I debated about putting this in the appearance section but think there will be enough tech to justify it's presence here, if not i apologise.

The goal of this project is to have a kick-*** Solo II/I car (in whatever crazy class i end up in) that can be driven to events. I have a list of parts that will be going into the car but realise that it doesnt mean squat until they're actually on there. If you really want to see the list i can give it to you. I would like to have it finished by late next year (money is tight and im lazy).

This may get a bit long winded so bear with me. Now for a little history.

I bought my 85 CRX Si when i was 17 and getting ready to go off to college. I was a 5.0 Mustang guy but needed something cheap on gas. I pulled it out of a field with a bad alternator for $850. Being insane i immediately began autocrossing it:



I did some basic bolt-ons and generally drove around like a normal 17 year old, which is to say like a complete idiot. Example:



Yes i off-roaded my lowered CRX, no im not proud of it (anymore).

I continued on this path until i got to college. There i found RedPepperRacing.com and began to actually learn about my car. About halfway through my freshman year the input shaft bearing in the tranny began to give. I parked the car at my parents and bought a new beater until i could fix it. Tom at RPR gave me a free transmission while at N10 and i took my sweet time installing it. I was finally forced to finish the job when my beater gave out about 6 months after buying it. So the car made it back on the road late last year.

I hated having it out during the Ohio winter but had no choice. Around February this year something bad happened. I went out one morning to go to work and the car cranked...and cranked...and cranked, but wouldnt start. I tired everything, but to no avail. Rather than leave the car sit in our apartment parking lot i decided to put her up for sale and bought another beater.

The lady and i began looking into buying a house. I decided this was the perfect excuse to keep the car. In May we moved into our new home, and the CRX took up residence in the garage. Then the madness began.

This is what she looked like when we moved in:




Then i began tearing her apart:






















At this point i began getting a better idea about my rust problem:




Thanks to dry ice i was able to easily remove the sound deadening material (it's all gone now):







This was my first Solo motor removal, following advice i was given at RPR, i un-bolted all the necessary items, lowered the car to the ground minus wheels, undid the mounts, and lifted the car over the motor:






I also removed the front windshield.

That's where she sits today. Like i said it's a long term project but i'll post updates as i progress.

Now a quick question. I can't get my lower shock mount bolts out in the rear. The bolt on one side appears to have cleared the nut, but now just spins....any suggestions?

Thanks for listening!

Jacques


Cliffs: I'm building a car for SCCA Solo competition (and maybe more).

 

Get a welder, some sheet metal, and a SHITLOAD of POR-15. Then go to town on that rust, show it who's boss. Long live the first gen.

 

Damn that's alot of rust but looks like it's turning out pretty good.

psst get the Houseman widebody fender flares

 

For the work man, I'd just get another one with less rust and use the other for parts. Unless it has sentimental value, of course.

 

I would but finding a non rusty 1G in Ohio is difficult, to say the least. I need to learn to do bodywork anyway.

The rust on my 86 Si makes this look tame .

 

Just noticed you're in Dayton. I'm down here in Cincinnati. Ahoy there!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDN169 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The rust on my 86 Si makes this look tame .</TD></TR></TABLE>

The rust on my rust makes this look tame.
I have a mk1 crx with less rust that I've been thinking of throwing away. You're inspiring me to try again.

 

project look like it is comming along well. -=D

get all that rust out 1st.

 

thanks for the kind word guys.

Ive hit a bit of a snag though, my lower shock mount bolts wont come out...

They come out of the nut, but then just spin. I spent an hour tring to figure it out and it still baffles me. Any ideas?

 

lol as many holes as are in that thing from rust and you can't find one to get a box end up on that spining nut? lol jus playin man.. i give you props for having the patience to take care of that rust problem

 

damn thats a lot of rust!

 

Jacques,

You'll probably need to take a sawzall to your rear shocks, cut them off where they attach to the lower arm. The center of the bushing is most likely frozen to the bolt. The idea is to get those arms out where you can work on them!

Make damn sure you can get the other bolts out of the LCA too, nothing but problems getting those out of my poor hatch-machine.

Have a good set of six-point sockets, breaker bars - an impact wrench wouldn't hurt and maybe a torch too!

You'll probably have to replace most of the bolts back there, if you plan to put it back together anytime soon, order some up..

Good luck, I've been through it man, and it sucks at the time you're wrestling with that junk, but it is well worth it in the end.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Buck Turgidson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Jacques,
attach to the lower arm. The center of the bushing is most likely frozen to the bolt. .</TD></TR></TABLE>

I believe this is my problem.

Thanks for the info!

Jacques

 

Looks like a great project. What class are you going for?

I think if you could get the whole rest of the rear shock assembly off enough to get it clear of the fender, then you could get some good swings in with a hammer and punch on that bolt.

 

Call me an idiot, but im not really building for a specific class, im just buiding a fun car and ill figure out class when i get there .

 

That happened to my 94 hatch when I put springs on it, the driver's side rear bushing was froze to the bolt. I ended up trying an air wrench, which just tore the rubber. I ended up intoducing my sawzall to a Torch blade and the shock's bolt. Don't try regular blades, that bolt is seriously hard - it destryed 3 reg. blades which barely scratched it. Next step is to completely cut the rubber bushing center out, then use a hacksaw blade to cut the outter metal of that bushing stuck in your lca (or press it out). I used the sawzall w/torch blade, and now have a 1/4" slot in the lca - the blade cuts through cast iron like butter!

Hopefully in your case you didn't bend the shock fork or mess the welded bolt up like I did - I just put the cash down for a new shock.

 

Ahh, so its either SM2 or D-MOD Hehehe

 

in dayton they have nasa rules. you could either be in TTF or TTE depending on what else you do.

 

looks like a shitload of fun. not being sarcastic. my 88 si looked like that once. you dont truly know your car unless youve taken it to the bones

in SCC there was a build idendtical to yours where you werent allowed to do anythign to the stock motor other than minor induction mods. they bent and twisted the rules and made like 120hp and more torque than they should, which is perfect to autocross. id look all over the internet for that article if i was you

 

pending on what class you wanted to shoot for, you could always buy my car and have all the parts that you could use.. poly bushings, b16a, bucket seat (reclinable), rims, brakes, and many other parts that would do that car alot of good. shipping the car wouldnt be so cost effective, but you never know!

 

Im looking to use the stock motor (rebuilt) with basic bolt-ons and a more aggresive cam. I will be getting new shocks and coil-overs, as well as thicker torsion bars, and integra front brakes. The car will be gutted and caged (and rustproofed ). So wherever that puts me...


Modified by JDN169 at 2:29 PM 8/9/2005

 

Now all you need is a 1st gen Spit.

Anyone have any links to that? I haven't seen it in awhile.

 

Well, im buying another CRX in much better shape and already mostly done (it's the Quad 4 CRX from the GRM challenge) so this one's going bye bye.







While i was waiting for the angle grinder to cool down, i decided the Fox needed a racing stripe, (i love beaters):

 

why didn't you keep those coils?

 

i did, i took them off right after that last picture was taken.