Cvcrcr's DD 92 Hatch project thread
 

Picked up a 92 Civic VX hatch (super gas mileage edition lol) this past weekend for $800. This car is just an "in between" car until the coupe gets running again. Hopefully, that will happen by the end of the summer.

Comes stock with a D15z1. Power nothing, absolutely nothing. haha Apparently the curb weight of this car is like 2,000lbs.

D15Z1

VTEC-E (ZZZZOMG VTAK!)
Found in:
1992-1995 Honda Civic VX
1992-1995 Honda Civic VEi (European Market)
Displacement : 1,493 cc (91.1 cu in)
Bore and Stroke : 75 × 84.5 mm (3.0 × 3.33 in)
Rod Length : 137 mm
Rod/Stroke : 1.62
Compression : 9.3:1
Power : 90 hp (67.1 kW, 91.3 ps) @ 5600 rpm (92 hp @ 5500 rpm USDM)
Torque : 98 ft·lb (13.5 kg/m, 133 Nm) @ 4800 rpm (97 ft·lb @ 3000 rpm USDM)
Valvetrain : SOHC VTEC-E (USDM- Lean Burn Federal Emissions 49 State) (3-4 valves per cylinder depending on RPM)
VTEC Switchover : 2500 rpm :D :D :D
ECU Code : P07
Fuel Control : OBD-1 MPFI

Anyways, I picked up the car for $800. Yes, it runs and drives perfectly fine. PICS!

Attachment 7218

Attachment 7219

Attachment 7220

Attachment 7221

Attachment 7222

Here's what came with it (aftermarket wise)

Black housing headlights (see 1st pic)

CF Duck bill wing (looking to trade this out for an OEM wing):
Attachment 7223

EBay ricer seats (looking to trade them out for some OEMs) [DONE]:
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...Bomzseats2.jpg

Exhaust pieces (just need an axle back/muffler) [DONE]:
Attachment 7224

Tein S-techs / DropZone struts / Blox LCAs:
Attachment 7225

Stuff this car needs:
-o2 sensor or EGR or TPS - Something is making the car hesitate and buck once warmed up in 2nd-5th gear. I am told this is common with the VX's of this gen. - FIXED

-Front end / windshield - Hood flew up on the previous owner. Fenders are in bad shape. Windshield is cracked.

-Rear tires / Alignment- Pulls to the passenger side. Rear tires are cording in the back. (Tires = FIXED for now)

-Corner lights - The previous handed me 4dr ones since the driver side is non-existent currently. I have already picked up a set of eBay special amber lights. - FIXED

-Exhaust - The car doesn't have one. haha - FIXED

-Possible clutch and flywheel / slave cylinder -

Plans:

To make this car a great running DD. Again, this car is temporary until I get the 99 EX coupe back onto the road. I can't afford to insure both cars unfortunately. In order:

Done / Not Done

1. Corner lights
2. Fix hesitation issue
3. Fix exhaust
4. Swap out seats
5. Oil / filter change
6. Replace front pass. wheel studs (all)
7. New rear tires
8. Change fluids (brake, clutch, coolant, oil)
9. Install front springs ($0)
10. Alignment ($80)
11. Clean up engine bay ($0)
12. Front end work ($200) (Basically last unless I find someone with a white front end)
13. Windshield (probably not going to be fixed while in my possession)
14. Clutch and flywheel (probably not going to be fixed while in my possession)

Possibly other little things. I am sure I will think of more later.

Money which I have spent on this DD

Car itself - $800
Corner lights - $20
New turn signal bulb socket - $20
o2 sensor - $160
EG seat rails - $40
Oil and filter - $20
4 new wheel studs/lug nuts - $40
Rear shoes & drums - $60
Clutch Master Cylinder - $20
OEM lug nuts $20

Total spent so far - $1200

Budget - $1600

Aw snap hood latch delete in favor of 2 blue bungee cords? Smexyy :p

edit: Will be stealing

^^haha, the s-techs aren't worth it. Let's get some full on one piece coilovers on there. You are getting my blades though. ;)

Hell yea! The hood latch may be fawked in addition to the hood cable being destroyed. Both of them will need to be replaced, unless I feel like hood pins would be a cheaper alternative. Let's get the hood / fenders etc straight first

I hated hatches when I first got in to Honda's... now I really like them. Makes me want one... next project I will lol.

Exactly! I use to hate hatches. Nowadays, it is almost like I want to bag the coupe and work on the hatch only. But then I start to realize how much time (over 4 years), money (hah! Thousands), and effort I put into the coupe....and the amount of sh!t wrong with the hatch... I can't just walk away from the coupe and hop into a 100% OEM car that needs alot of time and work again. :D

Anyways, I thought the kid I bought this from said the car needed an axle back/muffler. LOL He was wrong. the exhaust is cut off directly under the shifter. It is loud. That is all I will say.

My budget for this car is $1500. I spent $800 on the car, so I have another $700 to play with at most. Here is my game plan in order.

1. Figure out what is causing the hesitation and stumbling. The car attempts to go into lean burn mode and just falls apart and loses speed. It is either a TPS ($0 as I have a OEM D16 TB sitting in my garage with a working TPS), a 5 wire o2 sensor ($175 someone on a forum has one), or the EGR system is clogged ($20-$50 for cleaner and stuff like that)

2. New Rear Tires and alignment (alignment after I swap out front springs) - $175

3. Shifter bushings (loosest shifter I have ever felt) - $25

4. Exhaust work (All I need is axle back piping and a little welding work done) - $150

5. Front end work (hood, fenders, possibly a bumper and a few cans of spray paint) - $200

6. New hood latch and cable or hood pins - $75

That equals to about $800, but all the prices are being estimated higher than what I really think it will cost. Not sure if I plan to remove the CF duck bill and other goodies to try and sell them. LOL I already have a CL ad up for the seats for trade, too.

This upcoming weekend I plan to get the exhaust piping mounted, the front springs on, and new rear tires hopefully. Then, it is off to get an alignment! During the next week (6/20) I plan on having the exhaust finished, and looking to pick up the front end pieces from certifit. Of course, all while playing with the wiring in the coupe.... I have a monster to-do list between the two Civics and my g/fs new (to her) 95 Integra.

EDIT - Also, once I am done with the car, my buddy wants to buy it since he just crashed his 04 RSX and doesn't have the money to fix it. He is driving some 91 Chevy v8 truck which his roommate owns and hates it. haha Hopefully, he can come up with like $1300 or so for the car. All it would need at that point is a windshield ($175), and possibly a new clutch/flywheel.

EDIT #2 - Does anyone think that if I unplug the o2 sensor, the ECU will not attempt to put the car into a lean burn mode (due to a CEL for it) and fix the hesitation? Just wondering. I know I know...just shut up, unplug it and try. :D

Nice man...I say leave it as a beater and slam it :p have you H series'd coupe and a slammed gas sippin VX! Sounds awesome if you ask me :p

I'm thinking something like this only your hatch and not a semi-decent datsun ;)
http://i45.tinypic.com/r2tdh3.jpg
:D

P.s. I actually really like the CF wing :rolleyes:

Yea I wish I could keep both, but I cant afford both cars on the insurance at the same time unfortunately. It is an extra $500 every 6 months to have both cars on there.

The CF wing is one of my favorite things on the car as well. I am actually surprised about the quality picture I took too! I am starting to understand this camera lingo and stuff...well, maybe just a little bit.. lol

I'll prolly end up buying a stock wing, and selling the CF one to make a little money :D

I understand...having 3 civics on your insurance would be insane I'm sure lol ;)

Lol at the camera thing :D

And you prolly could get a bill and some change for it, idk how much those go for nowadays...

3? What is the 3rd Civic I own? Currently, I have two to my knowledge, unless you know something I don't! haha

I thought your wife had one? lol my bad.

Nah, she has an Integra on her own policy at the moment. I just fix that one, and only drive it when she tells me to ;)

My b then lol still, two civics on one policy is gotta be pricey as hell so I understand your scenario...

Yeah lol.
I pay 140 for 2 vehicles... thats a month. With a student discount and all that..
Pretty expensive. And when i only had my civic it was $100.

The hatch doesnt look that bad for $800 lol
But the Rust kills the mood haha

Haha, yea my insurance company was looking for at least $200 per month. No thanks. The coupe can sit for a little bit while it gets finished. It'll give me the freedom to anything I want to it. haha

Anyways, I found out that one of my previous co-workers owned this car. It is a small world huh? He sold it to the guy I bought it from and who the hell knows what happened there. Apparently, the car looked decent and ran 100% perfect prior to going to the guy I bought it from. lol

Hmm well I pay like $140 a month on my Civic. But I'm 19 and have an accident on my record that totalled the car. I also have full coverage... only like $10 less a month for liability so why not go full. Luckily I don't have any moving violations... got away with 19 over LOL. My insurance will be insane if I get a ticket.

I have red flags all over my driving record which I wont go into (all happened prior to me getting on the forum and getting my current silver coupe), so yea. haha

Anyways, I picked up a 5 wire o2 sensor hoping this solves the hesitation issue.

When did I get a ring? :confused:

I could picture me getting a Civic (along with my several Integras and Evos) in the future if you get me a puppy ;)

Ouch. I'm working on it. Once the hatch is gone, funds will be available ;)

Let's get you an EVO, DC Integra, DA Integra and a puppy after I get my coupe finished, a ring, a house, and a Porsche. hahahaha j/k hun

LAWL greatest build thread ever so far! :p Sorry I was mistaken (third time this thread :eek:) I apologize madame :D

^ hahaha

I ended up picking up some duel tip axle back exhuast from a 96-98 Civic Hatch last night for $35 with the flange/hangars etc.

I believe that if I use the test pipe from the coupe, and the OEM B pipe from my coupe, this muffler will bolt right up to it and the exhaust will be sounding good again. Other wise, I have some random 2.25" piping I could possibly use, too. To do list continues to grow as it is my 25th bday on Sat, and my sons 5th birthday on Sun (along with Father's day on Sunday, too)

Exhaust issue(s) are basically fixed except for one little leak. That will be fixed sooner or later.

Also, fixed the loose shifter issue yesterday. The bolt wasn't tight at all. Put some thread locker on it and re-tightened it. Feels amazing now.

I have been hearing a clicking noise recently, and the noise turned out to be the axle. The kid before me must have torn the boot, tried to re-fill it with grease, then clamped it with a hose clamp. :o Anyways, I have like 3 spare axles for D series sitting in the garage. I will replace it hopefully within the next week.

Just found out that the back bumper is held on with zipties since the holes (the ones in the wheel wells) for the screws are broken open. The kid before me must have thought that making the rear fenders and rear bumper into one piece with bondo was easier than just buying a replacement rear bumper. arg.... If I come across a cheap rear bumper, I'll pick it up, but I highly doubt it. For now, I will put a bolt/big a$$ washer/nut on it to "fix" it.

Got some work done tonight.

Replaced the o2 sensor. I have yet to drive it fully warmed up yet to see if the hesitation problem went away. No initial CEL upon start up just like before. That's all I was checking for at the moment anyways.

Traded the BOMZ racing seats for a set of red stripe del sol seats. The red stripes will go into the EK coupe, and the blue-ish seats with the grey stripe in the EK will go into the hatch. Unfortunately, I now need to pick up another set of seats rails as the del sol seats are not 100% bolt in. Should be about $40 or so for the rails.

Installed the new turn signal socket and replaced the bulbs. Working left turn signal now!

When the cars cold the ecu wont even read the o2 sensor until it warms up... so hopefully it doesn't throw any codes!

I extended the wires to have the o2 a little farther down stream. I basically did the exhaust conversion since the OE cat was in the manifold. I was testing to make sure the wiring was correct as I would assume that the CEL would pop on if the wiring wasn't correct.

Picked up some EG seat rails for $40 for the Del Sol seats today. Should have the seats swapped over within a day or two after receiving the rails! Currently riding on 3/4 bolts on each seat in the EG. Not a fan of it at all so it is basically parked unless I absolutely have to drive it until the rails come in.

Did an oil/filter change last night. Also, drove it around for about 1.5 hours total. Zero hesitation, runs great now since the o2 sensor replacement. Woot!

I need to figure out what this clicking noise is in the front (might not be the axle), and what this grinding type noise is in the back. Maybe
something with brakes? I might just replace them for good measure and to help me with the sale in the future.

Just go do some figure 8s in a parking lot to see if it is the axle. And I'd say pull the drums apart and see if there's rust in them and how the shoes look. Drums never wear out though lol.

The clicking is when I am moving forward, not so much when I turn. The noise is present especially during decel in or out of gear. Pressing on the brakes quiets the noise down and sometimes takes it away. Yes, the wheels are on tight. ;) I have made that mistake before.

Ok, started messing around with the front wheels again to see what is going on. Lifted the car off the ground, started it, and "drove" it. NO noises.

Driver wheel (front) came off fine, everything looks good. Passenger wheel (front) is another story. One lug came off, two feel like they are cross threaded and will break if I continued, and one just kept spinning. My guess is that the stud is spinning, or the threads within the lugs is f-ed.

I am sure this is doing a number on my wheel bearing as it seems as if the wheel isn't tight enough against the hub. All signs (from the previous post above) are pointing to a loose wheel. Clunking/clicking noises and slight vibration when NOT accelerating and braking only. I guess I was wrong in my previous post? I'll break the two studs which seem to be cross threaded, that's fine. But if the other stud is just spinning along with the lug, how do I remove that?

After putting the wheels back on and trying to re-tighten the passenger side front wheel, the noise became worse.

I plan on buying a replacement knuckle and going from there. They are like $50 shipped on eBay.

Also, I have a slight grinding type noise coming from the back end. Pulled off the drums and the rear brakes could be replaced I guess along with the drums themselves as they are pretty rusty and gross. Maybe the e brake cables are too tight? I'll have to look into it some more when I get a chance.

EDIT: After giving everything a closer look, I noticed that a blackworks front camber kit is installed. I dont know how I didnt see that before, but it's there now. ewwww...blackworks. oh well I guess as long as the ball joint is still good.

Another random DD? I wish this popped up before the hatch. I want a del sol so badly. haha. and it is probably all stock and untouched.

93 Del Sol $825.00 OBO

eh...the body looks beat to sh!t on that sol though...

LOL you haven't seen good enough pictures of the hatch then. haha.

For the rears, jack it up and spin the wheel, shoud spin smoothly. If it is hanging up ebrake is too tight, I'd be suprised if it needs new shoes unless someone drove with the ebrake up.

As for the front you are going to have to either get a hold of the stud behind the knuckle with a vice grip in an attempt to hold it or try and pounding it in to the hub to see if you can get it to catch enough to zip the lug off. Otherwise it'd be time to start hacking. Best bet is to try and take the whole knuckle off so you have plenty of access.

Well I think the noise is coming and going in the rear. I'll keep an ear open for it of course. I thought replacing the rear shoes seemed odd as I have never had done this, or heard of doing this.

For the front, I looked around some more and found that a one of the cheesy ebay lug nuts backed out slightly. Even worse, it stripped and damaged the stud and the inside threading of the lug nut. Threw the lug nut out.

So far I was able to get two removed, both studs have damaged threads and the other two seem to be on a extremely tight, so I am assuming they will break. LOL 4 replacement wheels studs and a set of OEM lug nuts (which will be put onto the EK, and the old ones on the EK will be put onto the EG) are in store I guess.

I really think that is the big issue here since I can physically move the wheel back and forth slightly while it is sitting on the ground.

Well, I was right. I bought some wheel studs and lug nuts while at work today and just in time, too. The vibrations in the wheels got worse throughout the ride home. Just as I thought, a wheel stud/ebay lug nut snapped off while driving.

Pulled the wheel and brakes off and replaced the wheel studs today. Rides perfectly once again. I still need to find a clean full set of OEM lug nuts in order to get the rest of the eBay lug nuts in the trash.

I'll have to take pics of the car and all of the things which have changed on it since I bought it soon.

Yea pics are always nice :D I always lack that in all my threads...

Yea, I'll be bored tonight, so I am sure I will snap some.

Well? There aint much more of "tonight" left in today and I see no new pics! Slackers, sheesh! :rolleyes:

Jk, jk... :p

Amber corners. eBay specials fit nicely.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...rnerLights.jpg

Del Sol Seats from my EK. Traded the BOMZ seats for red stripe Del Sol seats in better condition which are going in the EK.
Attachment 7133

OEM exhaust to this muffler. Doesnt sound horrible at least.
Attachment 7134

Rear Lip. Could use some work to look better.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...11-RearLip.jpg

M4ddd jDM angle, yO!
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...JDMangleyo.jpg