Project Daily Beater
 

I just drove home a 1991 Honda Civic DX with 165k miles and 150 miles on the rebuilt motor. I paid $1900 for it, its a stock automatic car. The guy claimed it gets between 35-40mpg and he filled it up from empty when I test drove it and it took $35. My plan is to keep it pretty much stock and drive it to work daily.
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Comments?

damn! those seats are nice! Does anyone know if those are stock EF seats?

Looks like a nice buy to me! welcome to the forum!

seats look original

Today I cleaned up the car a bit, removed the Honda and the DX badge on the rear, and removed the mudflaps. Ive also put in a new air filter, and tomorrow I plan on changing the oil and getting new wipers. I also added a suhweet exhaust tip =)
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Nice buy. Clean interior!

Great buy!

I washed the car and did a quick wax today. Next, i'd like to spray Rustolium (sp?) on the rusted spots, and possibly repaint the front bumper. Also on the list: seat covers, aftermarket speakers, and possibly a CD player. Also, maybe paint these hubcaps or replace with some others, and paint the steelies black. Id also like to clean up the stock plastic trim.
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Now im thinking about repainting the hubcaps that are on it. Can anyone tell me how to do it in order to get the best results? Also, sgould i paint them gray, black, or gold?

I spent a little bit of time on the car today. I bought some red Rust-Oleum, some regular black spraypaint, and some sandpaper. I used the sandpaper on the rust that is on the car.
Example:
Attachment 7496
Then I sprayed a few coats of the Rust-Oleum on the rusty areas.
Sides after:
Attachment 7497
Attachment 7498
Of course its still rough up close, but it looks alot better from 10-15 feet away. Im hoping it will also slow down the rusting. I dont mind if I have to respray every once in a while.
I also took off the wiper arms and repainted them.
During:
Attachment 7499
After:
Attachment 7500
None of it is perfect, but it looks better and I will do a better job next time.
What is left that I want to do:
-Change oil
-New hubcaps
-Repaint the wheels gloss black
-Repaint the front bumper
-Clean up or repaint the black trim
-Seat covers
-Upgrade all of the stock speakers
-Possibly a CD player
Thoughts? Suggestions?

So far I've changed to air filter, took off most of the bumper stickers, removed the 'Honda' and the 'DX' on the rear hatch, removed the mud flaps, added Rust-Oleum to the rust, and repainted the wiper arms. Ive also been keeping it pretty clean, and I did a quick wax on it.

The reason:
Attachment 7478
After:
Attachment 7479

good buy! very clean. keep up the good work!

awesome.
a friend of mine is doing a motor swap into one of those.

Definitely looks nice, did you consider cutting out the rust, and spot welding in some new sheet metal? (not sure how accessible you are to that sorta thing)

definitely looks like a good DD. whats your "other" vehicle?

Other vehicle:
Attachment 7438

So far I've added seat covers and changed the oil.
Current mod list:
-Repaint front bumper
-Repaint the stock wheels gloss black
-New hubcaps
-Tune-up
-New aftermarket speakers
-Possibly a CD player

Im gonna let you guys pick my hubcaps.
Options:
Google Image Result for http://www.wholesalewheel.net/images/12C.jpg
or
Google Image Result for http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/po/100901/952r8/0506ja_26.jpeg
These aren't exact, but they're close.

If the weather is decent, and I get motivated, I'd like to get a tune-up and get new hubcaps, repaint the steelies gloss black, and get the new hubcaps on. If all goes well, I'll have new pics tomorrow night.

You mentioned fixing up the trim. Use a product called Mother's Back to Black to get those looking good again.

[edit] Would you like this moved to the Projects section?

Earlier I went to Advanced Auto Parts to get a set of hubcaps that I saw the last time I was in the store. They were $9.95 on the clearance shelf. I walked up to pay for them and they rang up for $.05. The guy said they have been in the store for a long time and he let me have them for that price. Score! Now im in the process of painting my steelies and putting the new hubcaps on. I'll have updates soon.
This project is costing me:
-$.05 for hubcaps
-$.96 for a can of gloss black spraypaint
-$2.00 for two decks od playing cards
-$2.50 for the attachment that clapms onto the spraycan (keeps my fingers clean)
-Some sandpaper I already had
-A few quarters to clean the steelies at the car wash
Im sure most of you know the process, I'll have pics soon.

Holy good deal, Batman! I'm not a fan of hub caps, but heck. I'd rock them for a nickel. Which ones did you get?

Im done. Of course I like wheels better, but I don't want to have much invested so this is a good, cheap alternative imo.
Hubcaps I started with (You can see that they're not in very good shape):
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At this point, I scrubbed the steelies down with sandpaper and washed them at the car wash. After I got back home, I dried them and then I placed playing cards between the wheel and the tire all the way around each wheel.
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I started spraying on the outside and worked my way toward the middle:
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Drivers side done:
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Passenger side done:
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After drying and taking the cards out:
Attachment 7413
After adding the new hubcaps:
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I know they dont look great, but they're alot better than the old ones and I have about $5 invested. As every project, they're not perfect, but I learned alot and I'll do it better next time. Some words of advice; scrub the steelies really good with the sandpaper. I wish I had scrubbed mine better. Second; dry the steelies by hand. I thought the drive home would dry them good enough, but it didnt. Now I can check hubcaps, and painting the steelies off of my to-do list.

Opinions?

Yes, I think that brushed nickel looks better than polished gold for exterior building hardware. As far as the home's interior is concerned , I am biased towards nickel too, but I've seen polished gold done tastefully.

your project is cleaning up pretty nice if you ask me! good job and keep up the good work.

I would have used index cards, but playing cards are probably cheaper. 5 lug conversion, heh. I used to rock the 5 lug hub caps too.

Now, for that front bumper... Hit up Pep Boys or Auto Zone. Some of them carry color matched paint in stock for that. I think that's called "Rio Red". Milano Red might be close...

I have more cans of the same paint I used on the steelies. Think I'm gonna shoot the front bumper with it and heavily clearcoat it

I just used Mothers Back-to-Black on some of my trim. I'm sure I'll use more on more parts as time goes on, but I did a little tonight just to see how it works.
Pics:
-Before
Attachment 7398
-Same spot after
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-Drivers side before
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-Drivers side after
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Works great if you ask me. I'll get better pics within the next couple of days.

Im also using spraypaint that is meant to be used to make windows look like stained glass to make my foglights yellow.
Foglights before:
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Currently:
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I sprayed them again, and I'd like to get them back on tonight. If I do, I'll post pics.

Be careful with that stained glass stuff. I've used similar stuff in the past. Looks like you're doing it right by painting the outside of the lens instead of the inside.

Also, it's missing the passenger mirror?

Just put the fogs back on. As always, they're not perfect, but I'll do it better next time. I should have let them dry more. Not very good of pics cause they were taken on my phone, and it was getting late.
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I found an extra screw and added it to the far right hole.
From my understanding, the passenger mirror was an option and my car must not have come with it.

Still on my to-do list:
-Repaint front bumper
-Replace stock speakers
-Possibly add a CD player
-Tune-up

Here is a better pic of the fogs:
Attachment 7388
They are more yellow than the corners, but I wanted that. I'm liking them, are you?

The lower models didn't come with a Passenger side mirror. Mine doesn't have one. I know in California you are only required to have one if you have rear tint (which i do). Otherwise its completely optional.

Here is a pic of my car that my buddy sent to me with it sitting next to his bike:
Attachment 7310
I'm also looking for a roof rack. Can someone give me some info on them and let me know what I need to be looking for?

If everything goes according to plan, my front bumper will get repainted gloss black tomorrow.

Also, two of my $.05 hubcaps have come off and I can't find them. I might pick up another set tomorrow. I hope the next ones stay on better

I like the progress you are making. That bumper is looking deadly. I had this same issue when my car was yellow. Those rubber bumpers that don't come painted from the factory don't like paint to stick.

I stripped down my bumper using bulldog bumper stripper if I remember correctly. I picked it up at a local autopaint dealer. Made the stripping much easier.

Also, I would recommend using some bumper adhesion promoter when you paint.

As for roof racks, thule or Yakima would be the way to go. They are a little expensive, but if you watch craigslist you can usually pick them up for the 200 dollar range.

Today I added new hubcaps and painted the front bumper. I'll add pics tomorrow when I get to a computer. Now I'm hoping the hubcaps stay on and the paint sticks.

Car before:
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Front bumper before:
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New hubcaps:
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During the process:
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After painting:
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After everything back on:
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A couple after:
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That makes a ton of difference. Looks MUCH better.