alright guys... damnit, it's all your fault, all of you competition (okay, road racing/autox now) forum people.

i'm putting money into the R at a rate that's probably not healthy, for a car that i'm not willing to race wheel to wheel... so I'm about to go shell out $500 for a 1990 Civic SI hatchback. It runs, quite well actually, and is in great condition except for the front end which the owner smashed up nicely hitting someone a couple weeks ago. I would have got it for less $$$ (grrrr) but circumstances from this morning lead to that number.

anyway... i guess project hatch is about to start. As some of you who have read my posts may or may not know, I make a living as an IS Director and my mechanic abilities go as far as Linux servers and Cisco routers, and on top of that, I don't know jack about racing. Haha, well, only what I read here. So am I about to get bent over here, is there a light at the end of the tunnel I'm about to go into? I guess on top of the Helms I just bought for the R, I'll need to get one for the hatch. heh

okay, well I'm off to pick her up - I hate you guys.

PS: the final blow was watching the ECHC Summit Point in-car video from AdamITR and XR4racer. you bastards.

 

Wecome.

Misery loves company.

 

yes, we love some more company... Road racing ROCKS WALLETS!

 

Dude, you're screwed. Good luck though!

 

LOL!

 

Get used to this site. You'll need it in a few years: http://www.debthelpnow.org/



Warren

 

Stick a fork in you, you're done

See sig and location


[Modified by Jason Franza, 3:34 PM 7/6/2002]

 

Haha, thanks guys, I'm pretty excited. I just drove it. Feels like it runs pretty strong, it's smooth, though it's pulling to the left, undoubtably from the accident it was in. AC works, sun-roof, everything, not that those things will matter after long, haha. Of course the front end has damage. It has 130K miles and though I haven't pried the hood open, doesn't look like anything is damaged that I can tell and it's not leaking any fluids. CV boots are shot... that's the only thing I noticed right off. Still got the cash in my wallet though, I'm 99% sure I'll take it though...

would you pay $500 for this:









[Modified by uncleben, 2:40 PM 7/6/2002]

 

I'm not a big fan of the EF chassis, but for $500 why not?!

 

for looks reasons, or others?

 

fix that front end and CV joints and i think you got a good deal, even if it only gets used even a couple times.

 

No particular performance/longevity reason, but rather the fact that the EF is quite cramped under the hood which is a pain while working on it

Jason-
who likes his "spacious" EG beater

 

Hell yea! Take it. I drive an '89 Si as my beater now. Although, with 213k miles, the car is in no shape for any racing. I spend nothing extra on the car and I never will. All my money goes into the ITR.

But alike you, after doing more and more track events my desire has only increased, and yes, the ECHC videos really did me in. I am afraid of losing the ITR in wheel to wheel action, I just couldn't take that big of a loss if something really bad were to happen. I guess I'm not a pimp like Warren. I also can't afford to build an ITR and a hatch. That's just plain ridiculous. I love the ITR and I can't ever sell it, call me crazy call me what you will. So now I'm stuck.

So the question is, "should I go down a road of endless $$$?"

 

Well I bought it!

That's what I figured, at the very least I have a decent beater when I don't want to drive the R.

And for the track, yeah, it's going to take some $$$ to get this thing track worthy. Hell, appearently the radiator was cracked and the girl had been driving it like a, well, girl, the last few weeks, so of course when I'm taking it for a spin, reving it to red-line and getting it up to 80 with the AC crankin, it starts leaking! Oh well, I would have had to put a performance radiator in it anyway. And the CV joints are shot to hell, making a clickity clack noise pretty bad on sharp turns. Got a price of $59.99 a piece for those. Wonder how much a fluidyne radiator will run, hmmm. It's all beginning now I can see.

My father used to do body/engine work on cars for a living, and he's now getting all excited about helping me get it fixed up. Offering to let me stash it at his place while we work on it and get the front end fixed up. Dad's rule.

thanks for the feedback guys

 

EF's make great little race cars. The longer wheelbase helps.

Make sure none of the suspension is bent up. Check the control arms.

Gotta go get pizza..... have fun. See you around here.

 

will do - thanks!

 

Hey.. It's a Honda... That's all you have to know. You know, like a Timex.
And BTW... Sorry for fueling the fire with my videos, but I guess that means somebody enjoyed them. ....almost as much as I enjoyed making them.....nah.

 

Well I've known for a couple weeks that this person was going to sell their EF pretty cheap, and I'd been thinking for a long time about getting a 2nd car for track duty, and then I watched your video. I already religously watch Speed World Challenge and follow the Realtime Racing crew, but watching you and AdamITR's video just made me think to myself, hey, I could do that too! ...just not with the R

 

Wow Fluidyne radiators are expensive! Is that going to be necessary? I did a search and saw several people saying their OE radiator performing just fine on the track. Or is there at least something middle of the road? OE was going to be like $90-$120 depending on brands, and so far I've only seen one price on a Fluidyne but it was $370+, ouch! Thoughts?

Oh, and don't worry, I've already bent over and started kissing my checkbook goodbye.

 

I have an 88 hatch track car and it's been quite reliable despite many stock parts. The stock radiator is fine. You can also opt for a dual core, which I will do once this one dies. Don't know which way you're going with the mods, but here's what I did (all prices in Canadian $):
bought 1988 ex-Honda Michelin series car: 2100$ it already had a roll cage, blueprinted engine and braided steel brake lines.
bought H&R race springs: 300$
bought KYB shocks: 250$
stripped out interior: free
bought used Sparco Sprint seat: 140$
bought Hawk HP Plus pads: 90$
made bracket for seat: free
bought 4 sets of used 185-60-13 R-compound Yokohama's and Hankook's: 200$
bought 2 sets of lightweight 1992 Civic VX alloy wheels: 400$
bodywork: free
homemade CAI: 40$
parts i had to change: tranny=300$ installed, cv joints = 160$ installed
Total under 4000$ (2600 US$), car is street legal, has a current EMRA log book, got me my EMRA road race license, and is a blast to drive. It weighs 2000 pounds in race trim. At track days, I've spent hours on the track with no problems. The car is not fast, but it's "peppy" and really fun to drive (although a bit rough on the street). Anyway, you can build an inexpensive and safe track car with this generation. Check it out at www.geocities.com/basileracing/civic.html


[Modified by Civic13, 1:16 AM 7/7/2002]

 

I know auto-trans EG Civics came with a dual row radiator that was half the width of the engine bay. Maybe auto EF's also had a dual core you could get for cheap, or with a little "coaxing" I'm sure the auto EG radiator will fit in there.

Or any 3G Integra came with a single row radiator that was the width of the engine bay. Might want to measure that and see if it fits. Definitely no overheating problems with that.

Fluidyne radiators are extremely nice, but you'd have to be generating EXTREME amounts of heat to warrant the cost.

Good luck with your race car! I plan on doing something very similar when I get out of college. Well, that is assuming I get a job and am not homeless.

 

1990 integra auto rad is dual core full length and drops right in

 

Civic13: thanks for the comments, sounds like you went the route I'm planning on going. What types of cars do you run with, and hold your own with?

Def/89civicdx: thanks for the heads up, I'll check it out. As long as a cheaper OE will hold up, that's what I'll do. I had THREE different radiators in my old integra all within a couple years, which was why I was considering spending more money. Guess I just had bad luck... I've seen a lot of these online radiator places doing lifetime warranties though, might check into that if it's not just a gimmick.

 

Get the car track-worthy. Will require the previously mentioned items plus things like hubs, bearings, tie rod ends, tune-up, general maintenance, brake overhaul, etc, etc...

Gut the fugger, put the safety gear and get out on track, get some skillz with new ride

Invest in tires, brakes, suspension, get more skillz with newly aquired pimpy partz

Do some motor work, get some power out of that beeyotch, fine tune skillz

Apply pimpy yellow graphix to side of car, numberz, more safety gear, and get into honda-challenge

 

Forgot to add.... Invest stock in ramen noodles, the $2 frozen pizzas they sell at Wal-Mart, and throw your credit cards away now, before they become your downfall...