97 Hatch aka the chipmunk nest...(lawts o' pics)

[EJ Dewd]

Hi everyone this is my first Honda and quite a interesting way to start out in Honda's. I picked it up for $400 the way it sat which will make more sense once you see the pics.

The whole story behind the car started about a year ago when i tried to get it from a friend at work since they never drove it due to some unknown mechanical problem (we still don't know what it was) and they wouldn't let go of it no matter what. Soooo after sitting their for a year they finally decided to let it go considering it didn't fix itself sitting in the yard, and because someone left bread in the back of it while it was sitting their a chipmunk massacre of my interior ensued...

Getting the car from where it was to where it needed to be was interesting seeing as the munks had chewed threw the wiring for the fuel pump which my buddy had to fix basically by running a wire from the battery to the passenger seat and one from the fuel pump itself to give it straight power to actually get the car driveable. Alas it worked and we got it to his house where he rewired where the actual wires were chewed threw.

If the pictures don't work the first time give me time I've never directly linked the photos, and its 4:30AM soooo i'll figure it out all in good time..

The day I got it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626895765/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626895985/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626896163/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626896415/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626896607/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626896853/

After a good wash. The space in the hood is from the battery out of my friends prelude we had to use since mine was gone, it's just a tad large.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626896999/

What it looked with everything out and before being cleaned, which btw took foreverrrrrrrrrrr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626897375/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626897661/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626897915/

What it looked like half clean-ish vs. dirty.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626898101/

And the yummy headliner. (got new fabric on the way to redo it on the way)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626898683/

With it out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626899615/

What it ended up looking like for awhile.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626899197/

I wasn't a giant fan of the half stripped look or full for that matter considering the shape of the back wasn't the greatest, so i came up with this nifty little thing. It was my first ever shot at doing any kind of carpet anything in a car so don't laugh to hard at the rough edges, it does what it needs to lol.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626901707/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626901395/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626903417/

With the added space in the rear I thought it needed more lighting so my buddy came threw again with the wiring and we came up with this. It's on a pressure switch so it comes on when the hatch is opened and off when closed. The picture really doesn't do it justice.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626904645/

With only LED dome light.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626909961/

With both LED dome light and i guess hatch light you could call it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626910163/

On to more recent pictures. I got bored the other day and did some more cleaning and managed to get a LOT of the grime out. I'm happy with the results.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626906141/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626905259/

Also cleaned where the munks had nested and chewed threw the fuel pump wires if you were curious where they chewed threw exactly.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626904939/

Almost forgot a clean bay shot, all stock under there.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626898335/

Then on to the outside, the body is in decent shape with a few exceptions in some spots. But nothing out of the ordinary. This is on eBay coilovers, i'm waiting on the response for those 2 words that should never be muttered in sequence. I got impatient and yes they ride horribly but they are now replaced and it's riding on a eibach pro kit which i don't have pictures of yet but will take some tomorrow.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626902963/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6626902529/

Well that's it for now, i'll post some pics tomorrow probably of it on the new eibachs. I've been waiting for the springs to settle to get a good pic and it's been a week now so should be fine at this point. I hope if anything the pictures peak your interest for at least a few seconds lol, it's nothing special but it's come a long way. Almost forgot I've got some wheels waiting for tires to, which i will include in the pics of the car tomorrow.

If you have any questions or criticisms about it feel free to comment, you wont hurt my feelings if you don't like it lol, it's always nice to have an outside opinion regardless. Any input helps.

 

[mymmeryloss]

Looks like another saved civic!

Whats ur plans from here on out?

 

[Mr.Baker]

Good save!

Critters can do quite a nasty number on a car and can be nasty to clean up!

I do like the DIY rear seat delete, cleans it up a bit and gives you more cargo room!

 

[EJ Dewd]

Looks like another saved civic!

Whats ur plans from here on out?

Yea its a work in progress thank you, for now I just want to get my new wheels on the car and some tint and fix some of the minor problems. Its my first manual car and i love driving it, I would love to do a swap one day but the funds aren't there right now so i'm just going to work on fixing the smaller problems. All in all just want to enjoy it and clean it up for now.

 

[EJ Dewd]

Good save!

Critters can do quite a nasty number on a car and can be nasty to clean up!

I do like the DIY rear seat delete, cleans it up a bit and gives you more cargo room!

Thanks! I think it turned out pretty well, and its still removable so I can take it out if need be. And it supports weight very well so it does make for a very good very large cargo space lol.

 

[Puma]

Wow, fantastic job cleaning it up! I seriously would have walked away from that thinking it was too icky.

 

[EJ Dewd]

Wow, fantastic job cleaning it up! I seriously would have walked away from that thinking it was too icky.

Thank you, very much appreciated. The finished product made it worth it lol.

 

[203CT]

OMG if tht happpined to my car I wld of got my semi auto bb gun and went on a killing spree..little bastard wld of been done for..but as for the car... finish product came out great..def was worth it...but thts ALOT of work.

 

[EJ Dewd]

OMG if tht happpined to my car I wld of got my semi auto bb gun and went on a killing spree..little bastard wld of been done for..but as for the car... finish product came out great..def was worth it...but thts ALOT of work.

Yea it was a lot but i spread it out so it wasn't to terrible, still a lot to do lol. And yea those furry little critters aren't cool in my book anymore....

 

[00siboy]

Nice job on the cleaning. Such a good feeling to see the before and after pics. I like the custom carpet too, I'll have to remember that one.

 

[EJ Dewd]

Nice job on the cleaning. Such a good feeling to see the before and after pics. I like the custom carpet too, I'll have to remember that one.

Very much appreciated. If you ever decide to do it and have any questions just send them my way and ill help in any way i can. Its a very simple and in my opinion a very giant fix to the bare look in the back.

 

[Shaaaft]

Great job on the car, you could even raise the back storage area up a bit and put more doors in there for an emergency kit or something you will always need in your car.

 

[ImportFan1]

Man was she trashed when you got her. Nice job cleaning it up.

 

[EJ Dewd]

Great job on the car, you could even raise the back storage area up a bit and put more doors in there for an emergency kit or something you will always need in your car.

The thought has crossed my mind, I already keep a jack and my tools in the spare tire compartment since the one in the car was dry rotted. There is room in the area that was under the seats for some cables but not much else lol. Raising it is a good idea though, thanks for the input it always helps.

 

[EJ Dewd]

Man was she trashed when you got her. Nice job cleaning it up.

Thank ya

 

[EJ Dewd]

Got some of the JET tuning wheels from eatsleepjdm on here. They're just waiting for some rubber.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6631975057/

 

[young_]

Got some of the JET tuning wheels from eatsleepjdm on here. They're just waiting for some rubber.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73419291@N03/6631975057/

Nice wheels!

Yeah that civic was beyond f**ked up when you got it. Great job cleaning it up though! Personally I love that DIY rear seat delete. Pretty good job for your first time carpeting.

 

[Failsafe88]

Most people say get security I suggest buying some mouse traps.

 

[95CTR]

this guy

 

[EJ Dewd]

Nice wheels!

Yeah that civic was beyond f***ed up when you got it. Great job cleaning it up though! Personally I love that DIY rear seat delete. Pretty good job for your first time carpeting.

Yea it was lol and thanks, I plan on redoing it with some quality carpet and actually doing a better job.

Most people say get security I suggest buying some mouse traps.

Agreed lol