155 replies to this topic

[blacksheep]

so here it is...my own version of the "super build"...an 84 Civic 1500S





I'll start with a little history on the little hatchy...

purchased from Screech (another rpr member) back in 01 (if I remember right), had blown head gasket, was missing the A/C compressor and condensor from a previous engine swap, and it also came with the original block, head, and tranny...500 bones

I started tinkering with the engine, had intentions of making this my point A to point B beater...replaced the head gasket, however it still had a high idle...

so I started going through all of those vacuum lines (what a pain in the @$$!!)...starting with the vac diagram from an 84 non-cali...then an 84 cali...then on to 85 86 and 87 only to find out that there was control boxes and solenoids from all of these years...so I wittled it back down to the 84 non-cali config...still idled at 2000rpm and would overheat to H on the temp gauge in 5 minutes of running...

this was about the time I put the car away for about 2 1/2 years...and had almost forgotten it was in my driveway under a tarp until I moved to a new house...

Edited by badpenny, 04 August 2006 - 02:02 PM.

[fat_85_civic]

84-87 civics are 3rd gens its the 84-87 CRXs that are first gens.
Also your picture arnt working.
What are you plannning to do to it? Drag car, cuircut car, street car?
Luke

[blacksheep]

working on getting the pics working right now...more details to come if I can get the pics up...

sorry...it's like 3 in the morning here...I'm way tired...way irritated...and about to give up....

so it is a 3g...can I change the title?!

Edited by blacksheep, 29 June 2005 - 02:59 AM.

[fat_85_civic]

im not sure if you can change the title. Try clickin the edit button on the first post, it might work.
LUke

[bigk3000]

ah yes.. another nice 84 1500s

[blacksheep]

FRIGGIN SWEET!!

big thanks to rpr!! now I can get on with this thread....

last summer I started planning the build to be an SCCA ITC competition car...started sourcing out parts, setting budgets, and so on...and the tear down began...

(unfortunately I lost alot of pics durring a harddrive crash...I'll try to fill in the blanks as best as I can)

Edited by blacksheep, 22 December 2005 - 02:04 PM.

[blacksheep]

then I started finding rust...





and more rust...



and even more rust...



and by this point I was calling it a rust bucket...


(this is the driver's side where the front sub frame bolts to the unibody frame...when I dropped the subframe, this came down with it!!)

Edited by blacksheep, 22 December 2005 - 02:06 PM.

[blacksheep]

I was faced with either scrappin the whole car and project, or tough it out and actually put some work into it instead of just doing the simple bolt-on that all the "ricers" do...

thought process..."I have a no more than $750 invested so far, 3 years of it taking up space, what the hell"...I pressed on...

so I get the subframe reciever tached into place...and start adding bits of steel from leftover exhaust pipe (it was what I had layin around)...



a little bit of grinding....add more little bits...and some more grinding to get the overall shape back and my first patch was done...but there was obviously more....



(this is where I have to fill in due to loss of pics)
so the front floor pans were cut away and new sheet metal (thanks for the donation A&M Autobody) was cut, beaten, shaped and welded into place...

Edited by blacksheep, 22 December 2005 - 02:08 PM.

[blacksheep]

the rear floor pans weren't as bad...



but I was going to redo them while I was at it...

Edited by blacksheep, 22 December 2005 - 02:10 PM.

[blacksheep]

and the spot just in front of the driver's rear wheel....







really I should have just gone to the salvage yard and gotten good rocker panels for both sides, because they were bad all the way (you'll see my patch work in later pics)...at the time I really wasn't in the mood to dump more money into it...and the garage I was using was the install bay for the car audio shop that I was working at, and the only time I could work on this was sundays when we were closed...and I had to keep it a rolling chassis...by the end of the day, it HAD to roll out of the garage so I could do installs on monday...

so far I was about 3 sundays or about 30 hours into rust removal and some body work...

enjoy these first segments of the build...I will be posting bodywork next...or you can check the blacksheep gallery (link below signature) if you are impatient...I will be adding more pics soon...and will be posting as fast as I can to catch up with the actuall progress of the build...

Edited by blacksheep, 22 December 2005 - 02:12 PM.

[DarkHand]

Awesome! Good to see rust like that turn back into solid metal. Gives me hope for my CRX.

[E-AT_me]

looks fantastic. great to see an old one come alive again. and btw, i really wish i could weld.

[blacksheep]

looks fantastic. great to see an old one come alive again. and btw, i really wish i could weld.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

badpenny asked if I was going to do tutorials...really hard to teach welding over the net...my best advise is this...find a second hand mig welder...I picked up mine (an old Linde 100, will weld up to .125" in a single pass) for $250 at a pawn shop...read the rcomeneded settings for the applications...use unimix (75% Argon, 25% Carbon) gas as it is more versatile than straight Argon...make sure your regulator flow is between 20 and 25 psi...and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE...welding is not a skill that can be mastered overnight...my father taught me when I was 12...that was 20 years ago and I am no master welder...but I do trust my welds...

good luck in your adventures in welding....

[blacksheep]

ok, some more free time...more pics and discriptions...

onto some body work...the rubber trim had been removed before I purched it...but upon closer inspection, they filled the holes with bondo...NOT GOOD!!

why is filling holes with just bondo not good? because it WILL fall out!!

so I began by grinding it all out and the areas around the holes...





and there was some in the roof...bike or luggage rack at one time maybe...



then using a fiberglass repair kit from local parts house, I began patching over the holes...



it is best to patch both sides of the panel...that why if you sand too much of the outside patch away, there is still some on the inside to hold...

Edited by blacksheep, 22 December 2005 - 02:13 PM.

[blacksheep]

so after patching...we sand with 80 grit so that our filler (bondo...I used Rage Ultra Gold for it's lighter weight, superior hold, and is less likely to bleed through sealer/primer) will have good ashesion to our work area...



then I started laying in the filler...making sure not to lay in too much at once or it will sag and make sanding time double...



note the layers of filler...I used to work at A&M Autobody and was taught by my father...in this industry like so many others, time is money...so I was working many holes/dents at the same time...

Edited by blacksheep, 22 December 2005 - 02:16 PM.