So it's been almost 3 years of ownership now but I never made a build thread for this car. The biggest reason was it really was just a maintenance thread up till now.
The original plan honestly was to drive it for a year or 2 while I was getting through my divorce. Then I would be giving it to one of my nephews.
GRM For sale ad
Fly and Drive Thread
So a funny thing happened. I absolutely fell in love with the car. It's been my DD for a while. But now with the Element and my BMW motorcycle I have the DD duties handled.
So now it's time to refresh the Integra. Historically, it's been really well taken care of. I have a whole folder maintenance records. Now with 225K miles, it needs a refresh to be honest. There are some leaks to take care of and I want to do a mild autocross/track day build. Nothing crazy but make it great to drive at the track as long with just making it good to drive.
So what is the plan.
1. Refresh the transmission with a higher FD and LSD. While in there, replace the clutch, light weight flywheel, and rear main seal.
2. Rebuild the steering rack to address the leaks.
3. Change the other 2 motor mounts.
4. Figure out what I want to do for seats.
5. Change any bad bushings.
6. Potentially up the spring rates.
7. Change the CV joints.
8. Other things that I find along the way.
9. Type R front brakes.
The first step, I'll be starting to pull the transmission. Looking forward to getting this one done and enjoying the Vtec goodness.
Here are a few pics of the willing victim:
That's a fantastic-looking car! Worth keeping and restoring, for sure.
Are those Acura Vigor rims?
Those are actually the stock rims.
It's kinda rare. 1 year only color in sleeper Honda beige.
So I started the work this weekend.
I was originally thinking that this would be a weekend track car but I just got another ride for my Motorsports pleasures. Mirage RS Thread
So this will be concentrated on more of a restoration and just general fixing stuff now that I've got more time to work on it.
First step: General clean up.
Before
And after:
So now that I got a baseline, I had a few leaks to take care of. First was the power steering system.
Both the outlet and the inlet of the PS pump were leaking. You can see all of the fluid in the first picture there. So lucky for me, Honda made it really simple. 2 bolts and an o-ring on the top and one bolt and an o-ring on the bottom. Boom all done. The o-rings were original and 1 was broke and the other was rock hard. Topped off the PS fluid with some Honda stuff and good to go. Then there was some seeping on the line to the PS cooler. Quick hose change there and all set. Again, the original hose and hard as a rock.
So I've been trying to figure out what to do for wheels. I have the original twists that really need restored and I've got a set of K1-TS that were always just dingy. I got them with another car I bought a few years ago.
I don't know why but the I never tried to clean them. Probably because I was a little afraid of what is under the caked on brake dust. So this weekend, I tried to clean them and I was surprised by the result. Still have a little more more to go but the wheels look great under all of the mess. Worse case I blast and powder coat them but I don't even think that'll be needed. This was the worse one. It was almost all caked on for most of the rim. Looks almost new.
So next up is the interior. It's been a commuter car most of it's life so the driver's side controls are a little worn out and the rest of the car is really nice. So the driver's seat needs to be redone, The driver's door lock switch it worn out, the steering wheel needs new leather, and the parking brake handle is worn out. The parts are on their way to get started.
So yesterday was a great day for winter in Nebraska. So I took her out for a spin on a curvy road for Nebraska. Still drives like a dream at 225K. Silky smooth and tight. Such a great little car.
docwyte
PowerDork
1/16/23 2:39 p.m.
Pics aren't showing up for me? K swap it?
BoulderG said:
That's a fantastic-looking car! Worth keeping and restoring, for sure.
Are those Acura Vigor rims?
They are stock GSR rims. Car sits on ITR suspension.
As the previous owner of the machine, we have an agreement in place for right of first refusal when it comes for sale
I easily have over 50 hours on getting the paint to look like that 
In reply to docwyte :
No Doc,
Keeping this one pure for now. More of a restoration than anything performance related. I just got my new track car/autocrosser loaded up in Naples to be here in 3 days.
Maybe at 300K miles I'll K-Swap it.
