the end of it. Any tips on some slight increase in performance that are just basic bolt ons ect would be really awesome as well. Nothing too crazy as it is after all a DD.