How’s it going guys some may have seen my build thread on my integra project here and I wanted to share my civic and the small project that it turned into thus far... This is my daily driver and has been for the last 3 years. I had no intentions on building the car for anything other than a clean daily driver. And lately its been getting some changes and so I felt like sharing it here for any suggestions or just open to the comments.



This car has come a long way, I picked it up a few years back It was all stock just lowered with a set of Function and Form coil overs that ran pretty smooth. The car had a bad header/cat 1 missing O2 sensor and a dirty interior. The window regulators needed replacing and the climate control unit was stolen so I had no heat! I knew the car had potential and would be a cheap daily driver to get me to work and back! I didn’t care about how ugly the body was. The car was a good find IMO, it’s a 2000 spec Honda Civic DX hatch back original Taffeta White which I heard was a limited color for the Hatch back! Well it didn’t matter as the paint was like **** haha.



Over the years I have slowly been fixing things and in no time and road worthy, I got the check engine lights cleared when I put 2 brand new O2 sensors along with a used exhaust manifold/cat that was not cracked! I got a super steal on it for $20! The manifold had no cracks and I passed smog easy with it. So, I replaced the interior with seats from a EX, these seats have the adjustments for the back which is nice. I also replaced the window regulators which was a whole journey in its self lol it was a PITA to install but I eventually figured it out and got the windows to roll up smoothly!



Recently I had a budget paint job done because the damn car was rusting everywhere! So it was in need of body work soon or else the rust was going to go deeper. So I was low on funds and I just wanted fresh paint to preserve it a bit longer and look better. it came out pretty nice, it’s a 2 stage at least and they got my door jams and trunk jams. The engine bay was not painted which bothered me after. I also replaced the headlights with a set of Ebay ones for $60 not bad but im not sure how long they will last so I might have them coated by Opti coat ceramic coating like I recently did on my Integra so they stay clear and wont get faded from the UV sun rays.



Well just the other day driving to work on the freeway I spun the rod bearing in the crank. The engine was consuming oil and I think it ran dry or the oil pump failed. So now its getting a used JDM engine from HMO and I will have my buddy help me swap it in! while we are at it we are going to re paint the engine bay to match the car before the new replacement engine goes in!



Here’s some pics of the stuff ive done so far and im really not sure where this is going to go as I don’t plan to really mod this car much because I have a Supercharged Integra project that gets all the attention so if any thing they will be light mods or just things I do to improve the look and feel of the car as I like the idea of it staying mostly stock as a reliable daily driver.


Here's how it looked when I picked it up,








Here's some pics of the body work and interior after I cleaned it up,
















I recently had the body work done and a budget 2 stage paint job,



















And a few pics of the engine we pulled the other night! we will prep the engine bay soon and give it a re spray!










Its going to get a JDM D16A replacement long block!

 

Here's the engine bay so far,

 

Looks great man! Super clean as I can see! Keep at it and it’ll be near perfect by the time you’re done. This has inspired me even more to make my eg hatch a more cleaner reliable daily!

 

In for a DD project!

 

engine bay respray is in order?

 

Yes sir! we will prep and re coat the under side of the Hood as well as the engine bay for a clean finish. The car recently was painted and we also got the door jams and trunk jams so the only part left really un painted was the engine bay. Now that the engine is out its the perfect time. Its now or never haha

 

Thanks im glad its gave you some inspiration!

 

One of the thing I need to fix is the speedo cuts out sometimes and then I notice it also stops my tach from counting the miles I drive so for the longest time I didn't notice but the tach stop registering miles! so its stuck at around 149,000 miles. I'm almost certain it has something to do with the speed sensor cutting out, unless someone can shed some light on this issue! Ill be looking for a speed sensor and hopefully get a good one on before the new engine goes in.

 

Yes it does rely on the speedo

 

That's good news! ill try and find one soon!

 

Pressure washed and prepped.

 

New engine will come soon! JDM D16

 

pls paints the bumper grills and bottom half of the rear spoiler black so honda baby yaysoos does not cries in heaven k thx

 

Hilarious, but hope for the best.

 

lol my tears are building as i type this...

 

to avoid the chances of scratches and damages to the engine bay, install the engine from the bottom up instead. Much easier IMO.

 

Just found your thread again, gonna follow along because as you know, I need paint and body work for my Del Sol project also.

 

Yea good tip! the good thing is they have a lift there, I even think its in the back round of one of the pics so yes it will go in from bottom up!

I will ask the guy who did the engine bay if he can do a whole car and give you a quote!

The SC will be just for mocking up a D series bracket I most likely wont run it on this engine it will still remain a stock daily driver.

 

Engine bay shot ! came out good I think not the best but hey better than how it looked that's for sure! Once I get the Valve cover on the engine powder coated wrinkle red and clean up the engine block hopefully it compliments the bay.



Before,







After,

 

The lift was not a option so we dropped it from the top,

 

You stabbed a dirty engine back in a freshly painted engine bay? Comon' man!. Atleast hit the block and trans with a pressure washer and a coat of aluminum high temp paint

 

Yea ill clean it up but im not about to paint the engine, I don't like the look when its painted just doesn't look original. I will clean it later and do some polishing on it and also will get the VC power coated and I will re paint the header heat shield to clean it up. Its not a show car/ engine by any means. I wouldn't doubt if in the future a better engine goes in hopefully a K24 but till then im not worried about painting the engine.

 

I dunno, the aluminum finish silver looks good to me

 

When I was in the process of rebuilding my D16 motor, I didn't want to bother borrowing someone's truck to pick up/drop off a cherry picker. Plus, I was doing the work by myself so that wouldn't been helpful either because a person has to pull the picker while someone maneuver the engine.

Lowered the car down onto a furniture dolly (utilizing the lift points behind the front tires), removed the engine mounts, raise it back up....roll engine out on driver's side. BAMM!!! lol

 

I love the work you are doing. Starting to look a lot cleaner with that paintjob. On your speedo-odo fails ...a couple years ago I had a similar speedo/odo cut-out problem in my 98 Civc DX MT. It turned out to be my brake-booster vacuum canister pressing against the wire harness. Changed canister position and restraints and the problem has not returned. Another time my starter motor was intermittently failing and I would tap it with a wrench to get it to go whenever it failed. After I swapped my transmission, the starter worked normally without a problem for 6 more years. Had a similar experience with a directional lightbulb socket. ...point is, test the wiring and clean the connectors before buying a new part. Might save you a few bucks.