Hey guys! Been trolling this section since I got my CRV last fall. Its been a great car so far and I love it to death. I managed to find a rust free car, although its got a bunch of dings and scratches my main concern was rust as I live in the northeast.

Unfortunately, I rear ended someone on my way to work a couple months ago. Looked away from the road for a second and ended up hitting a pickup making a left at about 25mph. It was my first accident and man did it suck. Naturally as soon as we were done with the paperwork I immediately started assessing the damage before I called insurance. They ended up totaling it since the bags went off, but having a good idea of what it needed (and knowing there was no frame damage) I bought it back for $500 to give her a second lease on life! I couldnt bear to see her go off to some scrap yard to rot away...

Ill kick this off with a few things I did to her before the accident and reason for the rebuild...

When I first picked her up



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Then threw on some RSX Type S wheels that already had some 205/50/16 Mastercraft Glacier Grips on them. Tires are a bit small but they still look great so Ill run them till theyre toast then get a set of four 225/55/16 kumhos to match the one I got for the spare...









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I also made some interior upgrades, Including some Honda Access pedal covers



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Weathertech all weather mats





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Then things started getting a little crazy... I was really bugged by how high the seats sit in the CRV, so after a little investigating I saw that I could modify the rails to sit about 1.5" lower.. I removed material, then re-welded and reinforced the mounts...

Before:





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After:















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And the interior as it was before the accident... Also notice the Accord Euro-R shift **** hiding in there





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And the engine bay after a bit of clean up as well as the undercairriage to get an idea of how clean the thing is

 

Unfortunately, this is the only photo I have of the car before I started tearing it apart, and of course its super blurry lol. Luckily the impact was right above the bumper support, and although that got destroyed the frame rail was untouched. Most damage was to the bumper support, rad support and bodywork



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Here it is stripped down almost ready to pull the rad support





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Once the fenders we off I saw some rust as starting at the pinch weld along the upper frame rails in the fenderwells. I took it down to bare metal, coated it with SEM rust treatment and hit it with some primer...









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Also got the rad support off the same day



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And reworked the crumpled sheetmetal



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I welded in the new rad support and it went really smooth. Everything lined up perfectly, and just needed to adjust that crumpled section slightly. I went with an aftermarket part since it was $170 CHEAPER than oem. Quality was good and it was identical to oem down to every detail

 

So this weekend I got alot done... The rad support install was done friday, then saturday consisted of tearing the bay down more after deciding I wanted to paint back to the shock towers instead of just the rad support. Then today I did all the prep, masking, paint, and some assembly...

Heres the car prepped and masked. I used the garage door to block off most of the car to cut down on masking and covering from overspray...







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And after a coat of single stage jet black paint. I didnt bother to go 2 stage NHBP for the bay to save time and money







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Since I used fast reducer I was able to start assembling the bay back together towards the end of the day. I spent some time refreshing parts while waiting for the paint to dry...

 

Awesome thread so far.. I've been wanting to see those rsx wheels compared to stock like that - thanks! Any spacers needed??
I'm tuned in

 

Thanks! I needed 5mm spacers for the front but Ive got them on all 4 wheels

 

Awesome work so far

And that bay is gorgeous, you thinking about painting the valve cover to match?

 

Thanks! I'm going to have the valve cover powder coated wrinkle black, actually calling the shop today and hopefully get it done this week while I'm away for work

 

that is a pretty engine bay...

 

Looks good and that sucks to see that happen to it. But now you got a really clean engine bay.

 

Question... When you lowered the seats, did you lose the front passenger undertray?

 

Yeah, it was definitely a bummer but the car will be better in the end because of it

I only did the driver seat, I dont think the tray would fit if I were to do the passenger side

 

Looks like everything went back together nicely!

 

wow. Super clean cr-v. i wish i could find one that clean locally thats not huge $$. ill just have to deal with my semi rusted one thats fully built,boosted, and slammed. lol. Doesnt hurt my feelings cutting into it though since its not in the best shape.

 

Thanks man! Yeah, mine is clean, but I definitely paid for that. Bought it for 6k with 123k on it

 

 

dang. That's an expensive V! ouch.

 

Damn! If ur looking for a second crv I'll sell u my auto crv for that price ! it needs NOTHING 00' w/ 136k

 

Btw ur bay looks GREAT ! Keed up the good work

 

no kidding...thats a LOT. could have got an 03 ish for that here. lol

 

I looked at 6 cars before I settled on this one. In my area I couldn't find a 5 speed in decent shape for less than 5k, and the other 5 i saw all had rust. If you want an EX or SE youre looking at 7-8k for a clean example. To get an 02+ here you're looking at 8k min with high mileage, 150+

Not sure why but they hold their value here in the northeast and it's very difficult to find one that doesn't have a rotted undercarriage or 1/4 Panel or rear door rust

 

Plus I've very particular... I wouldn't buy a car that had been "gotten into" by someone, or one that had had any detectable body work. I checked for bondo/rust repair on the cars i looked at

 

Hey guys, heres an update on progress with the V...

Ive gotten some more parts cleaned up and installed, including the driver and passenger motor mounts, washer bottle, accumulator, and some lines along with a brand new AC condenser...







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Also got the wiring harness installed





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And picked up this MINT spare tire cover at the junk yard along with a few other goodies ive yet to take pictures of





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Finally I got all the body supplies together including epoxy primer, B92-P base and clear

Ive got the front fenders and grille prepped for paint and sprayed them today...

 

Good work man. Keep it up.

 

 

Man I wish I knew how to do all this. Looks great