///Mathew

Well I have been lurking for a while and have made the odd post/thread but I thought I would finally introduce myself and make a build thread.

I'm from BC, Canada, I'm 26, this is my 6th car, and quite honestly I didn't intend to have a civic or anything in particular. I was just looking for a reliable daily, as I just finished going back to school and am starting a new career.

I've had it now for 2-3 months and I have realized the full potential of this little gem. I'm so glad I happened to buy this car and not, say, a 4 door corolla.

After about a month of owning it I decided to make it into a project. It came completely stock with torn up DX seats and Vancouver Canucks seat covers (love the Canucks, hate seat covers). Apart from that, the body is in very good shape with only a tiny spot of rust under the rocker, where its not visible.

So far this is what I have done to it:

COSMETIC:
-'91 Si gauge cluster(with tach) with '91 bevel
-94-01 Integra center console swap
-Type R shift ****
-OMP steering wheel
-'89 Si front and rear seats (my favorite), no rips or bolster wear
-Painted front and rear wipers back to black
-Headlight warning beeper
-Si chin spoiler

PERFORMANCE:
-H & R sport springs
-Koni Yellows
-Integra DA wheels
-Integra DA rear trailing arms with disc brakes
-Integra DA front knuckles with bigger disc brakes
-Integra DA prop valve, master cylinder and booster (with the above three it stops wonderfully)
-Replaced faulty thermostat

What I have left to do:
-B18a1 swap (I already have the engine, mounts, linkage, ecu, etc) DONE
-Exhaust (something classy, no fart can) DONE
-Header DONE
-Paint all of the black trim
-Paint the carpet, its in good shape but I would like it to be a deeper black
-Ronal Turbo wheels. Might be getting them from a friend this weekend, super stoked. Don't like the DA wheels but they clear the big brakes, the 13's did not. DONE, but went with different wheels
-JDM sidemarkers
-Pedal kit (bare metal is slippery)

In the distant future:
-Paint the whole car


Basically my goal for this car is nice tight handling (which I have already achieved), a bit more power and torque, and clean clean clean! Also, budget. Total I've spent (including the car) is about $1800. The only thing new on the car is the shift ****, everything else is used. Craiglist is a wonderful tool with a little patience. I considered doing a b16a swap but I just can't afford it, nor can I justify it.

I'll keep you guys posted on what I'm doing and I would love to hear your advice/criticism. More pics to come!

Latest shot:

faster Type R

Not a bad start! I love red hatches.

DCRB

looks good! but you should convert your dash harness to 90-91 specs so it looks stock like i did, it's not hard to do

maddix

really very good shape. Will U be able to do more photoes of "-94-01 Integra center console swap"

///Mathew

Do you mean actually swapping out the whole dash, or just the wiring to get rid of the extra buttons?

Sure, I'll try to do a quick write up when I get the chance.


For guys who have painted their side trim, whats the better method? Remove the trim and risk breaking the clips, or tape up the car and paint the trim on car? I have some Duplicolor bumper paint that I am going to use.

///Mathew

Today I started painting the side trim:

Got some rubbing alcohol from safeway and some green masking tape.



Those trims were unbelievably dirty.



Masked everything off with lots of newspaper.





Applied three or four coats every 10 minutes or so.





This is what the bumpers look like. I will take them off and spend more time on them. Sand them down and such before painting.



Just waiting for the paint to dry before I pull everything off...

99_Taco_Supreme

Nice, lets see the finished product!

///Mathew

Bah, it got dark

I will post more maybe Sunday. I have to paint the tiny trim pieces on the front fenders still. I decided to cover them up because there was no easy way to mask in between the door and the fender trim. Should be a quickie though.

After taking the masking off, theres a couple spots where the paint ran down...any good ways to get that off? (without damaging the paint underneath of course. Its not that noticeable but I would still like it to be clean...

///Mathew

Ok so I took a couple shot to compare the trim before and after, between the front fender and door:




For the center console swap, just do a search, there are a few threads on this.

I made a couple of variations to what others have done. A lot of people say that the console doesn't line up perfectly with the stereo part. Sorry I don't have pics, but what I did was drilled a couple of holes under where the e-brake comes down. Then I got a piece of wood that was about 3/4" thick and about 6" long and attached it to the metal with screws. That way when you put the Integra console in the wood props it up and makes it the correct angle to line up with the stereo part of the console. Then when I installed the back piece of the console, I screwed it into the wood, under the trim cap.

Hopefully these pics will help explain, though I took them with my iphone and the flash sucks (it also makes my console look ugly as sin...I assure you its not)

Left side, see how its flush. Used a wood screw to secure it to the stereo part. The hole doesn't line up.



Right side, flush again. You can use the existing hole and drive a screw into the stereo part.



The piece of wood supporting the console.



The console screwed onto the wood.



The finished product.

1991civicb16

Decent start good luck with it. I want your seats

faster Type R

I need to paint my trim. I'm going to do that during my spring break.

99_Taco_Supreme

Looks much better than before. A nice masking job definitely makes it worth the time and effort. Those wheels look good on the car too. What year and model integra are those from?

///Mathew

Thanks. The wheels are from a '90 Integra LS. And I really don't like them much, but at least they fit. They are kind of beat up though.

Not sure about the Ronal Turbos now...they are awesome wheels, but this particular set I was going to get from friend is kinda scratched and curbed. Also the tires he's including are not very good either. So dunno what to do now. Going to test fit tomorrow and I will take some pics and get your opinions....

///Mathew

So I went and test fitted the Ronal Turbos at my friends house. First I have to say I absolutely LOVE them...the scratches and curbage is almost not noticeable when they are on the car, cause they just look so sweet. The tires he has on are too big, I believe they are 215/55R15 and they rub the inner fender over bumps. So I'm going to possibly buy them without the tires if he can't sell them with the tires. What tires size do you 15" wheel guys run? Also, what opinions on the Ronals?

wreckin-rex91

195/50/15 would probably just about tuck those in your fenders. I am not a fan of big offsets, IMO... looks ghey! But to each is their own and if you love them! Go with it... that's all that matters is what you like. Werd!

d16efsedan

Looking good so far!!!!

2000CivicCX

looks cool. those wheels are sick!

///Mathew

I agree about the offset...but I'm thinking a narrower tire would help so its not poking so much.

///Mathew

Also picked up some fake leather vinyl and some fake suede to make a new shift boot and to line the part of my console that is a bit beat up...specifically the pocket under the cupholders.

Stopped by visions and bought some new speakers cause mine are crapping out. Got a sub as well...didn't really intend to, but they were on sale for $58 and $38 respectively. So now I have to find an amp and make a box...and install a sub which I have never done. Should be interesting.

I'm going for the clean sub look...what have you guys done so that the sub doesn't basically own your trunk?

99_Taco_Supreme

I love those turbo wheels! I've wanted a set of those for awhile. How much are you getting them for? IF you get them.

///Mathew

Guy wanted $500 for them...with the tires. But that was when he told me the tires were decent. Gonna offer him $400 with no tires, since 2 are worn and 2 are getting there. And they don't fit my car.

Two of the wheels are curbed and all of them have scratches on the finish.

99_Taco_Supreme

Not a bad deal at all if you can get them for $400. I looked on ebay earlier and one seller has them for $899 brand new. I think he was the only one selling new ones.

stackedhouse

I'm going for the clean sub look...what have you guys done so that the sub doesn't basically own your trunk?



heres my dads setup.. super clean look. the amp is mounted underneath it was super easy to do too

with the carpet over it

DCRB

no 88-89 and 90-91 dash's are the same, just different cluster covers and the buttons are located in different locations. how i did mine was just got a spare 88/89 dash harness, and a spare 90/91 dash harness, and used a helms pdf to trace wires to see which wire goes where, and soldered the 90-91 plugs and connectors to the 88-89 dash harness. i had to re run three wires from the 89 hazard switch to the 90 plug. it's a lot easier than it sounds

///Mathew

So the Ronals got sold, buddy got his asking price, (which was too much for me) so its all good.

Now I need ideas for wheels...I really like GSR mesh wheels, looking for something clean...and inexpensive. Maybe some new like a set of black Rota slips or something. Must be 15". I know slips are overused but at least they have a nice clean look. Any other ideas?