Hey all! New to the Forum and 48hrs ago snagged a new to me ‘99 EM1 in Electron Blue Pearl with 126k on the clock. Got really lucky with a fairly clean one that was pretty well taken care of. Straight body/frame, zero rust, a few mods done to it (most of which are going to come off).A couple little things that need to be addressed but nothing major.

Decided to get a build thread going mainly for me to track what’s been done. Planning on keeping it NA and not going down the rabbit hole of trying to make much more power. I’m already gearing up to pull the motor and do a refresh rebuild, and while it’s out taking care of other stuff, mainly suspension, bushings, motor mounts and all that.

My first car was a 6th gen ‘97 EX back in high school / college and I’ve always regretted letting it go. I guess I’m gonna call this my midlife crisis and I’m ok with that LoL. Looking forward to anyone’s input along the way. Glad to be back in the Honda fam!

 

Nice find. Nothing wrong at calling it a midlife crisis, albeit I'm right there with you. I've just had my EM1 for 24yrs, lol. Happy to help in any way I can.

Not totally sure how they got a red emblem on the steering wheel.

 

Noting wrong with the midlife crisis. Loved my EM1, but not sure if I'd buy another for nostalgia though it has appealed to me.

Purchase a very good alarm.

 

Thanks, I’ll definitely give you a shout if I need some seasoned owner knowledge lol. And yea, that red emblem is gone as soon as I can yank it off.

 

It’s got a Viper on it, don’t know much about it but I’m gonna figure out if it’s still viable.

 

Very nice! Looking forward to your updates. Definitely keep that beauty under a close eye, and I hope you have a garage space for it!

 

Viper is fine. Install a killswitch. I've got a killswitch on mine, also a quick release steering wheel and factory immobiliser. In the midst of installing a Viper alarm, though I deleted all the remote start stuff.



I've built mine over the course of 4 years. Your plans are more or less what I'm doing or have done. Mild engine mods and lots of suspension work.

 

Thanks! And yep, I have an attached garage/shop that she’s gonna stay in 👍

 

Beautiful! Did you buy it or have it painted that color? It’s gorgeous, can’t say I’ve ever seen a green like that on an ek. Also, what wheels are those? I think I see SSR, what model? Planning on getting a second set of wheels to autox on when the time comes

 

UK spec EM1s came in this colour. You got Clover Green Pearl as well, just not on the Si. I think the EX had it and so did the Integras.

SSR Type C wheels.

 

Interesting, Starlight Black Pearl. My US Spec EM1 was Flamenco Black Pearl, we only got limited colors.

Flamenco Black Pearl, Red, and Electron Blue Pearl.

 

I follow the SoCal EM1 Crew page, so I've seen the range. Europe definitely got spoilt for choice. This one isn't listed on the brochure.



Sorry, I'm going off topic here. Looking forward to updates on the build @ConfusedStig .

 

I would have died for Clover Green in my 20s.

 

No worries at all! I’m all about any comments and convo in this thread, that’s what we’re here for. Btw, what track is that?

 

First quick spin after bringing her home. Forgot how well this gen photographs, and that Electron Blue pops hard

 

Mondello Park in Ireland. Its my local track.

Very biased opinion, but the sixth gen is the best looking.

 

no doubt whatsoever.

😁

gotta post mine, even though it’s a lowly EX (USDM), and not an EM1. Still love this car, and owned since she was new in ‘98 with 11 miles on the clock.

 

So decided to go another route on the powertrain side of things. Was planning on keeping the b16, but it’s got pretty low compression on cyl 3 (150-55 across the board but #3 came in at 70). Did a leakdown and sure enough it’s the bottom end.

after weighing the options, decided on a LS swap. The purists will crucify me for that, but but I love working on engines and and figured if I’m going to be in the might as well have some fun.

Snagged a very clean B18B1 over the weekend that the previous owner recently went thru and freshened up. Going to run the b16 head and throw on an oil feed line and all that. Can’t wait to get it going.

if anyone has in depth experience with this swap I’d love to pick you brain. Been reading all I can and feel comfortable with what needs to be done but always like talking to those who’ve gone thru it. Hope everyone’s builds are coming along well!

 

Great looking car. I too went thru my mid life crisis and bought a 98 ex and plan on semi restore it. Originally I was looking for a clean EG SI hatch but most are either clapped out/gutted or are way to expensive and molested, so I got the one I have now.

Looking forward to your progress with the car and for context this is what im working with

 

Nice! Looks solid. My first car was a ‘97 Ex…great platform and light. Can’t wait to see it coming along 👍

 

Was able to finally carve out some time to pull the b16. Went way smoother than expected with the only slightly annoying bit getting to the T-bracket…no friggin room back there. Other than that it was smooth sailing, took a little under 5hrs start to finish.

Not wasting any time tho, starting the teardown process to see what’s what. Already found a handful of things that I need to replace. This is the best version of adult Lego I can think of! LoL