crxguy406

Here's my project the day I towed it home. A 1990 Honda CRX (DX) purchased off Craigslist for $400.

The CRX has always been a favorite of mine, and I'm aiming to restore this one as close to "new" condition as possible. The build I have planned will be mostly stock mechanically, yet slightly modified cosmetically. My goal is to build this car for show and street driving, meaning better-than-factory comfort and quiet. I won't be racing this car or tuning it for speed. This will be a complete, inside and out, 100% restoration. I'll be stripping the car down to the bare metal shell, rebuilding and replacing (new) everything I possibly can.

I have a long road ahead of me. Dents, loose shabby (or missing) trim parts, rattle can black paint, hacked up hatch and wing, rust and cancer, stained shabby interior, high-mileage stock motor with over-torqued broken mounts and burning oil.

crxguy406

First order of business, start pulling all the easy stuff off the car.

Sparkles

In fo dis! Hell, that thing looks better already

minimotos95

subscribed, got to love de-ricing build threads

are those meaty all-seasons or are they worn snow tires?

EFR

nice man, good luck with the build. I'll be in for updates!

zrickety

iTrader: (1)

is that rio red? keeping it the stock color?

219

damn 400 bux with a stereo? u got a hell of a deal

crxguy406

Those were decent, all-season tires. They would have worked perfectly on my 84 daily driver rex, but the car had been over-lowered and as a result the inner halves were worn bald.

The stock color was more of a maroon, but my camera makes it look red for some reason. I'll be stealing the stock red color code from my 84, you can see it in the background to get an idea. I hope to have a 1st and 2nd gen twin thing when I'm done.

Next came a more in-depth interior removal. I removed the brake lines, cabin harness and old, hard factory tar pads. I'll be coating the entire interior with lizard skin sound control spray-on insulation. http://www.lizardskin.com/

k20rex

looks like a good start, i like the idea of twin crx's. what motor will you be droping in? i hope to stip mine this far down someday

crxguy406

Pulling out the old crap motor. The odometer was either rolled back, or broke at 18,000 miles, but I wouldn't be surprised if that thing had half a million miles on it.

d16efsedan

looking good so far...!!! subscribed!!

wreckin-rex91

This looks oh so familiar to my current project... Almost the same pics and everything! lol... Great work! What color do you have picked out for the body? I read you were thinking of going red red like your previous gen Rex. That maroon is pretty nice when it is new... Its actually called one of two colors and both are pearls.

I will be going OE color on my CRX. I was going to use the late model Aberdeen Green Metallic but I just saw the OE color of my CRX new on a newer Accord and I think my mind has been changed!

Keep up the work!

crxguy406

I hear ya man, one thing I've never been disappointed in is honda's choice of factory colors. But yeah I'm pretty much set on matching the 1gen's factory red. (Already ordered in custom carpet and some other things which would make it hard to change one's mind at this point.) I'll also be painting the bumpers, skirts and door caps hot rod black. (Also matching the other rex.) Twins!

crxguy406

Here's the replacement ZC motor as it came in. It only has about 26,000 miles on it, and it came with a new tranny, all necessary JDM to USDM adapter parts and a set of larger brakes off a 92 integra.

I'll probably be powder-coating the valve and exhaust manifold covers red, and painting a lot of other parts with black enamel to make match the future color scheme.

Other than the obvious DPFI to MPFI conversion, I don't plan to turbo, chip or wander too far away from stock operation in general..

joexiong

iTrader: (2)

nice restoration! i see a clean 1st gen crx in the pictures too!

crxguy406

This is about the part where I had to remove some glass for several reasons. Guess I'll just re-cap it.

First, the guy who rattle-canned the car black apparently decided to rip out the moldings rather than just tape them off. In order to properly install new moldings, (which were a bitch to find new) you need to remove the glass, fit them, then glue/clip the whole assembly back in. Second, I had some rust and pitting issues under the factory glue, which in turn meant the windows would leak.

1. Use a drill to carefully (without cracking the glass) pole a hole in the old glue.
2. Thread through a length of windshield cutting wire, and attach some kind of handle to hold onto.
3. Take your time and carefully saw through the glue. (Use strong tape to make sure the glass doesn't fall out and shatter.)
4. To remove the residue glue, heat it up with a torch or heat gun and wire brush it away in small sections. (If it cools for more than a few seconds it re-sticks to the frame.)
5. If you have rust, brush it down, prep the surface and spray on some rust-stopper or rust fix.
6. Finish with a coat of automotive primer to seal it. It's now ready sit and wait for glass reassembly.

asianflava

Nice! I am looking for a decent 86-87 Si so that I can have matching cars too! I think it's harder to come by those though. Good luck with the build.

radex7

You did the windshield yourself? That's inspiring. Thanks. Keep up the good work!

KINGVEM^^ED6

iTrader: (1)

damn thats a project

zsoccerdude17

How did you get the tar to come off so clean. I used dry ice on mine and there is still the nasty looking glue spots, whats the secret??

CivicSD

sick build so far. is the green primer or is that the color you going for?

1990edsedan

Subscribing. Nice to see someone else also deciding to keep their engine in a somewhat stock form. Gotta love Craigslist!

crxguy406

For the most part yes, but I did call a friend over to help lift it out. Better safe than sorry.


Again, lots of heat. I used a torch, but a heat gun might work too. The easiest way is to have someone come help you. I used the flame to heat up 2 inch patches of glue at a time for a few seconds. He would then move the flame away and I'd quickly step in with a metal wire drill disk before it cooled for more than a couple seconds. If you can get process down to the right routine, it comes off pretty quick and easy.

EDIT: Sorry I just realized you were talking about the tar pads on the floors. I was pretty lucky on that, they were dry and brittle to begin with and it just took a couple hours with a metal spatula and a mallet. Even then I did end up with tiny specs that didn't come off. If I was going to re-paint the interior it might be a problem, but I'm just spraying this stuff over it anyway. www.lizardskin.com

That's just green aircraft primer with zink-phosphate, I chose it because someone told me that its the best for adhering and sealing bare metal.

90efhatch

Nice work so far, Im in to see more.

crxguy406

Next came suspension removal. This will make it easier to re-undercoat the whole underside, as well as rebuild all the suspension parts. I'm not sure how many miles on are the chassis of this car, but it's a lot. I'll be replacing every worn part that moves, as well as all the rubber parts. (grommets, caps, boots, etc.)

Also, at this point I have engine bay all cleaned out and scuffed up. Just needs a once-over with wax and grease remover and its ready for paint.