1990 Honda CRX Si D15Z1/HF Trans Swap Project

[02ws6]

Havent made any updates in a VERY long time.. Rest assured though, that Ive been on this thing alot more in the last couple of months. I now know that I never again will I buy a pieced together car.. Im redoing damn near everything on this car.. Changed the front and rear engine compartment crossmembers. Also pinned the OBD-1 conversion harness that I bought off E-Bay last week. And scored a set of near mint CRX Si wheels. I hope to find something different but figured you never see these things with their actual factory wheels and for $80 why not? Ive just gotta buy tires to put on them now.

Its been getting pretty cold this week and between work, school and the Army Reserves Ive been pretty busy lately..

So far Ive replaced just about the entire suspension with what is pictured below.






I bought some Eibach Sportline springs and when I got home I just had to try them out.. lol





Will finish getting the engine together this coming weekend but this is what Ive got so far. Every seal, bearing, gasket and o-ring has been replaced. Even bought a new watertube (had to come from honda). Block has a fresh hone and cylinder head has milled, checked and stem seals replaced. Alot to do on a perfectly good motor but it did have over 240k on it when I bought from a young kid doing a H22 swap on his VX.





Thats a big change from how I got that Valve Cover..





Today the GF and I were driving along the highway and I just happened to spot the resource for a new bellypan. She thinks Im about crazy.. lol. None-the-less she helped out..



I really wanna have A/C on this car and have been debating on what to do with the climate control since the car doesn't have one at all.. I have this Accord CC that someone has started to convert and if done right can turn out nice.. I just want the simplest setup here and this doesn't seem to be it..



Hopefully Ill have more updates soon as this project has drug out way too long as of now.. And I don't even wanna talk about budget on this one. I know this will definately be a return on investment kind of thing but Im sure Ive got a couple dimes more than I should in this thing and am on the downhill of purchases to get it on the road but still have a way to go..

[92CIVIC-Vx]

likin the VC

[MetroMPG]

That springs picture is great!

For those 14 inch Si wheels, I highly recommend Potenza RE92 from the 1st generation Insight for excellent LRR properties:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...eet-19126.html

Note: you have to use the 165/65R14 size - other sizes of that tire aren't LRR.

[02ws6]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

That springs picture is great!

For those 14 inch Si wheels, I highly recommend Potenza RE92 from the 1st generation Insight for excellent LRR properties:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...eet-19126.html

Note: you have to use the 165/65R14 size - other sizes of that tire aren't LRR.

I will definately look into picking those up as long as they aren't too expensive.. lol..

I have a set of 13" steel wheels that came with almost new 175/70/13 82S Michelins on them and those puppies have a 740 treadwear rate on them. One tire did have a hole in the sidewall so Ill have to purchase one. Ill probably ride with those for the time being and save for those 14's.

That reminds me. I have this spare '88 or '89 Si wheel that Ill let go cheap for anyone interested.





I have some GSR "Fat Five" wheels on the other CRX with tires that are less than a year old so it might be a while before I buy any wheels to go on those 14's now that I think of it.

Ive been talking with my brother who has a B18B swapped CRX and we may trade out front springs as his TEIN S-techs are a little too soft up front for him and the Eibach's are definately stiffer.. His car is pretty scary when you hit the curvies.

I haven't got to cutting up this bedliner yet but it seems thick enough to justify the use of a sawzall. Will have to see if I can borrow dads..

I really just want this thing done already..

[02ws6]

Went down to Dads to work on the car this weekend and the original plan was to stab the transmission on the engine and work on getting the wiring complete and dropping the engine in the car. Well, things didn't quite go as planned.. lol..

The more and more I looked at the engine bay the more I just didn't like the rattle can looks of the paint flaking off and then that ugly hood.. So I ripped everything out of the engine bay that would make it feasable to spray some new paint..

At 2am I wound up with this.. As I took this pic I thought to myself, "What the he!! have I done??" Then laughed it up and went to bed..










Some random pieces that will be cleaned up and painted.. The work just keeps piling up..lol.



While some of the primer was drying I replaced the taillights on the car with some year correct 90-91 junkyard gems.. Really happy with how the car looks from the rear now..

88-89 (Before)



90-91 (After)




This is what dad texted me with monday afternoon. One more coat will be applied. The passenger side shock tower isn't gonna be hit yet since I found some sweet JBweld covering a crack.. I guess this car used to sit so low that the control arm had busted into the shock tower.. That'll have to be massaged out and welded in the coming weeks. Fixing all this B-boy crap gets annoying at times..






Here's a pic of the beater last week.. I found it funny..

[02ws6]

While Im throwing in pics, Here's one of the brother's (Built B18B) and my cars.. We're kinda fans of these little things..lol

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by 02ws6

Here's a pic of the beater last week.. I found it funny..

Before ... After ?

[02ws6]

Thats the current daily beater.. Ive owned it since about '06 and might have $2200 in it. Made my money back on it ten fold though when I travel for the Army Reserves .. Its an auto DX with a JDM D16A6 in it (got it to replace the oil burner 1.5 last year for $200) and the stock 1.5 intake setup(would love to change to PGMFI but I aint fixing what aint broke). I get about 30-32city and 35-40hwy.

Ive been debating on selling it lately since the other car will be up and running soon. Thats is if I don't keep finding things to work on with the white one. The car really runs too good to sell and I COULD let the GF drive it but I worry about her safety. You gotta be on your toes when you drive a car this small. If I sold it, I couldnt just let it go as an $1100 beater. It honestly runs too good for that. I might just use it as a guinea pig to learn some bodywork skills and welding and whatever. The car is ugly enough now that it IS it's own theft deterrent system. Which I don't mind at all since I keep some pricey tools and stuff in there from time to time.. Im so indecisive. We'll see..

[02ws6]

Back on topic..

I was pinning the conversion harness I bought off Ebay a few weeks ago and noticed that the VX's had a shift light.. Any of you guys wire that into anything? I've thought about wiring it up to my CEL but really dont know how I feel about it. I know it isn't necessary and if I don't like it I could just wire a switch in to turn it off too. Was just wondering what you guys might have used.. I think a small LED light in the back of the cluster would work well without being noticeable. I definatelly still want the car to look factory inside (minus an armrest) and for the most part under the hood too.

[02ws6]

No one have any input on the Shift light idea??

I didn't have as much time to put in on the car this past weekend since the GF and I had plans but I did manage to get some things done.. Got some of the parts on the firewall and... Well, here you go... Kinda in order-ish


Brought the engine up from the shed and rolled the car under the carport











AND.... Voila!! Still a long way to go but its nice to actually see progress..