Hi guys, my name is Jonathan, and I live in San Diego, California. This my first build thread here on Honda-Tech. Yesterday, 07/30/2015, I purchased a 1994 Acura Integra RS. I have been searching for this exact car for quite sometime now because it meets every single requirement I need for the perfect build. The car has been well taken care of, maintained, and is bone stock! I purchased the car for $2200 from an older gentleman, who was nice enough to get the car smogged for me as well. I will be updating this build thread as often as I can, so stay posted for build updates!

Here are some pictures that I took of it today.

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nice it looks unmolested and clean!

 

Great way to start a build. I'm excited to see updates

 

Getting a vehicle smog-checked/tested is actually required by the owner (by law) when selling the car.



Nice find!

 

Looks like a good start!

 

Funny how cheap clean rust free cars are in CA up here in Toronto that would fetch 4K or more, so what are you doing with it.... turbo k20? or what lol.?

 

Thanks for the compliments and the information guys! As for my plans for the car, I would rather not say and just let you guys see. So stay posted!

 

Nice & clean I can't wait to see your progress sir.

 

I finally had some time today to get this build going. As much as I wanted to work on the car, juggling a 40+ hour week at work, customer cars, and a girlfriend meant I had to wait for my day off. I haven't driven or touched the car since I purchased it two weeks ago. Last week I went to the DMV to transfer the title to my name, and purchased new license plates while I was at it. I also went to Acura to get a new key cut through VIN, and then ran to Honda to get three keys copied from it. Sounds pointless, but when you are OCD like me it's well worth it.

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I also purchased new hardware for my license plates from Honda because the current ones were mismatched.

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Today I spent time cleaning my garage, degreasing the floors, and organizing my workbench in preparation for this build.

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My friends B18C1 GSR engine awaits a rebuild, so until then it'll be taking up half of my workbench.

Closer picture of my workbench that I put together last year.

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Whenever I start on a new project, I like to spend a day cleaning the car inside and out, following a thorough inspection to figure out what I need before I dump cash on other parts. The car is leaking fluid in a couple areas so this will help me pinpoint where exactly it is coming from. I do all of this with Purple Power, and a pressure washer hooked up to a hot water line.

Engine bay before.

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I put the front of the car on jack stands to get under the engine and in the wheel wells. Stupid me, I saw the transmission label starting to peel off, so I took it off and set it aside to adhere it back on afterwards. Turned my back on it and the wind took over, so it's long gone. I am kind of pissed about losing it. Cops here in San Diego will get you for that.

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Left front wheel well.

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Right front wheel well.

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Did the same for the rears.

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Left rear wheel well.

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Right rear wheel well.

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I degrease and pressure wash on the street because earlier this year I spent 6 hours pressure washing the driveway, and I don't plan on doing that again.

Engine bay after. The pressure washer stripped some of the paint off the valve cover, no big deal.

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Gave the car a good interior and exterior detail as well.

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My girlfriend facetimed me in the middle of taking some pictures. Shout out to her for putting up with me for a little over 2 years now!

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Installed my new license plates, and parked it in its new parking spot.

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Overall I'm really happy with the car right now, other than losing the transmission label. The engine was bogging after the pressure wash due to some water in the spark plug holes. Got that fixed with compressed air and paper towels. Also, what looked like an oil leak before, now looks like a coolant leak, so the radiator may need to be replaced. I definitely need a distributor O-ring, valve cover gasket set, and possibly an oil pan gasket or front main seal. I will drive the car around and let it sit in the garage for a couple days so I can figure out what seals I need before ordering. I hope you guys enjoy the update!

 

That's so clean that it's not even funny, some type R's over here fetching 15k+ don't look like that underneath. all for sub 2.4K you should see what 2.5K gets you here.... rusted out **** boxes, super jealous always wanted to find a clean DC ended up going with lifted trucks instead.

 

Such a nice car to start with.. in for more updates

 

i need to make a bench like this, right now i have a mismatch of different benches i've acquired over the years and i'm kind of over it lol

this is gonna be a good build i have a feeling, cant wait to see updates.

also, vehicles don't age in cali, do they?

 

I haven't gotten a chance to post any updates the past week due to it being my 21st birthday last Friday, and the school semester starting the Monday after. I just realized that my car is just as old as I am. I have been occasionally working on the car whenever I get the chance to. Two weeks ago, I noticed a slight steering wheel vibration at high speeds, so I brought it in work to rebalance the wheels. Problem solved.

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As expected for 21 year old paint, I noticed that the paint was very dull and felt rough to touch, even after a thorough wash. Here is an example of what I am talking about.

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I decided to try to clay bar and polish my car to bring the shine back. As soon as I got home from work, I washed the car yet again to make sure all surface contaminants were removed prior to the clay bar process. I was taught in auto body collision repair and refinishing school to utilize the two bucket method of washing.

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This is the clay bar kit I purchased, I highly recommend it.

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What is included in the clay bar kit.

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After the clay bar process, the surface roughness improved but remained there. The paint was also still dull. The car sat in the garage for a week until I had a chance to polish it. A couple days ago I had some extra time so I brought out my Dewalt buffer, and 3M Perfect-It rubbing compound and foam pad.

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I masked off the moldings to prevent contaminating my buffing pad, and to prevent the rubbing compound from getting to places I don't want it at. These buffing pads are very expensive!

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There was a huge improvement after the buffing process. I managed to bring the shine back, and there was now little to no roughness in the paint.

Here are some before pictures.

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After.

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Earlier today, I spent some time inspecting the car. The under carriage is absolutely immaculate.

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No damage whatsoever on the transmission casing or exhaust system.

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No damage whatsoever on the oil pan either.

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I decided to check the spark plugs and do an engine compression test to see how healthy the engine is. All spark plugs had a consistent tan burn pattern.

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As for compression, cylinder 1 came out to 179 PSI.

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Cylinder 2 came out to 157 PSI.

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Cylinder 3 came out to 176 PSI.

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Cylinder 4 came out to 186 PSI.

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With the factory compression specification for B18B1 engines at 199 PSI for standard, and 135 PSI for minimum, I fall right in the healthy range.

I noticed that during cold starts, the engine had an exhaust leak. So I pulled out the upper heat shield and found out that there was a broken stud on the end of the exhaust manifold.

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Not a big deal because I will need to remove the exhaust manifold in order to replace the oil pan gasket. I verified that the radiator is leaking where the plastic top meets the aluminum, so I will be ordering up a new radiator as well. I also fixed a few things here and there, like the throttle cable had some slack, so I tightened it up. Also adjusted the emergency brake so everything feels nice and tight now.

By the way, shout out to all my family, friends, coworkers, and my girlfriend for making my 21st birthday the best one yet!

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I hope you guys are enjoying my build so far. Trust me, things will get moving soon, just stay posted for more updates.

 

So last week I finally got to spend time working on the car. For the longest time, I have been postponing replacing the radiator, fixing the exhaust manifold leak, and getting the oil leaks situated. I decided that it was a perfect time to do everything at one time.

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Gathered a bunch of parts for this job.
Denso radiator
NGK spark plugs
Honda oil pan gasket
Honda valve cover gasket kit
Honda distributor O-ring
Honda exhaust manifold gasket
Honda exhaust manifold stud
Honda exhaust manifold nut
Honda crush washers
Hondabond
Honda engine oil
Honda coolant
Honda manual transmission fluid
Honda power steering fluid
Honda brake fluid

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So the work begins. I did not know what to expect under the valve cover, but everything looked real good and sludge free. Looks like the previous owner kept up with maintenance.

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Since some of the valve cover coating came off the last time I pressure washed the engine bay, I decided to strip it all the way down and not have to worry about the coating coming off next time I decide to pressure wash the engine bay again.

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I used Kleen-Strip aircraft paint remover.

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I cleaned up the inside of the valve cover as well.

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Removed the exhaust manifold to access the oil pan gasket and to replace one of the studs.

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Oil pan removed.

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Cleaned up the oil pan, flywheel cover, transmission brace, and header support.

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Over the years I have been using Permatex gasket makers, but recently switched over to Hondabond. Hondabond is well worth the extra money in so many ways. It is, however, thicker so it is almost impossible to run a consistent bead. I have this tool from Valco Cincinnati called the Tube Grip, and it allows you to easily dispense any tube with control and uses every bit of material inside. It pays for itself within a couple jobs.

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I applied a bead of Hondabond on the inside area of both sides of the gasket mating areas. I always apply a bead where the oil pump and rear main seal meet the engine block as well.

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Installed.

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Next order of business was the exhaust manifold stud. You can see the black carbon residue from where the exhaust was leaking in the picture.

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Studs like this are usually very easy to remove with the use of locking pliers. But due to the awkward position, I snapped the stud upon removal. So I had to extract the stud.

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I drilled a hole as close as I could to the center of the stud. Then hammered on a corresponding extractor.

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Successfully removed.

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New exhaust manifold stud.

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Installed two nuts and jammed them together.

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Success.

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With the car inside my garage on jack stands, and the engine not ready to run, I had to figure out a way to thoroughly flush my cooling system before installing my radiator. A quick trip to Home Depot and I purchased some fittings to adapt two garden hoses to both my upper and lower radiator hoses.

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Close up of one of the adapters.

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Prior to running water through, I removed the thermostat. Then I ran hot water through one side for a few minutes, and then switched around the garden hoses to back purge the system for a few minutes as well. After everything, I drained the remaining water via drain plug in the front of the engine block, installed a new crush washer, and then reinstalled the thermostat.

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New Denso radiator. Denso is an OEM manufacturer for Honda.

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Radiator installed.

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Did a valve adjustment, replaced the distributor O-ring, and valve cover gasket set.

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Installed new NGK spark plugs.

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Replaced the engine oil, manual transmission fluid, and coolant. I let the engine warm up with the radiator cap half way on, then added coolant.

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Next order of business was a power steering fluid flush. I plugged the return line inlet on the reservoir, then coupled the return line to a hose that led to drain bottle. I started the engine and ran all of the existing fluid out.

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Then removed the reservoir for cleaning.

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Ran through 3 bottles of power steering fluid to flush all the old fluid out. Then I reinstalled the return line to the reservoir, and filled up the system. Had to run to Honda dealership the next day to get another bottle to completely top it off to to max line. Took a total of 5 bottles of power steering fluid.

I then cleaned up the clutch fluid reservoir and ran all the old fluid through. Bled all the air out of the system as well.

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Last but not least, the brake fluid. I removed the brake fluid reservoir and strainer for cleaning. Then ran all the old fluid through each caliper, then bled the system.

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Everything looks good and clean.

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About a week passed and the engine and transmission is completely spotless. Not one drip of oil or grease anywhere. No more coolant leak and the exhaust leak has been fixed. Now that the car is at its best, it is time to get down to business. Stay posted for more updates.

 

This is awesome.

 

In on this build!

 

Wow. For 21 you are very dedicated to this build. Good job!

 

Keep up the good work man...

 

This thread delivers!

Didn't even have to ask for girl photos.

Nice clean LS! I am jealous!

You need to get some real Rota GT3s on that bad boy!

 

It is reassuring to see you're tackling maintenance before beginning your build. It is important to have a solid platform from which to build upon. Such a good feeling to have all new fluids! peace of mind. Where did you learn how to do valve adjustments? and what are your plans for this car?

 

Damn...attention to detail...insane.

For a 21 yr old you got a big *** house.

 

This! but great attention to detail!! Makes me want to clean up my gsr.

 

Subscribed

 

For some reason, the Integra section always has nice rebuilds. Very rare, and only a couple good ones in the civic section.

Really does make me miss my integra.

 

looks good keep it up