The butyl tape arrived in the mail yesterday, so I finished up reinstalling the condensation barrier behind the door panels. Officially 100% done with the PW and PDL install.

 

Subscribed! Wish I found a gem like yours to start with, however w/o buying what I bought, I would have never learned to fix it. Looking forward to reading on your progress.

 

Thank you! I know what you mean when it comes to fixing things yourself. Even though these cars can be a PITA to repair sometimes, there is so much satisfaction in knowing that you did it yourself.

On that note, my cluster issues are solved! I finally had a chance to sit down, look at a few wiring diagrams, and research similar issues online. As it turns out, the 10A "back-up light" fuse was making a poor/intermittent connection whenever it got very hot outside. I swapped that fuse out with a spare, and things are working good as new!

Also, I FINALLLY filled in my optional audio console with a lower pocket from an Acura Integra. Even though it's not mounted using the proper mounting points, it's a sturdy fit, and there are no vibrations. It's nice to have the interior looking complete again!

 

Nice restoration of a classic chassis. Best of luck with the project!
Best of luck to your wife also.

 

Little update. Other than a few little maintenance items here and there, nothing has really changed on the Civic.

It's always had two small dings and a scratch that has slight surface rust on the passenger side rear quarter panel. Repairing this area hasn't been a high priority to me considering the damage isn't that bad. However, it recently began raining in Portland, and I noticed a small water leak going into my trunk area. After removing the interior and tail lights, I found that the quarter panel to tail light housing seam on the passenger side has developed a small crack in the sealer. Rust is beginning to form in the middle of this crack where the two panels come together. Additionally, on the interior side of the seam, moisture has found its way under the interior sealer, resulting in more surface rust.

I plan to take somewhat of a proactive approach and get this area properly repaired and sealed up prior to the rust getting worse.

 

Time for a complete overhaul :-)

 

beautiful si and gsr

 

Haha, I'll probably get a complete paint job within the next year or so. With a baby on the way, my funds are slowly dwindling.

After taking it in for the bodywork, I would, ideally, like to get my JDM interior installed. However, I haven't made up my mind if I should continue searching for an OEM rear seat bracket or not. The bracket which I planned on using is a fabricated one that I purchased from overseas. It seems to be well built, but the fitment isn't perfect. I don't know how this would affect the final installation.

Thank you, sir!

 

Clean build, I'm very jealous of how clean your hatch is. What are your plans for suspension/wheels and tires?

 

What is the problem and how "off" is it? There is some fudge factor built in to these brackets -- as in, they allow for some movement to adjust for variance. At least, the OEM ones do. How did you measure your current ones to figure out the fitment wasn't perfect?

 

Thank you! I have a set of OEM eg6 15" five spoke wheels that I plan on installing once my current tires wear down. I would ultimately love to find a clean set of eg6 optional 'snowflake' wheels; they just don't show up for sale that often. As far as suspension goes, I don't know for sure what route I plan to take. It's my daily driver, so I'm sure it will end up having a comfortable, stock-ish ride height.

Well, the bracket doesn't fit flush to the body contours. I'll need to heat it up and place it in a vice in order to bend the attachment points so that there will be a perfect, flush fit. As far as the height of the bracket compared to OEM, I have no way to match them up.

 

Up until today, there have been no major changes to the SI. The JDM interior brackets have been bent to the correct angles are are ready to be test fit / welded in as soon as I remove the stock USDM brackets. I plan to do this after I get the rear quarter panel body work done.

Anyways, I was driving today, and the car randomly died while at a stop. When attempting to restart, it would turn over, but not start. After about five minutes, it finally started, and I was able to drive off. Then, while driving about 35 mph, it died again. I put it in third gear while coasting, and tried to 'push start' it. Well it started, but acted as if there was no compression. Pushing on the gas pedal resulted no power. At this time, I pulled over and turned the car off. Again, it wouldn't start. After five more minutes, it started again and has been running fine since. It's obviously an intermittent issue, so I don't know how I'll go about diagnosing it. The following threads seems like they will be helpful when it starts acting up again:

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...-fuel-2881049/

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...start-2801692/

On a positive note, I picked up a one-piece JDM long LED rear spoiler today off of my local craigslist. It was a steal for only $60! Even though it's blue and has a few small dings, I'm happy that it is 100% complete with unbroken tabs. Cheers!

 

That is a super clean si I have an eg si 1994 just like yours that I've had for 10yrs and wish I would of kept it all stock and original but cause you just can't find these anymore in such beautiful shape like yours.

 

TBH, I expect these vehicles that have been well maintained and kept in stock or near-stock condition to become increasingly valuable given a bit of time. These are the same beaters that teenagers and everybody and their dog drove to high school in the late 90s and 2000s -- and who later on in life will think back wistfully to their old Civics and 'wish they had never sold that car'. I predict there will be demand for them in the not-so-distant future.

Also, OP: Can you hear the fuel pump prime when you turn the key? Give the area by the main relay a whack, sometimes that brings it back to life after expiring due to cracked solder (common prob). Any CELs? This sounds a little like a bad fuel pump, actually, which I experienced, though it's still early to diagnose.

 

When the car won't start, I BELIEVE the fuel pump still primes, but I'm not 100%. I was just on a little drive, and it randomly died again. After coasting to a stop, I looked at the cluster, and the CEL was constantly lit up. I, then, removed the key, reinserted it and turned to IGN2. The fuel pump primed, CEL illuminated for a short period and then went off, and I was able to start the car. While driving in third gear, it suddenly felt like it was going to die again, but as soon as I felt that hesitation, the car immediately regained power. I then drove 40 miles home without issue.

So strange. How would one go about diagnosing such an intermittent issue?

 

I went out to pull stored CEL codes and got code 15, ignition output signal. Since the issue is intermittent, HELMS states, "Intermittent failure, system is OK at this time (test drive maybe necessary). Check for poor connections or loose wires at c212 (located at right shock tower), c107 (ignition control module (ICM)), and ECM."

I briefly checked the connections, and they all appear fine. After researching code 15, many people solved the intermittent issue by replacing the ECM. I have a spare ECM somewhere, so I'll also try to swap that out tomorrow. Updates to follow.

 

can't wait to see the rear interior
hope you get the shut off issue resolved.

 

I'm more inclined to believe the igniter will go bad before the ECU, but anything's possible. I was disinclined to believe my fuel pump was bad (even though I got good advice on this site) both because Honda fuel pumps are typically bomb-proof, plus my CEL was indicating a bad O2 sensor. Serves me right for trusting the car to tell me what's wrong versus listening to the symptoms. Lesson learned. After the car died and I let it rest (hitched in to town to buy parts), I drove another ~1500km/~1000mi - to Portland, actually - without incident since it started and drove just fine, even though I didn't touch anything at that time.

I guess what I'm going on about here is that the CEL isn't always right about what's wrong with the car; listen to the symptoms and see if they make sense vs. what the CEL is telling you. In hindsight, mine didn't. Intermittent problems are the WORST!

 

You're telling me! Hopefully I will have it installed within the next 3-6 months, but I'm not promising myself anything. There are just too many other priorities right now that need to be taken care of. As far as the shut off issue goes, I may have fixed it today; since it was an intermittent problem, time will tell if it's truly fixed.

I took your advice, Deschlong, and replaced the entire distributor with a known working one. Reset the ECU, set ignition timing, and took the car on a 30 minute drive. So far so good! Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. And I couldn't agree more - intermittent issues are absolutely horrible!

 

Over the weekend, I visited my uncle in Amboy, WA and had him weld in the brackets / seat studs for the JDM rear interior conversion. I followed the installation procedures outlined by both fungus mungus and deschlong; everything went smoothly (thank you both for making the installation as straightforward as possible!). Here are the links if anyone cares to check out the proper way to install JDM rear interior into your Honda Civic:

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...my-eg-2666537/

https://honda-tech.com/appearance-bu...3135134/page7/

I'll be installing the matching front seats, door panels, and long armrest sometime in the near future. Between work and prepping for a baby, my "car time" has been rather limited lately. Anyways, on to the pictures!

 

As I was reading this, I was gonna say when I get my car cleaned out I'll take some detailed pics and measurements of the rear bracket, seems like you don't need them as the install looks like it came out great, nice job and keep up the good work, the interior is looking great so far.

 

Clean! Makes me really want to get an white si too now.

 

Thank you for being willing to take the time to do that! You're hatchback is coming out great; I can't wait to see it when it's complete. The time lapse videos are very impressive!

Do it!

 

Here is a small, but rewarding update. I finally got around to fixing that pesky ABS light that has been illuminated in the gauge cluster over the past year. Since I bought the car, the ABS light has given me code 1-2, which is a pump motor circuit problem. After troubleshooting the issue, it indeed ended up being a faulty ABS pump motor.

Anyways, fast forward to last week when purchased an ABS pump / modulator assembly for $20 from somebody parting out their car on Craigslist. The ABS modulator on my car appears to be in excellent condition in comparison to the one that I purchased, so I opted to dismantle the ABS pump/motor from the modulator and replace just the faulty parts. After getting everything bled and reinstalled, I am on the road again with no ABS light! However, the brake pedal is noticeably more spongier than before, so I'll be doing some more bleeding within the next couple of weeks.

I'm not too good at remembering to snap photos of the work process, but here is one of the final product:

 

Did you also bleed the ABS pump? I believe there's a special procedure that needs to be followed when bleeding the older style ABS pump.