Hondaswap.com | Honda Technical & JDM styling Forums

**the.original.kermit** · 06-26-2008, 12:26 PM

So despite my 1996 Accord getting 30-33mpg, I was wanting a little bit more mileage per dollar. I started looking for a super high mileage vechicle. After looking at 1.0L metros for a while, learned of the CRX HF, and bought this little gem two weeks ago. I was away from home at school, so work on it didn't start until last week saturday (June 21st).

I've dubbed this project car Ol' Blue, since the car rolled off of the assebly line as a blue on blue car. (I thought about FrankenX, but that name sounds like it should be reserved for something that has a little bit more than 72hp stock).

I bought the car for $850 from some guy in a trailer located in Athens, OH. The car had one bearing that was completly shot, another that needed replacing, and the passenger tire was pushed back about 1" in the wheel well. Also there was no radio and the interior was about 75%, and what was left had been painted with spray paint.

I drove the car 5+ hours to school in Flint, MI, listening to nothing but the wheel grind the whole way, and trailered it home from there to Hamilton, MI.

When I got home, I looked up a friend that I knew had wrecked his Si into a guard rail. I went to his place, offered him $200 as it sits, and took it back home. It turned out to be an amazing deal for me, since the car had new carpet, full S.S. exhaust, header, intake, underdrive pulley, strut brace, and AEM cam gear. Not to mention I could get $150+ for the shell in steel alone. Work that I plan to do to the HF this week

Work that I plan to do to the HF this week:
-Install all the black interior that I have. Paint the few pieces that I'm missing as a temporary fix until I can find the rest
-Install intake and exhaust from Si and other performance parts
-Replace HF hubs with bad bearings with the ones from the Si
-Swap in Si brakes and suspension

-Install radio, sub, and find speakers for the HF
-Fix the front wheel, so that it is centered in the wheel well (Possible bent frame?)

Here's the pics

This is the CRX HF as it looked when I picked it up

Note that the tire is pushed back about 1" in the wheel well

Here's The work that I've done from Saturday to Tuesday

Some part storage

More Part Storage

This should be the last of the parts

Old blue parts, and weapon of choice - 25 Gallon Shop-Vac

Here's the door after I painted the jams from blue to black. I'm not sure if I'm going to like this paint, it seems really light duty and might wear off fast.

This is what happens when a CRX meets a gaurdrail at 70 mph. (Driver was NOT wearing seatbelt and still walked away from the accident)

Here's what's left of the inside of the HF. Time to start puting stuff back in... Umm... someone knows how this all goes back... right??

Here's what I did to the car yesterday

Getting ready to paint drivers door jams

Fitting in the black Si interior

Unfortunatly Si doors won't fit on this without some Sawzall work.

I couldn't call this a true swap unless I ran into some wiring issues along the way. Hopefully I can swap over the Si fuse box and take car of the issue.

Well, that's all I have for now. I going back out to start again. I'll keep updating as I go.

eg6sir · 06-26-2008, 01:05 PM

keep us updated.. been thinking about starting another CRX project

SlushboxTeggy · 06-26-2008, 03:40 PM

I've wanted one for awhile now. Unfortunately, lack of money has been preventing it.

**the.original.kermit** · 06-26-2008, 04:44 PM

Yeah, it's been a lot of work, but it's been fun. Unfortunately the husband of someone that works with my mom got stranded at work because his Silverado wouldn't start, so I spend most of the afternoon installing a new coil, distributor, rotor, and plug wires.

I'm going to go out and start putting in the rest of the interior right now

dacheat · 06-27-2008, 03:09 AM

good thread, i'm in!

curious though why the door panels didn't fit without sawzall? i put 89 si panels into my 91 dx w/no issue...just curious what you ran into going the other way (into the '89)?

cheese9988 · 06-27-2008, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dacheat

good thread, i'm in!

curious though why the door panels didn't fit without sawzall? i put 89 si panels into my 91 dx w/no issue...just curious what you ran into going the other way (into the '89)?

88-89 had the seat belts on the floor, 90-91 seat belts on the door. I made that mistake when buying a window for mine once.

93AccordEX · 06-27-2008, 12:31 PM

I gotta get a CRX soon

**the.original.kermit** · 07-23-2008, 02:01 PM

Sorry, for the long time between update, I had been using Flicker for photo uploading, but they wouldn't allow me to upload more than 3 albums, so I had to switch over to a new photo service. Picaso is MUCH better IMO, plus it's linked to my Gmail.

So now I'll be able to upload more pics when I get home from work. I'll give you an update as to what I've done though...

I have pieced together the rest of the interior, at least the parts that I have. I'M STILL LOOKING FOR BLACK REAR CARGO PIECES AND REAR CARPET!! I don't have a radio in yet, but I did get a free set of Pioneer Premier 6.5" that I will install in the front. Does anyone know how big you can go in the rears (I was thinking 6.5" there too)? I installed seats out of a (93?) Mazda Protege. They don't look the greatest, but they do fit.

I then drove the car to work for a week, and checked my mileage for a couple days. I got 45 on one trip and 55 on another, then 40ish on the rest of the tank. I'm still fighting an idle quality issue, most likely IAC valve problem. Has anyone else had success cleaning these, mine worked for a few days, and went right back.

After a few days of driving, I noticed I was WAY low on coolant, so I decided to do a head gasket and some other stuff at the same time. This took me from last Monday to last night to finish up. I ended up installing two rebuilt axles ($120), new rings ($60), new hg ($60 for complete engine set), a VERY lightly used 212mm clutch/pp (from parts car), and a 7 lb Fidanza aluminum flywheel ($140, but saved me the $40 for getting old one turned, so net was only $100), pilot bearing ($15), and new timing belt ($20).

I justed roughed up the cylinders with a hone, removed the ridge, and installed new rings. There was a little issue witht one of the walls having a big scratch on it, but I ran it anyways. Bearings were a little worn, but hey, they got it this far didn't they.

Also, I was able to fix the rear trans mount that was stripped out on all 3 bolts. I drilled and tapped them to SAE sizes, so the bolts and taps were easy to get (well tap was free from machinist friend

). The holes were pretty bad to begin with, so the treads turned out so-so, but down near the bottom they are pretty solid. I also drilled out the broken exhaust stud and installed a heli coil and new stud. I had a bad lug that I swapped out too.

Among many various other little fixes and stuff, everything came out really good. The motor rides a little far back since the frame has a little bend in it, but besides that, there are no complaints. The suspension has been readjusted so that they are in the right spot even with the bend in the frame, could use and alignment though. If feels good to have that all done, mechanically the car is very solid now, and I don't have to worry about what the past owner did to it, lol.

I'm sorry I don't have any pics of the work I did last week, I was in a rush to get it done, but I will get some of right before that, and some after.

Jeef · 07-23-2008, 03:26 PM

You can upload photos on this site also.

**the.original.kermit** · 07-23-2008, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeef

You can upload photos on this site also.

How much space do they give you?

sleeper1.6 · 07-25-2008, 01:01 PM

Wow looking good. Still need to edge my EG doors, and I even work at a body shop. Still haven't gotten to it. Good luck keep us posted.

caboose · 08-06-2008, 07:54 PM

Ok, so long time no update...

As you can see things kinda got ugly between the admins and me, so here I am again under a new and improved alias.

Well here come the updates!

eg6sir · 08-06-2008, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caboose

Ok, so long time no update...

As you can see things kinda got ugly between the admins and me, so here I am again under a new and improved alias.

Well here come the updates!

yea... way to announce it retard..

Calesta · 08-06-2008, 10:38 PM

He's fine to come back. If everyone from before is well behaved, I have no problem with them participating on the board once more.

caboose · 08-06-2008, 10:54 PM

lol, thanks Calesta

I was going to say, what's the deal, I can only come back to the site if I pretend to be a new member?

Yeah, and for some reason I didn't recognize your name before, lol. Now that I'm back I do remember that chinese guy

caboose · 08-06-2008, 11:51 PM

So I took these pictures several weeks ago, so the car is a little father along now. Actually since this I drove the car for a week, parked it to redo the motor and stuff, and have since driven it for another week or two. The front interior is 95% complete minus a couple dash pieces that I won't be able to get since this dash is damaged.

Well, I stripped off the old wiring harness from the HF dash, and fitted it to this dash. Actually I had to splice in the radio connector, since the previous owner decided to take about 18" of it with him. Funny thing was I ended up with 4 red/black on one end and 3 red/black on the other. Figured they all must be grounds, so I soldered them all together, lol... works fine now!!

Well here's yet another picture of the dash coming together. I really really like that black... I could use another black dash though, as this one has a couple issues.... *hinthint*

I had to do quite a bit of modification to these belt holders. There some metal structure behind here that hits on the inside lip of the door with these pillar mount type belts/doors.

They aren't too pretty, but these are the 16" rims that she came with. Back tires are BALD, front are pretty much brand new... figures.

Well this is the ugly side of her. That is a 90-91 style fender, reason there is no corner light. I believe that I have already swapped in the Si hubs with the bigger Si brakes. If you look closely you can see that the trailing arm is missing. This car has obviously been in a little bender on this side, and the frame got pushed back a tick in the from. To straighten it up, my dad trimmed back the shoulder of the trailing arm so that it fits more into the lower radiator support. Now the wheel fits perfectly in the wheel well!

Here's a good one for you. So the previous owner replaced the pass bearing, and 1 week later it went out again. He claimed it was probably because he hammered on the bearing. He also said that he switched to a DX/Si hub so that he could run standard axles. Well here's what I found when I tore it down. The bearing is a double bearing... ie it has a single outer race and two inner races. Well the DX/Si hub that he used as a replacement must have come off of a car with a spun bearing, because the top portion of the press on surface is WELL below the the bottom. Because of this the new bearing only road on one of the two inner races and quickly wore itself out.

06-26-2008, 12:26 PM	#1
the.original.kermit I know everything Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Hamilton, MI Age: 21 Posts: 158 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 89 CRX HF, 96 Accord EX, 88 Dodge Daytona w/t-tops (Big project) Rep Power: 0	My 1989 CRX Project So despite my 1996 Accord getting 30-33mpg, I was wanting a little bit more mileage per dollar. I started looking for a super high mileage vechicle. After looking at 1.0L metros for a while, learned of the CRX HF, and bought this little gem two weeks ago. I was away from home at school, so work on it didn't start until last week saturday (June 21st). I've dubbed this project car Ol' Blue, since the car rolled off of the assebly line as a blue on blue car. (I thought about FrankenX, but that name sounds like it should be reserved for something that has a little bit more than 72hp stock). I bought the car for $850 from some guy in a trailer located in Athens, OH. The car had one bearing that was completly shot, another that needed replacing, and the passenger tire was pushed back about 1" in the wheel well. Also there was no radio and the interior was about 75%, and what was left had been painted with spray paint. I drove the car 5+ hours to school in Flint, MI, listening to nothing but the wheel grind the whole way, and trailered it home from there to Hamilton, MI. When I got home, I looked up a friend that I knew had wrecked his Si into a guard rail. I went to his place, offered him $200 as it sits, and took it back home. It turned out to be an amazing deal for me, since the car had new carpet, full S.S. exhaust, header, intake, underdrive pulley, strut brace, and AEM cam gear. Not to mention I could get $150+ for the shell in steel alone. Work that I plan to do to the HF this week Work that I plan to do to the HF this week: -Install all the black interior that I have. Paint the few pieces that I'm missing as a temporary fix until I can find the rest -Install intake and exhaust from Si and other performance parts -Replace HF hubs with bad bearings with the ones from the Si -Swap in Si brakes and suspension -Install radio, sub, and find speakers for the HF -Fix the front wheel, so that it is centered in the wheel well (Possible bent frame?) Here's the pics This is the CRX HF as it looked when I picked it up Note that the tire is pushed back about 1" in the wheel well Here's The work that I've done from Saturday to Tuesday Some part storage More Part Storage This should be the last of the parts Old blue parts, and weapon of choice - 25 Gallon Shop-Vac Here's the door after I painted the jams from blue to black. I'm not sure if I'm going to like this paint, it seems really light duty and might wear off fast. This is what happens when a CRX meets a gaurdrail at 70 mph. (Driver was NOT wearing seatbelt and still walked away from the accident) Here's what's left of the inside of the HF. Time to start puting stuff back in... Umm... someone knows how this all goes back... right?? Here's what I did to the car yesterday Getting ready to paint drivers door jams Fitting in the black Si interior Unfortunatly Si doors won't fit on this without some Sawzall work. I couldn't call this a true swap unless I ran into some wiring issues along the way. Hopefully I can swap over the Si fuse box and take car of the issue. Well, that's all I have for now. I going back out to start again. I'll keep updating as I go.

06-26-2008, 03:40 PM	#3
SlushboxTeggy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: New Jersey Age: 23 Posts: 6,486 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 1997 Integra Rep Power: 196	I've wanted one for awhile now. Unfortunately, lack of money has been preventing it. __________________ Like water on a duck's back, just let it roll off... RIP Shaunie T. O'Reilly- 1986-2006

06-27-2008, 03:09 AM	#5
dacheat ..is grounded. Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: strongbadia Posts: 3,791 iTrader: 4 / 100% Ride: '84 buick (rusted) Rep Power: 268	good thread, i'm in! curious though why the door panels didn't fit without sawzall? i put 89 si panels into my 91 dx w/no issue...just curious what you ran into going the other way (into the '89)? __________________ marco....

07-23-2008, 03:26 PM	#9
Jeef Super Moderator Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: CT Age: 29 Posts: 4,580 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 06 Chevy Silverado Rep Power: 88	You can upload photos on this site also. __________________ Ex 89 crx si,91 & 95 Civic owner. 06 Silverado RCSB 20's, 2/4" Belltech lowering kit, waiting for 2 more cylinders, 1.9 more liters, and 208 more hp engine swap.

08-06-2008, 07:54 PM	#12
caboose I still know everything Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Hamilton, MI Age: 21 Posts: 414 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 89 CRX HF, 96 Accord EX, 88 Dodge Daytona Shelbyz T-tops Rep Power: 18	Ok, so long time no update... As you can see things kinda got ugly between the admins and me, so here I am again under a new and improved alias. Well here come the updates! __________________ Formerly the.original.kermit Back from the dead... twice I NEED PARTS!!! http://hondaswap.com/parts-sale-trade-wanted/wtb-1989-crx-parts-161172/#post1079066 Check out my progress... http://hondaswap.com/auto-multi-media/my-1989-crx-project-144941/


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06-26-2008, 04:44 PM	#4
the.original.kermit I know everything Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Hamilton, MI Age: 21 Posts: 158 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 89 CRX HF, 96 Accord EX, 88 Dodge Daytona w/t-tops (Big project) Rep Power: 0	Yeah, it's been a lot of work, but it's been fun. Unfortunately the husband of someone that works with my mom got stranded at work because his Silverado wouldn't start, so I spend most of the afternoon installing a new coil, distributor, rotor, and plug wires. I'm going to go out and start putting in the rest of the interior right now

07-23-2008, 02:01 PM	#8
the.original.kermit I know everything Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Hamilton, MI Age: 21 Posts: 158 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 89 CRX HF, 96 Accord EX, 88 Dodge Daytona w/t-tops (Big project) Rep Power: 0	Sorry, for the long time between update, I had been using Flicker for photo uploading, but they wouldn't allow me to upload more than 3 albums, so I had to switch over to a new photo service. Picaso is MUCH better IMO, plus it's linked to my Gmail. So now I'll be able to upload more pics when I get home from work. I'll give you an update as to what I've done though... I have pieced together the rest of the interior, at least the parts that I have. I'M STILL LOOKING FOR BLACK REAR CARGO PIECES AND REAR CARPET!! I don't have a radio in yet, but I did get a free set of Pioneer Premier 6.5" that I will install in the front. Does anyone know how big you can go in the rears (I was thinking 6.5" there too)? I installed seats out of a (93?) Mazda Protege. They don't look the greatest, but they do fit. I then drove the car to work for a week, and checked my mileage for a couple days. I got 45 on one trip and 55 on another, then 40ish on the rest of the tank. I'm still fighting an idle quality issue, most likely IAC valve problem. Has anyone else had success cleaning these, mine worked for a few days, and went right back. After a few days of driving, I noticed I was WAY low on coolant, so I decided to do a head gasket and some other stuff at the same time. This took me from last Monday to last night to finish up. I ended up installing two rebuilt axles ($120), new rings ($60), new hg ($60 for complete engine set), a VERY lightly used 212mm clutch/pp (from parts car), and a 7 lb Fidanza aluminum flywheel ($140, but saved me the $40 for getting old one turned, so net was only $100), pilot bearing ($15), and new timing belt ($20). I justed roughed up the cylinders with a hone, removed the ridge, and installed new rings. There was a little issue witht one of the walls having a big scratch on it, but I ran it anyways. Bearings were a little worn, but hey, they got it this far didn't they. Also, I was able to fix the rear trans mount that was stripped out on all 3 bolts. I drilled and tapped them to SAE sizes, so the bolts and taps were easy to get (well tap was free from machinist friend ). The holes were pretty bad to begin with, so the treads turned out so-so, but down near the bottom they are pretty solid. I also drilled out the broken exhaust stud and installed a heli coil and new stud. I had a bad lug that I swapped out too. Among many various other little fixes and stuff, everything came out really good. The motor rides a little far back since the frame has a little bend in it, but besides that, there are no complaints. The suspension has been readjusted so that they are in the right spot even with the bend in the frame, could use and alignment though. If feels good to have that all done, mechanically the car is very solid now, and I don't have to worry about what the past owner did to it, lol. I'm sorry I don't have any pics of the work I did last week, I was in a rush to get it done, but I will get some of right before that, and some after.

07-25-2008, 01:01 PM	#11
sleeper1.6 Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Age: 21 Posts: 182 iTrader: 0 / 0% Rep Power: 8	Wow looking good. Still need to edge my EG doors, and I even work at a body shop. Still haven't gotten to it. Good luck keep us posted.

08-06-2008, 10:38 PM	#14
Calesta Admin with a big stick Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Dallas / Fort Worth, TX Age: 32 Posts: 24,525 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 2003 S2000 Rep Power: 291	He's fine to come back. If everyone from before is well behaved, I have no problem with them participating on the board once more. __________________ DO NOT PM me with tech questions! Use the forums! Intercrew Auto Salon - (972) 485-8688

08-06-2008, 10:54 PM	#15
caboose I still know everything Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Hamilton, MI Age: 21 Posts: 414 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 89 CRX HF, 96 Accord EX, 88 Dodge Daytona Shelbyz T-tops Rep Power: 18	lol, thanks Calesta I was going to say, what's the deal, I can only come back to the site if I pretend to be a new member? Yeah, and for some reason I didn't recognize your name before, lol. Now that I'm back I do remember that chinese guy __________________ Formerly the.original.kermit Back from the dead... twice I NEED PARTS!!! http://hondaswap.com/parts-sale-trade-wanted/wtb-1989-crx-parts-161172/#post1079066 Check out my progress... http://hondaswap.com/auto-multi-media/my-1989-crx-project-144941/

08-06-2008, 11:51 PM	#16
caboose I still know everything Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Hamilton, MI Age: 21 Posts: 414 iTrader: 0 / 0% Ride: 89 CRX HF, 96 Accord EX, 88 Dodge Daytona Shelbyz T-tops Rep Power: 18	So I took these pictures several weeks ago, so the car is a little father along now. Actually since this I drove the car for a week, parked it to redo the motor and stuff, and have since driven it for another week or two. The front interior is 95% complete minus a couple dash pieces that I won't be able to get since this dash is damaged. Well, I stripped off the old wiring harness from the HF dash, and fitted it to this dash. Actually I had to splice in the radio connector, since the previous owner decided to take about 18" of it with him. Funny thing was I ended up with 4 red/black on one end and 3 red/black on the other. Figured they all must be grounds, so I soldered them all together, lol... works fine now!! Well here's yet another picture of the dash coming together. I really really like that black... I could use another black dash though, as this one has a couple issues.... hinthint I had to do quite a bit of modification to these belt holders. There some metal structure behind here that hits on the inside lip of the door with these pillar mount type belts/doors. They aren't too pretty, but these are the 16" rims that she came with. Back tires are BALD, front are pretty much brand new... figures. Well this is the ugly side of her. That is a 90-91 style fender, reason there is no corner light. I believe that I have already swapped in the Si hubs with the bigger Si brakes. If you look closely you can see that the trailing arm is missing. This car has obviously been in a little bender on this side, and the frame got pushed back a tick in the from. To straighten it up, my dad trimmed back the shoulder of the trailing arm so that it fits more into the lower radiator support. Now the wheel fits perfectly in the wheel well! Here's a good one for you. So the previous owner replaced the pass bearing, and 1 week later it went out again. He claimed it was probably because he hammered on the bearing. He also said that he switched to a DX/Si hub so that he could run standard axles. Well here's what I found when I tore it down. The bearing is a double bearing... ie it has a single outer race and two inner races. Well the DX/Si hub that he used as a replacement must have come off of a car with a spun bearing, because the top portion of the press on surface is WELL below the the bottom. Because of this the new bearing only road on one of the two inner races and quickly wore itself out. __________________ Formerly the.original.kermit Back from the dead... twice I NEED PARTS!!! http://hondaswap.com/parts-sale-trade-wanted/wtb-1989-crx-parts-161172/#post1079066 Check out my progress... http://hondaswap.com/auto-multi-media/my-1989-crx-project-144941/ Last edited by caboose; 08-06-2008 at 11:54 PM.

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My 1989 CRX Project