78 replies to this topic

[zakats]

1984 Honda Civic Hatchback

Specs
-Before
1.3 carb
4 speed
Stock

-Now
Motor:
75mm bore EW SOHC
32/36 Weber kit
Home brew head port
DX outer springs
85 Si cam
Si distributor
Brown top pistons
NPR rings
Arp rod nuts
New water pump
EW Head gasket
Full gasket set
Solid Polyurethane Mounts
NGK plugs
Wire tuck (wires behind dash)
Battery relocation (rear hatch)
Small lawn battery (250 ccas)
Powder coated VC
180F Thermostat

Transmission:
Rebuilt Si transmission
Phantom grip LSD
Egay stage 1 clutch
New shift linkage bushings

Interior:
Black dash
Black interior
Si cluster (0 miles Counts with new motor)
New o-rings in a/c
A/c ducts redone

Exterior:
LS mesh (195/50/r15)
RSX rear springs cut
Torsion bars lowered
Classic Auto plates
Limo Tint all around

Estimated completion date: 7/7/11



(Old post)
I finally found my unicorn- an 84 3g hatch in decent shape, virtually rust free, and (EDIT, UPDATE) now I sold it to Sinic .


Driving through downtown Houston from buying the car


To Do's:
-Fix dent in rear left quarter panel
-Pull front and rear bumpers for inspection and evaluation
-transfer misc. parts from other car
-remove stereo, install amplifier with headphone jack for mp3 (iphone) player- inspired by powerwheels86!
-plan/perform a "clean" setup for partial gutting
-a whole lot of other stuff


Plans:
Initial plans were to build my poor man's R for this car but not right now... Kinda digging the idea of keeping it simple and easy... and A/C! This will become a fun DD that isn't too over the top in any particular area and I will be cool with traveling to meets (some kind of cruise control will be needed)

-
Mission statement/goals:[/b]
I want a fun, reliable daily driver with A/C that I can take up some kind of amateur racing with (with turns) and have absolutely no concerns for in taking on a road trip while making, at least, 35 mpg highway. I don't think that is asking too much out of a carb'd ew3 with ~11:1 compression. I don't want the interior to be incredibly noisy as if riding in a tin can- it can be noisy as it isn't a Cadillac but I don't want it to sound and feel like you're in a hollow, thin-walled can.

Build Log:
-7-29-09. Devac performed and adjusted hood latch
-8-9-09: Looks like I'm getting my hands on a disassembled Si motor that will likely be getting brown top pistons: rather than shooting for 200-220hp, I'm shooting for 120 The 1.3 and 4spd will become top quality boat anchors!
-10-09. Got the block bored and cleaned, rotating assy. balanced. Also picked up a Weber down draft from Jwr914 (nice guy) as well as an autopower rollbar that will likely end up in this car
-11-7-09. Finally ordered my gaskets/bearings/etc.
(...will probably cancel this "build log" section in favor of just titling build updates as such for each new post relating to progress)
-2-2010. SOLD to Sinic due to lack of time, he's taking over the build thread apparently!

Setup/mod list/parts waiting for install:
+Engine
-EW3, stock deck height
-brown top d16a1 pistons
-home brew ported head, stock mill height
-single weber for now


+Transmission
-86,87 Si, rebuilt
-new egay upgraded clutch (not 100% that I'll use it)
-phantom grip 'lsd'

+Wheels
-13x~5" EG civic VX's "

+Suspension/steering
?
-all new moog tie rods
-new control arms
-Energy suspension bushing kit
-integra torsion bars/tubes
-RSX springs
-oem or oer shocks/struts for now- looking for some good replacements in the near future, possibly some DC ITR shocks for the back... MP kit sometime in the future!
-OEM Wagovan front sway bar mounted in the rear until I come up with a bigger, cheap/free sway bar setup.

+Interior
?
-not totally settled on this part yet but I do plan to do some major renovations to the interior! I don't plan to go over the top here or expend a whole ton of effort here as it is low priority. plans/ideas follow:
*Autopower bolt in rollbar, could end up being welded in or even not used! Have it already just not sure.
*kakaplastic door and rear interior panels... maybe with some kind of new bracing/housing for 5.25" speakers in the doors and 2 or 4 6x9's in the rear somewhere
*not sure if I'll keep the back seat, I'm sure I'll want to carry passengers around at times... but I'll probably have another car for that but who knows
*ditch "top speed" aftermarket seat in favor of a newer civic/integra/del sol/crx/whatever setup or remount it in the, correct, passenger side position and find the CORRECT drivers seat to match!
*gut headliner in favor of some other, in the theme of lightweight while still comfortable, alternative... maybe just roll/spray/glue some insulating material up there and devise a neat LED, overhead light setup
*block off radio... maybe in favor of gauges-/+idiot lights? replace radio function with a headphone cable tied to an amplifier
*replace SHITTY dash with better unit, maybe black or grey
*replace or gut carpet, paint pan/interior metal kakabox black. maybe glue in sections of thin carpet for driver/passenger areas.

Edited by zakats, 28 June 2010 - 12:00 AM.

[zakats]

DEVAC'ing

I intended to film the whole thing but since time has been so constrained lately and I wanted to get it done in what little time I had today, I went ahead and just did it and then remembered to take after pics.

Before (p/o's picture)(yes I know it was originally blue ):


After:
This picture shows all of the crap removed and all of the tools required. Notice the box of multicolored vacuum caps- $2.99 at oreilly auto parts and just one is enough to handle the whole job. (Small zip ties are recommended on the manifold vacuum ports)

This is what my carburetor devac setup came out looking like (keep in mind that it isn't fully tested as of yet):






Aand this is what it came out looking like:


Pics suck but trust when I say there is a major difference in the appearance under the hood and the way the car drives. EDIT: its much more noticeable with the air cleaner off

[DEIVIONCRX]

Id probably pick up a D16A1, do a simple, intake header exhaust, lsd, accord 5th, keep a/c and just spiff up the outside and call it a day.

And while its out just repaint the engine bay.

[flashmatrix]

Nice pickup. It even has the rare bumper guards

Is it me, or do I see a driver side race seat?

[PowerWheels86]

sweet find ZAK!!! damn i didn't think you could find such a good looking 3G in H-town!!

[Vicious]

looks pretty clean i'll be following the thread

[C8V6C]

Clean car, worthy of the project fo sho!

[zakats]

Id probably pick up a D16A1, do a simple, intake header exhaust, lsd, accord 5th, keep a/c and just spiff up the outside and call it a day.

And while its out just repaint the engine bay.

I'm tempted to try and liberate a local's LSD trans and in-build motor that he's trying to sell with his (used to be mine) 87 CRX and just go with the mildly tweaked EW with brown top pistons. If I spend more than 500 on an engine, it might as well be my poor man's R and just negotiate an a/c compressor in there somehow... but who knows? For now I'm going to try and make the 1.3 work for me but I do like your idea.

Engine bay- yes, something has to be done about that but I have yet to decide. The car was originally blue and I'm very tempted to make it go back to stock or stock ish color as the paint is overall pretty shiny and all but not as good as I think it should be. Or maybe I'll do an either/or with the exterior paint and do a Kakabox bay painting.

Nice pickup. It even has the rare bumper guards

Is it me, or do I see a driver side race seat?

Spanks, the bumper guards are kinda neat and the look is very much growing on me though I am very tempted to sell them to let a parts whore out there have a chance to enjoy them more than me.

The is a "racing" seat, however the previous owner was... well iono did things kinda goofy, it says "Top Speed" on it and I'm not particularly impressed with it's quality though it definitely does the job and is fairly comfortable...
Now if only it wasn't a passenger seat bolted into the driver location.

I don't know how much racing the previous owner could have done with a 1.3 EV1, 4spd, and a wacked out carburetor situation


Thanks for all the kind words and compliments guys, this will be a slow build as I go to school all day, Monday through Thursday, and work all day, Friday through Sunday.

[DEIVIONCRX]

Yea that was my other idea. EW4 with some PM7 Pistons and Sidedrafts. Then you could use the factory a/c compressor just bolted to the EW.

[84b18]

awesome find zack. i love the recessed head lights. it would be fun to keep it stock looking.

[zakats]

awesome find zack. i love the recessed head lights. it would be fun to keep it stock looking.

I'm thinking I'll do just that. I think I'll buy some ebay tint soon though

I was thinking about going with JDM flush lights but its kinda just a toss up between that and the super inexpensive H4 conversion (maaaaybe HID's later on) and lay a fresh coat of krylon black on the recess buckets.
for the JDM headlights, I'm not sure if I'd have to cut out the brackets and use 86-87's?

[ef91]

looks good..... super nice find....

[DEIVIONCRX]

Keep the recessed. Thats why i love the 84-85 Civic's.

Just get some Sealed to Composite HID lenses.

[zakats]

Been very busy with school, work, for profit projects, and dealing with the house; I should be getting to work on assembling the motor soon though.
The idea of running an FI manifold with a propane mixer instead of gasoline is very tempting... the more I think about gasoline, the less I like it but of course that is just a thought.

[ChrisF-dude]

Wow, I missed this thread. Good looking 3G I must say. A ZC/D16A1 would be a great motor to swap in if you want A/C, good reliability, 35mpg, and some race time. My ZC CRX gets 38mpg, runs a 15.3 1/4 mile with all accessories still in car, reliable, and the D16A1 can use regular gas, and get parts in the US easily. Not a B series, but great little engine for a small car. I don't know how TX emission laws are, but even with the ZC I passed emissions no problem. Keep us updated. I love the color, and the spiral wheels. If you ditch the bumper guards let me know.