Hey there GRM, longtime reader brand new subscriber. Decided it would be smart to actually log the cars' progress somewhere it can be easily viewed.
Here's a longer than intended background/introduction to myself, I am currently a senior at Kettering University studying Mechanical Engineering who really shouldn't be dumping money into projects right now but you know how car life goes. Last year (summer 2017) I decided to turn my dream of racing into something physical and started autocrossing my daily - a modified 2003 Saab 9-3 with 250k+ miles. I started out just doing it for fun, but 8 autocrosses and a Corbeau FX1 driver seat later, and the urge to do actual track days, I realized if I wanted the Saab to survive the rest of college I would need a dedicated fun car. My requirements for a track/autox car were simple: cheap, lightweight, & proven platform.I considered the obvious choices (Miata, E36, Foxbody, Focus SVT) but there was something I didnt like about each of them. I went to Gridlife Midwest Festival in 2017 and became inspired with James Houghton and his Unlimited-class winning DC2 Integra Type-R. I was impressed since everyone/internet tells you FWD sucks and rear wheel drive was faster, yet his Integra was setting lap records across the country. I knew front drive cars could be fast but had no idea they could be pushed that far. That was all I needed - decided I really wanted a 90's Honda and learn how to be fast with FWD.
Fast forward to Winter 2018. I was back on campus spending my free time looking through craigslist ads and came across a Integra that was bone stock in the pictures (which is near impossible) and was in Lansing (a short drive from Flint) so I immediately contacted the seller and setup a date to view it. I skipped some classes and went with a friend to check it out cause thats how priorities work. Low and behold the car did present itself as the ad showed - a bone stock, tired daily driver. The car did have some issues however - the exhaust sounded the equivalent of open header, the FL wheel was a steelie, no tires matched, and car had the worst alignment in history (more on this later...). I decided these were acceptable since I was gonna replace all this anyway and bought the car for $1600, which I thought was a steal at the time.
Getting the car home was fairly uneventful except for the fact the alignment was terrifying. The FL and RL wheels both had positive camber and the rear had toe out. The car was always trying to rotate and any change of road surface (it was winter so there was a lot) made the back end step out noticeably. Again thinking that was just a poor alignment I didnt worry too much about it *Insert foreshadowing noise here*. Other than that the car drove well, most of the electronics worked, and it held steady temps despite the fact the radiator cap leaked (more on this later too...). Once it was home the car sat for a while until spring came.
Now to spring, I'm off of school semester and can really dive into what I spent my tax return on. So I go around the car and inspect every surface I can see. I came across a few things - the car used to have a sound system and was hastily returned to stock so the radio didnt work. Didnt really matter to me since it would be removed later because racecar. I looked under the car and found the exhaust leak:
The engine bay had some leaks and looked like it wasn't cleaned since it left the factory in 2000
I replaced the rad cap but noticed there was still a trail of coolant on the rad. So inspected all the visible surfaces and eventually removed the rad fan, which then revealed a massive hole in the radiator. Im sure the only reason the car made it home without overheating was the fact it was 20F outside.
And about that alignment... I checked the car and saw all the control arms were original and had limited adjustability but couldnt understand how the toe & camber were soo far out. So I jacked up the car and really inspected all of the suspension hard mount point. Then i really looked at the rear subframe...
Looks like previous owner slid into a curb, bending the rear subframe, and most likely destroyed the wheel in the process, which would explain why one wheel was a steelie. If the car you buy on craigslist seems to be a steal, theres probably a catch. Or two, or three...
Log continued in next comment
To fix the bent section of the subframe, we tied one end of the comealong to the LCA bolt, and the other end to the back of my buddies Suburban. We simultaneously heated up the bent section with a torch while cranking on the come along. It really didnt take much force to straighten the chassis. I thought we would run into the limit of the wench (2 tons) but we were no where near that. I estimate we had a max load of ~500 lbs of force. Kind of worrying how ductile Honda produced these subframes on all their passenger cars.
