In reply to paranoid_android74:
Waterford Hills is less than 30 minutes away 
In reply to paranoid_android74:
Waterford Hills is less than 30 minutes away
Looks good. We had 2000 Civic Si as well as a '92 Hatch and B16A-powered CRX. Fix the stuff that's broken, add some rear bar, and go have fun.
In reply to David S. Wallens:
Thanks! The Honda rescue will probably be on pause for a couple weeks as we spend time training the new puppy but my goal is to get the car to safe daily driver status by June, take it to Waterford Hills to do touring laps during their vintage race weekend at the end of July, and hopefully do at least one track day by the end of summer.
The big items on the to-do list are:
Brakes and brake lines. I probably need to re-do all the hard lines because they are routed really weird. Whoever did that job is not on my list of favorite people.
Torque mounts. I still need to find a bracket for the transmission side
Timing belt and valve adjustment
I've always thought these 90's civic hatches would be fun lil go karts to drive. But I've never had the chance.
I had a bit of time today so I made an improvised thread chaser from an extra bolt and started cleaning out the holes for the torque mount bracket I do have.
I also did stickers!
^destined for greatness.
I've been saving these GRM decals for a special occasion.
Excellent decal choices!
In my mind a hot rod Honda always has this logo:
In all honesty though I don't really even know what Mugen does...
I put the Civic is on jack stands so I could poke around underneath and finally get the new tires (that I've had for months) swapped onto the wheels. Looks like the fronts have been rubbing on something. Hmm...
Didn't take long to find the culprit. The other side is the same. My first thought was that these cheap aftermarket rims don't actually fit right but it didn't take too long to realize that the tie rods are installed backwards, causing the rubbing. It was pretty easy to figure out the issue since they are clearly marked "R" and "L" but someone still managed, somehow, to put them on the wrong sides. One more thing on the list of hackery to fix. Poor car.
Loaded up and ready to go!
I took it for a quick blast around some side roads. It's fun as hell with the new sticky tires.
Also, I think I have an oil leak.
After further examination it looks like it's time for a new oil pan gasket.
Are you planning to track it in all its D16-powered glory? If so, we could go together, compare notes on single-stick non-VTEC Honda ferocity.
I could be the cheering section for you guys...
In reply to Acme Lab Rat:
It's got B18 power! No Vtec but it scoots pretty good for an old hatch back. Want to do a track day at Waterford Hills? I'm hoping to get out there by the end of the summer.
In reply to BlueInGreen44:
Oh! I forgot this had a B18-swap. I am down for a track day, even though I'll be zooming around with the D-series, but hey, track days is track days!
Short term priorities for this car are changing. The Ranger's rusty body mounts are getting sketchy to the point where I don't want to use it for more than quick trips around town. I need to either fast track preparing the Civic for daily driving duties or find another cheap beater. The latter probably isn't going to happen. So, here's the complete list of things to fix in order of importance. I could knock this out in a couple weekends, right? Right...
Civic to-do:
Tires *check
Hood latch *check
Get new lug nuts *check
Alternator
Exhaust axle back
Oil leak (pan gasket?)
Timing Belt/Valve adjustment
Engine Mounts
-find ac side torque mount *check
-find trans side torque mount
-replace or fill worn mounts
Switch Tie Rods
Brakes
-reroute lines
-replace soft lines
-adjust drums
-upgrade pads, rotors, and shoes
Replace Windshield
Find Grille
Paint hood *check
Find window cranks *check
Find door panel
In reply to BlueInGreen44:
Are you going with an aftermarket axle-back? If so, I'd like to know what you end up with - too many fart cans out there.
In reply to Acme Lab Rat:
The rest of the exhaust is some straight pipe stainless larger than stock diameter setup so it will have to be something aftermarket... unless I decide to ditch the whole thing and replace with oem parts. The goal is find/make something cheap that will fit but that won't be obnoxious. I'm not a fan of the fart can either.
I was all excited to open up my big part order and give the Civic some love.
Except that's not the timing belt tensioner I ordered... At least they got close to the right size and shape? Looks like I'll have to wait a little longer before tearing into engine maintenance.
I'll make progress eventually. There is a lot happening in the BlueInGreen family. About two months ago we brought home a 3 month old puppy and then a couple weeks ago my wife and I became parents, kind of. We are now the legal guardians of an energetic 5 year old girl (long story, maybe for another thread another time) so we went from just my wife and I in a quiet house to a house filled with two balls of energy. One is blonde and the other is brown and furry.
And the Civic waits patiently in the driveway.
Wife, dog, kid.... Sounds like you need to sell the hatch and build an Odyssey
I was excited when I woke up today. Why? Today was junkyard day! Time for dad to go spend the morning pulling parts off dead cars. Even though the local-ish yard is mostly full of domestic stuff their website listed a handful of the Honda products that could donate parts to the Civic so I was hopeful. I left the house with visions of Integra seats and rear disc swap parts dancing before my eyes.
Well, I found one Integra of the few the website said were there.
There wasn't much left. I wasn't surprised to find the engine gone as well as most of the suspension. Lucky me the folks who took the engine left the one torque mount bracket I needed.
Then I raided a mostly complete Civic for a grill and windshield washer reservoir and hoses. Yet another thing my car is missing...
I did not find the big things on my list. Every Civic of the correct year and body style was already missing the passenger door panel. Too bad. A complete interior will go a long way towards improving my wife's opinion of the car. I was also hoping to find a B series alternator but no luck. Looks like I be shelling out some big $$ for a new replacement so I can get the car up and running.
The trip turned into an adventure on the way home. The Ranger was rolling along happily in heavy traffic when I thought I smelled something hot for a bit. Probably the crappy Jeep in front of me, right? The truck also wanted to wander more than usual under braking. No worries, normal for chunky tires on grooved pavement, right? Wrong. A few miles later the hot smell got more noticeable and I recognized the odor of hot brakes. About that same time it started pulling HARD right and as I came to a stop at a red light I noticed smoke from the front right side. And that's how I found out I had an intermittently sticky caliper. That's also how I began the adventure of driving home while trying to avoid braking as much as possible and how I turned a 45 minute trip into a 2 hour trip.
I also found out the grill I found was the wrong one. 
Apparently it's not the same for all EK Civics. At least I think I pulled it from an EK chassis Civic. I'll measure next time.
Oh, and while I was loading up the truck to head home I couldn't find my keys and had to retrace me steps through the yard to find where they had slipped out of my pocket. That was fun too.
When I got home I played with the puppy and watched Pooh's Grand Adventure with the kid. The day was better after that.
Edit: I'm a superdork now I'll go to bed a happy man.
the front end on EKs changed for 99-00, and you have the later front end on your car, while the white grille is from the earlier front end.
Newbie here but following along, might see you at Waterford Hills this summer trying to do the same thing!
In reply to Sonic:
Thanks, I learn something new everyday!
In reply to LarsBrunkhorst:
Welcome! Hopefully I'll see you there. If I don't have the Civic trackworthy by end of summer I'll try to do at least one trackday with my wife's Focus.
It lives! I swapped the old bad cheap remanufactured alternator for a "new" cheap reman from Auto Value. I'm curious to see how long it lasts. That means I finally got to drive it around. It's still way too loud and it leaks oil like an old British sports car but I could drive it to work if need be.
Here's the trusty Ranger breathing life into its friend for what could be the last time before the truck moves on to a new owner.
Now I celebrate with beer.
Today's update: I finally got plates and was Very Excited to take a fully legal blast around some back roads. Then it wouldn't start. No crank, no click, no lights. I figure I didn't let it run enough to charge the battery yesterday. Also... come to find out the 5 year old had pushed the hazard lights button and they were on all night. Somehow I didn't notice. That would do it...
So I jump started the Civic and finally got to take a good drive on real roads. It was fun, and loud, and did I mention it was loud? A couple things: The driving position is less than ideal. Since I've a tall torso I have to lean back and so a 2-3 or 4-5 shift requires a stretch. A stock height shifter instead of whatever ricer "short shift" thing is in there now would help. Right now I don't think I'd be able to make the reach if I was harnessed into a racing seat, not that that's an issue right now. But now that I've mentioned it, these stock seats aren't awful but they won't be up to the task of keeping me in place when Track Stuff happens. I've heard Integra seats would be a good upgrade.
And then... I got home and put the voltmeter on the battery and alternator again... and it was charging at lower voltage than I'd like and definitely lower than it was yesterday. Frown. Scowl.
I sold the Ranger last night so I need this thing to get to work next week. Maybe that was a premature decision
BlueInGreen44 wrote: I've heard Integra seats would be a good upgrade.
I happen to have a clean set.......
I also happen to have several stock exhaust pieces from the Integra Chumpcar and ones I pulled off the current.
Everybody knows Scranton is chock full of history so it should be an easy sell to the wife for a nice weekend visit. People regularly refer to Northeast PA as the "Exciting History Type Stuff Capitol of Pennsylvannia". Come for the Steam Engines. Stay for the famous Pothole
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