Just wanted to introduce myself and my car: I picked up a 1991 Civic Si about a month ago. Stumbled upon it one day while driving around town, parked under a tree with no license plates. Left a note in the mailbox, never received a reply. Kept driving past the house it was parked in front of, until I got lucky and saw the owner outside. Had a quick chat with him, made him an offer, and paid for the car the next day.

I have always wanted a hatch, our family had an '88 Sedan years ago and the "ef love" has stuck with me ever since. My plans for the car are to keep it stock, focusing more on restoring it rather than HP upgrades, etc. Starting this thread so I can personally keep track of what I've been doing on the car, since most of the work is just small tinkering here and there.

Also looking for restoration advice and tips when the time comes. I've been browsing through the forums and have found all the DIY articles to be extremely helpful during my ownership of the car.

Here's how the car sat when I first saw it:



It was sitting for almost a year and a half. No registration meant I couldn't test drive it = big mistake. Learned my lesson soon after the purchase to always test drive the car before buying. The tree it was under was a blessing and a curse. The paint fared better since it wasn't in the sun, but the car got extremely dirty. The dirt and soil even got lodged into the fender, had to use a wire hanger to fish it all out. The faulty passenger window held on with duct tape didn't help either: all kinds of leaves got into the car. Good news was that it had relatively low miles, minimal rust due to the original owner choosing to rustproof the car when new, and experienced regular maintenance at a local repair shop.

Had it towed to my driveway instead of driving it without checking to see if the brakes were good, etc. It was the shortest tow ever (1 mile)!

My TSX is also hiding in the background of this pic.




Here's the condition the car was in on day one of my ownership:













The previous owner's son took the door panel off to see if he could fix the window (he just tore the moisture barrier in the process -.-), and the door panel was misplaced in the two years that the car sat stationary. If only they kept the panel in the back seat!



Plenty of leaves, dirt, and wood chips, but no bugs or rodents, phew!








Mileage was average for the year but with no major mechanical problems to report, I hope to be driving this car for many more miles!



First line of business was to try and fix the passenger window that would roll down but not up. Tried to use some Black Silicone RTV on the mounting clips, but learned soon after that the window regulator was bad and needed replacing, and that the Silicone did not bond well to the clips and glass. So I positioned the window so it would seal the interior from the rain, removed the window crank, and saved the project for another day.



During the next few days, I began the cleaning process:

WD-40 was used in hard to reach areas of the door jambs and under the hood, a tip I got from an EF member here on Honda-Tech!



The car had been serviced often, and had a new timing belt+water pump, alternator, and battery. First line of duty was to replace the fluids and oil+fuel filter to get it road-ready:




Went on to check the brakes: fronts needed new rotors and pads, rears were OK. All four corners got a new lick of black caliper paint, and new brake/clutch pedal covers were installed too.




Before:




After:






After inspecting the brakes, saw that the axle boot was torn. The clicking on left turns confirmed the axle needed replacing.

I'm lucky to live so close to a parts warehouse. Parts Authority-Pro Parts distribution center is just a few miles away, and they have always had the parts I need in stock. Prices are good too, and better than waiting for parts to arrive from Rock Auto if you're in a pinch like I have been a few times with this car. Picked up a re-manufactured A1 Cardone axle within 30 minutes!



Perfect time to replace the trans fluid too!




It started right up, but in the days after registering the car, I had some issues. I had Code 15 on the ECU. Did some reading, and decided to check the main relay and solder the connections in case there were any cold joints I couldn't see.



Then I replaced the igniter and the car worked for a few days. After driving for 80 miles on Friday afternoon, the car suddenly cut off at a stop sign. I was lucky to be following a friend home and we were two blocks away from his house. After he helped me push it into his driveway, I tried to diagnose the issue. Checked the spark plugs and they smelled like gas. Code 15 came back. Removed the distributor cap and saw a melted rotor and a coil that exploded. The distributor was also the source of an oil leak which I originally thought was a bad valve cover gasket. Turns out the seals on the distributor failed, causing oil to drip out. The bearing was difficult to turn on the old distributor, so it was done.

Picked up a new Cardone distributor at the local parts warehouse, and did the first (and thankfully last) mobile repair of the car to get it back home.



Once the distributor was sorted, I picked up some HX wheels from Craigslist at a price I couldn't refuse and threw them on (inspired by Danronian's Tahitian Green "Squirt" build). I was skeptical on how they would look at first, but they look great! Just need to get new rubber now.



Took a trip to the pick and pull. Never went to one before, and it was an amazing experience! Wish that there were some self service yards in NY



Along with picking up a few spare parts and a whole lot of screws/bolts/clamps, I picked up a replacement window regulator along with some OEM glass since the passenger glass was some Autolite replacement. Installed it with the help of a DIY here on the forums, adjusted the window tracks and lubed everything up with Shin Etsu.



Cut up an Apple Store bag to patch up the moisture barrier. I'm planning to cut an entire sheet of plastic and adhere it with 3M Butyl Rubber in the future.




I also experimented with plasti-dip. Kept reading about it on the forums and decided to try it out myself:

Plasti-dipped battery clamp since old one had rust underneath the plastic coating:



Plasti-dipped mirrors since I wanted black DX mirrors but wanted to keep the original mirror's finish untouched until they could be professionally repainted. Also plasti-dipped the door trim that had duct tape residue on it until I have the chance to sit down and scrub it off.

Before:



After:




Also plasti-dipped the rear wiper arm since removing it for paint would be too much work. Turned out great!

Picked up a couple of goodies:

I always wanted an OG Broadway "Optics" mirror, picked this up on eBay for $5 and it's better than any other Broadway I have owned!


I wanted a different shift ****, but wanted to keep the "OEM" look, so I picked up a CL1 Accord Euro R ****


Since the modding on this car won’t be all that much, I figured this sticker could count as a “mod”. Plus, I had to showcase my Old Skool love!



Over the course of the next week, I kept cleaning the car. Decided to use a “filler” polish instead of cutting through the clear coat. I’m going to leave the cutting polish for later, as I’m not sure when I’ll be getting the car resprayed. The polish turned out great, and the car really cleaned up well.

Products used:
Meguiar’s Gold Class Shampoo
Clay Magic Blue Clay
Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze #9 using Porter Cable 7424XP
Optimum Opti-Seal
P21S Pure Carnauba Paste
303 Aerospace Protectant on interior plastics
Blue Magic Headlight Restorer on tail lights










A week later I decided to upgrade the speakers. Picked up some speaker pods for the rear to correct the original owner’s decision to allow the stereo installer to simply drill into the rear parcel shelves to mount speakers.

Before:





After:





Last week, I took it into the dealer to diagnose my seatbelts that wouldn’t function. It was a breeze to get them replaced, free of charge just like the lifetime warranty says. The dealer was nice about the entire process, and I wasn’t expecting such a smooth transaction. For those in the NYC/Long Island area who need seatbelts replaced, I recommend taking your car to Millenium Honda. I was skeptical at first, but I think they are better than the other dealers in the area.




This past weekend, I was able to freshen up the engine bay a bit and do some maintenance at the same time:

I adjusted the valves (runs much quieter now!), and was surprised to see that there was no sludge!




Went to work re-painting the valve cover with VHT Wrinkle Black




Discovered that the driver’s axle outer boot was about to tear (and there was a slight click), so I picked up another A1 Cardone remanned axle and popped it in.



Once the valve cover was reinstalled with new gaskets, the timing light I ordered from eBay came in, and I was finally able to adjust the timing correctly. When my distributor gave out, I followed what members mentioned online and marked the position of the old distributor. The timing was close, but I wanted it to be just right. Funny thing is we gave our timing light away years ago, never thought I’d go hunting for another one on eBay.



Sanded off the letters on the valve cover and cleaned up the bay a bit more. Still have plenty of things to repaint and clean under the hood, but it’s coming along.




Also finished painting my wiper arms. Little details, but the front of the car looks much better without faded silver arms.




Last thing I was able to do this past weekend was replace the rear trailing arm bushings. I had the RTA bushing removal tool that I used on my CRV, and using it the second time around on the Civic made it pay for itself. The old, cracked bushings came out in minutes and the new ones make a huge difference.





That’s it for now! Still have plenty to do, but hope you guys enjoy the progress so far, comments encouraged and thanks for looking!

 

whoa! def cleaned up nice. Keep it up man!

 

Cleaned up nicely, all you have to do now is paint the black trim and it'll look like new.

 

Great start, really got that paint to shine again. Nice job.

 

Good lookin si how much did u get it for??

 

thats cool I like it when i see a thats saved car saved



to this

https://honda-tech.com/album.php?alb...0&ref=gnr-next

 

before


after

 

Car cleaned up nice, keep it up!

 

Looks great!

It's amazing how small things make a car look so much better. I'm glad you like the look of the HX wheels. I didn't know if I would like them at first, but I think they look great in addition to being lighter than the OEM steelies.

 

Thank you for the inspiration! They are indeed much lighter than the OEM wheels. I was unsure if they would look good on the Rio Red hatch, but after snagging a great deal on the entire set, I couldn't walk away from them! I also wanted to keep the OEM wheel size rather than getting 15" GSR blades, plus the local market is demanding $400-$450 for a set of blades- too much for me!

 

I love threads like this, but I hate threads like this.

 

if i ever snag another GEH Honda. i want to do something like this! nice save.

 

Thanks for the comments guys! It's been a busy week, but still managed to squeeze some time in to work on the the Civic. I was also able to take a trip to the pick and pull yard, which didn't disappoint once again! Updates below, enjoy!

__________________________________________________ _____________

Visited the self-serve car wash to try out their hot foam carpet cleaner- turned out great and sucked up years of dirt from the carpet. Only cost $4, and much easier/cheaper than spending $30 on a Rug Doctor. Once I get more time, I'll do it right with a hot water extractor.




Removed the duct tape residue from the once-broken window. Found out that Silicone Oil works great to quickly remove the residue, and won't harm the window seal at the same time.





The little gem at the pick and pull:



Still plenty of good parts from it. Wish I had more time to really go in and grab as much as I can. With that being said, I think I fared well!




Also picked up a bunch of bolts, nuts, clips, and some long-needed short OEM lug nuts for my HX wheels. The cashier charged me about $2 for all the lug nuts, so I can't complain.

From Old & Rusty:



Much Better!


Picked up a battery tray/splash guard since the car didn't come with one, it's nice to have all the OEM bits, no matter how unimportant they seem:



Restored the bracket that bolts to the battery tray:




Ground wire replaced since the old one was oxidized and frayed & Black OEM valve cover metal washers installed in place of the silver washers that came with the new valve cover gasket:



Took asianflava's advice on the trim and decided to restore it. Instead of painting, I went the plasti-dip route. It turned out great.




Finally, I decided to replace the brake cylinder reservoir. The one on the car was dirty with a terribly rusted clamp, and I wanted to sort this out before the clamp failed and I had major brake issues.



Used a dremel to cut off the clamp since the bolt was rusted in place, and used a syringe to suck out the dirty fluid.

Popped in the replacement from the junk yard, topped off with Honda OEM Brake Fluid, and it's looking much cleaner.




That's all for now. Minor things I know, but they make me enjoy the car even more!

 

Awesome work, so far. Good to see someone returning to stock, instead of ricing it up. I wish my EF wasn't in such a horrible accident 10 years ago, or I would start to do these kinds of things.

 

AH, Love the look of a nice clean EF.

 

great job restoring car dude ...

 

Awesome job cleaning that thing up so far. Looks like a different car now. You've inspired me to go to some local junk yards and pick and pulls. Watching this one. One question though, how durable is the plasti-dip on the trim? Never used that stuff but it looks great on the trim. Did you prep it first?

 

Thank you! I was lucky to find an EF with no accidents and a clean title, around here most EFs have questionable histories.

Thank you! Mine isn't as clean as the others on the forum, but I hope to get there some day, or at least make mine a bit more clean!

Thanks !

Thank you! I live for junkyard hunting lol, I could spend days just looking at cars.

The plasti-dip is very durable. I was in your shoes before trying it out, and then I paid attention to car owners in the area who were plasti-dipping their wheels. I figured if their wheels can withstand months of driving when plasti-dipped, it was durable enough for my trim. I've had the side mirrors dipped for about three weeks now, no peeling so far.

I sprayed about three coats of plasti-dip on my side trim, which is relatively thin compared to the recommended 4+ coats. Even with three coats though, I think it will hold fine for at least a few months. Worse case scenario, if the trim starts peeling, I'll just tape off the doors and spray them again. It only took two hours for both sides, and I was going slow. Hope that helps!

 

Your hatch really cleaned up well, keep up the progress!
By the way, what replacement bushings did you use for the trailing arms?

 

I used Dorman bushings. I'm not sure if they are comparable to OEM, but for $12/each, I figured I would give them a try.

 

How did the bushings work out for ya?

 

Super clean job! Very jealous! Wish my 90 ED6 was as clean! DId you have to prep the pieces you plastidipped or just soap and water before dipping?

 

I am stunned, this is just amazing. Well done, I am sticking with this one for a while!

 

Very nice detailed work!

For future reference, you could have removed you mirrors when you painted them. It takes about 2 minutes to remove a mirror from these hatchbacks.

 

LOVE this.