Little did you know.. I'll get moving again soon. 👍

Thanks! Nothing wrong with a nut and bolt, but brackets from an R clip would definitely be the way to go (IMO.) I'm having a hard time getting what I need, but if you're in an area with multiple importers you'll probably have better luck.

Thank you sir.

Glad you like the thread. Looking forward to the finished product myself.

I got a pair from Hmotors, but they cut through one of the brackets during removal and damaged it. I contacted them and they sent another set.. But unfortunately the second set was not from an R. They swore the car was an ITR-x.. and it was definitely painted NH-0.. but the studs for an ITR strut bar are fully threaded, and these were not. Nuts securing an ITR strut bar to these studs would only catch a thread or two. They offered me my money back, but they had already cut up two clips trying to help me out, so I figured they were more than entitled to the $80 that they charged me for the brackets. The transaction didn't work out for me, but Steve is a good guy and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him in the future or recommend his services to anyone else.

Long story short- I am still in the market and would love to pick them up if they're available. Are you the same guy I talked to on Facebook? I hit him up right after seeing this post and he said he would have to check if they were available or not (which confused me,) and I never heard back from him.

 

Hair salon looks great Still rooting for you with the rebuild man.

 

I sold the shell a few weeks ago. My friend was the one you were talking to on facebook and I had listed the shell for sale on the Honda/acura Facebook group which sold very quick. Sorry.

 

I took the week off and decided that I'm going to spend most of it working on my car. Maybe I can make up for some lost time...

I'm hoping to tackle a few projects while I'm off; replacing all of my hard lines (cut by thieves,) replacing my fuel tank, and installing my suspension to name a few. Once the car is rolling again it's time for paint! I've had most of the parts tucked away for a while now, but the new tank just showed up the week before Christmas.


This morning I removed the old fuel tank. There's nothing wrong with it other than a little surface rust, but as you might have gathered by now I can be a little OCD when it comes to small details. I figured it would be easiest to replace the tank rather than pretty it up, Which is why I've had a giant Honda box in my living room since last week. I finally opened up the box and... ****. It's the wrong tank. After talking to Chase for a few and checking some diagrams I realized that not only does the 98 ITR have a different fuel tank than standard models from the same year, but it has a different fuel tank than the 00-01 ITR (which is the tank I received.) Even better, the tank I need has been discontinued and I'm pretty much screwed.




It looks like prettying up the old tank is probably my best option at this point. I degreased it and called around to a few local shops. Tomorrow morning I'm taking it to one of them to have it painted. I'm going with paint rather than powder coat to avoid removal of the factory applied undercoating, as well as any explosions that may result from putting it in an oven.



Afterwards I spent a good chunk of the day cleaning the undercarriage where the tank usually resides. It's looking pretty good down there.


Next I worked on replacing my hard lines. When my car was stolen the ******** cut my brake lines at all (4) wheel wells. This should have been about as straight forward as it gets, but some genius decided to put their Integra on a giant rack that pretty much makes dropping the hard lines impossible. Somehow I managed to find a a way to lower all of the lines together, remove the brake lines from the group, spin and wiggle the things out from underneath the car and through the rack separately, and finally replace them. The left brake line had a few extra bends in it (probably from shipping) and needed a little massaging to take the proper form. I also managed to clean every inch of the other hard lines and brackets while in process, as well as the portion of the undercarriage underneath them.
Before.. (cut)
After..

What a pain in the ***! It definitely feels good to have it done. Now I need to figure out if any of my other plans are going to be impacted by the fuel tank dilemma. If I don't update again this week, yell at me..

 

That's pretty unlucky about the fuel tank lol.

 

Can't wait to see it when its done! I'm rootin' for ya!

 

Unlucky is right... but I recovered quickly. I picked up my refurbished fuel tank from the local hot rod/ collision shop this morning. It turned out a little glossier than I would have preferred, but I'm pretty happy with the results overall. The guy painted it the same day I dropped it off and he charged me next to nothing.



Thank you sir!

Thanks bro. The wife is pretty happy with it!

 

I've been working on putting my suspension back together over the last couple days. I was going to start up front, but after taking a look at my service manual I realized that the bolts that mount the subframe are supposed to be replaced after they've been removed.. and I never ordered them. Fortunately, the local Acura dealership said they'd be able to get them the next day. So other than paying way too much for some bolts.. problem solved. To keep things moving, I shifted my attention to the rear. I spent most of the morning reorganizing my tools and ripping open little Honda bags, but eventually I managed to get something done. I replaced my ABS sensors (cut by thieves,) installed my rear sway bar, rear trailing arms, brakes, shock absorbers, etc. The only items I didn't get to were installing new brake hoses and mounting the compensator arms. Once again, someone didn't remember to order the bolts they need... By the time I realized it, it was too late for Acura to get them next day. Because of the holiday weekend, I won't see them until sometime next week.

 

Now that is dedication!! Great job and build!

 

Before starting on my front suspension, I decided I would wrap up a loose end. I started working on replacing my strut bar stud brackets a while back, but I never got too far. The little "nubs" left over from where I used my spot weld cutter were right where I left them, and I figured it would be a good idea to get my Dremel up there while I still could.



I picked up a pair of used strut bar stud brackets that were cut from the wheelhouse of a Japanese front clip. To remove the brackets without damage, I basically had to reverse the process I used to remove the old ones. The first thing I did was use the spot weld cutter on (2) welds securing the brackets to the top layer of sheetmetal in the wheelhouse.

These were the only (2) welds in the top layer, but a total of (7) welds secure each bracket. To get to the other welds, the top layer of sheetmetal needed to be removed.



I marked the centers of each weld with a sharpie, and made a divet with a center punch to keep the cutter from walking. I cut through the remaining welds paying special attention not to cut too deep. After the welds were cut loose, Ibroke the bracket free.


More "nubs." Time to get the Dremel back out. Don't worry... the fuel can underneath the spark shower is empty.

That little spot weld cutter is pretty damn cool. I cut (28) holes to break the old and "new" brackets free.. With no damage to the bracket or car! The "new" brackets will be welded on prior to paint.

 

After YEARS of taking this car apart, it feels AWESOME to start putting it back together. Today I mounted the subframe, steering rack, steering column, all front suspension components, and all front brake components. It was a breeze with the car so high off of the ground. I love this rack!

In my parts hoard I found a set of stock USDM 15's that I completely forgot that I owned. My backup-backup-backup set. They're not in the best shape, but they already had tires. Two of them were flat, but after a quick trip to Discount Tire they were patched and filled. I'm happy to say that I have upgraded from a bare chassis to a rolling shell!

This is is as far as I'm going to go before paint. There are still a couple of parts I'd like to pick up before I take it in, and I need to figure out how to get the car off of my rack. I'm feeling very motivated right now and I'm optimistic that I'll finish the car before this summer!

 

The car's going back together!

 

Yes!

 

Hey Built2grind, where did you get the OEM steering rack from? I want to order one but it seems its been discontinued? Or is that your original one but just super cleaned up? Its looking great my friend!

 

Thanks guys!
The steering rack is my original. I almost bought a refurbished unit, but decided to refurb mine instead. The racks have serial numbers that appear to be labeled by year similar to our badge numbers, and I thought it would take something away from the engine bay if it were replaced. Although I suppose I'm probably the only one that will ever see it...

 

Lookin' good man.

 

Great work! I have #98-0833. Always cool to see cars close to my number. Awesome dedication!

 

Amazing work.

 

this thing will be nuts. can't wait to see more!

 

Nice updates and progress.

Wekfest Seattle is supposed to be in August this year too.

Care to name drop the hot rod shop that painted your tank?

 

 

Digging the custom rack holding the itr up.

Sucks on the gas tank

Nice work on replacing brake lines and mounting suspension.

 

Thanks!

 

Thank you.
And thank you.
And thank you..
Working on it. Thanks!
Maybe "hot rod shop" wasn't the best description. I took it to Thomas Collision Center next to the old sub shop by the river. Most of their business is restoring classic cars and muscle cars. I really hope the car is rolling by August...
Yas!
Thanks. The rack has made life pretty easy. I've had a handful of people message me about selling it when I'm done with it. I'm hoping to take the car off of it this week.

 

We want pictures of this bish!!