Yea! I brought my first car without the help of my parents. I traded in my 89’ Honda Civic LX (4 door) to get my 92 Honda Accord LX (4 door, also). I liked my Civic and had a LOT of work put into it, but it was just time for something new(er) plus I am just now getting into this speed thing and that car was anything but fast. Finally, I have a stick again!
November 7, 1995
Since I traded my car into the dealership, I pulled everything out of my Civic to be transfered to the Accord. As my luck would have it. I was up early (a first for me) on that Thursday morning. I had all the parts laid out to be installed. First off I knew that the intake, exhaust, and catback would not work on the Accord, no big deal. My main concern was to get rid of it’s god aweful ride height. I got the car up on jack stands and pulled the suspension from all four corners. Here’s where my first disappointment started. I had Bec-Techs for my Civic that I figured I would just slap on. Wrong! The coil cups didn’t fit at all in the rear, or the link to the lower A-arm. In the front the U/clamp-joint (?) was the wrong size diameter. It was depressing since I loved the Bec-Techs on my Civic and wanted to use them again. I had already cut the coils (4.5 coils front, 5.5 coils rear) to fit the Bec-Techs so I just put them back on the car with the stock shocks. Here comes the next disappointment. I go to mount my Chrome Momo Quasars on the front and for some reason I couldn’t get all the holes to allign up with the bolts at the same time. A black clowd hovered above my head. Oh my god!!! It’s a different lug pattern (4 on 4.5” not 4 on 100mm). To me it looked better but I felt really stupid driving around a slammed car with stock wheels. The ride height had dropped 3 3/4” and actually it didn’t ride THAT bad for being a chopped stock suspension setup.
November 9, 1995
Since I didn’t have the money for a full catback exhaust, I went the cheesy route and had my muffler cut off and replaced with a 4” resonated tip ($70). It was quite loud but not obnoxious. It had somewhat of a burble.
December 7, 1995
Finally after saving my hard earned funds and selling my T.V. to a friend I was able to buy my wheels. I wanted my car to be absolutely hammered, so I bought 16” instead of 17” or even 18” (plus the money factor came a little into play here also). They were 16 x 7 Chrome Rota Cobra (split 5 stars) wrapped in 205/40R16 BFG Euros ($1450). Overall they were an inch smaller diameter than stock so they lowered the car another half inch. My cut coils had sagged a little since I first did it and the thinner sidewall tires weren’t helping my ride any so I decided to buy lowering springs next.
December 12, 1995
Since I have decided to do some radical engine mods I figure I better get the car smoged while it will still pass so I won’t have to worry about it for a full two years. Went to the emissions place and sat in line FOREVER. They finally made it to my turn and they told me to leave because my car was too low. I begged them but they wouldn’t hear it. Damn!!! I guess now I HAVE to buy springs.
December 15, 1995
Because of my tight budget (full time student at DeVry) I got not the best, but not bad 2 1/2” lowered HondaSport (or Suspension Techniques with a HondaSport name on them) ($160) springs and Tokico gas shocks. I put just the front in and left the rear so I could go get my emissions done. I think Performance Techniques sent me the wrong springs because these 2 1/2” lowering springs make my car look higher than even stock. Before the front tires just barely tucked in the fenders, now the gap between the tires and fender is over 4”! Anyway, back to emissions. Same senario, huge line moving super slow. Yea! I passed.
December 16, 1995
My car is looking pretty stupid with it really high in the front. It looks like it’s doing a wheelie! Once again pulled the suspension all the way around cut my new coils and re-installed everything. Opps cut WAY to much off the front. The front springs are barely doing anything. I think the car is just sitting on the stoppers and I’ve already cut the stoppers down as far as they’ll go. This is starting to get annoying. At least the back rides great.
December 17, 1995
Once AGAIN pulled the suspension in the front and put the stock springs back in. It doesn’t ride any better than it originally did but it feels like it compared to the way it was plus the rear suspension keeps it from doing that bounce rock motion while driving down the street.
January 2, 1996
Bought an Akimoto intake and Eibach springs from my Christmas funds. This time I carefully and conservitively cut the front coils. Ahhhhh... much better. The intake reallydidn’t make a difference except between 5000rpm and 6000rpm. Watching the Tach it seemed like it wrapped out a little quicker and it made the engine sound meaner.
January 5, 1996
Okay, now I’m starting to get sick of listening to my exhaust. I will definitely save for a catback.
February 2, 1996
It was very costly but I got the bomb for exhaust. A stainess steel polished Greddy catback. Cost me $545 but worth it. It’s the shit! I love the way it’s all shiney. It almost looks like a mirror going down the road. Car seems to move a sight bit faster, but it’s hard to tell since I’m used to relating the excessive exhaust noise with speed.
March 1, 1996
Received my DC header ($319) today in the mail. Don’t have time to install it due to having to go to work.
March 2, 1996
Actually up early on a Saturday morning to install my header. Kinda wack the way you have to put it on. There’s not enough room for it to bolt straight on the head. So I had to take the front motor mount off. It’s on, looks great, and there’s a definite difference in power you can feel. I’m happy.
April 15, 1996
Found out today that Speed Zone is still around. Speed Zone is the shop that I used to go to all the time when I had my Civic. The shop is no longer there so I figured that he (Joe - owner) had left. Turns out he just moved to another location.
April 25, 1996
Have been hanging around the shop (SZ) lately getting ideas for my car. Right now I’m pretty much sold on doing my entire top end of my engine in one shot. Ported and polished head, camshaft, and bored out throttle body. Later that day I called into the VRU to see how much stock I had saved up. I ended up selling most of it and ordered my top end for my engine. That money was suppose to be for a down payment on a house. Oh well, we all have our priorities!
May 10, 1996
Today is a big day for me. My first internal engine modification. The Dan Paramore Stage V racing head. It has a whole buttload of stuff done to it. The only things I could comprehend was ported, polished, and milled. This head better be the shit since it was almost $1200! The cam and T-body didn’t come in yet so we’re just going to see what difference the head will make. Didn’t have time to start tonight, so the car will sit in the shop overnight.
May 11, 1996
What an asshole! Joe didn’t even show up today to work on my car. The shop is closed and no one is there so the car will sit once again.
May 12, 1996
Car still not done. Still looks the same as when I last saw it, head-less. Made a $50 bet with Joe that he wouldn’t have it done by tomorrow at noon because I think he’s lazy. Either way I win. If it’s not done I have $50. If it is I get my car back.
May 13, 1996 12:01pm
My buddy Brent gave me a ride down to Speed Zone and what do you know? It wasn’t finished! Well there’s a shocker! At least this time something was done to it. The new head was on and he was finishing the adjustments up. He didn’t have $50 on him. I only made him give me $10 to eat that day, then I went to work. I figured I could use the $40 I.O.U. to my advantage in the future. It was nice head work and all but I don’t think I really felt a difference. There definitely a defference though, because Brent and I raced all the time, but this time when we did I significantly beat him. I guess the power is greater all around, but not in any one significant area to be able to feel a huge difference.
June 12, 1996
My JG Cam and T-body finally came in. I called Joe from work so I will probably have to wait till tomorrow or this weekend to put it in.
June 15, 1996
I dropped the car off and bet Joe the $40 that he owes me that he couldn’t have the Cam, T-body, and valve adjustment done before the end of the day. He actually finished it! And oh yes, it is noticable. Mostly I notice that I actually have midrange power. 2000-3500rpm is usable power for putting around town in, but as soon as it gets around 4000 or over it takes off. All this money put into the engine is starting to show.
August 2, 1996
I modified my bumper turn signal lights so they act like fog lights (on when the headlights are on). Doing this was cool and all but it causes that hyper blinker effect. I didn’t like that so using my well developed DeVry skills I made a circuit consisting of two relays and a ceramic resistor per side. The relays worked off my headlights so when they were off (day driving), my turn signals uses the bumper lights and when they are on (night driving) they utilize a 1ohm ceramic resistor to fool the circuit that the bulb is still there. Result: works great and looks awesome!
August 15, 1996
I knew it, sooner or later I would get it... Nitrous. I brought Joe’s old NOS kit from his Integra (it’s featured in the November 96’ issue of Sport Compact Car, yellow Integra). It’s a direct port, but I don’t think my stock bottom end will hold up against that, so for now I’m just using a single fogger mounted in the intake. Currently I have the jets set up for a 50hp shot (22 fuel/36 Nitrous). You can definitely feel the difference.
August 16, 1996
Damn it! I swear, I don’t think I’ll ever have a car that is completely functional. Today my AC went out on me. I checked the freon and compressor and it’s not that. The only thing I can think of is the sensor to tell the compressor relay to turn on, the wire that goes to the relay, or the relay itself went bad. The problem is I can’t find the relay or wires to check it, and I don’t know how to check the sensor. There goes more money.
August 17, 1996
Well, I’m already out of Nitrous. That was $40 well spent. I think it’s cool and all but it’s also kinda lame because you only get to haul ass when it’s on. I want to always be able to go fast. I’ve always wanted one but now I’m SERIOUSLY thinking about getting a turbo for my car. No one makes a production model turbo for my car but Joe has one that some guy custom made. It needs quite a bit of work, but I think it would be worth it.
August 24, 1996
In an attempt to get cooler air to my engine; I moved my battery from the engine bay to the trunk. I then cut out a hole out where my battery was mounted. With a little rubber, few hose clamps and another intake from a Civic I was able to make my own cold air intake. The filter is routed out of the engine compartment completely down next to the bumper where much cooler air can be drawn in. The car is noticably quicker but it sucks having to clean the filter all the time and being extra extra extra carefull around water. Warning: These work extremely well but be carefull around water because it is very easy to suck it up and ruin the engine.
September 7, 1996
Brought some used Bec-Techs for the front for $200. Score me! The front is slammed. The control arms are banging again the top of the shock towers and my exhaust drags really bad driving down the road.
September 8, 1996
I modified the mount for the header/manifold to raise it up and reattatched the rubber housings that fell off the B-pipe to raise the exhaust some. I then used a Die-Grinder to cut two massive holes in my engine compartment. Right now it looks like shit and the car is now offically becoming valueless but I don’t care because it rides excellent. The thing that concerns me the most right now is the angle of the ball joint.
September 14, 1996
Went to “little” Roberts house (this welder dude) to modify my Control Arms. I took them off the car, made two cuts in the shape of a V on each side, bent the top of the Arms to change the angle of the ball joint then had him weld up the supports for the Control Arms. Now when they’re on the car driving down the road the angle is almost close to stock. My next project it to have him make them longer to get rid of some of my terrible negative amber. He didn’t have time to do it that day, and he’s always busy so I will probably try him next next Sunday, since next Sunday is Endless Summber.
September 23, 1996
Noticed today that I have hyper blinker again on the driver side when the headlights are off. After inspection I found that the bulb was burned out. After even closer inspection I found that the housing that the bulb sits in is warped and slightly melted from the constant heat. I don’t want to ruin them but keep them as fog lights but I don’t want to get rid of them because I like the way they look. I will ponder on this for a few days.
September 26, 1996
I looked a little closer today at my car and I believe there’s room in my car to front mount an intercooler. That turbo down at the shop isn’t intercooled and I don’t want to run one unless I can intercool it. The other things about that turbo is the custom manifold for it was made from an old header made of mild steel, not cast iron. To top it off it was mounted on it in a way that the power steering and cruse control have to be taken out and the hood won’t close so a bump has to be made in the hood. The PS and CC wouldn’t be a big deal if this is going to be a race vehicle, but this is my daily driver. I need to PS to battle the traffic and fight for that tight parking spot!
September 27, 1996
Right now I’m at an impass. I want all this stuff but I don’t have any more money. The car has over 104k miles. It wouldn’t hurt to re-build the bottom end, but I really need to do it if I want to run a turbo or direct port nitrous. In all actuality I really don’t NEED to to rebuild the bottom end to run the turbo as long as I don’t run a silly amount of boost, but I know myself better than that and I’ll end up boosting the pressure until something breaks then I’ll be screwed.
September 28, 1996
Well isn’t this just great. On Friday night, I started my car leaving for work when I heard the most god aweful grinding noise coming from the engine. I left it running and popped the hood. I instantly could tell it was coming from the distributor, actually I could feel the distributor grinding something inside. I pulled the cap off, nothing felt loose and I couldn’t see visually see anything grinding. So I closed the hood and booked it home praying.
September 30, 1996
Wahoo! I made it home. The car sat all weekend though cuz I couldn’t get it in till today. It ended up being the distributor assembly and bearings. I guess everything inside just exploded. There was a bunch of metal crap in it when they took it completely appart. Kinda funny how one day it sounds fine, then the next it is completely gone. I would have though this sort of problem I would hear every now and then for a while till it completely went. Also got my AC fixed. Yipee! I was right, it was just the wire that goes to the relay, it had fallen off. The timing is WAY retarded. That and the fact that I drove with the AC on, the car is very slugish. I will advance it omorrow.
October 7, 1996
What a long weekend. Advanced my timing last week. I swear this car is starting to be the biggest pain in the ass. One problem after another. Just as soon as I fix one thing another thing pops up. On September 30, 1996 everything on my car was working fine. Now as of today, one of my turn signal lenses that I made stay on all the time with my headlights is burnt out and it’s not the fuse or bulb. Also the clear lenses weren’t made for that kind of heat because the inside plastic is all melted and deformed. My passenger window fell off the track because the mount on the window broke off. I tried silicon, liquid nail, and JB weld. Nothing will hold it. I would use that window epoxy that they use for windshields but no one I can find sells it. I think I will try that glue they use for rearview mirrors. The silonoid for the fuel on my nitrous kit is leaking a little fuel. That solid motor mount that I thought was so cool isn’t. Everything in my car, especially my sunroof is rattling like a bitch! I think I will buy a new one and use my solid one just for racing.
Note: I hope all you that are actually reading this are learning something. Here’s a word of advise... Keep it stock! Put wheels, tires, suspension, and SOME basic engine bolt on stuff, but that’s it. Cars are a huge source of stress! When doing anything custom to a vehicle, put some thought into what you are actually doing to it. Looking cool or being different is not always worth the loss of integrity to your vehicle.
October 8, 1996
Boy oh boy, what a morning! Woke up somewhat early, went to Discount Tire and ordered two new tires for the front. They’re just the 205/40R16 BFG’s but that particular store didn’t have them in stock. The front of my car has some really bad camber from being lowered so I am constantly getting new tires. Hopefully this weekend I will have little Robert make me some custom control arms so the camber won’t be quite so bad. After that I went to the Honda dealership to buy a new motor mount. Ahhhhhh... It idles so much nicer now. Next I went to Safelite Autoglass and looked through their scrap pile for that window piece. It took a while but, yipee, found it. The guy even gave me some of their eurothane to glue it back on. I put it back on the car. I’m going to wait a couple days before rolling the window down so I won’t know till then if it worked. Next I went home and fixed my blinker in the bumper. It was a bad relay, go figure? I also replaced both sides with some smaller bulbs. I don’t really notice a difference in brightness but the heat should be significantly less to keep things from melting like they were. Then I went to an arcade gameretailer for a pinball switch to use for my nitrous setup. I jimmy rigged it in the engine next to the throttle plate so when the throttle is WOT the Nitrous/fuel silonoids open up. Razo makes a shift knob with an on/off button. I’m going to use that as an activation switch for the relay to the silonoids
October 14, 1996
Well my fix for the fog lights didn't work. I was always taught that a circuit would only pull as much current as it needs. Well obviously not becasue those smaller bulbs I put in the bumper to keep the clear lenses from melting only lasted a day before they burnt out. I put the factory size ones back in and it's working fine again. I think I will hook up an on off switch for them. I will use them for driving around town at night, but will turn them off for a long trip or heavy traffic so cars can actually see my blinkers. Looks as though I changed my mind again and no longer want the shift knob with the switch because this weekend I hooked up a little switch in my center console to activate the Nitrous relay. I like where it is and don't want to bother with a swith in the knob. I would like to get the remote bottle valve solonoid then put yet another switch in my center console to activate that. I just called "Super Shops" and they have them for $160. Kind of expensive but I hate the fact that I have to stop the car, walk to the back, open the trunk, turn the bottle on, then I can haul ass. Got my new tires this weekend also. Nothing special, just new rubber that will end up in two long black strips on the road. When I firstgot my nitrous it was very powerfull and consistent. The power kicked in instantly. That was using Bosch plugs (I don't know the heat rating). On my second nitrous fill I was using Bosch plantiums (used for a long drive to Reno). They absolutely sucked with nitrous. I don't know the reason why, but they just did. Platinums are very smooth and I seem to get better gas mileage but for some reason when I hit the nitrous, the engine stalled, then jerked out of it, then accelerated. Also, it just didn't feel as impressive. I bought some NGK 5's (I think that's the stock rating). I'm going to see how these work for my next fill. I might also try some 6's. I don't remember the exact figures but it was something like for every 40-70 HP of nitrous you should go down one heat rating. You should also run a colder plug if you run higher compression. However I don't know what jump in compression would justify a colder plug. The moral of this story is to run the hotest plug possible without being too hot and running into problems with detonation (engine pinging). If anyone knows some more info on what I'm talking about (spark plugs), please E-mail me.
October 17, 1996
Got my nitrous bottle filled. Something is definitely wrong. I'mpretty sure it's the ignition and I thought I had it narrowed down to the spark plugs but it still sorta kills the engine then jerks the car when I hit it. I'm thinking maybe I don't have enough spark due to a weak coil. So as soon as I can save up the money I will try an MSD 6AL with coil.
I also put in a switch today to remedy my bumper/fog lights completely.I think I will leave them off most of the time. It's probably a good idea anyways since you can't hardly see my corner turn signals from the front.
October 23, 1996
Okay, it's a definite set date. "Little" Robert is going to do my custom control arms on Sunday. I also talked to him about a custom airbag setup for the rear. Airshocks will work, but I hear it doesn't ride very nice plus it's kinda cheezy way to do it. This way I can lift or lower in a matter of seconds like air shocks but I will have a shock mounted along with it to ride nice. The downfall of this setup is the price. I guess the going price for airbags is $100 eachand a nice adjustable shortened shock is $50 each. So I'm looking at $300 in materials and somewhere between $200-$300 in labor. I think it will be worth it though.
Turbo Update: Still thinking about doing it but not for quite a long time. As of right now I PLAN to have the car paid off until I do any more major engine modifications. Mainly because if I blow the engine up. I won't be able to afford to buy another one. Looking a little closer, there's maybe room for a thin intercooler in the bumper (with modified brackets), but I don't think there's really enough room to run the piping to it.
October 25, 1996
Alright, now I'm pissed. I went drag racing last night with the guys from Speed Zone and I've come to a conclusion. I've dumped all this money into my car to no avail. I was getting spanked left and right by stock VTEC Integras. I've came to the decision that I am not going to spend any more money on my engine. In fact I'm thinking about selling some of the stuff on it like the header, T-body, head, and cam. Reason? I'm saving up for a different motor. What? I still haven't quite decided. I'm either going to get the 2.2L DOHC VTEC, or the 2.2L DOHC non-VTEC and put a turbo on it. So far, both projects are looking around the $5000+ range. A bit costly but I know I won't be happy until I do it.
October 28, 1996
Okay, here's the low down on my engine status. If and when I get a new engine it will definitely be the 2.2L DOHC VTEC. I've been told they make a turbo for it also, it's just really expensive. But hey, I figured I'm not cheap. Also I got a price quote for $5000 flat, out the door for the engine, transmission, computer, and installed.
Got my control arms done and they are awesome! I had them made 5/8" longer in the middle, which is only about 1/2" pushed out horizontally because of the angle. I probably could have done another 1/4" and still tuck under the fender but it's much better than it was. In the future I may have "little" Robert make me some tubular adjustable Control Arms.
November 1, 1996
I've heard they make an aftermarket shifter but I can't find anyone who sells them and I can see why. My shifter is all funky. Either way, "little" Robert and I can make a totally custom one much better than any aftermarket piece of crap and for a lot cheaper. Anyway we started off by cutting an inch and a half off the total length of the shifter. Then because I have two rods that come into the cab instead of a single link under the car we had to make two custom brackets that were longer than the stock ones to make up for the shorter throw. Anyway, tough to explain without a photo (maybe I'll take one and put it in later). It works great and whoever says you can't weld cast iron/steel is full of shit! All they need to do look at my shifter for proof.
November 5, 1996
Well, pretty disappointing weekend. It seems that all these little problem with my car are starting to pop up. I won't go into detail yet, save it for another day. I was finally able to make it to the track. It was the Phoenix Bug-O-Rama. I was able to run the 1/4 mile 5 times. Not a single time was I able to hook up at the start which is the reason for my crappy times, 16.7. I guy I always race on Thursdays at the illegals runs a consistent 16.5 and I usually beat him. It was raining off and on and I think the track was slick. With a good start I think I can get a low 16 second time (16.4 or less). My NOS bottle was really light and very low pressure but I ran with it on once, I got a time of 16.2. With a full bottle I'm sure I could be in the low 15's maybe even a high 14. As soon as I get all my little problems fixed I will run again and see.
November 12, 1996
Well now I've done it! I was on my way to Tuscon to go skydiving and I guess I haven't checked my coolant level in a while because I ran it dry and overheated the engine. The problem is I didn't notice the heat gauge pegged on H. So I assume my check engine light came on because of it but I still didn't notice it. There was no fluid so there was no steam. Anyway I kept driving. A ways down the road I noticed the heater wasn't working and I found that quite odd, that's when I noticed the heat. "SHIT!!!" I pulled over to the first gas station (lucky there was one in sight). To make a long story short I've come to the conclusion that the head gasket is definitely blown, I'm not sure but possible head damaged. After draining all the fluids the oil actually doesn't look to bad. A little chocolately but if the head is okay (not cracked or warped) everything should still be good. But here's the tricky part. My car was towed from Tuscon back to Phoenix to my apt. From there I have disassembled most of the engine. It has 106K miles on it. The question is, is it worth putting it all back together again? Probably not without rebuilding it. But if I rebuild it would it be worth it since I still want to put a Prelude DOHC engine in it? Probably not. So what I am going to do is see if the head is okay. If it is I will sell it as is. All it needs is a new gasket. If that person wants they can rebuild it, but it's got a bitchin' cam, a totally raced out head, and a nice throttle body. Currently I have a friend's dad (who's a mechanic) looking for a Prelude motor for me. I just called him and he told me he found a DOHC VTEC. He is going to check it out after work and see the conditon it's in. If it's in okay shape he will make a deal with the guy. Hopefully it's not too much.
November 15, 1996
I change my mind about my car more often than I change my underwear! (old joke but it's true) That VTEC engine, the guy wanted $4000. I decided that the money was not worth the gains. I figure for that price I can turbocharge my car and then some. I took my head down to the machine shop and they told me it is fixable. They are going to heat straighten it and give it a real fine mill to perfect it. I also found that the block is a little warped between cylinder number 2 and 3. I believe they can resurface the block as well. I will pull the crank, pistons, and rods this weekend to check for any heat damage on them as well. Hopefully there is, then I will have an excuse to get some forged pistons and rods.
November 26, 1996
Things are not looking so good. By the looks of things I will be a full month before I get to drive my car again. At times I really hate this sport. Here's the scoop: Got my head fixed, got my block fixed, got the crank repolished, have all the parts, gaskets, and even a new oil pump for the heck of it. It's all ready to go, it just needs to be put back together. I am leaving town for almost a week for Turkey day. I talked with the dude reassembling my bottom end and he won't be able to start until I get back (damn!). Once it does get finished that will get bolted back in the car and I should be able to put the head, intake manifold, header, and accessories back on in a few hours. Then I should be running again. The problem is I don't have enough money to pay for all this work. Hopefully I will be able to sell some stereo stuff, then I'll have enough.
December 2, 1996
Well tomorrow (Wed) the engine should be completely done. I got a new water pump also for the heck of it. Somehow, I was able to reach really far up my ass and pull out $1200 to pay for it. Hopefully on Friday it should be bolted back in my car with a new clutch assembly. All I need to do is bolt the basic stuff on and go. Should be driving again by Saturday. Hopefully!
December 11, 1996
It's no surprise to me, but I didn't get my car back on Saturday. I didn't even get it back on Monday or Tuesday. I got it back today (Wednesday). Doesn't matter to me anymore since it's all in the past now. Boy what an ordeal! They didn't get to my engine till Monday morning. On Tuesday morning I went down to the shop to help put the little stuff back together again. We got everything back in and started it up and all four injectors were squirting out fuel. Not good. So went to the dealership and bought four new middle injector seals ($4.66 each, what a rip off). Anyway put them in, and it still leaked. Ran to Pep boys across the street and bought some upper injector seals (much cheaper!). In the process one of the lower injector gaskets fell into the engine somewhere. Looked and looked and looked. Couldn't find it so I found some misc rubber thing and jammed it in there. Seems to work for now. I need to replace that ASAP though. It will probably end up clogging my injector then I'll really be mad. Start up the car it runs... okay. I'm just going to assume because everything is new and tight it's running the way it is. Erratic idle, etc. Now time to bleed the clutch. Pumping it building up pressure, almost there, then (from no where) the throw out bearing gets stuck in the in position. Damn! It's closing time so I left the car overnight (again!). In the morning it turned out they didn't even need to drop the transmission because it popped out by itself. I am sooooo happy to have my car back. Ran it too the car wash and gave it a quick wash before work. I will have to do a good job on it tomorrow. It needs wax bad anyway. The plan looks like I'm going to check the oil this weekend and if it's the slightest bit brown I'm going to change it. The machinest told me to use straight 30 weight oil for the first 500 miles, so I'm not going question him. So all in all I spent roughly $1800. Ouch!
Because of the work being done I've had the Bec-Tecs up as far as they will go. When I got home I put them down a little to far. I didn't have time to raise it again as I was already late for work so I drove to work scrapping just about the whole way. Looking under the car my exhaust pipe (not an exaggeration) was about a half inchoff the ground.
December 18, 1996
Well my header has quite a nice flat spot right at the bend by the oil pan. I guess I will have to have little Robert weld me an extension to my subframe so it hangs lower than my exhaust. It never used to hit before but I guess I ground it down so far now it does.
Found out that new or rebuilt motors use or burn a little oil the first few hundred miles. I've been checking the oil daily since I got it back and was quite surprised that it was over a quart low. I imediately looked under the car for oil spots but couldn't find any. After talking to my mechanic he told me that it would be normal for the first 1000 miles or so. So now you and I know!
Also after getting my car back it has been making this weird whinning noise. Sounded like a dry bearing or something coming from inside the lower timing belt cover. I took it to Cliff (mechanic) and he agreed. I left it will him over night and he pulled off the cover lubbed it up with some lithium grease. I picked the car up today and I didn't get much past the parking lot before it starting whinning again. I didn't have time to have him look at it again or else I would have been late for work. I will bring it back again tomorrow and he is going to replace that bearing. If this isn't enough of a headache, the "Check Engine" won't go out. It doesn't come on at first, but after driving a few miles it always pops on and won't go out untill the next time I stop and start the engine. I have no idea what it could be???
February 4, 1997
New day, new ideas. Still want to juice my car but not sure about the VTEC motor. I got to test drive a 96 Prelude with that motor and it sucked! My car is WAY faster. Something was fishy with the car though. I thought that engine redlined at 8000 RPM but the gauge only redlined at 7000 RPM, then when I tried to redline it, it hit a rev- limiter at 6500. Hmmmmm, I will have to test drive another one before I completely decide.
Yesterday I'm driving down the road just minding my own business not even going fast when all of a sudden I heard a grinding slapping noise from the engine. My heart almost stopped, I thought a rod bearing or something went out. I pulled over and popped the hood and to my surprise my timing belt was all shredded up thrashing around as the engine was still running. As fast as I could I turned the car off. Whew!!! Didn't ruin the engine in anyway thank god. The only part that sucks is replacing the timing belt and towing it to the shop. The tow was $60 and my mechanic only charged me $30 for the timing belt. His cost for the belt. I guess what happened was the spring for the tensioner fell off and inbetween the belt and gears and chewed it all up.
February 10, 1997
Well so far so good. Haven't had any problems with the car lately. Myself and a few members from the club are planning on going up to the track this Saturday. I got my nitrous bottle filled so well see if I can dip into the 14's this time. I'll be happy with a low 15 though.
Spent a few hours at "little Robert's" this Sunday to lengthen my upper control arms even more. This time I went to the extreme and did it 1". They worked great but they hit the inside of the fenders so I had to do some major cutting into the car. Just a guess I would say I fixed the camber another 4-6 degrees. They are still a couple degrees off.
Oh yeah, I don't know how I forgot to mention this one but I've bought another car. It's a 97 Civic HX. Actually it's my girlfriends and she pays for it, but it's in my name (she didn't have enought credit). So for all you Civic lovers. Keep reading to hear about all the modifications I do to that as well. We've had it for a week now and so far my gf and I have pulled the HX emblem, dealer stickers, and front license plate off. We had the windows tinted, made the orange turn signal lenses clear, and lowered the car (about 4"). For those of you 97' owners in awe on how to do the clear corner lenses listen up. It's a bitch!!! If you don't have anything to do for about 6 hours and really want them then do this. The first step is to get the headlights off the car. There are four bolts hold each head light on. One of them is hard to get to and one is impossible to get to with the bumber on. So you have to take the bumper off. It's not to difficult. First unscrew the 7 plastic screws on the top around the grill. Next there's one inside each wheel well. You probably need to turn the tires to the right to get to the driver side one and vise versa. Then final two bolts 10mm (there's a shocking size!) are underneath the car just below the radiator/condensor. After all those bolts are off just lift slightly and pull it straight off. The 4 bolts that hold the headlights on are fairly obvious. Now that the headlights are off here comes the fun part. To protect the halogen bulbs the factory uses a generous amount of glue/silicon to seal the headlight lens to the case. It just takes a lot of prying and pulling with a few flat head screw drivers until it lens cover finally comes apart. Note: It's best to do all this prying and pulling on the bottom that way you won't be able to see all the pry marks when you lift the hood. Once the bottom breaks open you can pull the top part apart with your hands. Once it's apart be extremely careful not to touch any part inside. Finger prints are next to impossible to remove off the mirror like plastic. There's a few obvious screws to take out to remove the orangle lenses. Get them out then put that thing back together! When doing so make sure to use a small amout of silicon so it doesn't squash out inside the lense area. Once back together, use a generous amount of silicon on the outside to seal it up to avoid condensation. It took my gf and I about 4 hours with us both working on a headlight each.
February 13, 1997
I've got it! A solution to all my "I want to go REALLY fast"but can't afford it" problems. A supercharger! The only major piece will be buying the actually unit itself. The rest of the stuff I will be able to have custom made for next to nothing. I figure I will need to buy the supercharger and a quality blow off valve. But the piping, hoses, belts, mounts, rods, etc. I think I can get for under a $100. I don't want to release my idea yet because I want to be the first one to supercharge an Accord. But I will keep you posted. Look out VTEC's! Here I come.
February 17, 1997
I'm actually still set on supercharging my car. I called Paxton (805-987-5555) today to get some ideas/pricing. I guess the SN93 model will work pretty good (5-6psi). It's a little more than I wanted to spend $1209 retail. The guy told me to call "Streetwise" @510-623-8898 and talk to Kurt. He wasn't there but I guess they can sell for less than retail.
As far as the Civic goes I'm working on some adjustable suspension for the front. I have the shock, and all the mounts.I just need to make the spring perch and get a pipe threaded with a nut. I found a place that can do it, but won't be able to until this Friday.
Down with hydros. Looks like I'm changing my mind again about juicing my car. As of right now I'm going to go the airbag route. The rear should be fairly simple, the front will be tight but I think I can get it. Now all I need is money to finish all these ideas in my head. Seems lately I have been getting flashes/visions of never done before ideas. Anyone even seen "Phenomenon"? *grin*
February 19, 1997
I changed my brake pads today. Damn, what a difference! Can't remember if I talked about my shitty brakes before they were. Why? Well my pads were almost non-existent. I think when I was slamming on the brakes the caliber was completely extended so the pads weren't being pressed hard enough against the rotors. Well not anymore. On top of that, I think the OEM pads were organic or barely semi-metalic. These ones I got at Autozone are very metalic. Only $20 too! And to think I was going to swap brakes with a prelude (bigger rotors). If anything I may just get steel braided lines and cross drilled rotors (I need new ones anyway). I hear they really don't help out a lot except at extreme speeds (100mph +) and autocrossing (extreme heat buildup). Basically I don't need either I just want them for looks. So those things will probably be some of the last things I do to my car. My rear shoes are shot also. I got the shoes already but didn't have time to do them today. Tomorrow probably I will attempt it. Never done it before and I hear there's a bunch of springs you have to undo but I will see. I have the manual and I think I'm competent enough.
I also called "Steetwise" and the price was the same for the SN93. He also told me that they are currently working on kits for the Hondas. About $3500 will be the going rate. Ouch!
I just called a junk yard and I found a supercharger off an 89 Toyota MR2. They want $550 for it, I just might do it if I can find the money. I figure I can either sell my nitrous or my Bec-Techs or both.
February 20, 1997
Been E-mailing this guy Jason back and forth about my bumper lights. Pretty cool guy, I was surprised that someone out there actually read my journal. If anyone out there has any questions about any of the stuff I do, just drop me a line. I have a very boring job most of the time and have nothing better to do than draw pictures of ideas I have for my car and surf the net.
Got my car all ready for the big race tomorrow. It's probably more of a mental thing but my car feels faster. I disconnected the power steering, I took out the back seat out, the spare tire, all my tools, and the floor mats. Everything together actually weighed 80 lbs! I heard somewhere that every 100 lbs is good for a tenth of a second. Hopefully...
February 24, 1997
Well kinda disappointing track times or should I say time. It was busy as hell and some dude wrecked and had to be helicopted out. So I only got one run in. It was a 16.1 w/NOS, BUT I had the worst start. I wasn't used to how they did the light. Someone told me to hit it on the second amber light, so I did but I thought I red lighted it so I stopped and for some stupid reason I was going to back up and see if they'd let me do it again. By this time the guy next to me was already a car length ahead. So from idle I slammed on the gas and did my best to catch up. Before I redline I noticed I forgot to switch my Nitrous on so I shifted to 2nd and flipped the switch as quickly as I could. By the end of the track I had just got to 4th gear and got a trap speed of 89mph. Just a guess but I think I wasted at least a full second at the start so I still think my car will run low 15's and maybe even a very high 14. My gf ran her car also, she was too scared to drive so this other guy from the club drove it. Got a 17.4 but I don't know how good the run was. Next Saturday is all import racing at PRP so I will go again and find out for sure what our cars can do!
New breakthrough!!! I have successfully made my own Bec-Techs! I call them Tage-Techs. All they are is a shock (shorter of course, for more travel) with a threaded body and a nut so you can adjust where the spring perch is. It was a bit of work to fabricate the spring perch and shorten the rod but the end result was very satisfying and an adjustable ride height! If you live in the Phoenix area and want me to make you a set, let me know! (E-mail at the bottom). If your not but trust me enough to send a money order (the same way to order Bec-Techs), let me know. I'm charging $250/pr, $450/set.
February 26, 1997
Looks like there might be hope after all! Last night as I was leaving work this one supervisor I work with was leaving at the same time. He drives a 97 Corvette. I thought to myself perfect! I quickly got in my car and turned on my bottle. He was already at the light and another car was next to him so I pulled behind him. The light turned green and he started off slow then he hit it. I figured he was going to do this so I was right behind him. He started to pull away right as I got into my power band (4500-5500), I closed the gap and actually started gain on him. I don't know how hard he was on the gas but I was right on his ass all the way up to 110mph! That's when my damn speed limited kicked in. I hate that thing. I've got to find some way to get rid of it. The next day (today) Alex (the sup) came up to me and said "God Damn Tage!!! What the hell do you have under the hood?!?!" It felt really good!
Only two more days until race night again. We are all going again this Saturday. This time I won't mess up at the start!
February 27, 1997
Been getting a lot of E-mail about the VTEC swap. It's actually getting me excited also. I think I will look a little deeper into it. With an engine hoist and a friend I think I could do it myself. This probably won't happen for a while because of the money factor. But one day, oh yes one day...
March 3, 1997
Wahoo!!! I won $50 this weekend index racing. It's identical to bracket racing except for the fact that the bracket is already set. Luckily for me it was set to 15.0 seconds. All the V8's were stupid and broke out. Then with me I just happened to be one of the quicker imports. The final round came down to me and an Intregra. Once again I scored because he broke out by 63 one hundredths of a second. I ran a 15.225 @91.510mph with a reaction time of .077!
March 7, 1997
I've been kicking this supercharger idea around in my head for days now. I called Jackson Racing (Oscar Jackson/714-379-5858) and Eaton (Jerry Magnuson/805-642-8833) and talked quite a bit about their roots blower model 62. The roots type is more efficent (67%) than a centrifugal, but the problem with the roots is you have to have the throttle body/plate before the blower making things pretty difficult. Oscar said that they were planning on making a production blower for the Accord. I don't know what years they were going to make it for, or if it will fit on 4th or 5th gen. He said start looking for it around November 97. It will take me that long to save up that kind of money anyway. If not I may just go with a Paxton and set it up similar to that Civic that was in SCC a while back.
I swear I can never make up my mind. I still want to do the supercharger but I still have a few things I want to do first so I guess I will try and stop talking about it for a while. I still want to get a Momo steering wheel, Momo shift knob, a dead pedal to match my pedals, adjustable cam gear, reprogramed computer to match what I have, airbags in the rear, and a pair of 14" wheels with slicks. I'm sure some gauges and a forged bottom end would help out a lot (or at least give me some peace) of mind before running a supercharger). Doing this first would allow me to run my 80hp direct port NOS setup that's just sitting in my room! With all this I believe I could hit the border of 13/14's. When that happens, then I can start dreaming about superchargers and 12 second times. Hee hee!
This weekend I re-carpeted my trunk (it was looking like hell!) and added a voltage gauge next to my battery. It looks really clean.
March 17, 1997
This weekend I carpeted my spare tire well. It looks really sharp! I couldn't use one piece to cover up all of the wood on the spare tire lid so where the partical board is showing I applied bondo to fill in the cracks then sanded it and painted it gray to match the carpet. "Spring Splash" car show is coming up soon so I will probably be focusing my money more towards looks than performance for the next couple months. I still want to get an adjustable cam gear really soon though. It's that or an MSD 6AL. Decisions decisions!
March 24, 1997
My power steering has been disconnected for some time now but I just now took the pump out of the car. It looks so much cleaner without it. I still have the resevor in the car with a plug in the line but this weekend I will drain it all and take that out too.
April 3, 1997
Pulled the rest of the power steering crap out. Looks better but I'll probably be kicking myself in the ass later for it. "Spring Splash" is only two months away, I bought some little shocks for my airbags in the rear. I have all the materials I need. I plan on doing this next weekend (payday) or the week after. I should be getting $600 back for taxes too. With that I'll probably get a steeling wheel, new floor mats, passenger door moulding (big dent in it), and have the hood squirters shaved. Hopefully, I'll win some money for this contest we had at work and I'll be able to get a cam gear and have it tuned on a dyno. Whatever I have left over I will probably buy my girlfriend an intake and exhaust with.
Okay that's it! I've been challenged with a, "Yeah right! Your car will never do a 13 second quarter mile!". Nothing more I hate than a doubtful person. It's in my nature as a guy and an engineer to prove them wrong. You know who you are! Just wait. I ended up winning $500 in that contest at work so I will be ordering a JG adjustable camshaft gear, and maybe an adjustable fuel pressure regulator then I will go to the dyno to tune them both in. Then it's back to the track. If I can ever get that MSD installed (I think the reason my nitrous is working like shit - too dense charge putting out the spark) Hopefully it will put me into the high 14s.
April 16, 1997
Well the transmission swap isn't looking too promising. I've called around a bit today to see if I could swap my "Grandma Geared" Accord tranny for a Prelude one. I guess from what people have been saying that the Si model is closer gearing than the Si VTEC is and it's cheaper a big plus. But the thing aboutit is I don't believe that they are swapable. For those of you 4th gen Accords owners that dream about swapping to a Prelude VTEC engine, heads up. The block is not the same! Hence either are the motor mounts! I don't know how much custom work it involves beyond that but just so you know. I'm probably going to call a transmission shop tomorrow to see how much it would cost to change the internal gears instead of just swapping the whole enchilada. By the way Prelude Si transmissions go for about $550-600 with a core trade. Usually they trade messed up transmissions so I don't know how much a GOOD transmission trade in would offset the price.
I think I've figured out why my car runs like shit with nitrous. From what I hear when you hit the nitrous and it stalls the car then picks back up it's because you have the jets wrong (too much fuel). Right now I actually have the incorrect jets so I shoot to much nitrous. So I'm sure the car is running too rich. The incorrect fuel mapping is unlikely, I'm thinking it's the ignition. I don't think coils actually go bad but I could be wrong. I figure since I haven't changed my coil wire to the distributor either did the guy before me that had the car. So it's probably the original one with 114k miles on it. I should just change this wire out but I figure I'm just getting that MSD soon so it shouldn't matter since it comes with a new coil wire.
April 21, 1997
Okay, I have a big head for sure this week. I did it. I successfully installed airbags on the rear of my car. It took a lot of trial and error and quite a bit of welding also but it didn't come out too bad. It rides pretty good. Not as good as Bec-Techs or Tage-Techs but better than my airshocks and they handle a lot better than both. Because they are capable of a much greater load (2000lbs per bag) the rear of my car has very little sway. I had to relocate and make custom shock mounts and I don't think they are in the greatest location. With a different shock and relocated (again!) position I think I can get an even better ride. When lowered all the way down the car is about 1 finger distance from the ground (in the back). The tire is completely tucked inside the fender and the rim is right on the fender. With 90 psi in the bags it's a good 6 or 7 inches off the ground and I can put my whole hand between the tire and fender. With my reserve tank I can air the rear of the car up in just a couple seconds. I don't even have any film to take pictures but I will try to get some soon as possible. Now the next step is to put them in the front!!!
April 29, 1997
Looks like either the airbag or the airline to the rear passenger is leaking. It's pretty big too! 40psi will put the car at a driveable level. After about 1-2 hours the car on that side will sag almost all the way down which is only a finger and a half from the ground (not good). So what I will do is pull the bag out and with air put it in a bucket full of water. But here's another problem. Two of the studs on that particular wheel are cross threaded. I don't know how they could have got that way since I hand thighten all my bolts first then torque them down. Maybe I'm tighening them too much? Or they just wear out after a while since I've had my wheels off and one probably 100 times (no joke). Anyway, I will put all new studs on that wheel when I get the chance. First I need to find someone with a big ass torx wrench. I also bough a torque wrench so I can start tightening my lug nuts exactly 80ft/lbs. I hear everyone with Honda's preaching that number so I will use it from now on. My gf's grandma owns an Ace Hardware store so I got it for $20! Life, is good!!!
May 14, 1997
Life sucks! First off I typed all this crap out to put in my journal and Geocities crapped out on me and I lost all my work before I could save it. Secondly my car is broken again!!! I bought a JG adjustable cam gear and in the process of putting it on a think I may have bent some valves. After pulling the head off and dropping it off at the machine shop now I don't think I did, but we'll see. I should know by tomorrow.
Airbag update: I love these things. I can slam the car on the ground then raise it to stock level in a few seconds. I found the leak also, it ended up just being the fitting wasn't tightened all the way.
I also got a Razo shift knob (I like it!), an Ultra flow muffler and Brospeed tip for Dina's Civic (she likes it!), and I ordered a Momo Champion steering wheel.
May 20, 1997
Well it wasn't bent valves after all. The guys at the machine shop really pissed me off cuz they were being ass holes so I took the head and left before it was put back together. I took it to another place called Phoenix Cylinder head. They seem like a decent shop. Turns out that none of the valves were bent, but none of them were sealing either, especially the exhaust valves. That would explain why I had an excessive amout of crap coming out of the exhaust pipe. I think when I had the head heat straightened they did a shit job on it. The reason the valves weren't sealing was because the valve guides weren't straight with the valves seats. So instead of getting them straight or putting in new ones they just drilled the guides out larger so the valves would find their way into it's seat. This has worn valves, guides, and seats. I hope that it won't do this again as I will probably need to buy a new head. Okay here comes another shocker. I've changed my mind about what I want to do with my motor again. I'm going to save up for a Prelude 2.3L DOHC engine. It's got 160 HP so it's not quite as fast as the VTEC but still better than what I've probably got now. Plus I won't have to worry about leaking rings a new transmission or a head that's been heat straightened only so-so.
Anyway back to my car/head. It won't be done until this weekend (hopefully). It SUCKS not having a car!!! At least my new steering wheel looks bitchin!
June 4, 1997
Okay, been a while cuz Geocities was having all sorts of problems. So here's the deal: I finally got my head back from the shop and it looked great. I slap it back on the put the whole thing back together again. I close my eyes, say a short prayer and start the engine. WAHOO!!! It starts and sounds like it's running great. I let it run for a while and then it starts to sound funny. The valves and the whole motor start getting lounder. I walk over to the motor to listen closer and notice there is fluid all over the ground coming from under the car. I put my finger in it to see what it is. Shit!!! It's motor oil, all 4 quarts!!! I run and turn the motor off as quickly as I can. To make a long story short here what happened was I put the head gasket on upside down (don't ask!). I bought another one and fixed that problem. The very same day I drive out to California (Lake Havasu) for the car show "Spring Splash". It was hotter than fuck that weekend! Temperatures ranging from 109-120! But in the end it was worth it since I took home 2nd place in my class (Compact 4dr - street). I counted 13 cars in my class but I may have missed a few. I was very surprised since I wasn't even planing on showing since I have a lot of stuff that wasn't finished. On the way home I advanced my timing gear a couple degrees and wholy shit!!! That little bit made a world of difference! The car is now faster WITH the AC on than it used to be. I'm sure I'll get used to it but with the AC turned off it feels like a rocket. I bet I gained an easy 10-15 hp to the wheels. Maybe this weekend I'll take it too the track to see what I can pull off. If not next weekend there is going to be an SCCA sactioned event held at Firebird that I think I'm going to try out.
June 5, 1997
One of the fans attatched to the radiator is not kicking on (I noticed this because the car kept overheating at idle). I haven't researched it to see if it's the relay wiring or fan motor.
Still pondering over airbags for the front. I will take some more measurements and draw some more pretty pictures to design the front.
June 10, 1997
Well that was a real tough one. I ran a jumper wire from the fan directly to the battery and it turned on. So I knew it wasn't the fan (Yipee!). After extremely intensive research and diagnostics a 20 amp fuse was replaced and it was running again!
Went to the track again after getting my cam gear. I advanced it 3 degrees from 1.5-2 degrees (hard to tell very small dial meter). It was still more powerfull but it didn't seem quite as much as my original setting. Turned in a best time of 16.275 @84.59mph (ALL MOTOR)! I am very pleased with that time but now I'm getting greedy since I'm getting so close to the 15s NA. Hopefully that MSD and a reprogrammed ECU could put me there. I guess we'll see! I wonder if my motor was running right (not leaking a LOT of oil past the rings) if I would be there now. Hmmmmmmm...
June 25, 1997
Fixed my exhaust. I just used a hose clamp and smashed it against the sway bar. It rattles and the car vibrates like hell at 2500RPM but at least I won't put a hole in the exhaust again. Hopefully if I get some spare time or money I will have the flex pipe redone AGAIN!
June 27, 1997
Called today on a transmission. I still want a Prelude Si tranny. First off I thing my sychros are all fucked up because the car shifts like hell. You have to force it in gear and even then it still grinds a bit. The clutch is fairly new so I know it's not the clutch engaging all the way. Besides with the closer gearing it should keep me in my power band and lower my ET's considerably (I hope/think). The guy said he can't find any right now, but it will be around $400-500. I've never seen one done but it technically should bolt right on to the block and the shift linkage is the same. So the only problems I can see is the clutch clearing and the starter since it's a little bit different.
July 1, 1997
Called another place about the transmission. I found a Prelude Si VTEC tranny for $650 w/trade. Kinda high but it's been rebuilt with new sychros and everything with a 1 year warranty so it's not too bad. Mine needs to be rebuilt anyway. I got the gear ratios for it and it is a little bit closer gearing but the final drive is going to make a huge difference. That is kinda bothering me that I will be really spinning on the freeway. At 65 I'll turning around 2500-2800RPM, I figure with this transmission I'll be around 3200-3500RPM. So who knows at 80 or 100mph? I didn't think the VTEC would bolt up correctly but I guess the guy at the junk yard says it will fit. Also I was mistaken about the gear ratios, the VTEC is closer geared than the standard Si model.
July 11, 1997
Okay, huge news. First off I guess I will also need Prelude half shafts (CV joints/axles) for the tranny to work but that is besides the point. The big news is my gf wants me to get rid of my car. She is sick of me constantly dumping money, time, and products that don't work very well. She wants me to just sell the car and get something fast right from the start and then just leave it alone. We all know I can't do that, so this is a tough decision. I love me car and I don't want to give up because I still want to show the world that you can make a somewhat slow car go pretty fast. But god I keep thinking of how nice it would be just to start over with an Integra GSR, Toyota MR2 Turbo, Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T (AWD), or dare I even say it... A Ford Mustang GT! (Hey I like them okay!)
July 15, 1997
Well I test drove a Mitsubishi Eclipse and a GSR last night. Sorta kinda impressed. My car (with Nitrous of course) is still faster than both of them. The Eclipse I expected to be faster but the handling and braking was unbelivable! The GSR was faster overall but it didn't have shit for low end torque! I figure with an intake and header (already had a Greddy exhaust!) it would be much better. I'm pretty sure I want one of these cars though. Most likely the GSR since I'm such a Honda/Acura fanatic.
July 18, 1997
Test drove a Prelude Si (non-VTEC) and actually it was pretty quick. My seat of the pants test really could tell much of a difference between this one and the VTEC. I would probably be sold on this car if it wasn't for the damn ugly ass dash! It's terrible!!! Also the seats feel extremely nice but the headrests are ugly too. Anyway I went to the (should I say it?)... Ford dealership and test drove a Mustang GT. I wanted to prove to myself that I didn't like this car. Well it's true, I don't like it! The thing was quick from about 2,000 - 3500 RPM but after that it was a dog!!! For the size of the engine this car should rip but it sucks!!! My car could wail on it without nitrous. I saw an old guy at the drag strip with one, I assume it was an automatic because he was only running 16.7s! The brakes and handling are a whole different story. They were incredible, outbrake and outcorner my car anyday. But that's beside the point, the car that really impressed me was a 98 Ford Contour SVT. That car had the nicest interior. All leather and power everything including the seats! The transmission wasn't geared very close but it had enough torque that it didn't matter. That engine ripped!!! It was much quicker than my car and the Mustang GT. I think it pulled a 0-60 in around 7 seconds with 3 people in it!!! With a better clutch, slicks, K&N cone filter, and 50 shot nitrous I bet that car could run 13s.
August 13, 1997
Been a while. I've been busy and haven't even had time to do anything to my car. I really don't want to sell it but I really need to start over and not go so crazy this time. I no longer have the time to be constantly be monkeying with it. As of right now I'm telling myself I'm going to get a 97 Integra GS-R. Lower it, Intake, header, exhaust, nitrous, and maybe cam gears. That's it! When the credit card is paid off and I have a house I will then buy some wheels for it (with cash!). No more credit cards!!!
August 18, 1997
Ever lost your keys? It's the weirdest feeling because you are so sure you put them in a certain place but they're not there when you look next. Well I got that feeling this morning when I woke up only it was a little more important than my keys. It was what the keys went to. Yup, my car was stolen last night from my apt. Sucks to be me is all I can say. Good thing I didn't fix everything that need to be. I guess all I can do now is just wait for it too show up or wait for the settlement. I really would rather not ever see it again. If I got it back god knows what's been done to it or how it was abused. I would just feel that it had been violated too much for me to want it back. I guess the procedure goes that if it shows up within the next 25-30 days then they will fix whatever is wrong with it (if anything) as long as the repair costs doesn't exceed the price the car is worth. If it doesn't show up within the next 25-30 days then they will settle for the price they feel it is worth. Most of my mods won't be fully covered. But as long as I have receipts and pictures they should cover quite a bit of the parts. It's not dollar for dollar but I figure I have close to $8100 in receipts not including custom airbags, Bec-Techs, springs, or the rebuild since that's OEM. So if I can get $4000 above and beyond what the car is worth I would be happy.
August 25, 1997
Well I went to the Acura dealership yesterday to find out some more information on the Integra Type-R. They didn't have much for me, not even a brochure. But I did get a chance to test drive a 97 GS-R. The interior kinda sucks (cheap looking - not any better than a Civic). But I love the seats and the close geared transmission. The Type-R is even closer too. I know the 97 Type-R retailed for $23,100 w/o AC (plus destination charges - $435), AC is an extra $1400. So I think if they never find my car and I end up getting a settlement I will put a down payment for a 98 Integra Type-R. The salesman said I would need to put about a $1000 down now to get me a chance at the Type-R that they expect to get around April 98. It's a long time to wait but first come first serve and I would be the envy of thousands of young car enthusiasts. In 97 they were suppose to ship 500 to the states but I guess only 250 made it. The 98 year is suppose to be 3000 but I'll believe it when I see it!
August 26, 1997
I still want the Type-R but I don't want to wait that long and I'm affraid that it will get stolen once I get it. I've been reading a few stories of lucky 97 R owners out there on the web that had there shit stolen or vandilized. What the hell is this country coming too? They should have Islamic law here - where they cut your right hand off for stealing. I bet it would take a couple people first but after a while there would be VERY little theft.
September 29, 1997
I've come to the sad conclusion that there is no way in hell I will be able to afford the Type-R. I could if I wasn't buying this house but I want the house more than I want the car. Plus I wouldn't want a new car, much less a bob bitchin'1998 Acura Integra Type-R if I didn't have a garage to park it in. So now I think (I "think" that is) I want a Del Sol. I think they look good, they're quick, sporty, and the gf even approves! We don't have any kids and we already have the Civic so it's not that big a deal that it's only a two seater. I'm looking at a 95ish VTEC so it won't be too much. I figure I have about $450/month to spend including insurance.
October 10, 1997
Still waiting for my slow ass appraiser to finish appraising my car. He says he's done, but he wants to have a couple more modified Hondas for comparisons. I guess he's having a hard time finding ones to compare with. I have no idea what I want. Still looking at Del Sols and Integras. Actually the woman said on the way to work that maybe I should just get a motorcycle. Because they are cheaper to buy (used of course), good gas mileage, and they are already fast. She likes the idea of it all except for the fact that they aren't very safe. I agree but I still want one.
December 9, 1997
Okay, been a while so here's a huge update. Car appraised at $14,300. By the way, the Police did find my car. It was trashed. Anyway, my insurance company State Farm (sucks!) appraised the car (ADP) at $9,100. Ha! I laughed in there face and they raised their offer to $9,600. So after 4 months of arbitration the appraisers agreed on $10,700. I figured I better take it since you really don't see many modified Accords in the paper for over $10K. So by the time they re-embursed me for a rental car, tax, license, etc. The check was something like $11,700. With the money, I paid off the Accord, paid off my credit card, and I bought a 95 Integra GSR. So I'm sorry to say but I think this will be the closing of the Accord journal. Click here to read my adventures with the Integra, or here to read about the my girlfriends 97 Civic. Later!