-- My '92 EG : The Frame-Scraping Journey --

[06tiburonofdoom]

Well, I guess I'll start an official build thread, so I can have a central location for the main updates.

I guess I'll start from the beginning, since that's usually how it works. I purchased my '92 VX bone stock on July 19, 2009 from a private party in Dallas. It was totally unmolested and ran like a champ, with it's 1.5 liters of fury, putting out 92 horsepower. Besides the normal dents and dings that are expected from an 18 year-old, 160,000 mile Honda, it really was in GREAT shape. It sat high as hell, and looked...well...like this:




Nothing too pleasing to the eyes, but I saw it as a blank canvas.
I said I wouldn't do anything to it while it was my daily, but that plan was quickly disregarded... Haha
The first things I did were straighten out the radiator support as much as possible, buy any trim it was missing, Nightshade the corners and (lightly) the tails, get a TWM short throw, and purchase the OEM rocker moldings. Basically taking back to completely stock condition, plus a few goodies, of course.




After that, the obscene ride height got unbearable, and since I wasn't supposed to be spending crazy money on anything, I just got some crappy eBay coilover sleeves for $40, just so I could bear to look at the car. I also got some 5% tint installed to keep the OK heat at bay.




It stayed like that for a little while, since I was using it to commute to college every day and such, but eventually I had to do something else to it to keep me entertained. I ended up taking the adjustable sleeves out from the eBay setup, so it would just be the springs. This gave me the lowest ride height I could get with this cheapo setup. I also got tired of a dent that was on the hood, so I fixed the dent and painted the hood with chalkboard paint, which added a nice touch of fun and character. To get some uber mad tight JDM flair, I got the JDM lip from the SiR-II and got some 6000k HIDs installed.




At about this time is when I was finishing my second semester of college, and I had decided not to go back for the time being. So the first thing I did was buy the coilover setup I had planned on from the get-go. Koni SP3/Ground Control combo with extended tophats all around, 650 lb. in. rates in front and 550 in back. I set them as low as they could go, and was very pleased with what I saw, except there was a tiny amount of reverse rake. The front upper control arms had bottomed out on the top of the strut tower, so I rolled like this for a while until I addressed the problem.




Shortly thereafter, I figured it was time to go all out and get my stance in check. I modified the strut towers to clear the control arms, and then proceeded to order my wheel and tire setup. Since it was my daily, I wanted something that I didn't have to worry TOO much about, but that would still be crazy and eye-catching. I turned to Diamond Racing for a set of their custom steelies, which have become very popular in the wheel fitment world. So while I waited for the wheels, I took a few last shots of the car before it would be forever changed...

[06tiburonofdoom]

After the usual 2 week turnaround time, my wheels finally arrived. I had the tires sitting in my room, so I rushed to get them mounted. It was too late to go to my usual shop, and I was turned down from several places due to the stretch, so I had the last place just mount the tires so I could seat the beads. I got the fronts seated with ease, but the rears...just weren't happening. The next morning, I went to my usual shop, where they whipped out the Cheetah bead blaster to attempt to seat the rears. It took 5 or 6 tries and several different techniques, but they FINALLY got it. And this was the result...









It stayed this way for a few weeks, gathering a very unexpected amount of attention around the web and blowing everyones mind, that saw it in person. I was asked if it actually drove or if it was on bags on a daily basis by EVERYONE. The mailman, the UPS guy, a Starbucks barista, customers at Starbucks, guys at auto stores...everyone. Up to this point, I had been pulled over 3 times for throwing sparks, once for being too low and the car "coming off of the road", and I had scraped my factory exhaust system completely off, piece by piece, leaving shrapnel at numerous locations on my daily commutes. I was having a blast with this car, but then...the oil pan got smashed against the oil sender, starving the motor of oil. She was down, but not out.


Instead of rebuilding the useless motor it had, I took this opportunity to buy the motor I had wanted all along. A JDM B16A with the LSD tranny and Hasport mounts from H-Motors Online. Why a B16A? To keep it true to its roots. Unfortunately, my 3 year relationship with the girl of my dreams was ended very sourly shortly after I ordered the motor, sending me into a nice little depression, which led to me losing my job. My $800 camera was also stolen out of my car one night, so that certainly didn't help matters.
BUT once the motor arrived, a friend and I took out the factory motor one evening, then installed the new motor the next. The first drive with this motor was a thrill, to say the least. The sound of the motor and V-Tec engaging, the power, watching the factory tach needle go completely off of the 8,000 rpm gauge... It was definitely a great choice.


Fast forward to mid-2011, a few mods and mishaps later... I FINALLY got the body work process going. We shaved the antenna, hatch keyhole, washer nozzles, emblems, and front license plate tabs, replaced all exterior moldings, got the car straighter than straight, and then sprayed it with Aston Martin Morning Frost White. It a very bright white with a fine blue pearl in it, which was PERFECT.





To get ready for summer of '12, I've got some brand new Meisters arriving in early March, so I'll just need a Spoon mirror (yes, singular ) for it to pretty much finish up the outside, then maybe get some interior and motor bits gathered up through the year. But now that I've also got a Miata project to keep up with, as well as making sure the Tib is going strong, the purchases are gonna be a little scattered! Haha

[marxtin]

i like what im seeing

[ilotek]

I'm not a big fan of Hondas since most of the tuner kids in my town have riced hondas, but this one is definetly on point and the story makes it even better. PROPS go to you my good sir!

[Ri0uXx]

HeLL YEAH!

[EuroFittedC230]

i read the whole thing. great story my man. keep at it, its looking tighttt!!

[06tiburonofdoom]

Thanks guys! :mrgreen:

I'm not a big fan of Hondas since most of the tuner kids in my town have riced hondas, but this one is definetly on point and the story makes it even better. PROPS go to you my good sir!

Thanks, man. Yeah, the Honda crowd gets too caught up with just making cookie cutter cars built to please others, so there's no personality to the cars. The way I see it, this car is part of who I am, so I make sure that it reflects that. I've never really done anything with the Honda community. I just do my own thing... Haha :dance:

i read the whole thing. great story my man. keep at it, its looking tighttt!!

Thanks for reading! It's got a long ways to go, but I'm really happy with how it's all coming together.

[midnite240]

VERY nice car! i love it! keep up the unique ideas and dont follow the crowd. sorry to hear about the unfortunate luck. i hope things get better!

[ilotek]

Thanks, man. Yeah, the Honda crowd gets too caught up with just making cookie cutter cars built to please others, so there's no personality to the cars. The way I see it, this car is part of who I am, so I make sure that it reflects that. I've never really done anything with the Honda community. I just do my own thing... Haha :dance:

Thats they best way...dont follow the crowd!

[mattmac2007]

lookin good one of my favorite civics