So I picked up a brand new fully loaded 1991 Honda Civic DX 4DR a few weeks ago. Fortunately this was a CA car so there's no rust and it was only owned by one person, who looks to have treated the car pretty fairly.

Good Stuff:
-5-speed manual
-manual steering rack
-very clean, in and out
-original engine still running strong (180,XXX miles) no smoking or noises
-very few problems of any sort

Bad Stuff:
-Power nothing (but that's actually what I wanted with this project)
-a few door dings here and there
-rear of the roof paint is fading
-all the window moldings on the outside are fading, peeling and ugly
-stock radio cuts in and out
-only came with two speakers, both of which are blown
-blower resistor is bad
-back light in the cluster is out

So here's what she looks like
[img=http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/4787/dsc0080bj.th.jpg]









So the first task was to fix the blower. Bought a new blower resistor for about $20, removed the glove box and replaced it.

Total repair time: 5 minutes
Total repair cost: approximately $20.00

Blower now works on a four speeds.


Next task was to replace the factory radio and those blown out front speakers and add two more speakers in the rear.

Picture of the Kenwood Audio Deck, nice thing about this is it has the inputs for USB and 3.5mm audio jack on the front. Plus it looks pretty plain and simple so it goes well with the retro 90's stock interior.


The speakers I used were just so decent Kenwood Audio 6.5 rounds. Nothing special, they cost about $35 for two.


The rear speakers are not finished yet. I need to make an adapter for the speaker to bolt to instead of screwing directly to the hatch cover.


For the rear speakers I still have to make a adapter plate from MDF to better mount the speakers in the housing and allow the magnets to not interfer with the trunk rods. I will post pictures of them once they are finished. This setup is just temporary so I have some tunes for cruising. Also I post more pictures of the install, I just happened to replace all this stuff before I thought to take pictures.

Total repair time: about 45 minutes
Total repair cost: approximately $260.00

After checking the fluids I noticed the valve cover gasket was leaking on the distributor's side, so I went ahead and replaced that too. Not surprisingly the valvetrain isn't so clean but doesn't look too bad for 180K. I have doubts that this engine will stay in the car for long regardless.



Repair time: 20 minutes
Total repair cost: $25 (gasket and RTV)

So I want to replace these moldings around the windows since all the paint has peeled off or is fading badly but I don't really know where to get them. Either the lower piece which now appears chrome or the black pieces around the windows



If anyone know of a good source for these please let me know.

Also I'm in need of a passenger side mirror but I want to stay with manual mirrors. I've search but can't find any, if you know of a place to source mirrors too that'd be great. I don't mind replacing both the driver's side and passenger's side mirrors with aftermarket but I've only seen the spoon and spoon knock-off mirrors and I don't like that style too much. Post up some pics of mirrors if you have any suggestions.

Next on the list of things to do:
-Replace the DX rpm'less cluster with an Si cluster, the cluster is being shipped, expect updates to follow this week.



-Drop it!
I've ordered a set of Progress CS II coil-overs (350/250 street) but unfortunately they will not be coming for 5-8 weeks at least.
-And add the Progress rear sway bar (as my DX came without one)

http://progressauto.com/ecom/images/...yout_(web).jpg

Future plans:
-Rear disc conversion (currently searching for a local set at a good price)
-S.S lines for front and rear
-40/40 proportioning valve
-EX front spindles, S200 front calipers, brackets and re-drilled RSX front rotors
-15/16 master cylinder

I would like to somewhat finish the suspension, brakes and wheels before I tackle the engine swap. Not completely sure what I'm going to swap yet but I'm either leaning towards a sohc turbo build with around 220-250whp. Probably a d16a6 mini-me with either a z6 or y8 head depending if I stay OBD-0 or OBD-1, running LS milled rods and Vitara pistons, with something like a GT2871R or similar sized turbo.

So I need some suggestions on mirrors and where to get the out moldings around and below the windows first and foremost.

Also I need so advice on d-series tuning so I can budget my engine build. Should I convert to OBD-1 or stay OBD-0? OBD-0 is way cheaper but is it possible to have a solid, reliable tune? Point me in the right direction for a safe DD turbo sohc.

 

Someone is going to say it so I guess I will. Do a mpfi swap.

 

MPFI can wait for now. Plus I don't even know if the car will stay OBD-0 right now.

First the suspension, brakes and wheels. If anyone know of a good set of mirrors that aren't electric or where to pick up new moldings for around the windows, please share!

 

People seem to be happy with ebay spoon style mirrors both CF and not.

I went with absdynamics.com, I think there were link $300 or so.

Here is a thread about CF mirrors https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/carbon-fiber-mirrors-3052417/

I am not 100% sure about the moldings, but I think there are usually NOS on ebay. You might get lucky with a OEM honda parts store only having them. Other than that you may have to find them used on these forms, ebay, or a junk yard.

 

Clean car man! Good find!

 

I know the sedan and hatch doors are slightly different, but if a hatch and sedan mirrors are the same, I have two hatch ones.

 

Even if you don't keep it OBD-0, you might want to start looking up DPFI to MPFI conversions. It's pretty easy to convert and there's plenty of "how to" guides.

Also, for a 4dr, that's pretty clean. looks nice.

 

I got brand new amber cornors and bumper lights if your interested i bought them by accident i ordered 4d and i have a hatch

 

I'd say to fix all the little stuff, then leave it the hell alone. Do timing belt/tensioner/water pump/spark plugs/spark plug wires/valve cover gasket/rotor/dist cap/cooling system flush/hoses if needed. Does the A/C work? If not, get that fixed. Then..........drive the **** out of it.