10 replies to this topic

[Mr_Efficiency]

I have always been a big fan of the 1g/3g chassis. I currently own an 86 crx im building for time attack which is currently in an eternal build state that life never allows time/money for. I also have an 87 crx si which doubles as my track/autocross car. I have swapped in a B16 and updated the harness to obd1. It sits on Tein suspension and 14x7 0 Diamond race wheels. I recently picked up a GSR engine for it but thats a story for another thread.

 

I had a new addition to the family 9 months ago and the need came for a practical 4 door vehicle. We purchased a Suzuki sx4 but i never gave up my search for a civic sedan or wagon. I always have my eye on local classifieds for any pre 87 Hondas and a few weeks ago i hit gold and found a 87 awd civic wagon for $500. It was about 3 hours away but i didn't hesitate to hook onto the trailer and set off to pick it up.

 

Here she is the day I brought her home

 

 

A little rough around the edges but everything was there, even all 5 wheel covers. It hadn't seen the road in 11 years. A farmer purchased it and used it to get around his property. At least it wasn't sitting in the grass rotting away.

Edited by Mr_Efficiency, 07 August 2014 - 09:28 PM.

[Mr_Efficiency]

The original plan was a proper restoration. Stripped to a shell and all the rust taken care of and meticulously rebuilt the way i wanted.

 

We had a trip planned to head to Sudbury for a family event some 5 hours north of us. My GF suggested we throw some temporary plates on the wagon and take it for the trip. I couldnt turn down the idea so it came into the garage for a closer look. 

 

Rust is expected in a vehicle this age where I am from. The last time I posted a build thread and showed pics of my floor boards I was told to scrap the car. (It was fixed and driven/raced the last 2-3 years) The floor was worse than I had originally thought but I decided, with 4 days before we left I would fix it.

 

Here is what i seen after attacking with a screwdriver for a while

 

 

and then after some cutting

 

 

And all fixed up

 

 

 

It was then under coated, which I didnt take any pics of yet.

 

 

[Mr_Efficiency]

While I was fixing the rust and giving the car a once over I upgraded the brakes. The fronts weren't in terrible shape but the rears were down to metal and had been for quite some time. I knew I wasnt sticking with the rear drums so I ended up squeezing some upgrades into my tight four day schedule.

 

The front now has EG civic caliper and rotors. A bolt on swap for the wagon.

 

 

I dont have pics of the rear yet, but I ended up fabing a caliper bracket from scratch and bolting on a set of 3g integra rear calipers and rotors and the integra proportioning valve.

 

We took it to Sudbury with no issues and then proceeded to travel to Burligton a few days later (another 3 hour drive) and put (this is no exaggeration) 2000km's on it in the 20 days our temporary trip was good for.

 

And now its back in the garage to finish where I left off. Fixing rust!

Edited by Mr_Efficiency, 07 August 2014 - 11:41 PM.

[Mr_Efficiency]

I picked up a set of wheels for it a few days ago and first thing i did when I got the car back in the garage was to see how they fit. I couldnt have asked for better fitment. The wheels are 15x7 +34, they sit flush with the fenders and are within one or two finger width of the strut up front and same for the rear with the trailing arms.

 

The wheel was turned slightly to the right in these pics and the car is sitting unsupported by the hoist. Cant wait to get it dropped and fill out that ugly wheel gap.

 

 

 

 

I plan to wrap them in some 195/50 15's, works out to be the exact same diameter as stock.

 

[Jacinto]

Congrats for the "new" wagon. I do like these cars... They wouldn't win any beauty contest, but still, they are so cool!

 

I actually did the same upgrade on my front brakes, and I did like it. Also fitted 15" wheels with 195/50 tyres, and all I had to do was fitting some spacers, as the wheels I wanted were touching the rear spring base.

 

Keep up the good work!

[Mr_Efficiency]

Depends on your interpretation of beauty, I love the boxy 80's look of the crx. I wasnt always a fan of the wagon with the tall roof and the front being so flat, the hood is almost one with the windshield. But its quirky styling has grown on me lately, even more so since I started driving it, lol

 

I decided to start on the rear of the car first while I'm waiting for parts to put the new engine together. I dropped the rear axle and cleaned it all up. cut off all the old tabs for the steel brake lines for the drums since it is all useless now with my rear disc setup. I welded new tabs for the rubber brake lines. EG civic front brake lines happened to be the right length to reach from the calipers to the tab on the chassis where the old rubber lines started. Its a bit more rubber line than I wanted but it was quick, I had everything just laying around and it worked great.

 

Here is the axle all cleaned up and painted with a rubberised coating. You can also see I lowered the shock mounts 2". After some measuring I seen I was only going to have 3" of shock travel before bottoming out and the bump stop is 2" by itself leaving me with 1" and I dont want to be slamming into the bump stop on every bump.

 

 

Here is a little something I fabed up to hold my coil sleeve

 

 

And the coil sleeve in place. The hole in the above pic is for a small set screw that holds the sleeve in the perch and stops it from rotating.

 

 

I picked up a set of SN95 Mustang shocks for the rear. They are the same dimentions as the wagon shocks in every way except the body is 5/8" shorter and they are a little fatter. I'm hoping with the mustang being a heavier car they will be valved better for the heavier springs I'll be running.

I should also note the shaft diameter is the same between the two shocks but the mustang uses an imperial thread so the mustang shock nut must be used (now there is a 15mm nut on my car, ahh) The mustangs shock nut has the washer integrated into it and the rubber mount is glued to the washer, just peel the rubber off the washer and use the wagon bushings.

 

Here is a comparison, wagon on the left, mustang on the right. The mustang also has a heavier duty bump stop.

 

 

For the front I plan to use a set of crx struts I have laying around. I read on here they are shorter, here is how much shorter; 2 3/4"

 

 

The rear now sits at stock ride height with the suspension at full droop, with the crx shocks I should have something similar in the front. There are few things I hate more than trying to jack up a lowered car and going up and up and up with the wheel still sitting on the ground.

 

More to come, next on the list is patching the rest of the rust in the rear, dropping the tank to find a small leak I can only smell but not see and instal my inline fuel pump.

[Richardcoto452th]

Nice buy keep the mods coming.
How are the break upgrades? And rear struts?

[niccer]

Very cool, I'm liking your ingenuity.  Would really like to see something about your CRX's though...  

[Mr_Efficiency]

I can't really comment on the brakes cause I never drove it stock. The pedal is a little long but I think it's just cause I still have the stock master cylinder. I'm keeping an eye out for a prelude one at the yard. The shocks I won't know until I drive it which won't be for at least another month or more. It's not seeing the road again until it's done.

This whole build is going to be on the cheap, wrecker parts and what I have around (which is a lot, lol) But that hasn't stopped me from some pretty crazy upgrades i have collected for future posts.

The crx's I'll have build threads for when the wagon is done and my 87 comes in for the gsr swap since the b16 in it is toast. I'm still collecting parts for my 86 crx which is always on the back burner.

Thanks for looking, more to come soon

Edited by Mr_Efficiency, 09 August 2014 - 12:10 PM.

[badpenny]

I daily drive my 85 awd with mustang shocks in the rear,(I did a write-up on this) I love them, had them on for a year, still haven't bottomed out or blown them.  Now, I want to know more about lowering it, and the coil setup.  I really want to find a similar upgrade for the fronts.

[loiselle.m]

Mr_Efficiency, I'm parting out an 87 Wagon...I'm up in Sudbury if you're interested. You can view details in my for sale post.