1990 Honda Civic DX ("Grumpy")

This is "Grumpy" (as named by my 4-year old because he said that's how mommy was acting when I brought the car home unannounced -- she has since forgiven me). Grumpy is a '90 Civic DX with just a shade under 200K miles,a clean title, and absolutely ZERO rust. Amazing! I picked Grumpy up for $475.

The guy selling him believed that he had a broken piston ring because there was oil in the spark plug tubes (more on that later). He also believed that Grumpy's clutch was fried because one had to take their foot completely off of the clutch before Grumpy would move (more on that later, as well). Finally, a friend of Grumpy's previous owner slid the left front wheel into a curb in the snow a few months ago and the owner said he checked the wheel and it was straight, but there was a wicked wobble coming from that corner, so he assumed that the axle would need to be replaced (you guessed it, more on that later).

So, I brought cash and a trailer and talked the owner down from his $700 asking price. Grumpy is a blank slate. We have two perfectly good cars for the family, so Grumpy will be purely for fun -- whatever I decide that means. Without further ado, here is Grumpy (there's not a lot of room in my garage to take pictures):

(The seat covers will go, they smell like cigarette smoke and the seats underneath are in good shape)

This may very well be my new favorite build thread (more on that later...).

It's like a cleaner version of the car I recently bought for similar money.
So far I've resisted the urge to modify her.
So far.

BRAVO. i like this thing already. its kinda heavy tho.....

i await the fun. I'm hoping for an old school H22 Turbo swap or a K24T, but I'm a dreamer :P

I dream of finding a beauty of a civic/crx like this. Well done!

I very much like where this is going. I have been casually looking for just such a car to fill the void left when I caged my 89 Si and made it a track car.

SnowMongoose wrote: So far I've resisted the urge to modify her. So far.

I don't think I'll be resisting that urge for very long -- just as long as the budget mandates. Like I said, it's a third car, so I want to keep it streetable, but able to do some track duty without dispersing into a million little bits when it gets leaned on.

HaveBlue83 wrote: i await the fun. I'm hoping for an old school H22 Turbo swap or a K24T, but I'm a dreamer :P

I'm new to Hondas (and, in fact, this is the first FWD car I've ever owned in 15 years of driving), so I'm going to take my time to really figure out what drivetrain I want. Right now the K-series swaps are looking tempting, but I might keep it N/A, or a boosted B-series -- we shall see. So, for now, the focus is getting it back on the road (and reliable), then I will start with suspension, wheels/tires, and brakes. I have a pretty good idea where I'll go with those already.

So, my general question is: where do I find good aftermarket performance parts that aren't "ricey"?

As for the "more on that later"s, I shall now expound. Disclaimer: because this stuff is kind of mundane, I won't post many pictures. If, however, there is a cry for them, I can put up the photos I've taken along this particular segment of the journey. Otherwise, I'll save the space and bandwidth for the more interesting topics where pictures are key.

The oil in the spark plug tubes was from (as predicted by a few folks in the thread I started while looking at this vehicle) leaking spark plug tube seals. I thought this might be the case when I started the car at the previous owner's house -- there was no smoke, so no broken piston rings. Also, the business ends of the plugs had no oil or fouling on them, so I knew it had to be coming from somewhere else. The only other "somewhere else" was the seals. So, I removed the valve train and, sure enough, flat, hard seals.

Amazingly, between the three Honda dealers in the greater Spokane area, they only had seven of the eight seals I needed, so the final one will be on a truck departing Portland tonight and in my hot fist in the morning. It only made sense to replace the valve cover gasket and grommets as well.

When I got under the car, I noticed quite a bit of oil on the pan as well and discovered that it was leaking from the pan in a spot where two of the nuts that hold the pan in place were AWOL, so the pan came off for a new gasket and new nuts (I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere). Luckily when I drained the oil, no chunks or metal fragments came out. Sweet!

The clutch issue. When I test drove the car, letting out the clutch was like driving a tractor-trailor. I could literally remove my foot completely from the pedal, then press on the gas and it would go, slowly. As I mentioned, the P/O believed that the clutch was fried. However, it was grabbing okay, it was just that the take-up was longer than an Oliver Stone film, so I wasn't convinced of the fried clutch theory.

When I examined the clutch cable, it appeared as thought the clutch had never been adjusted -- it sat right where it was when it came from the factory. So, I took up the slack with my hand and tightened it down. Voila! The clutch engaged well (as far as I could tell with the car off the ground and the wheels removed).

While I had things spinning, I checked the front hubs, brake discs, and axle shafts for wobbles or warping to corroborate the "straight wheel/bent drive line" hypothesis. Everything spun true.

With this in mind, I laid the abused wheel face down on the garage floor, laid a straight edge on the rim and measured to the hub surface. The measurements from one side to another were about 1/2-inch different. I'm not sure what Grumpy's previous owner did to determine that the wheel involved in the curb incident was "straight", but I hope the guy isn't a pilot, or civil engineer, or something. The hopping and wobbling could have also come from the fact that there are no two wheels or tires on the car that were the same style, manufacturer, or size. And nearly all of the tires were either completely bald, or had the cord showing.

So, all told, the major issues with Grumpy, as far as I can greatly tell without having a set of true wheels, or the engine entirely back together, are merely minor fixes.

I'll be in Seattle from tomorrow through Friday, and hopefully I'll be able to grab a decent set of wheels while I'm there (much larger market than Spokane) -- just enough to get Grumpy back on the road.

this is a great find .. blank canvas and all that … but with the "fixes" you've made, + a set of half a$$ decent tires, you could turn this around for maybe $2000 of profit

looking forward to what you do with this

Wow, almost as a good deal as I got. I don't want to hijack your thread, but the story's a good one.(copied from facebook)

TL;DR: Picked up a free car, but it was an adventure.

Long story: So crazy evening went like this: We went grocery shopping, and decided to check my email.. see that I get tagged by , turns out it's an acquaintance who's stuck on the side of the road. So I give him a call, and he's a little.. agitated, and tells me: Come get the car and it's yours. I'm already back on the road, don't worry about me.

So when we get back home Mrs. tpwalsh unloads the groceries and pulls the trailer out while I run out the Hazard Fraught to pick up a come-a-long. (note to self: Buy a winch for the trailer, it'll be worth it after 1 use). Mrs tpwalsh fired up the truck, gets it hooked up and just as I'm about to hop in I hear something that sends a chill through my spine. Nope not a rattler.. a tick... a spark plug tick. (&(&^(. 15 minutes later after getting a socket on 6 of the 8 plugs, I have Mrs tpwalsh fire the truck up. No tick. Got lucky.

We get on the road, and out to the car without any drama. Thank God the guy had left it on a downhill, made pulling it up onto the trailer way easier than it could have been, but it still took awhile... Awhile that the passenger door was open and the hazzard lights were on. Yep, dead battery. It had enough juice to just turn over, so steff hops in the drivers seat, and I start pushing.. the loaded rig. Except it's pointed towards the ditch, so after it's moving pretty good and she still hasn't popped the clutch I start yelling LEFT!! She though I had been run over and slams on the brakes. So we switch positions, only now the truck is all the way in the grass. It took her a good 30 seconds of pushing, but she got it on a roll enough for it to start. Start to get down the road, and I realize I don't have any lights.. the alternator didn't energize. Limped it down the road thinking at least I could get off the interstate when on the off ramp the alternator kicks on. Get home with no more drama.

I have NO idea what I'm going to do with the car yet. Throw 16 valves and belt at it, and daily drive it? Have a Spec Civic Challange at NCAC? Scrap it? Dunno, but it cost some gas and that's it. I'm leaning towards Spec Civic Challange at NCAC.

The next day I put a timing belt on it and it runs... but on 3 cylinders. So I go buy the DX drivetrain from the guy whole sold the car to the guy who gave it to me.. for $75. Low and behold though, when we back it off the trailer, and into the garage the motor changed tone and smoothed out. Wife looks at me, I look at her. I hand her the compression gauge. The hole with 40psi on it now looks like this.

For a $20 timing belt and some gas I got a free car. The title showed up in the mail 4 days later. Crazy.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and all new belts(seat, accessory, timing, and steel belted radials) it's been a decent driver.

Took it out to the first points event.. in the pouring rain. The wife and I laughed the whole time we were on course.

Since then I've put in the DX drivetrain because the guy who gave it to me wanted the 4 speed. I could have told him no, but it wouldn't have felt right. Took my first "swapped" civic out for it's first test drive last night with no issue. Still no idea what I'm going to do with it.

In reply to tpwalsh:

Great story! Sometimes those lucky ones just come along, don't they?

In reply to wbjones:

That's my current dilemma. I love the idea of keeping it. It'll pay for itself in gas savings over my DD F250 in no time. BUT, I've been looking for a clean E28 BMW and the profit from this car could be the ticket into that arena. BUUUUUUUT, I already have this car and Spokane is not a big BMW market...

Yep, Just got lucky. Sorta want to "trade" it off for a good 220v welder, sorta want to do dumb things with it, like B20 swap it. For now it'll be a daily while I go through the crx's bushings.

So, I'm back from Seattle and have had a little bit of time to work on Grumpy (mostly in the morning between the gym and leaving for work, while everyone is still in bed). So, I finished replacing the oil pan gasket, plugs, plug wires, plug tube seals (top and bottom). I've got the front discs being machined and I'm trying to figure out how to remove and replace a broken front wheel stud without taking off the whole hub assembly and necessitating new bearings and leading to the inevitability of doing the same thing to the other side, too... However, since I will most likely be replacing all of the suspension bushings, I might as well bite the bullet and just take it all apart.

In other news I picked up these:

Rear disc brakes and proportioning valve from a '90 CRX Si. I think I was really the first person to take anything off the CRX and I'm trying to figure out what I need to go back and get. Thoughts?

I almost grabbed the wheels and tires (because, as mentioned, Grumpy came to me with eight individual and distinct parts comprising the wheel and tire package), but I picked up a set of free Sentra steelies the other day (the tires are studded, but they were free!!!), so I'm still mulling the $120 the guy was asking for the CRX wheels/tires.

So, within the next few days, more likely than not, the entire suspension will be off of the car awaiting bushings and the introduction of CRX rear discs and I may, or may not have a decent set of 4 CRX wheels and tires to put on as well (who mulls $120 for good wheels and tires that fit perfectly?).

So, I got the front stud replaced and when I went to put the free wheels on, they were, in fact, 4x114. So, it looks like I'll be going to grab the CRX wheels (and rear sway bar and mounts, while I'm at it) after all. My current goal is to get it on the road to see if I really don't need to replace the clutch. THEN I will start the modifications. I have some goodies coming on Tuesday...

Assuming it's the same as the disc swap for the EG honda civic you'll need the e-brake and cables also.

http://efcivicsedan.myfreeforum.org/Rear_Disc_Brake_Swap_about37.html

From what I've heard, the CRX cable is too short (although, the guy did throw that in as well, so I do have it). I'm grabbing a cable from a 2nd gen. Integra, which is supposed to be the right one.

Rather than getting the CRX wheels, I scored these old Progressive beauties for half the price and unloaded the 4x114 wheels. Sorry there's no full car shot, my garage isn't big enough (read: there's too much other junk in it besides the car) to get a full profile shot. They look pretty decent for now and the tires are in good enough shape.

Once I got the wheels on, I decided to take it for a quick spin to see if it still had the bad vibration/hop. No vibration or hop (having all four lugs securing a straight wheel will help with that). But, I did notice that, even after the clutch cable adjustment, there is a pretty long take-up and not very good power transfer. So, I believe that a new clutch is in order.

I also noticed during the test run down my street that the alignment was WAY off (a result of the curb strike, no doubt). I parked the car, got out, and saw this:

Just a touch of positive camber and toe-out. It did make for some very quick turn-in when pulling into the driveway...

I again did a visual inspection of all front suspension bits and nothing looked bent or broken, so I think it just needs a good alignment. That'll happen after I install these:

Taking the front suspension off to put in the new bushings will give me another chance to compare parts and make sure that nothing is out of whack.

I also took off the front seat covers. The passenger seat is fine, but the driver's seat looks like this:

So, I'll be hitting up the Pull 'n Save to see if I can't get something a bit better.

My 4-year old is obsessed with "decorating" cars on Forza4, so he decided that we needed to do the same to Grumpy. You know, a sort of christening into the family. After much deliberation and discussion we decided that it wasn't best, at this particular juncture, to paint dinosaurs all over the sides. We compromised on this:

I got it started and he applied it perfectly. No wrinkles and only one bubble that was easy to get out. He was happy and I was okay with not having T-rex on my door. But, his birthday is coming up, and I think I might have some vinyl dinosaurs made up here that he can put on Grumpy somewhere.

As much as my wife was opposed to Grumpy's arrival, we have both been happily surprised by how much our oldest (the 4-year old) has wanted to spend time working on it. He holds lights for me, hands me tools, and asks endless streams of questions about what everything on the car does. It's been a great experience for both of us. I shouldn't be too surprised, though. Afterall, he did make this video when he was just over two-years old...

you just took 10%+ off the times that car was capable of … GRM stickers make anything quicker

Started removing the front suspension and transaxle this morning in anticipation of the new bushings and the new clutch. The driver's side came off very easily and all was going well with the passenger side when this stopped me long enough that it's where I left off when I had to go inside and get ready for work/feed kids/feed dog/kiss wife:

The last genius to work on this car decided not to indent the spindle nut where the key on the axle actually is, but rather smashed it into the threads of said axle.

I tried prying it away from the threads, I tried the air impact wrench, I tried yelling at it -- none of those options did any good (even when I combined all three). Suggestions? I ordered new spindle nuts with the new clutch, so I'm not averse to complete destruction of this thing, but I do need to keep the axle shaft intact...

Dremel?

I think that might be the next step. Unfortunately, my Dremel just kicked the bucket the other day. One of my many personal rules is: You're never too old to borrow tools from your dad...

Ahhh, memories. IIRC, I did the rear disc swap from an Integra, Si front discs, poly bushings all around, sway bars front and rear, strut towers front and rear, mini-me swap (Si head and MPFI on the DX block) Tokico shocks with Eibach coils, and a bunch of other little stuff.

If you have access to an unmolested Integra or Si, grab all of the little things like plastic knobs, handles, light covers and fuses under the hood. These are the little things that snap off an old car and are expensive to replace. The fuses is just me being cheap, but they can be $$$ if you have to replace a few of them! Grab the "twinkie" and injectors and stuff you need for a MPFI swap too, just in case you ever want to do it.

Good tips! There is (supposedly) an Integra in one of my local Pull 'N Saves. I haven't been to see it yet, but hopefully it's in decent condition.