bonspeed's '98 Civic hatchback mild build

[bonspeed]

Hey guys, been lurking on the forums for a while and thought I'd share my project on here too. I will copy and paste it from the other forums for now until we get to the present state of the build.


here it goes:

Hey everyone! My name is Von and I drive a '98 Civic hatchback and it's also my project car. Iv'e owned this car for two years now and since I have put a fair amount of time fixing and working on it now, I thought it's worth sharing and starting a thread on here now.
(btw, please bear with my english/writing as I'm still not that good in speaking in english)



I started working on this car in September 2011 so I'll just do a quick re-cap on it until we get to the present status of the project.



A little background of the cars I owned before I got the hatchback.



We moved here in Canada in 2009 and this was my first car, 1992 DA Integra RS.


DSC_0378 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC_0030 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


My 2nd car, 1996 Civic coupe. I still have the integra when I had this coupe, was planning on keeping the coupe as my project car that's why I swapped in an LS/Vtec engine on it but as soon as I got the engine running I found out that it's blown and would need a rebuild. so I just decided to sell the car cause it needs some bodywork done too and plus I really wanted a hatchback.







and My 3rd car, 1998 Civic hatchback the project car.


Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr





Start of the build:

SEPTEMBER 2011

When I first got the car, no engine just a rolling shell.

tried putting on my old rims

OCTOBER 2011



since it's almost winter I parked the car and started buying parts for it to make it driveable again.

first part that I bought, used ViS racing carbon fiber hood

NOVEMBER 2011



a few more parts for the build, most of these parts came off my brothers car in the Philippines

I went to the junkyard to look for a front bumper but got this instead

OEM window visor's



DECEMBER 2011



went to the junkyard again to look for a front bumper and fenders but got this instead lol

complete power window, lock, side mirror conversion with tweeter pods






JANUARY 2012


more parts for the build

and finally bought an engine for the car

FEBRUARY 2012


got more parts

 

[bonspeed]

it's getting warm that time so I decided to put wheels on the car to get it towed to the body shop

shot of the engine bay

MARCH 2012, Spring time!


a few more parts

snow started to melt so I decided to get it towed to the body shop

 

[bonspeed]

previous owner adjusted the coilover's too low, good thing there was no bumper otherwise it wouldn't make it lol

I visited the car in the body shop after two days to check on the progress

bumper and fender prepping for painting

rust fixed

then after 4 days I went back to the shop and here's how it looks now

all painted! the only downside is they weren't able to mach perfectly the color cause the paint of the whole car is starting to fade(red car problems). but I didn't care that much cause it's not going to be a show car anyway.

at this point I was so excited to start working on the car and put back together all the parts, so I got it towed right away back in our garage to start working on it.

finally home! let the work begin!

I started installing the front lca and swaybar

took off all the masking tape and cleaned the subframe

I put the rest of the body parts in the basement for the mean time to avoid getting it scratched while working on the car

then after 3 days of working on the engine bay

rats nest harness lol



I also painted the heat shield to gave it a fresh look

and then the next day fedex guy dropped this off our door

ITR 23mm rear sway bar

 

[bonspeed]

spent more time on the engine bay again and here's how it looks now, all it's missing now is the engine.

I mounted the b16 post mount bracket on the engine

and then on the weekend I called some of my friends to help me drop the engine.

we didn't have an engine hoist so ghetto style engine install

and finally the engine is in!

 

[bonspeed]

continuing:

APRIL 2012


I installed the radiator, radiator hose, engine harness and vacuum lines

after finishing wiring the engine harness and hooking up all the hoses, it's start up time!

and bought another part

1 month left before autocross season starts so I decided to take off the old suspension that came with the car, perfect timing cause someone is looking for a set of shock/coilover combo so I managed to sell it right away.

old suspension

test fitted the headlight, gave it a polish too cause there's some haze on it.

I got too excited after i got the engine running so I did a quick test drive around the block lol

up and running

4x4 status

and did a mild launch to test the lsd differential

random shot

MAY 2012

I installed the thin side moldings

comparison of usdm/cdm molding vs japanese spec side molding

picked up some energy suspension front sway bar end links

bought another part

some random shots. all assembled! stock look for safety inspection.

 

[bonspeed]

daytime shots


DSC02701 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC02702 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC02706 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

interior shot

I finally got it to pass safety inspection and registered, so I started installing some of the parts that are waiting to be installed

it was already dark when I finished installing the coilovers and I didn't realize that I adjusted the fronts too low lol


DSC02730 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC02731 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC02732 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC02733 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC02735 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

I also installed the window visor

. by bonspeed07, on Flickr

 

[bonspeed]

then parked it back in the garage lol..


DSC02746 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

then a few weeks after...

I installed the front lip, wasn't much happy with the fitment being a replica but I just had to make it work cause it's hard to find an OEM one here in the city that's why I just settled with a replica one for now.


DSC02747 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02748 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02749 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02751 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02752 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

I also painted the valve cover cause it's all chipped already.


DSC02753 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02754 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5871 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5874 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


and also installed the other goodies


_DSC5876 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5881 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5884 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5888 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5891 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5892 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5896 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

 

[Turbo_Freak]

Any plans for the interior?

 

[pmac193]

clean ride!

 

[5SpeedEJ6]

Love this build!

 

[bonspeed]

Any plans for the interior?

I changed a few stuff but nothing crazy, you'll see it on my next posts as I go.

clean ride!

Love this build!

thanks guys!


=================================================================



continuation:


MAY 2012


autocross season has started but my car is not ready yet, so I asked my friend if I can co-drive with him in his '98 coupe and he agreed.


some pictures

WSCC Autocross

no video footage though, didn't have the time to set-up the camera mount.


JUNE 2012


after a month of waiting, the rear subframe, adjustable end links and rear lower control arm finally came in. now I can finally install the rear swaybar


_DSC5981 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5984 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5986 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

installed


_DSC5990 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC5992 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


I also installed the rear lip



_DSC5995 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

in the summer every friday here in the city there's a meet organized by a local forum called toptierimports.com went there for the first time and some members took a photo of my car.

then the next day it was race day, it was the first time I'm racing the hatch and was so excited and nervous at the same time cause I have a feeling that something might happen....

and I was right.. this happened...


DSC02764 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02765 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


right at the starting line I was about to launch and after I released the clutch I was surprised the car didn't go, I thought the gear popped out to neutral so I tried putting it in gear again but still didn't go. so I went out and popped the hood looked around the engine bay to see what happened, and there I saw the axle split into two pieces lol . I have a spare axle back in the garage so I borrowed my friends car and rushed home to get the spare axle to get the car up and running again but it's just not my day, after I swapped out the axle and assembled it all back the axle popped out as soon as I tried reversing the car lol . I wasn't able to insert the axle all the way in the transmission cause I'm so in a rush to finish it for the run, so I just left it like that and dealt with it again after the race. I just ended up co-driving in my friends car again lol


after that weekend went for another friday meet


481195_10151027773146101_1040524904_n by bonspeed07, on Flickr



file-53 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



534183_10151027832981101_1268920527_n by bonspeed07, on Flickr

while waiting for the next race I came across this harness bar, it's still in good condition so I snagged it up



DSC02758 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

installed



DSC02771 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

 

[bonspeed]

random picture



DSC02775 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02784 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


and since my torque mounts are all busted up I bought a set of new torque mounts, I went with an aftermarket one cause the price is almost the same as the oem ones plus this will probably last twice or thrice the oem ones. the only down side was the car now vibrates like crazy even on idle because of the torque mounts lol

after one weekend went and tried my luck again at autocross



AutocrossPhotos6of20 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

it survived the day without any issues! whew! haha

 

[bonspeed]

continuation:

a week after that last autocross this came in our mail

personalized license plate


_DSC5998 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


also took a few shots of the car cause the weather was nice that day..



_DSC6001 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6002 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6003 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6006 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6007 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6008 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6010 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6011 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6016 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

and some random interior shots


_DSC6026 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6030 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6037 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6057 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


Then the next month

JULY 2012

while waiting for the next autocross event, I had the time to install the Integra OEM map light and other bits


_DSC6119 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6120 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

random picture


_DSC6133 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

I also installed the Spoon air filter and radiator cap


_DSC6136 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

and took some random shots again lol



_DSC6142 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

 

[bonspeed]

_DSC6143 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6144 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6146 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

went for another meet and one of the members(shaun) kindly took a rig shot of my car

ps: checkout his flickr account, he's got some really nice shots of different cars.


Honda Civic by shaunjeroski, on Flickr



Honda Civic by shaunjeroski, on Flickr


and on that same weekend it was race day!


unfortunately again something happened with the car, the alternator belt got stripped so I only did 2 runs.


my fastest run that day

7572046680_cf6c4ca91a_b by bonspeed07, on Flickr


2weeks break before the next race, me and my friend went for a mini photo shoot with his GSR integra


I'm not a professional photographer so excuse my photos

and the day has come, time to test the car again. and like always fingers crossed lol


7680208664_3b19f4711a_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7680208868_8348c9ee30_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7680208964_33d820d45f_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7680254590_b1f976201a_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7680254744_c1e0a68294_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7680254830_d6dfc30667_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7680963624_77e9cf61ae_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr

 

[bonspeed]

7680963786_8e308b6d47_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7680963956_d76701aa6d_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7681116122_13f02b3ffa_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr



7681116238_c7a8e9d5e3_z by bonspeed07, on Flickr

it ran good that day! success! haha..


here's the video of my fastest run that day

 

[bonspeed]

continuation:


AUGUST 2012

I got too excited to put on the carbon hood so even if I haven't re-cleared it yet I went and installed it



DSC02818 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


Then that same month there was a charity carshow event that was organized by a honda dealership here in the city, the cancer care manitoba. My friend(Neil) who owns a printing shop and decal cutting(bomexgraphics) business asked me if he can get my car to be displayed at the show to promote his business, I really didn't want to do it cause my car is really not show worthy but since it's a charity event anyway plus I'll be able to help him so I gave in and registered my car for the event. It rained that day but still was a successful event.


here's my car at the event feeling like a show car lol with bomex graphics decals on it.


note: I just borrowed those bride seats from Neil and te37's from a friend of mine cause I know people would hate on my rotamaster's lol

me wiping off the rims lol

then some other cars that were on the show

after that event it was race day again!


no action pictures though so just enjoy the video.


my fastest run that day

then that week after(ken) one of the toptierimports member and a photographer contacted me, asking if I want to do a photo shoot of my car. and my reply was awwyeeahh! lol

here are the results from the photo shoot


Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr



Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr



Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr

 

[bonspeed]

Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr



Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr



Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr



Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr



Von - EK Hatch by au.ken, on Flickr

and he even made me a bonus short clip video

then the next weekend it's autocross time!


my fastest run on saturday

my fastest run on sunday

DSC_ 652 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC_ 653 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC_ 657 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC_ 660 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC_ 839 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC_ 842 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC_ 843 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC_ 844 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC_ 1001 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


and a couple of shots again from our regular friday meet

 

[bonspeed]

continuation:

SEPTEMBER 2012

last 4 events of autocross season, after the last event I took off some of the parts and installed the oem ones for winter storage.


I finally got tires for my daily SiR rims, put away the slipstreams for the meantime to save the tires for autocross.


DSC02875 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02874 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02871 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02869 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02867 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



DSC02865 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

and also I got the chance to install the phdm/ukdm LHD climate control with oem clock



DSC02880 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


DSC02883 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


it's raceday on the weekend so I swapped the slipstreams back



Winnipeg-20120927-00178 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

but before that, I went for the last friday meet of the summer.

Civic by shaunjeroski, on Flick


oh and almost forgot, this car showed up at that meet. i'm sure a lot of you guys know's this car, it got featured on h-t magazine back in 2009 I think.


CRX 001 by E.V.S, on Flickr



Honda CRX by Mitch Asham Photography, on Flickr



CRX by shaunjeroski, on Flickr



CRX by shaunjeroski, on Flickr

sadly no shot of the engine bay


then saturday... race day!

saturday event

 

[bonspeed]

my fastest run

sunday event

on board camera

outside view

no pictures from that event though..


then again after 2 weeks autocross again! last 2 events of the season.


saturday event


Civic by shaunjeroski, on Flickr



Civic by shaunjeroski, on Flickr



Auto X - September 29, 2012 by au.ken, on Flickr


on board camera front view

rear view

notice the smoke? lol


sunday event


season ender with a twist lol I didn't drive my car on the last event cause there were so many drivers that registered that day so I gave up my spot for other drivers to race but, I was still able to race..


I raced in Chris's SCCA prepped Dogde neon ACR, and boy it was a blast to drive it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iia_eNJmxhk

OCTOBER 2012

it's fall season so I started taking off some parts to get it ready for winter storage.

winter look


_DSC6343 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6344 by bonspeed07, on Flickr



_DSC6345 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

4x4 status again!


_DSC6347 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

then hibernation starts


_DSC6348 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

 

[bonspeed]

car cover on


_DSC6353 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

tarp on


_DSC6355 by bonspeed07, on Flickr

and as of November 2012 lol


IMG-20121111-00187 by bonspeed07, on Flickr


and that's it for 2012