2000 replies to this topic

[GIFF]

i always loved black cars the best. but since having owned a red crx. red cars are growing on me even if the 20 year old paint is pinkish in some areas.....

[kakabox]

...old paint is pinkish in some areas.....    

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL, yup, the KAKABOX has plenty of that too...I call it patina! It's kinda a "Rat-Rod" thing, but, I like it in a funky way!

Cheers.

[kakabox]

WOW! What a weekend for the KAKABOX! The D16A1 organ donors have arrived:

Friday I picked up clean, unmolested ?87 Integra I found the day before on craigslist:


It is an automatic, but, the car only has 121,501 original miles on it:


The engine is unmolested, very strong, passes emissions, and is clean:


Being an automagic, I still needed a 5 spd tranny, ecu, harness, jackshaft and other 5 spd related bits for swap. So, I had planned to go to the local PAP on Saturday to pull a 'teg 5 spd and maybe a harness if there was one, however, on Friday I happened to look again on craigslist and found this:


To my good fortune, it was an '87 also and a 5 speed car! As a bonus, the car was FREE, just tow it away! This car is an original owner, 280,000 mile car that was still running & driving just fine before the massive frontal impact (last week). No one was hurt (beyond minor bruising from the seat belts).

So, after buying the automatic '87 on Friday, I towed home an '87 5 spd on Saturday! I'll pull everything 5 spd related from the wreck, and will have a spare D16A1 (280K miles!) to rebuild or part. I'll have a lot of cutting/pulling to do to get at the engine/tranny:


there's a D16A1 lurking somewhere inside! The force of the impact shoved the rad into the engine, pushing it back to almost touching the firewall, and (as far as I can tell right now), only shattering the cam cover. Looking from underneath it appears that the eng block and transaxle case is untouched (no leaks) although the impact bowed the shift rods. The car has a set of unblemished 'teg alloys w/good BFG TA HR4 tires (all matching!) that I will sell to recover my towing expenses.

In another stroke of good luck, both cars came w/their own individual copy of the '87 Integra Factory Service Manual! One is for sale if anyone is interested.

Cheers.

Edited by kakabox, 30 April 2010 - 09:17 AM.

[GIFF]

that tegs engine is far cleaner than mine and mine also has the same mileage.

[Richard]

not only am i jealous that you have not 1 but two tegs two pull parts from, but you have an si civic you got for free!

[mesean13]

That's a clean looking motor! What's your plan man. This is what I started with:

[kakabox]

not only am i jealous that you have not 1 but two tegs two pull parts from, but you have an si civic you got for free!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do consider myself very fortunate, and very thankful. That said, the free 3g Si was somewhat of a fluke: I wasn't looking for one at all. I was on my deck having dinner, drinking a beer...I saw my neighbor down below...I yelled down to him, and, as a joke I said: "Hey Joe, I'll buy that old Honda for a buck!" Imagine my surprise when he said: "Ok"... DHOH!

After getting the Si, I knew I wanted to do a D16A1 swap; I had done one on a '86 CRX Si about 12 years ago after reading about them in GRM.

As far as getting a donor 'teg: I've been working on that for about 3 months, scanning craigslist daily...btw, 3 weeks ago I missed a totalled '89 'teg (right in my own neighborhood too!) by several days...that one was listed for $100. I've seen a lot of 'tegs listed, called on several...they're out there, but, you have to be ready to pounce when they pop up!

The plan is to use the automatic's 121K mile D16A1 engine w/the wreck's 5 spd tranny, axles, ecu, harness, etc. in the KAKABOX. I'll also use the front hubs/spindles/radius arms, etc. The wreck's D16A1 engine will be kept for a hi-po rebuild or parted out, depending on it's condition.

What I don't use, will be for sale...and eventually the KAKABOX's complete 145K mile Si engine/drivetrain will be for sale.

Cheers.

[Daveed]

Did your tailights withstand the latest downpour and not leak?

considering using the same sealing method but want to see if it holds up to the rain. l8er.

Edited by Daveed, 31 October 2005 - 06:23 PM.

[kakabox]

Did your tailights withstand the latest downpour and not leak?

considering using the same sealing method but want to see if it holds up to the rain.  l8er.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Although I haven't driven the car in a down pour lately, the 3M Strip-Calk is made for this kind of application, so, I'm anticipating success. I've used this product many times in the past on other projects in similar applications w/great success. It never dries out or shrinks, remains flexible, and is paintable too.

You can buy it at a Autobody Supply store; it's ~$19 for a box of ~12" individual strips (60 ft. worth, iirc)

No, I don't work for 3M or own any stock (that I know about)!

BTW; I used it behind the center panel fastener holes/light cutouts too.

Cheers.

[bigk3000]

wow i cant wait to see this thing when its all done !!! i wish i could have donor cars.. i could have gotten atleast 3 for about 3-400$ each but my dad wont let me have more then one car here

[kakabox]

More Wheels!

Ok, NOW I think I have the donor wheels for the KAKABOX. During my craigslist binge that yielded not one but TWO '87 'teg donor cars, I also stumbled (while in my clist stupor) upon a set of '99 Miata wheels:


14 x 6, +40mm OFF, 12 lbs. (on my scale)...I'll have the hub center machined out to the Honda 56.1mm hubs. These are really what I wanted in the first place but had found the other wheels first (I'm sure that's never happened to any of you before! ).

Cheers.

Edited by kakabox, 21 November 2008 - 10:12 AM.

[phatboycrxhf]

man your lucky 2 tegs free civic thats crazy wish someone would give me a car lol looks like your doing a great job on it good luck cany wait to see it when shes done




peace
mitch

[kakabox]

...looks like your doing a great job on it good luck cany wait to see it when shes done     

peace
        mitch

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Mitch...I can't wait either!

Cheers.

[kakabox]

Well, today's the day! It's the last day the KAKABOX will run in its current, stock d15, stock suspension, HELL, stock everything state! After today, it'll be offline for the winter. The next time out on a track or ax it'll have a d16a1 eng/tranny w/lsd, revised suspension and brakes, yada, yada, yada...AND a proper race seat!

My ax club is having their last ax 'practice' session of the year today. It's currently 42 deg F and raining. Nice. Good chance to practice sliding around and a good chance to test the waterproof nature of the sunroof patch panel and the new tail light seals.

Heading out to the course now...wish me luck!

Cheers.

[kakabox]

Well it rained all day yesterday at the ax. It was wet & cold, basically miserable when working the course, but once in the cars we cranked up the heat and thawed out! So that's how the day went: freeze/thaw, freeze/thaw!

The Kakabox did very well for the last time out in its all stock, worn out state! I managed to whittle away at my times during the course of the day, and, as it should be, my ftd was my last run. The course was wet all day, but at one point it stopped raining. That only lasted 30 mins...during my last run session, it was raining steadily.

This time out I was able to get the car to rotate (oversteer) on the wet course by having an eight psi pressure differential between the front and rear tires. I ran the crappy, no name, 175/70-13 tires at 29 psi front and 37 psi in the rear. This pressure difference reduced the understeer slightly, but, for the first time I was able to bring the rear of the car around by braking just as I was turning in (the wet course helped too!).

I used this oversteer to help rotate the car around the cones, actually allowing me to hold a tighter line and not understeer completely off the course. I found that I was able to control the car from coming completely around by using the throttle. To be sure, I was sliding or spinning a lot of the way around the course, but w/the rear a little loose I was able to point the car in the right direction. I felt I had the right balance of understeer (throttle) and oversteer (braking on turn-in)...it was quite fun and satisfying.

With BEAC season over, the Kakabox build can really begin! The first thing will be to part out the '87 'teg 5spd car: tranny, and 5spd related parts will come from this one, followed by parting out the '87 'teg automatic car: eng and suspension will come from this one. Once all the necessary 'teg parts are rounded up and their carcasses are hauled away, the Kakabox's drivetrain will be removed (and sold) and swapped w/the 'teg's. The suspension will get a complete make over also.

I've got a lot of work to do this winter...I can't wait for the finished result! Of course I'll be taking lots of pics and posting the build process right here!

Cheers.