I was originally planning on waiting until I made more progress but since I have gathered most of the parts for my build, I figured I would go ahead and start my offical build thread now.

For those who remember my past build, I originally did a full JDM EF9 conversion on a 1990 Civic Si that I finished back in 2003. After years of tinkering and swapping engines, I ended up selling to a guy from east coast Canada in July 2010. After seven months of driving my Mitsubishi 3000GT, I got the itch for another build. I picked up an 89' DX for a daily driver and sold my Mitsu with the intention of doing a 1989 Civic Si Restore.

After a month of searching I finally found a very clean 1989 white Si. The engine needed work but the body and interior were in great shape. The car was about 3 hours away in the snow so I rented a U-Haul trailer and set out on an adventure with my girlfriend.

My plans for this project are opposite of most. I intend to keep the car 100% stock and USDM. Enjoy my progress.

The 1989 Civic Si is a ONE YEAR ONLY CAR. Although it's the second generation of Civic Si, it is the first year of the 4th generation civic's. There are lots of small differences between the 89' si and the 90-91 si. That is why I picked it.

Here she is when I got to her






My beautiful girlfriend shows off her winter wear


My old 89' DX parts getter


It's ugly but runs great. I added full 90-91 si interior and soon will have more goodies



A few items that I picked up yesterday for both cars


New OEM BNIB 1989 Civic Si lip (good to have a spare) Took me awhile to track it down, but according to the Honda database, it is the last one inventoried in the USA



Snow melted





See my seat rebuild here
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/1989-civic-si-seat-restore-project-2904682/

More to come...

 

Subscribed!

 

Parts for the project acquired over the past few months

OEM SH3 EF car cover BNIB




Brand new Honda OEM Si muffler





Custom made replica SH3 floormats




JDM EF leather wrapped steering wheel


OEM Access Armrest




Access Rear speaker pods


Access Rear Mudflaps for 88-89 hb

Color matched like JDM 87-88 hb


Lower audio console with OEM Civic Equalizer



OEM bra (sold don't ask)


OEM Sunroof Visor


Weathertech window visors


Rare Access 18 spoke wheels


JDM PFL Civic Foglights (88-89)



Tokico Blue struts

 

Looking forward to watching the progress.

 

Isnt "BNIB" redundant? I mean the "N" already stands for 'new'....What other kinds of new are there aside from brand new? lol

Cool Build!

 

Lol, new can mean a lot of things. New to the car, like new, new addition, newer year or model. Bnib (brand new in box) eliminates all confusion, plus it adds more brownie points lol. I have new armrests, rear speakers, and lower access console but they are all used.
Not arguing because I agree with you, just made me think about it.

 

You say your DX is ugly but it actually looks to be in darn good shape :p

I did a similar mini restoration on my '89 DX a few winters back. I say similar in that I didn't do some crazy engine swap or anything. I just stuck in a new/rebuilt d15b2 - but did do a MPFI conversion and Si tranny swap. Good luck with yours!

 

My DX is ugly mostly because I have yet to was it since I bought it. It does have a few flaws but all in all it's a good car. Nothing like my Si condition wise.

Picking My Si up from my mechanic today. If tume permits I'll throw some goodies in it.

 

These cars are pretty much unrestorable to new condition. 90% of the interior is no longer available from Honda brand new.

 

Calm down Debbie Downer.

 

First a car does not have to be new to be restored. Second of you can never say never. Case in point, read about my mechanics car
http://www.superstreetonline.com/fea..._si/index.html

Third, here in the NW united states we do NOT use salt on our roads during the winter. This means that our cars are rust free. The interior on this particular car is immaculate. Everything from the sunroof, to the carpet to the seats is in amazing shape. I have never seen a fourth gen civic in this condition used.
The best part about this car it there is little to no work that needs to be done to finish it.

 

I finally picked up the car today and drove it for the first time ever. The engine runs great, for a sohc it makes good power all the way through the powerband.

The mileage on the car is 187,000 and it's time to bring the car back from dead.

 

Yeah your body is clean and straight it probally going to look BoMb! post more pics when you can

 

1.okay. I know a few ef civic si's in better original shape with much lower miles than yours...

case in point.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3388478/1991-honda-civic

2.When I think of the term 'restored', Im thinking back to OEM Stock, using Brand new parts.

3. Good luck with your ef. The body looks to be in great shape !

 

As far as my project goes, aside from my audio console,rear speakers, and armrest, I plan on purchasing the remaining OEM parts to return the car back to stock brand new from honda. Luckly they still produce the parts although they are on backorder for a few weeks. Factory 14" hubcaps and muffler.
There is no reason to replace my interior when one they don't sell it and two mine is in great shape. My other thread walks through step by step for restoring my driverside seat which is far more hands on than just "buying" another seat.

My project, my build, great starting point for my plans.

 

I want to keep as original as possible

 

Damn that is a sweet dually. What the hell wheels are those? I have a 85 F250 supercab dually which is white too.

Goodluck with the Civic too.

 

I can't remember what brand they are but it was a company in California that makes them. It's my Dad's truck but it's pretty nice. 5 1/2 inch exhaust, bigging turbo and downpipe and an Edge boost controller. Pretty fun for towing the boat or 5th wheel.
I have an 89' F250 Centurian turbo diesel myself but I have the injector pump pulled off right now.

 

nice project car man,Great shape for it's age.Best of luck!

 

it looks in great shape.. def the interior!

 

I agree, I have a 89 Si and I had to put in 1990 seats in it bc the seats were jacked. Your seats are super nice, I'm jealous. Car looks clean, and frankly it's a nice find I don't care what anyone says. Clean 89's are super rare...and are the best EF's.

 

Droooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool.

 

A few new additions



I also installed my factory rear speakers but ran out of light for pictures. I swapped out the old torn speakers for some new JVC ones. Will post more pics when the rain lets up.

 

this is very inspiration because i also have a 1989 black civic si i am restoring/building. mine is in a little worse shape then yours but its making progress. ill look forward to seeing updates.

did you paint the center consoles?

let me know when you want to sell me that si lip as well or if you can help me locate one :thumbsup:

 

I dyed them with VHT Vinyl dye. Lips going to stay in my stash for a while. I know I saw a used JDM EF2 lip forsale on Heeltoe but you would have to make sure they verify the part number. I was reading a thread where a guy ordered a lip for his CRX and it was the wrong one.