From Wisonsin to Maryland

[TS John]

Kegan threw in his old rex when he bought my sol, and he warned me that it needed a lot of work. He had done some things, but from what I understand a lot of the damage was done before he even got it. So don't take this post as a shot against him, before you all defend the new HF pretty-boy, haha.

 

So here are some pictures of it. I just took them right now. Look at them!

 

The obligatory side shot:

 

A couple from the sides showing off Kegan's handiwork shaving the side-molds. It doesn't look smooth but it is. You can also scope a few rust spots and the missing centercap:

 

From the rear. Note the lack of muffler where muffler should be:

 

Some janky tint on the back that's deffo coming off. Also you can see the stripped interior in the back:

 

Couple of the front. As you can see I'll be replacing the windshield and hopefully realigning the bumpers since they all sorta look like this at the corners:

 

Now the inside! Note the torn passenger seat, the mismatched "racing" seat for the driver:

 

Here we can see the crack in the climate control, the 4-speed shift knob, and the headunit that I will be swapping into my new del sol:

 

And here's an inside shot of the stipped rear, where you can scope the battery relocation:

 

I'd take some of the engine bay but right now I can't open the hood. Any suggestions on that? I'm gonna try some stuff today and hopefully that'll resolve it. It happened on my sol and cost me 100 bucks to fix it back before I started trying to do these things myself.

 

Here's the list of things I want to do to it before I sell it. I'm very open to suggestions on what to do or how to do it, which is sort of why I made this post. So get on the stick, folks!

 

By the way, this is a '88 CRX Si with a D16Z6 swapped into it.

 

Engine stuff (after I get the hood open):

--Remove oil orifice in block (long story about why it's there) and wire up VTEC.

--Finish wiring 4-wire 02 sensor so it won't throw a perpetual CEL anymore.

--Replace transmission mount so the car stops shaking at idle.

--Swap on my old DC sports 4-1 header from the sol.

--Replace clutch with OEM one I have sitting around.

--Oil change.

--Full engine bay detail.

 

Things to pass MD inspection:

--Put on a muffler.

--Replace windshield.

--Remove tint on the rear.

--Fix rust holes.

--Get an alignment.

 

Other things:

--Replace rear interior.

--Replace seats with (hopefully) a pair of del sol seats.

--Get a new centercap.

--Fix up the exterior a little so it's ready to be painted.

 

Goal: Sell it all for $1,000 unpainted after all that, $2,000 if I decide to paint it and lower it.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Edits made with progress.

[mycarsux]

I see soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much potential. Good luck with everything man. I know I'm gonna love seeing progress with this.

 

I think you should keep it as a project car. But do whatchu want.

[CRG7]

I don't like the shaved moldings.

 

You should buy my 90-91 tail lights and throw them on there, soooo much nicer than the 88-89

 

I haven't seen a CRX or a 4th gen Civic that doesn't have the cracked climate control, haha. (Without it being a recent replacement)

 

Have you tried applying a little pressure to the hood while you have someone else pull the release for it? Is it just not releasing, or is it releasing and then you cannot open it?

[TS John]

It's not releasing at all, which is new. Kegan says it was always a pain, and it was when I did it once right after I got it. Now it won't release at all. I'll try the pressure thing you suggested.

 

I'm not a big fan of the shaved moldings either but it's well done at least and you work with what God (or in this case Kegan) gives you, ya know? It'll look alright when it actually is painted, I'm sure.

 

Prolly gonna Gorilla glue the climate control so it doesn't bend in when you press it. Trying not to spend too much on this since it's getting sold. Otherwise I prolly would buy your tails.

[CRG7]

It's not releasing at all, which is new. Kegan says it was always a pain, and it was when I did it once right after I got it. Now it won't release at all. I'll try the pressure thing you suggested.

 

I'm not a big fan of the shaved moldings either but it's well done at least and you work with what God (or in this case Kegan) gives you, ya know? It'll look alright when it actually is painted, I'm sure.

 

Prolly gonna Gorilla glue the climate control so it doesn't bend in when you press it. Trying not to spend too much on this since it's getting sold. Otherwise I prolly would buy your tails.

 

Yeah, try applying some pressure, but I'm not sure how much good it would do from what you're saying about it. Is the cable intact still? Sounds like you'll be replacing it. I just paid like $30 for a new cable a couple of months ago.

[TS John]

The cable is in tact. This is exactly like what happened on my sol. Had to replace the hood latch. I just wish I knew how they opened it to replace it.

[TS John]

Success! I just shoved a crowbar in between there and then pulled the latch.

 

Here are some engine pictures:

 

This one shows off the problem of why I'm throwing a CEL all willy-nilly:

 

Here's the information I've gotten about that. Apparently everything except connecting the wires is already done:

One is already connected to the right one, and one of the three unconnected is a ground. Just gonna have to mix them around to find exactly which ones go where.

A06 orange/black , HTCNTL(heated oxygen sensor , B7 , Z6 engines)

D14 orange/black , heated O2 sensor(for B7 , Z6 , Z1((IP+ also))

 

So if anyone knows exactly where those three wires go that'd be totally cool.

[Kegger]

I told you it needed work, but you didn't believe me... LOL

[TS John]

I believed you. Now I just... really believe you.

 

Did an oil change and replaced the transmission mount today. Gonna head over to my friend's work and see if we can wire that thing up proper right now.

[Joe W]

You should buy my 90-91 tail lights and throw them on there, soooo much nicer than the 88-89

 

Are you trying to sell them?

Not to threadjack but I may be interested in them for the right price.

[CRG7]

Are you trying to sell them?

Not to threadjack but I may be interested in them for the right price.

 

Yeah, shoot me a PM.

 

 

The latch should be around $30 as well. I picked up the cable and latch (lower part) for about $60 or so. (hondaautomotiveparts.com) Shiny and new

[TS John]

The latch works fine now, actually. I just WD-40'd it up, and it works like new. If it ain't broke, don't fix (replace?) it I guess. Anyway, I know how to get it open again, should the need arise.

 

Update on a few things. This is gonna be a long post asking for help so please bear with me.

 

I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to wire the O2 sensor properly today. Basically I've got a 4-wire O2 sensor in there, that I'm trying to get hooked with OBD1 dizzy and P28 that's in the car. I'm assuming those are the right components but someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I've got a black wire plugged into something that Kegan had it plugged into that he told me was right. You can see that here:

 

 

Then I took the other short wire you can sorta see in the pic, the grey one with the blue connector on the end (it's actually easier to see in the larger version posted above), and grounded that. Both those wires' connections were tested and came up good. That left the other two white wires, which I strung to the ECU. Now I had some hints on how to do it this far, since, the black wire was already right (so we think) and the other wire that was supposed to be a ground was too short to be strung to the ECU, so I just grounded it.

 

The two white wires must go someplace on the ECU but we couldn't figure out where. We tried plugging them into all kinds of different available connectors and the CEL kept coming on. Kegan had this wired properly at one point, but took it apart because it was running like crap and he thought it was a miswiring. When he found out it was the over-fill of the oil causing it he didn't remember how to wire it again and then gave the car to me anyway, so now it's my problem I guess.

 

So I know some things:

1) The two short wires are probably right. If they are wrong, the only way they are wrong is that I've connected them in reverse and the black one is the ground and the grey connects to whatever that is connected to.

2) The white wires do go to the ECU because they're long enough to reach it, and they were once properly plugged in. I just need to figure out where.

 

So, help me, please!

 

Mega-Update Break-Through Extravaganza: I think I may have made a break-through here. As obvious as it was, I didn't think of counting the pins to see where to properly plug the two white wires into the ECU. The quote I posted earlier (Post #7) tells me to plug them into the 6 and 14 pins. So all I have to do is find those two spots and I'm good. Once I get them in there, there's only a few possible combinations that I can try to get all four wires right (I can switch the two white wires or the black and grey wires).

[TS John]

Update:

 

Car died on me today. Turns over but won't start. Had to push it off the road and leave it there.

 

Think I'm gonna give up on it and part it out.

 

Bummer.

[90IntegraC1]

Poop.

[Kegger]

Check the ECU fuse under the hood. I'll bet you you took one of the butt connectors off of the wires coming from the conversion harness. Someone was riding with you, they pushed down on the wire with their fat foot and it grounded out on the ECU cover and blew the fuse.

 

Watch me be right...

[TS John]

I hope you are. Gonna go check that now.

 

Even if you are, I'm still pretty sure that I'll be parting the car out. When I thought about it I realized that even if I fixed it up, spending the 4-500 I forecast I'll need to spend in the process, I'll only be able to sell it for a thousand. Why not part it now and get that 500 profit without the risk of the initial investment?

 

Sorry if that's hurting your baby, but I just don't have the money to see it through and not get it sold for the right price. Too much risk and too much work for too little a potential reward.

[Kegger]

Hey it ain't mine I just hate to see all the work I put into that thing going to waste. PM me your address and I'll make fixin it a little bit easier. That way at least you can sell it to Dan.

[TS John]

Well, Kegan was right about it. I feel stupid for not checking the ECU fuse knowing that I had been playing with wires the night before, but I guess in the heat of the moment things went out the window.

 

For real, it was "the heat of the moment." I broke down just before an on-ramp to the highway in a little valley with no shoulder within 100 yards. So me and my friend had to push it uphill any way we turned on a busy road till we could find a place to leave it. Felt like we were gonna pass out.

 

The jury is still out on what's gonna happen to it. I'll speak to Dan about if he'll want it, but it's really seeming to me like it would be easier and perhaps more profitable in the long run for me to part it. But who knows? I'll prolly decide next week when I'm on my "vacation" and have time to think.

[mustang_eater12]

well im still amazed that that thing even made it maryland. but as far as i know the only wa to wire up that o2 sensor is the two white ones do go into 6 and 14. the black is the ground and the gray is the nuetral. thats all i can think of.

[mycarsux]

don't give up john. its an old car, expect a lot of problems.

 

and have a backup DD just in case, lol.

[TS John]

Giving up would be selling it to a junkyard right now.

 

Honestly, I just feel that it's a better economic decision to part it. Why pay for registration, fees, and insurance on the car when I'll have a new sol that I'll wanna spend that money on?

 

but as far as i know the only wa to wire up that o2 sensor is the two white ones do go into 6 and 14. the black is the ground and the gray is the nuetral. thats all i can think of.

 

Yeah, I had finally figured out how to do it right when this happened and that's what I was gonna do, prolly even later that day. I guess if I decide to fix it and sell it at least I know how.

[TS John]

Update:

 

Just got off the phone with someone who might be interested in the CRX as soon as I fix the two engine problems (oil orifice and CEL).

 

So there's that.

 

I'll let you know what's up before I close any deals, Dan, but this guy is okay with more of a project than I think you are.

[90IntegraC1]

Ha go ahead man, I want you to make as much money as possible as soon as possible....i'm a no go for a while b/c I gotta get my teg sorted out.

 

Sell it!

[TS John]

Alright, cool, I'm glad I have your blessing, haha.

 

I won't put any details in here but it's looking pretty possible that it'd be sold at the end of this month. Stoked, since that means more money for the sol.

[TS John]

Update:

 

After many hours spent wiring, and having done it all "by the book" I'm still throwing a CEL. I called the buyer and told him I can't get it to go off, and cut him a bit on the price, telling him to use the money to buy a new wiring harness and he can do it himself. He said that sounded okay.

 

So, basically, this should be out of my life within the next week. And I have a nice, new del Sol to look forward to.