radex7

Hi. I finally felt inspired to start my own build thread dedicated to my recent acquisition. Her name is Bridget, and she came to Humboldt all the way from Stockton. It took me a while to smog that beast, but that is taken care off now. In the mean time I started collecting parts that I thought I was going to use, instead, I have created rather extensive for sale threads, and made two trips to local dump with my Pathfinder filled to the roof with junk. That's finally over.

Now it is time to build it the way I want. Hopefully I will not give up too soon. Here she is on her way home:



And here is she in her current state:


I am planning on doing an extensive wiring overhaul including conversion to Si, stripping off useless features (such as moon roof, power steering, AC), running fresh speaker wires all around, and maybe getting power windows, locks, rear wiper, alarm and what not. But this is where I am at. I wanted a full access to my interior harness so I can work on it without constrains.

First thing I noticed is an extra plug on the harness that I do not recall seeing connected to anything while I was taking things apart (I hope there will not be too many situations like that...). It is located just above ECU.


Later.

radex7

So, the plug in question is an AC connector. I don't think we will be needing that. Pictures will definitely come in handy as this thing gets closer and closer to bare bone.



I started pulling and trying different options for my wire tuck. There is going to be definitely more of that. I also found a nice spot for my ground jumper box.



In case I fail the first time, I have plenty of wires to choose from. I am also planning NOT to purchase a single foot of wire, plug, or terminal although these would come in handy...

jayturboef

should b called Bridget the midget , honda *****....lol

radex7

You are very close; initially I called her Bridget the Beige Midget. ;-)

radex7

Yesterday and today I just played a bit with a steam cleaner, which will quickly become my new best friend. Here is some pics of its effectiveness:







I also picked up a package consisting of 1990 civic ex brake setup. The post office lady doesn't like me as much anymore...

mayfly

lol haha good to see another ef bein built. its ok my mail man hates me too

DCRB

ex brakes ftw!! accept... why oh why honda did you have to use smaller axles on the std!!! nice pick up man. mine need ball joints and a GOOD cleaning and i'll be rocking my set too

radex7

No kidding. I think I am going to include prices with the things I am doing here, as a word of caution for the people who are considering similar approaches to their builds.

mayfly

when u finish bring it to sacto!!! we always got meets going on here. every friday!

macknjack

wow that bay is freakin clean.

radex7

Just kept on cleaning. Almost done with the left side:

EKwreckRLS

looks great, can you post up a photo of the steam cleaner you are using?

Punishment

Looking good

radex7

Thanks. I used this McCulloch MC-1275. It would be much better if it was spitting out steam with higher pressure, but it is still good enough to melt grime and dirt.


On a different note; since I am in the middle of a wire tuck I decided to include a few options to my harness so I don't have to run any wires later. One of them is fog lights harness that I scavenged from an Si hatchback. I was able to get a switch, relay, some plugs but no actual lights. I am trying to wire it all and using some common sense and whatever I come across online. If any of you has wired fogs before - could you take a look at this diagram and see if it looks ok?

The power comes from a headlight 7-pin stalk switch I presume. Thanks

bigluelok

nice and clean

dacrxguy

wiring gram is missing a ground for the coil and power fot the fog ligth switch

radex7

Thanks dacrxguy, I will look into that.

On the other hand, as I am slowly prepping for paint job, I would like to have all of the metal work done. Previous owner of this hatch must have had rear speakers installed just above rear wheel wells, mounted flush in rear plastic panels (completely butchered). For that he cut/bend some metal out of there, and I kinda like the idea of having speakers hidden, rather then mounted on the shelf or in those rear trays. Do you guys see issues with that kind of an approach? I figured I can use sound mats to line the areas but will it be sufficient to stop the outside noise and direct the sound from the speaker?

Thanks

radex7

The winter lethargy is slowly wearing off, and I am spending some time in a garage. Today I tackled the engine bay with my trusty harbor freight grinder to remove this awful seam-sealant that seems to be applied everywhere using proven old method of stick of dynamite in a can of paint. I have bit more work left, especially in the corners, and I have to treat light surface corrosion from battery leak/vapor. Naval jelly should do.

Some spots are sanded down to bare metal, which brings out my question: can I use any automotive primer to cover it up or should I go for something more sophisticated (self-etching primer, glaze?).

Here is a few shots of the process. Click to enlarge.

89LSED

Damn Dude, your really getting into that bay cleanup! Im not going to go THAT far into it, because i dont have the time. But keep up the good work! What motor you puttin into her?
Mini Me for the Midget? Haha

codybuRr

cool build. sub'd

radex7

So it looks like it takes me three months to do three hours worth of work. But I am getting more serious about it. I am still on engine bay prepping stage. I got seam sealer out (for the most part), and unfortunately, with seam sealer I got some paint and primer off, in some places to bare metal. I have never done any body work before, but I am guessing that combination of spraying primer on and sanding surrounding paint down will eventually result in flat, paint ready surface. Can someone chime in here and share some pointers or favorite links?

radex7

Well, I kinda blew it here. I got some quality seam sealer and spread it all over the seams, but the darn thing was so sticky and gooey that it was impossible to create a nice bead, not to mention the fact that I was using homemade gun. The result was pretty much as fugly as the original, so after I waited another month or so, I decided to start over, meaning, scrape this ****, sand down, feather the edges, and prime. Right now I am back to feathering and sanding. Yay!!!

REAPER101

looks like fun good luck

EKwreckRLS

steam cleaner looks awesome man. I would love to invest in one.

89hybrid

Wow you have alot of work ahead of you. It looks great so far though. I am in your area alot on business i would love to check it out some time. I have an 89 hatch that I used to race out at samoa. Have you ever been out ?