Project: Integra

[Shadowden]

Personally, I would replace them to get better options if it is that easy. I wouldn't take classing into consideration unless you anticipate becoming a professional racer, but even then, you may as well compete in the open classes in that situation

Seriously, I would build the car for you and for ease of keeping it together and running as inexpensively as possible. I wouldn't worry about classing. As far as that goes, I think you can antedate/predate on the same model. I ran into that when I dropped the AP2 transmission into my AP1. I'm not competitive at all, so it will never come into question.

[Ranger]

I asked over on the 2nd gen Integra forums and it was explained to me that the DC shocks and forks aren't really better than DA. Apparently the front on a DC has a little bit more travel, but not enough to bother swapping to them. And, the DA Koni shocks are actually better valved. So, coilovers are now on order

Got some more work done on the body. It needs more bondo on the edges and then it can be leveled out.



I did pick up that back seat. They were pretty damn filthy, but cleaned up OK. The top has a lot of sun fade, so, I am going to try using that Duplicolor fabric paint I posted.





Oh, and I found a steering wheel for cheap on Craigslist, so, +20 ricer points acquired

[Ranger]

Lots and lots of bondo and sanding later, and I'm thinking about replacing the bottom panel, the one under the hatch. It looks removable and I wish I had seen that to begin with...probably a PITA to get out, but, I don't think I'm going to be happy with how messed up it still looks. It'll be straight, but it's very obvious it was smashed at one point.

I looked at the seat brackets more and there is absolutely no way they can be safely modified to work with this car. I did some research and they're for a DC Integra / EG Civic. They fit physically, but two bolt holes are off by about an inch. Sooo, now I either have to hit up some junkyards and hope I find stock seats without rips, or, shell out $250+ for new brackets. I could probably throw my seats on CL, go back to stock, and make some money. But I have to disassemble them either way, because they have the motor for the automatic seatbelts bolted on, plus the associated wiring.



Oh, that fabric paint works really well. I got some overspray on the blue, it could use another coat even, but here you can see before and after.

[Ranger]

Progress has been slow...vacation, more important projects (my house mostly), working on new music with my band, etc. But I have made some progress

I picked some factory front seats from a '90 Integra out of a junkyard. I only needed the brackets, but I was in a rush and figured I could use the seats if the Spoon seats don't fit factory brackets. And they don't. Those have a square mounting profile, like most aftermarket seats. So, to the Craigslist wolves they go.

Junkyard seats were dirty as hell. I used an entire bottle of upholstery cleaner on one seat and it's still not as clean as I'd like. The one on the right is how dirty the left one was.



I'm not a huge fan of blue, and the rest of the interior is black, so I might paint them. But, that Duplicolor paint isn't great. It leaves the texture of the seat feeling like...well, like it's been spray painted Current plan is to leave them blue, then once the Spoon seats sell, buy better seats and brackets that actually fit.

Side note, there is no motor for automatic belts on the seats (like I mentioned before), it's just the belt and tensioner. I'm swapping the black belts from the Spoon seats to the stock ones, which have blue belts.

I got some wheels for it, too. They're 5Zigen FN01R-Cs. JDM Tyte, yo. Size 15x7, unknown offset (it's not stamped), but based on how they fit, I figure around +15 to +20. I didn't know these were out of production...wasn't long ago when they were all the rage, for being one of the cheapest lightweight, forged wheels. And they are super light. Easy to carry with one hand. I would guess < 20 lbs. with tires.

Hello monster truck! Time to order coilovers.

[Shadowden]

Have you worked with rit dye at all? Might be an option for you instead of the duplicolor.

[RX-7 Chris]

I've used rit dye on a carpet before, it works great. Just mix the powder with water (extra strong) and put it in a spray bottle. I than used a rented carpet cleaner with water in it to get the excess dye off the carpet.

[Shadowden]

The also make a pre-mixed RIT dye so you don't need to boil the water. i'm actually considering using it on the plastics on the avalanche. People have had good success with ar15 furniture (stocks, grips, and foregrips).

[Ranger]

I thought about RIT dye, but doesn't that require hot water? Maybe I could hook a long hose up to the connection for my washing machine...hmm. (Edit: Totally didn't see that bit about pre-mixed RIT. I'll have to check that out!)

Anyway, I sprayed the vinyl and plastic parts of the seats black, and actually kind of like the blue / black combo. Makes me consider getting some blue rear seats to match. The only odd thing is that it's not the same blue that's on the door panels. The seats came out of a '90, mine is a '92. But I've never seen one with blue inserts on a black interior.

And, I had a guy with a Del Sol contact me about the Spoon seats. They'll be sold tonight if they fit his car. Which they should. I think I'll probably live with the stock seats for now and throw that money towards coilover sleeves instead. Koni Sport shocks are already on their way.

[Shadowden]

Nice work on getting the suspension pieces in progress.

. You can get the premixed RIT at wal mart (I know because i have an unopned bottle). I bet it is available elsewhere. I have not been to a wal mart in quite a while.

[Ranger]

Made some good progress this weekend! I pulled apart the rear suspension. It was a lot easier than many cars I've worked on.

With the trailing arm out, but the shock and lower control arm still in. The LCA needs new bushings, but an aftermarket pair with quality bushings can be had for ~$150, so I'm doing that instead.



And here's what it looks like completely disassembled.



This is the trailing arm, with the main bushing (I forget what it's called, it goes where the big hole is) burnt out. That is the only rear bushing that you REALLY need to replace...it takes the majority of the load.

You can also see the camber and toe arms are still in place. Those both need new bushings, but it makes more sense to buy adjustable aftermarket arms, so I'm going that route. Less than $200 for both.



My friend did the same thing to his Integra...here it is with the urethane bushing pressed in. Nice thing about urethane, doing that only required a small shop vice. I'll be doing that as soon as the bushings come in.



I also got the driver's seat in just for fun. Bolted up perfectly and it doesn't look bad...I like the blue more than I thought I would, even though it's not quite the same color blue as what's on the door panels. I sprayed the plastic and vinyl bits black and the two tone matches the rest of the car pretty well. So, not going to paint or dye it.

[RX-7 Chris]

pics not working

[Ranger]

That's strange, works for me...I had that problem on another forum recently, though. Maybe Google changed something with the security on auto backup pictures. I just uploaded them elsewhere.

[Shadowden]

Keep after it/looking good. What about your new steering wheel?

[Ranger]

On the to do list...I haven't yet done the research on what kind of hub or quick release is best for the money. There are super cheap hubs (like <$20) on eBay, but I wouldn't trust that in an accident. An eBay quick release might be OK though. They're so cheap that if it sucks, I wouldn't have any buyer's remorse.

[RX-7 Chris]

That's strange, works for me...I had that problem on another forum recently, though. Maybe Google changed something with the security on auto backup pictures. I just uploaded them elsewhere.

Works for me now.