My EJ8 Civic Project (56k you may want to think twice... lots of pics)

[badassb5]

Well, I've been a member on this board for quite some time now. Haven't gotten around to getting an Audi yet, when I was going to get one my wife (now ex) and I split and didn't want to have to deal with that in the divorce. I picked up this project car last fall and started to refurbish it. I know not many of you dig Honda's or the Japanese scene but I figured there are a few car enthusiasts that can appreciate a well built car. I'm planning on getting an Audi as soon as I can, just need to pay off some things that we left in my lap because of the damn separation. All the pics were taken via my Blackberry, planning on a photoshoot Monday 01 Jun 08 if weather cooperates.

Here's what it looked like before hand, my dad and I are doing most of the body work and he has one of his painters doing the paint job. Big thanks to them for the help and guidance on the bodywork:






During








Marking the dents we need to fix


Test fitting and aligning the new body panels before they are painted


My dad fixing holes














Found the start of some rust on the drivers door.... got rid of that sh!t







The cleaner











CTR "Style" Urethane Lip and the new trunk

[badassb5]

These will be paint matched




























The Paint








Here are some teaser pics of what's going on the car:










I'm going back tonight to start the reassembly process! I'll post updates tomorrow morning.

And this is me:

[minira]

damn looking good. can't wait to see the parts on the car. i'm into the jdm ish. real good looking ones that are clean and simple are the best.

[NVR STSFD]

Can't wait to see the final product. I had a civic before the Audi, but never did anything like that. Looks like you guys are doing some quality work. Good luck.

[badassb5]

Minor update from tonight, got the rear buttoned up, mirrors and door handles installed, as well as the foglights wired up. Tomorrow night we're going to put the new windshield in as well as finish buttoning up the front end. Friday it goes to get the windows tinted then that evening we should be putting the suspension components on!







Here are some of the other random painted parts, got the CTR grill put on the front bumper and the foglight surrounds on:

[cerfus]

just out of curiosity why did you pick a civic?

[pOrKcHoP07]

that is awesome! your car is going to look tight. I love Honda's when their done right!

BTW - B16 that hoe and add a turbo.

[Kruat]

Looks great so far....Don't see any uncle bens...lol

[badassb5]

No rice on this car. It's going to be my DD/Track car until I can get an S4, then will turn into a weekend track car only

[badassb5]

just out of curiosity why did you pick a civic?

Well, considering I only paid $1500 for it, and I like them....

[a4fann]

Sweet project man. I have always liked very clean civics since they stand out from the rice crowd.

[tommyboy]

very nice, that is gonna look great when its all done. Nice shop too btw!

[boost junkie]

Very nice job on the body work. But tell your dad to get some safety glasses when he's using the grinder

[badassb5]

Very nice job on the body work. But tell your dad to get some safety glasses when he's using the grinder

I tried.... but what can ya do... old schoolers and their stubborn ways

Thanks for all the positive feedback on this guys! I didn't expect it coming from the Audi crowd. I'll post more updates tonight when I get back from getting the front-end put together

[badassb5]

Another minor update. We would have had the front end completely done tonight, but found a missing bumper bracket so that will be in tomorrow and we can get that complete. Tonight we put the new fender well liners in, the thin moldings put in place, new windshield installed, fenders on and aligned, as well as the foglights mounted into the bumper. We installed the side skirts and got the rear bumper to align a little better. Tomorrow night we will get the front bumper put on, light beams adjusted properly, and then get the foglight surrounds and front lip installed. We are also going to try and get the suspension done... which I hope shouldn't be a problem.















Oh, and a brand new factory Honda symbol

[minira]

nice, can't wait to see the suspension and wheels on. great looking car and it's going to be a fun track car as well.

[badassb5]

Well, last night we completed the exterior portion of the car, other than the foglight surrounds as that needs to wait til after we adjust the beams on the foglights. We completed the front suspension and then ended up breaking a couple bolts on the rear lower control arms cause they were rusty as shiet,,, so we're getting all new bolts for the rear today and completing the car. I have to pick up the wheels/tires from being mounted and balanced today shortly after 11 and then hopefully my boss will give me the afternoon off so I can go finish up the car yet this afternoon. Monday it goes in for an alignment and then I'll probably drive the car the whole day :p

On to the pics.....

Yesterday the windows were tinted to South Dakota legal 20%


Before the CTR "style" urethane lip


After the CTR "style" urethane lip


Coilovers installed


Front Camber Kit Installed


Front Suspension done


Something tells me this will be tooooo low... It will be raised up a bit, no worries :) Also, the calipers will be painted black again after I replace the rotors and pads, that's after a bit though... more updates on that later


Here are a few random shots I snapped:

Again nevermind the holes in the bumper, the surrounds aren't on yet to cover them up :)









Just a little SOHC Powa for now, that will get swapped out this coming winter :D, and yes I know my engine bay is awefully dirty... that will be cleaned up and painted when the engine is out, also this winter ;)

[A4 JooN 2.0T]

Well, last night we completed the exterior portion of the car, other than the foglight surrounds as that needs to wait til after we adjust the beams on the foglights. We completed the front suspension and then ended up breaking a couple bolts on the rear lower control arms cause they were rusty as shiet,,, so we're getting all new bolts for the rear today and completing the car. I have to pick up the wheels/tires from being mounted and balanced today shortly after 11 and then hopefully my boss will give me the afternoon off so I can go finish up the car yet this afternoon. Monday it goes in for an alignment and then I'll probably drive the car the whole day :p

On to the pics.....

Yesterday the windows were tinted to South Dakota legal 20%


Before the CTR "style" urethane lip


After the CTR "style" urethane lip


Coilovers installed


Front Camber Kit Installed


Front Suspension done


Something tells me this will be tooooo low... It will be raised up a bit, no worries :) Also, the calipers will be painted black again after I replace the rotors and pads, that's after a bit though... more updates on that later


Here are a few random shots I snapped:

Again nevermind the holes in the bumper, the surrounds aren't on yet to cover them up :)









Just a little SOHC Powa for now, that will get swapped out this coming winter :D, and yes I know my engine bay is awefully dirty... that will be cleaned up and painted when the engine is out, also this winter ;)

wheres the snail damnit!

[badassb5]

LOL, I'm trying to do one section of the car at a time... my bank likes it better that way . Also this will be an AutoX car so a snail may not be put on it.... maybe a small one, I'm not sure yet....

[A4 JooN 2.0T]

LOL, I'm trying to do one section of the car at a time... my bank likes it better that way . Also this will be an AutoX car so a snail may not be put on it.... maybe a small one, I'm not sure yet....

oh yeah autox.....maybe a s/c?? comtech @ 8psi ftw lol

[$teady$upreme]

c'mon now and put on those rays, CE28N?

[badassb5]

Well, the exterior is "done," I say done in quotes because a car enthusiasts car is never really done, IMO.

c'mon now and put on those rays, CE28N?

Unfortunately they're not the Honda Special Edition CE28N's, a little too spendy for me at this point. They're Spun Limited 1 wheels, a fraction of the price of Volks and still only weigh 11.5lbs

[A4 TSCHUSS]

seems to be coming out good. And I was gonna say damn your dad looks young for someone who is getting divorced (thought you were older) You are only 23 and already married and divorced! People need to stop jumping into this marriage stuff so damn young! 2 of my friends have both had a shitty marriage that married young (one is 25 and got married 3 years ago and one is 26 and has been married for 2 years) but they have both split up many many many times.

I am 25 and don't plan on getting married till atleast 30, you only live once so you better enjoy it and getting locked down at a young age seems to almost never work.

O and get an RSX Type S motor for that thing!

[black00A4]

I would change out the wheels for a set of SIR's

[Alan]

Wow, that's a clean civic. I really like the yellow fogs, and the wheels.

I dont give a shit what kind of car it is, if there's good work, it deserves credit.

[RomanA6]

understand: a real car enthusiast can apreicate a geo metro; it doesn't matter; what matters is the owner; the car is only as good as the owner; there are ton of people out there with sick cars but they are assholes and are not worth time to be spent with them (many have work done for them to begin with, so its like talking to a bucket of nails)

your ride is very nice and clean; no rice on the looks of it; red and white always go nicely; my favorite for JDM stuff has always been Spoon, if anything, I'd look into their stuff for some nice mods

[DGS4]

You should get the front license plate hole plugs from the dealer. I believe its a part from the S2000. Look into it, it will make your front bumper a little cleaner without the four holes.

[Jagaer]

Wow that looks great.

I was a little afraid to click on the link and see a purple/green riced out POS. This is much, MUCH better.

Now...when are you taking the action shots :)

[vtracer20]

wow an actually nice looking civic....congrats on the project

[badassb5]

Here's some pics snapped this past Monday

[Ultra B6]

Great progress and truely great work on an otherwise useless car(at the start).. keep up the work as im interested to see what this becomes!!

my fav pic is infront of the texaco barn... really ties in the red and white

[badassb5]

Yeah, it's kind of on hold for the summer, minus some more suspension upgrades for autox, but this winter there will be some big progress in the engine/drivetrain

[JoeM]

What engine swap you looking into? K20/K24 maybe?

[minira]

looks great! real clean. i like those tires, i'm going to try the new toyo's r888 and see how those are. i know the toyos are r-compound. hit up a big track when you get the chance, i think it's more fun.

[AudiA4Style]

Car looks great! I like the original fog lights color thou.

[woofster]

Great work! The Civic looks real good. This is the kind of Honda that lots of JDM fanboys spend tons of money on but never achieve the kind of results you and your Dad achieved, and on a much smaller budget nonetheless!

[badassb5]

looks great! real clean. i like those tires, i'm going to try the new toyo's r888 and see how those are. i know the toyos are r-compound. hit up a big track when you get the chance, i think it's more fun.

I want to hit up a road course soon, just finding the time to road trip to one is my big beef right now (not any too close to me )