262 replies to this topic

[OG Wagon]

Hello to all. I just recently sold my '97 Civic hatchback, in order to buy a Nissan Xterra for our new baby. I soon got the itch to build again, and (since we are on a tighter budget now) I had to choose a cheaper project car. I found this AWESOME wagon on craigslist. While hideous at first, the little wagon grew on me, and now here I am. I have a vision for this project, but have little knowledge on how to achieve it. I could tell you a bunch of stuff about an EK chassis Civic, but I have been stumped on a lot of things with this build. I was pointed here by several people on the clubcivic.com forum for your 3g civic knowledge. So, I hope that, with your help, I can actually get some things done on this wagon.

To start, here's some pics of my Real-Time!

[OG Wagon]

...more pics...

Original dealer's badge!

[OG Wagon]

...and, more pics...

Here's the color choice I am currently decided on: Cool Vanilla from Chrysler, or something similar...

[OG Wagon]

...and, still, more pics...











Back in a second with the "ugly" pics....

[OG Wagon]

...And, now here's the ugly stuff:

(1) Chip in Drivers side tail light



(2) Passenger side molding has some issues.



(3) Rusted and dented wheel well...



(4) and another...



(5) and another wheel well...pretty much EVERY wheel well!



(6) Front of car (is this called the "header panel"?? Please let me konw) has a dent, and the Honda logo is missing...



(7) All of the paint on the trim piece of the hatch decided to peel off.



And...

(8) The rear window trim piece got cracked off. I was really worried about finding a replacement.



Other uglies not pictured:

(9) a hairline crack at the top of the dashboard

(10) A few rips in the drivers seat. May need new seat. Pull-a-part?!

(11) Carpet is ONLY worn out under the pedals. Other than that, I think it can be steam cleaned and reused. I'll look for a nice set of carpet mats, and it should cover up this portion of ugly-ness.

(12) Coin box on the dash and the rear/hatch dome light were no where to be found. Pull-a-part?!

(13) The air intake tubing was missing in action

(14) Engine/mechanical problems out of the wazzoo!!!!!!!

Back in a second with more info...

[OG Wagon]

So, here is my plan for the build for the next 12 months-ish:

1. Strip out interior for a complete refresh:
- Vacuum out all dir, mold, or whatever else is making a funky smell
- Remove any interior rusting
- Replace (or repair) any blemished interior pieces
- Give all of the dash/panels a good thorough cleaning and armor-all-ing
- Steam clean the seats out of the seats; stitch and patch a few rips and holes
- Steam clean the heck out of the carpet
- Put cleaned carpet, panels, and seats back in and get it looking tidy.
- Add some OEM looking tan floor mats (this should cover up torn carpet under
foot pedals.
- Install a Nardi Wood grain steering wheel, shift knob, and e-brake handle.
- Install a Mugen pedal set

2. Mechanical

- Continue to work on getting the D15 to run reliably and consistently.


3. Exterior restoration

- Sand and prep body; fix all dents, remove and rid of any rust
- Remove rear wiper and shave hole
- Pain a light cream or ivory hue. Not a pure-white job. Jams painted. Wait on engine bay(for now!)
- Trim on doors and center lines of front/rear bumpers painted satin-black, as well
as air dam strips in the center of bumper
- Fresh satin coat for roof-rack and all exterior trim, mirrors, wiper arms, etc...
- Red pinstripe all-around in center of black bumper/side trim
- Custom fab. some sort of front lip from another older model Honda/Acura's lip ('86 Integra, 3g Si, 92-93 accord???)
- Custom decal shop reprints "RT-AWD" logos (or, find a set new from Honda???)
- Polish all OEM badging
- Find a new header panel and "H" emblem for the front hood, then paint headlight
housings black, VHT tint-spray corner lenses, OR…
- Genuine 84-85 JDM headlights/corners/header panel (if I can find some!)
- Find small circle-shaped Shuttle side-markers
- HID kit; Low Beam=Xenon and High Beam=Halogen (to pass inspection yearly)
4300K.
- Replace rear-drivers side tail light (has a tiny chip)
- Replace rear-hatch support arms (their dead as a door nail)
- degrease and clean all of under-chassis; seal or spray with something.

4. If time and money: Wheels and Suspension

- Ideally: A nice set of 15” MR5’’s (silver/aluminum finish) on some quality tires
- More realistically: A nice OEM set of some sort, DIY black paint job, w/ silver lips
- Drop this thing some how. ADVICE NEEDED!

5. Go BIG PIMPIN' around town.

So, for this year, basically, make it look as fresh as possible. Then, start the LONG quest of making more power. I’m thinking a ZC or D16a1, eventually supercharged. But, it may be a few years out, which is fine by me.

Anyway, I have a TON of questions, which I will be posting in the appropriate forum sections. I would greatly appreciate ANY advice that you guys could throw my way.

Thanks for looking!

[OG Wagon]

Oh, and one more thing...

I decided to do a little artistic rendering of the exterior of the wagon. I wanted to make sure that what I had in my head (visually) was going to work, before I started on the bulk of the work. So, this is what I have come up with...

Before:



and

After:




After putting it down on paper, I still feel pretty comfortable about my vision for this build. Let me know what you guys think. I tried to use the water-color pencils to get the exterior color as close to that Chrysler "Cool Vanilla" as I could. But, this should give you a general idea of how I hope this thing will look.

I am currently in the process of trying to secure some 84-85 JDM Shuttle black-housing, recessed headlights, tinted corners, as well as side markers, from a guy in the Netherlands. He has some rain-guards for the windows as well. I tried to illustrate all of these things in the drawing. I also, added front and rear lips. I still don't know how I'm going to fab these/get these. Hopefully, you guys can help!

[crxls]

welcome to RPR, Dan.

im not sure if you have seen my current D16A1 AWD civic build page yet but i just put a blacktop in my 87 5 door hatch (wagon... )

i can hook you up with the intake piece you need and i am having airgazm recreate the AWD decal as we speak, just need good clear pics and measurements so if you can help that would be great. any other stock underhood parts you might need i can probably hook you up with also

oh, and dont change the shiftknob , thats the special 6 speed knob with the SL (Super Launch ) gear. without this you will not have Super Launch gear as an option!

[OG Wagon]

Ok, so here's the lowdown on how this project has gone since I started about a month ago:

(1) Engine was in trouble. Basically has been poorly maintained by previous owner.

So, replaced: plugs, wires, cap/button, radiator hoses, thermostat, fuel pump, alternator, primary/secondary
fuel filters, oil change, engine restorer added, cleaned battery terminals, new negative terminal wire,
new fuel lines, fixed radiator fan to run again, cleaned up some fuses, replaced a few vacuum lines,
replaced air filter.

That has got it running a lot better, but it still: needs a new radiator, needs SeaFoam treatment, has an electrical
issue. Something is slowly draining the battery. We suspect that the A/C clutch is staying on. Don't have a battery
drain unless I turn on the A/C. Even after I turn it back OFF again, the battery still drains. Can anyone relate? I also
need to heat up and remove the O2 sensor, and replace, and install new brake pads and shoes front and rear.

After those issues are addressed, it SHOULD run smoothly again. Man, you guys should have seen the spark plugs.
They prob. hadn't been changed in about 100K miles, seriously! I think the engine can be saved though. I just want it
to run long enough for me to enjoy cruising in the car for about a year, then I'll put the money towards a proper swap.

(2) I have also spent a great amount of time gathering parts from our local pull-a-part. I sent in a request that they get in a
brown 87 civic wagon. They were supposed to email me when it came in. I never thought they would get it, but they did!
Unfortunately, I didn't get the email I was supposed to get, and got to the car about a week after it arrived. Someone had
allready snatched the header panel

However, I did get nearly EVERYTHING else that was missing or imperfect, which is just awesome!

I still need: a passenger side amber bumper light for the front bumper, and any header panel, pref. an 87 brown!

(3) Also, the following parts have been aquired:

my full nardi wood grain set-up. The knob and e-brake handle are from a 92 Miata. I hope to make them work.



and a MINT condition '87 Civic Wagon manual. It was a closeout item from a Honda dealership on Ebay.

[rwdcrx]

Nice project so far...Cool art work.

I still need: a passenger side amber bumper light for the front bumper,

Also, the following parts have been aquired:

my full nardi wood grain set-up. The knob and e-brake handle are from a 92 Miata. I hope to make them work.

As for the amber light...I used the one off of my '87 Integra. It fits perfect (same lens...I think) So any '87 civic/crx/'teg should work.

If and when that shift knob doesn't work for you (crxls said it wont due to the 6 speed???) I could really use it. I have a '91 Miata Special Edition that the knob was stolen. Where did your donor miata come from??? I need a couple of other parts that I would pay you to get for me.

Thanks, Chris

Edited by rwdcrx, 10 July 2008 - 03:03 AM.

[OG Wagon]

welcome to RPR, Dan.

im not sure if you have seen my current D16A1 AWD civic build page yet but i just put a blacktop in my 87 5 door hatch (wagon... )

i can hook you up with the intake piece you need and i am having airgazm recreate the AWD decal as we speak, just need good clear pics and measurements so if you can help that would be great. any other stock underhood parts you might need i can probably hook you up with also

oh, and dont change the shiftknob , thats the special 6 speed knob with the SL (Super Launch ) gear. without this you will not have Super Launch gear as an option!

Wow, sounds like a cool build up you have going there, can't wait to see some more pics!

I was actually able to source the intake piece from pull-a-part, but thanks so much for offering.

I'm trying to give this like "old-school-luxury" kind of look to the cabin. I'll still keep my old school knob around, but I'm going to try the look of the wood grain for now. Don't worry, i'll remember..."up - and to the left"!

You are remaking AWD logo, this is INCREDIBLE! I'm on the team, just let me know what you need (pics, measurements, etc...) and I'll go get it for you and post it. I imagine this logo project of yours will be a valuable resource to many on the internets.

My logos are pealing, yet still highly recongnizable. However, the wagon currently at pull-a-part has a near mint logo on the drivers side. Believe me, I would have pulled it if I could have!

I was thinking that the best way to handle it would be to do a pencil etching on a big paper sheet, to get the size/dimensions. It could possibly even pull the image to, but, probably not. I'll try and see what I can get for now off of my own wagon, just let me know what you need!

peace.

Nice project so far...Cool art work.






As for the amber light...I used the one off of my '87 Integra. It fits perfect (same lens...I think) So any '87 civic/crx/'teg should work.

If and when that shift knob doesn't work for you (crxls said it wont due to the 6 speed???) I could really use it. I have a '91 Miata Special Edition that the knob was stolen. Where did your donor miata come from??? I need a couple of other parts that I would pay you to get for me.

Thanks, Chris

Thanks for the compliments Chris, and for the info on the bumper light, I'll continue to keep my head up to look for one.

As far as the shift knob, I'm going to hold on to mine, just in case I ever want to put it on again, or if the Miata knob doesn't work. However, their IS a clean knob on the wagon at my local pull-a-part! I'll try to get down there and pull it for you, maybe even today. PM your address, and I'll be glad to go get it and send it to you!

My miata knob and ebrake was bought as a set from a guy off of Ebay. Never thought I'd find a wooden e-brake handle, I guess I just got lucky. However, another Miata knob sold about a week later, no ebrake though. So, they are probably up there pretty often, just keep checking.

[crxls]

You are remaking AWD logo, this is INCREDIBLE! I'm on the team, just let me know what you need (pics, measurements, etc...) and I'll go get it for you and post it. I imagine this logo project of yours will be a valuable resource to many on the internets.

My logos are pealing, yet still highly recongnizable. However, the wagon currently at pull-a-part has a near mint logo on the drivers side. Believe me, I would have pulled it if I could have!

I was thinking that the best way to handle it would be to do a pencil etching on a big paper sheet, to get the size/dimensions. It could possibly even pull the image to, but, probably not. I'll try and see what I can get for now off of my own wagon, just let me know what you need!

peace.

well not really trying to get exact duplicates but airgazm on here has a friend that does vinyl graphics for a great price to us. i was just trying to get him to copy the originals as close as possible in vinyl form. i cant get a good trace on mine since they are already peeled off so if you could get a really good pic and measurments or a good trace and send to airgazm that would be awesome.

[OG Wagon]

well not really trying to get exact duplicates but airgazm on here has a friend that does vinyl graphics for a great price to us. i was just trying to get him to copy the originals as close as possible in vinyl form. i cant get a good trace on mine since they are already peeled off so if you could get a really good pic and measurments or a good trace and send to airgazm that would be awesome.

I'll get on it ASAP. If you can have airgazm PM so that I have can find him, that would be most helpful. Thanks.

[crxls]

I'll get on it ASAP. If you can have airgazm PM so that I have can find him, that would be most helpful. Thanks.

click here for link to his profile you can message him from there.

thanks a million Dan

[OG Wagon]

Cool, thanks brother.