maryanne

Alright, I'm just about to turn 16, and I've wanted to customize a car for quite a while. My only dilemma is I have no one to really help me out. So, my question to you is when did you start customizing your cars to exactly what you wanted, and how did you know what to do.

I need some guidance as to where I start.
I appreciate any help or advice I get.

(Note, I'm more or less talking about under the hood, as opposed to the outer appearance)

eg6ajk

what is the purpose of the car???
street driver / autox king or drag car or all around good handling, street machine

what you open to:
suspension upgrades?
motor swaps?
just bolt ons?

TSX_gurl

ha do like most girls an get their b/f to tell them what to do! j/k but i started out long ago back when i was a lil girl coz of my dad an always being in the garage helpin out. u will get the hang of it just do what u like but just don't get all ricey.... and read lots an lots of mags an web sites to get ur own style


[Modified by civic_hatch_gurl, 8:05 PM 1/11/2002]

maryanne

I want a drag car, however being realistic just a fast, nice handling car.

Basically what I'm doing is this fall buying my own car, (been working my *** off for a nice down payment) and I want it to be faster than your average civic, or what have you. Althought I know everyone has their own personal style, out of the three following cars, which would you choose:

Mitsubishi Eclipse (98-99)
Honda Civic (96-98)
Acura Integra (95-98)

mps9506

Well I was lucky, my dad wwas in the airforce and was a technical engineer that worked on jets. He was also heavy into racing of all sorts, when he was stationed in Japan he did a lot of rally racing, and in america he was into drag racing, was on a pit crew for a drag team also had his own cars he raced down the strip. So as a kid I got to learn a lot about cars.
My first car was a measly Suzuki Samurai, but that was quickly modded with a Weber carb, camshaft, valves exhaust fuel system, gears and then a lift, never got the tires before I sold it, but it was one of few samurais that could smoke 30 inch tires through 4 gears
Then I got my honda right before college. I have a lot less money now than I did in high school, so the mods are coming slow. but they are coming.
My advice is too find people who are into the technical aspect of their cars and grill them with questions, don't get into projects over your head if you are working on a daily driver. And make friends with smart people. You will only learn by doing, and have fun doing it. I have more fun working on my car than anything else, I could care less what anyone else thinks about my car at the strip or any show I would attend.
Out of the three cars you list I owuld choose either the integra or the eclipse. Integra I would get a GSR or an LS spec. edition (I like leather). The LS would get turbo almost imediatly. Eclipse, try to get a gst or gsx. Harder to find but well worth it.


[Modified by mps9506, 10:14 PM 1/11/2002]

maryanne

excellent advice. I appreciate it a lot

There are a few things I will try this summer to allow more basic knowledge on my behalf. (I'm contemplating going to jr. college and taking a restoration course. I think it would help a lot)

Now, do you go to a mechanic and have them do the labor for you, or do you just take the time and do it yourself. Obviously you save a lot on doing your own labor, but which do you prefer?

EH2DX

well, since you're new to this kind of stuff have a pro do it for you. don't play with cars if you don't know what you're doing. my advice to you is following (having in mind you're just starting):
get an older car first and learn on that. find yourself a nice 88-91 CRX or a 92-93 EG. both are great cars and have a lot of potential to build upon. learn stuff on that car, play with it for a while and save money for a newer car.
look at it this way, a lot of people who are new and don't have anyone to lead them in the right direction screw things up. most of the time. so do yourself a favor and get an older car first. you won't regret it, trust me. besides, CRX's are tons of fun, ask the guys at CRX board. if you straight jump for an eclipse GST or GSX chances are you're going to mess things up and waste your hard earned money. i started customizing my first car (89 prelude Si) when i was 16. at first i had no clue what i was doing. i wasted a $hitload of cash on it until i learned my lesson. but people learn on their mistakes, so i moved on. learned some more stuff, did everything myself, had fun. then i moved on to a 95 prelude VTEC. so now, after all the experience with the old lude, i knew what to do. after that i got into hybrids and i own a 95 civic hatch now. every now and then i think about how much money i wasted when i was younger, and what i could be driving now if i saved all that cash..... so do your self a favor and learn the easy way instead the hard way. cars are cool and all that, but its all fun n games until you get hurt or crash your car, or blow your motor because you don't have enough experience to maintain it right and stuff like that. also try to talk to pros before you do the mods, ask them tons of questions. don't be affraid to ask just because you think it would be a stupid question. no question is stupid! read magazines, visit websites like this one, post questions, you'll be surprised how much you can learn. but first thing you should learn is how the engine works. you can easily understand it all, even if sounds or looks so complicated at first. a great website for that purpose would be http://www.howstuffworks.com there you'll find out exactly how your 4,6 or 8 cylinder motor operates, what it needs to function, etc etc. it is a GREAT website for beginers and i highly recommend it. once you understand your motor its easier for you to work on it and modify it. do lots of research, and have fun doing it. just my $.02 on that.
good luck to you.

[Modified by EG6JDMspec, 5:50 AM 1/12/2002]


[Modified by EG6JDMspec, 5:52 AM 1/12/2002]

maryanne

Thank you so much.

I'd much rather save money anyways, rather than jump into debt and in the end have a blown out engine or something. I appreciate your comment, believe you me. Also, the link seems to be very helpful.

Thanks again-

Krow

The crx is an awesome car to start with, I have 2 and they are very fun to drive. You will not be disappointed if you do get one. I started modding cars about 2 years ago when I was 15, I made alot of mistakes and waisted alot of money, but have learned so much in the process. Just be patient and start out slow and learn a few things first, then when you think you are ready move on to a different car. I have also learned so much since I have been using honda-tech you will love the guys on this site for all the knowledge they can provide.

Gong Show

i had the perfect car, a 90 civic h/b. sold it and now i have a 94 teg ls with swap...
wish i would have just searched for a 5th gen hatcy and i would be really happy with my set-up right now.
92-95 hatchy's are perfect cars and well rounded for everything(just stay away from the si hatch(heavy).
with a good set-up on a cx or a crx you will have a fun car. IMHO i think gst's suck, the gsx is cool for the awd.
but dsm have alot of tranny problems, my buddy only had around 50,000 miles and his blew out at the track.
pigtegra's are good cars, but also have alot of wieght. im happy with mine if i can just get the rest of the parts
i want and i know it will be a fun car... but the choice is your's, and as far as shops go. until you learn more about your car
or cars i would let them do the installs. be careful alot of peeps will try to rip you off on labor, and it's not only a female thing.
i've seen it happen to guys too. also you can find 92-95 h/b's from like 1500 on up, and crx's for like 500 on up... more money for car parts...

FifthGearOnline

hey brooklyn park!! twincities reprahzentin!!! hahahahaha

i have only been customizing my car for about 2 years now

maryanne

bitchin. When I actually know what I'm doing we should get together sometime, and you can point out what I did wrong.

Anyways I'm really anxious to start this. I know there's no way I'm going to start with a new car, what's the point of screwing something up when I'd have payments for the next 5 years? haha

Thanks you guys, this all kicks ***.

Krow

Thats the way to do it.

dxlst

i started when i was 16 (car audio install) and when i was 18 i started to fix my civic..coupe..then a hatch..then another hatch.. im 25 and still love doin it!! more projects coming soon!! you better start early and stuff

deepnite

my first project was a 53 chevy belair..back in 1965..drop d in a 327 cu in with a hollie 4 barrel carb..petty ancient stuff now a days

deepnite

just make it safe and reliable...dont nickle and dime urself to death doing *look good* mods..dream what u want and save for ur dream..and in the mean time, keep coming back and ask off the wall ideas and save them up for later use

CivicSiRacer

I started back when I purchased my first car (on my own) a 1993 Honda Civic Ex back in 1996. Started out with wheels and exhaust.

I learned from mostly books, magazines, friends, and on my own and tinkering.

92sleepR

I've been screwing around with cars since i was about your age back in, cough cough,... the 80's I grew up in LA which had a lot to do with it. I've always loved imports and i've had more cars than i can count.

Anyway, like a previous post said, it's important to have a definite goal in mind, All out street terror, track car, drag car, bling bling show queen, etc. All are diferent and some are quite contradictory to one another.

The most important thing though is to keep an open mind, open ears, and do a lot of homework. This board is a good place to start.

P.S. Im a big fan of the DIY school of auto mechanics. It's easy (though expensive) to just take your ride to a shop and give the nice guy behind the counter a laundry list and several grand but it's so much more rewarding doing it yourself. You will also become a very good judge of the quality of work (or lack of it) that other people do and you will be able to spot bullshit a mile away.

Plus you can collect all kinds of arcane tools and impress the hell out of all your guy friends.

Just my 2 cents for whatever its worth

Mike

maryanne

Again, I thank you all for this advice.

Meanwhile, I was just informed the other night that my mom's colleague's husband owns a customizing shop, which will probably be the place I have work done. I guess the big perk about that is two things: He said he'll charge half (although I've heard he's very expensive) on whatever labor, and two he said I can be there the entire time. Whenever I decide on having something done, I'll check with you guys to see if he's charging me too much, or what have you.

Now, I keep hearing about magazines you guys read, and sites you go to. Mind if I ask which magazines you read/subscribe to and which sites you frequently visit?


MaryAnne

BTW- I'm home schooled so I basically lurk here quite often

CivicSiRacer

I say try doing the work yourself. Pick up a car manual How-To book at Pep Boys or Autozone and just read. We can also help you out when you get into a bind I've done it before

xJ.SLOTHx

started with Tamiya mini 4x4's when i was like 4 and worked my way up till i was able to drive and i started working on my first crx when i was 17.

wildstylz

Heres my story, Well...I knew exactly what car I wanted....a civic, i didnt get the model I wanted...but so what. I was 15 when I started, now im 16 going on 17. I've blown motors, had the car stolen, so I know every aspect of the whole world of cars....I got the best out of it, the day I got my honda, I went from shop to shop, hanging out in there, getting to know the guys, then I ended up working in a few of them, now I get parts for close to nothing, hook up my friends, hook my car up for free, get it put in shows as a sponsor for the company, and then they sponsor me right back, and I know enough to get by....Right now I'm in the process of dropping an LS motor, re-built ( at the shop), with a bad *** turbo kit being built onto the motor, and new internals for the motor, a new tranny, ECU, and on board computer by AEM to control everything. all for about 4000.00 The best thing is, Im doing it all with the help of the techs so I learn even more. Start hanging out at custom shops, go to the places where most street racers are, get into the whole jist of everything....You'll learn plenty in no time, and always ask questions, things are always changing....You'll do just fine....


[Modified by wildstylz, 9:25 PM 1/14/2002]

deepnite

i must be one of the oldest import scene guys around, 54...but just about every weekend my sons bud s come by to bull about cars..most of them are into asian imports and usaully one or two have a good knowledge of the upgrade trade..begin to hang out with other s in ur area that have modified imports, go to the shows...and a few meets...sooner or later ur going to hook up with guys/gals that ll be more than willing to help u with labor on ur project..just tell them ur dream

mrmatt421

hey 92sleepr, i got a question for you i got my car and it had a purehonda.xom sticker on it, i was just wonderig if it was ever on the site or not...its a black 96 ex, had tons of metalic purple engine work on it....wit 17" niche shocks on it
don't know if you'll know or not, but i just thought i'd ask

mrmatt421

i ment to adress that post to civicsiracer