danteisme

iTrader: (2)

First i'd like to warn people up front. This will probably be the longest, slowest moving build thread ever. I just bought a house that needs some attention to say the least, so the car will have her turn when i'm sure the roof over my head is secure.

Anyways, here is my story. I'm not sure how many people on here even would remember me. I bought my 96 DB8 with 64K miles on the clock back in the spring or early summer of 2003. put well over 100k miles on the car and then i decided to part ways with her in 2009. i had just graduate college, had a "real" job and the integra with 172K miles on her was starting to concern me. i sold the car, and i picked up a 2005 Tacoma. Well, maybe a year after that i started really regretting my decision selling that car but i was in no financial status to go out and buy another one.

Here is my old for sale thread, you can see all of the hard work i put into her.

http://www.team-integra.net/forum/69...4500-sold.html

This year and some of last year i've been telling my fiance how much i regretted selling that car and how rare it was and how i would never find one again. with our wedding coming up this fall, $$$ is tight so even when i did find something that peaked my interest, reality set in and i realized it would have to wait.

So lets fast forward to this past Friday. I have my usual routine at work. Get in, log in the computer, check woot and craigslist just to see what is out there. For whatever reason, i searched for integra. The first ad that popped up said 1996 Gsr $2500. I started thinking, same year as mine...i should look at it. I clicked the ad and HOLY CRAP. There was my car. I immediately started texting the seller. Sure enough,he bought the car 2 years ago from the guy i sold it to. I HAD to get her back, this wasnt just some other car that i could make like mine. This was my old car. I talked to the future wife, and she said she would be really upset if I didn't go get it. Worked out a deal with a small personal loan, and yesterday i brought her home.

Needless to say, i was grinning from ear to ear all day yesterday lol.

I do have my work cut out for me. She has been neglected and needs some TLC. motor wise though, she runs great. still pushing great oil pressure, no terrible sounds, no knocks etc... 214K on the clock now, transmission still shifts great (noticed it definitely needs new shifter bushings). the body is where it needs the most attention.

Here is a few pics of what she looked like when i picked her up. These are the sad pics...





You can see my tacoma in this one







so as far as my plans, nothing crazy. obviously need a hood and bumper, want to keep it all 94-97. i need to fix the rust, and a few misc odds and ends that were at the end of their lifespan when i sold it 5 years ago.

id like to swap out the rear leather for cloth, i actually sold the car with the extra cloth seat but who knows where that is now.

i may look into putting the power steering system back in the car if i can locate someone selling the whole system.

The car runs great but has a CEL on and it idles high (+/-1200 rpm).

Also, my tastes have changed a good bit since i bought the car when i was 20 lol. i may look into a quieter exhaust (this is the one i had made for the car, but i suspect a leak somewhere) or maybe even find a stock mid pipe and a type r or rsx axleback for the rear.

This won't be may daily driver, but its no race car thats for sure.

Since i have my house to deal with among other projects, i think the first things i'll do will be the free ones. like, clean up the engine bay, remove my ridiculous home made ground wire kit, clean up the interior, change the major fluids, remove any unecessary wiring that the car might have now that 2 other people have owned it, start rust proofing the under side and start grinding away the bad metal in the rears. stuff like that.

thanks for looking, i'm so excited to have this car back in my life again. May sound stupid, but this car holds a lot of sentimental value to me.

so, get ready for the slowest build thread ever lol

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

alright, not necessarily a worthy update but i had a chance today to get a closer look at things. i located a 94-97 bumper today that needs painted. its red now just picked it up for $50.

when i get into the rust removal phase, i'll be removing the front and rear bumper. i see a couple areas that look suspect so it will just be easier with all of it out of the way.

that will probably be one of the first things i tackle, i plan to por15 the entire underside of the car, wheel wells, etc...

and the trim pieces on the doors that support the windows...i think i need 4 new ones. i dont think they are keeping water out of the door properly and i noticed on all 4 doors there is rust bubbles at the bottoms of the doors. i've never tried to fix a door before, i don't know if its worth trying or if its better to just locate 4 doors that hopefully dont have the rust at the bottom. heres a few more pics...

the top end conditions:









this last one doesnt look bad but has the worst rust.



thats not mud that's rust coming through up pretty high on the door.



passenger rear



driver front



driver rear.


the passenger rear is actually probably the worst. i shoudl get a pic of the door open, you can actually break the rust off. is this fixable or should i start looking for better doors?

my younger brother let me borrow a car cover so i can try to stop more water from getting down inside of the doors until i can get this all figured out.

i priced new window trims off an online honda dealer too. not terribly priced

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

spent yesterday afternoon giving the car a good inspection. man, its gonna be a while before she is back on the road. i hate, hate, hate rust.

i'm going to be welding in some metal to say the least. there is a lot of under carriage rust. i pocked around, nothing seems to be completely penetrated with the exception of the one rear quarter and the one part up under the drivers side front fender. that spot is bad. i may re-position the car and start dissassembly to get get ready for treating this mess of rust. i'll end up pulling the exhaust, steering knuckles, coil assemblies, control arms if i can, front and rear bumpers, and hopefully drop the gas tank. then i'll start treating this cancer.

the rear metal bumper support is completely eaten away to nothing, it looks like a shark got back there.

under the hood is ridiculous, it was definitely not like this when i sold it.

oh, and they re-routed the brake lines i think.. dont the brake lines on these cars travel in the cavity above the exhaust?

i also checked the CEL. i just used the jumper wire method, i dont have access to a code scanner. its putting out code 67 for the CEL and 12 for the ABS light.

my ITR manifold and valve cover need some attention



i'm sure this is suppsoed to be plugged in to something... you can also see they did something with my p/s removal? i used to have i think it was hondatech member padawan(?)'s kit. really nice kit, nice small reservoir. i dunno what is going on here.....


probably needs a cam seal, and the vtec solenoid wire fell off when i brushed up against it.


rust bubble coming through by the drivers tailight


for the most part his looks ok. i'll be taking out these skunk 2s and put in stock ones. i dont need the skunk 2s with ITR coil springs.



re-located brake lines??


and the first spot that needs a metal patch. its ugly.



wheel wells need a good scrubbing before i apply the chassis saver


What did they use to coat this car from the factory? with the exception of a few spots where something broke throuhg, the majority of these areas under the car are fine



rusty hook



bumper support is getting rustier as we go up..



bam! need a new one of these for sure, hope they are still available



i was definitely glad to see these spots looking very solid.



one of the three seized calipers...this rotor has seen much better days



i attempted getting a picture of the rust spot on the rear driver's quarter. its not terrible.



same spot



this is in the center channel where the exhaust goes and the brake lines are supposed to be



this looks worse than it is i think. the metal is all solid, the shifter is super loose. not sure if its the actual shifter or if the bushings are shot



again i'd say 75% of the underside looks like this



passenger front, i think the control arm has seen better days, its solid but i hate rust



rust in the exact same spot as the driver's side, guys up in the north east that drive your cars all year round, pull your wheel liners and check this spot before it looks like this!!!



other than that, this is looking like a good spot



alright, now onto the worst parts of the car, the passenger rear. there is one area back here that has me worried, not 100% sure how i will address this. open to ideas.

rear passenger 1/4 - not super concerned here.





the rest behind it looks good



i'm not sure if this will come off, i think i'll need a few gallons of pb blaster



ehhh, not great but i'll work with it



this spot has me pretty worried. it seems solid, i couldnt poke through it but its really bad in this back corner. i hope roughing this up with a wire brush and then hitting it with the chassis saver puts a stop to it. i'm afraid to take a grinder to this spot, that metal probably isnt the thickes to begin with. any suggestions?



so this is where i'm at now. i've already assumed this car will not be back on the road this year, i've got a lot of work ahead of me just in the chassis prep and repair let alone fixing all of the stuff the other owners did. i intend to save my car!

B_Swapped93

If you plan on saving the car buy a good welder! the amount you'd pay to have someone do all that would be well over the price of a decent MIG welder. My integra doesn't have rust but I do a TON of custom fabrication on things, I've easily shelled out what a good welder costs just in having ppl do it for me at $20-40 a go. My most recent need for one was with my JDM front conversion, luckily I had a friend that welds so I borrowed his it's easier then you think. I've dealt with medium body work and the only parts I'd say will be hard are the front wheel arch that is part of the frame and the rear where the body meets the floor area if you want to keep it stock. Now if you're open to the idea of custom fab then it's easy and neat what you can do with a good welder! I suggest a plasma cutter also I do have one and it's alot nicer then a angel grinder. Really cool how you found it again after those years good luck on your integra

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

thanks i appreciate the tips! my buddy is a welder so he is going to give me a hand with this. i'm going all out i think, i'm going to grind those areas that are real bad and if they need re-welded then so be it. my main concern is those couple areas on the underside, he's fixed quarters on hondas before so i'm not too worried with those. hopefully i'll be able to get started in a couple of weeks. i'm excited, but at the same time i'm worried what happens if i cant save her.

if i can pull this off, this car will never see another winter again lol

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

like i said, the small cheap and easy updates first lol.

i removed the ground wire kit i made for the car like 10 years ago, i removed the damaged bumper, the side skirts, took the trunk pieces out, removed the rear strut bar, and i think i narrowed down the coolant leak. i think....it leaks with the car not running so its nothing pressurized. its runing down the side and the backside of the block. the upper rad hose is part of the problem, not sure with the rear.

from the guy getting brake checked (hence the damage to the bumper and hood) after i took off the front bumper cover i found some twisted up damage. this will not be fun to straighten out...

also, i think i'm missing some important bolts??

anyways, on to the pics

this is why i'm keeping the stock color on the car..love this green


is there a good way to fix this? vtec solenoid wiring



here is the mount on the tranny side, see this hole that has threads down in it....is there supposed to be bolts here?? the one just across from it is the same way, not bolts...



everything out of the trunk! need to locate my leaking water source in here...





mangled up bumper off... they ruined my jdmshit type r lip...its all cracked up. i've been out of the game for a while, do they still exist? where can i pick up another one? i think the one from jdmshit was around 120 or so

still have to remove the jdm fogs and put them on the other bumper cover i picked up.



making a mess in my driveway, you can see where the bumper cover mounts to the rad support it is tweaked a bit



heres a little better pics of where she's tweaked. need to do some massive clean up in here. not sure if i want to redo the valve cover in the wrinkle red again or just the factory style black wrinkle





here is where the coolant is puddling on the backside of the motor



and this is where i ended up for the day...maybe the weekend.

GagnarTheUnruly

iTrader: (3)

Wow you have some major work to do! Super cool to see you reunited with your old db8

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

some progress, i'll post more pics later

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

so yesterday's job was to start getting ready for the rust treatment, which is basically jus starting to get all of the stuff off the car and out of the way. took off the headlights, fenders, fender liners, rear bumper, and took out my hids. also picked up a hood in almost perfect shape for $50. its silver, but the whole car is getting repainted when i'm done so i'm not worried.

hopefully this week or next weekend i can start getting this thing off the ground and up on jack stands and start dropping the exhaust, suspension, etc...

few more pics:



this rear bumper support is absolutely shot.... i was pulling huge chunks of it off with my bare hands



a shot of my main area of rear rot



freshened up some new to me suspension pieces, forgot to take a pics of the rear lowers



think i can do anything to save these?



i also think i located my coolant leaks, both the upper and lower hoses are leaking but they also appear to be very loose. and i think i may have some heater hoses leaking as well. i know i never replaced when i previously owned it, they look like they might be factory...eeeek

thats all for now

kaycee_00

Should be savable as long as the housing isn't cracked. If the water hasn't caused any oxidation on the inside of the lens yet, just bake them, pull the lens off and clean them. Reseal them and buff the front and they should look new. And you can wetsand the overspray off also.

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

very small update...didnt really get to spend more than an hour on the car this weekend.



This was my first disappointment...i did not realize how badly tweaked this front is until i was face to face level with it. i hope i can pound this bake into place or bend this back into place.



i put the car on jackstands so i can start to disassemble hopefully soon. i removed the rear bumper, it came off in three pieces it was so rusted up. i'll need to locate a replacement for that.


here is the gauge setup i had previously in the car.



dont ask why i got the a/f gauge...i honestly dont remember. i def. want to keep the oil pressure gauge but the a/f can go. is there a USEFUL gauge that i can put there in its place? keep in mind i'm not doing boost or anything like that. i'm open to suggestions.

and lastly, i didnt get a picture of the other 3 things i located that didnt make me happy.

1. the transmission seal is leaking (99% sure thats what it is). there is oil dripping between the block and tranny coming through the little opening underneath. not a huge deal, basically just the extra cost of the seal because i had planned on changing the clutch. i changed that myself right around 75K mile i think, maybe 100K miles. so with 214K on the car now, i guess it's time again?

2. the engine oil seal (behind the timing belt) looks like its leaking. there is a lot of gunk buildup and wet oil building at the back corner of the block on the drivers side and it goes on up. i think thats what it is, i'll know for sure when i do the timing belt and water pump. again, its just going to be the cost of the seal since i plan on tearing down that side of the block anyways.

3. i found a WTF tucked up in with the new, relocated brake lines.... someone please tell me....are the fuel lines all hard lines like the brake lines or are there any hoses? i see a couple of spots that have me concerned but i'm not 100% sure how the fuel system is set up on here. i looked at the parts diagram but its hard to make out what is actually going on in the diagram.

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

i just realized in one of my older pics you can see one of the spots i'm talking about. i circled it in red, see how it is a hard line then goes to rubber? there is no clamp or anything but that hose is on there tight... is it some sort of vent line that i dont need to worry about?

Tight-R

You have a lot of work to do. Those bolts to get that suspension off are going to make you go crazy. Sucks that car got so far gone.

Cali cars are FTW

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

yeah, hate what the cold climate states do to cars. its terrible. luckily this isnt my only car, so i'm going to make sure i take my time with those bolts. i'm not trying to round things off or break everything in the process. the front ones should be bad, its the rear suspension bolts i'm worried about

Tight-R

PB blast them for a month straight lol

GagnarTheUnruly

iTrader: (3)

Justbget the reciprocating saw ready. Those rear bolts are not gonna come easy.

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

i'm gonna buy some new blades this weekend, get a case of pb blaster, and hopefully have some more updates by monday

GagnarTheUnruly

iTrader: (3)

I tried a couple different things and had the best luck with quality abrasive carbide blades. They are slower than conventional blades but the cutting edge is so much more durable. Quality made a difference for me.

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

well...i wish i had updates but life got in the way this weekend, and my brother is getting married next weekend so i'm not sure how much i'll be able to wrench on the car.

today's detour was working on finishing the inside of my garage.

i figured i would at least try and start tearing some parts off the car. i got as far as getting the brakes and rotors off lol. the one freakin part i never put back on the car the last guys that owned the car put them on....the set screws on the rotors. as soon as i took the wheels off and seen how rusted up and rounded out they were i knew i was in trouble. 2 hours later though, the brakes and rotors are off. big accomplishment...woohoo....

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

wow....i am terrible at updating this thread. i have done a lot more to the car and got a ton of parts in...

i'll have to update this later today

jayupark

pics plz
I have a DB8 (1998) as well. I have the exact same tear in the rubber of the window sill on the driver door Can't find that part for cheap anywhere around here.

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

i lucked out, i got all 4 in pretty mint condition from a sedan in a you pull it junkyard for $20. that alone made the trip worth it lol

Alcatrax30

You should strip the car and sand blast everything too see whats solid and go from their wi keep up with this thread goodluck!

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

well, i was going to load the last 2 months worth of pictures, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. my computer is being a slow piece of crap tonight.

hopefully it will work tomorrow!

danteisme

iTrader: (2)

alright...lets try this again with the work laptop...

I gotta try to remember what all i havent added on here.

call me stupid, but i found the old factory radio i'm going to put back in there.


i'm going to give this a shot too...
http://www.instructables.com/id/Add-...s-st/?ALLSTEPS



i went to a u-pull it yard that had a smashed integra sedan with a tan interior. my brother and i pillaged that thing good. i paid $80 for a rear tan cloth seat, misc interior sensors and pieces, a bunch of body fasteners, a few under hood brackets, 4 window trim pieces in damn near perfect shape, and some perfect looking trunk carpet pieces.



i fixed the mangled up bumper support, hood closes perfect now.

i got some new to me trailing arms, because mine look like this....




i just sawzalled them off the car for now, i'll worry about replacing bolts etc.. later.



the upstairs to my garage is getting full quickly with integra parts lol, i have a few more boxes to put up there today actually.

now on to parts...

i got 4 new calipers for basically free (thank you warranty!)


the first step to my undercarriage issues (well, first after a lot of time with some roloc discs..)


all new bushings


and then the motherload came in!


my fiance's wedding shower was 2 weekends ago, so it looks like we just had 2 Christmases in the house



i made "the list"


now onto where the car is currently at.

no suspension at all on the car


i started removing the interior






and i'm definitely going to need a new one of these guys...


i also got around to a compression test. 200-200-200-205.

with a little luck, this weekend i'll have the motor prepped for a long dormant period, i'll have the fuel system dropped along with the exhaust and shift linkage. after that it will be time for some quality time with a bunch of roloc discs under the car getting the under carriage prepped for the rust destroying primer and chassis saver.