Dumb, Stubborn, and bound to end up penniless…….
Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 7:31 pm
For those that don't like long romantic history narratives, I'll try to keep some current progress photos at the top as I go.
Current details:
Chassis
New custom stainless steel hardlines
Carbing front strut tower bar w/ brake booster support
Stiffened engine mount bushings (Hardrace, street rubber)
Solid torque bushings (Hasport, Race)
Stiffened suspension bushings (Hardrace, street rubber)
Kingpin compliance bushings
Rigid collar front subframe mounting interface (Spoon)
Engine, hardline, & gas tank underbody panels (ARP Sport/Laile)
Performance Pedal set (OEM ITRx)
Adjustable high grip dead pedal (Sargent Racing, aluminum)
High bolster sport seats (Recaro/OEM JDM ITR)
Sports Steering Wheel (Advan x Personal/OEM JDM ITR /w SRS)
Wide-angle side mirrors (Spoon, blue hydro coated)
Wide Angle rear view mirror (Broadview, blue tinted)
Fire extinguisher on quick release (H3R MaxOut, 2.5lbs)
‘97 OEM ITR Facia
Fueling
High flow in tank pump (255lph, Walbro)
Modified fuel banjo fitting (all orifaces +1mm)
Gas tank replaced (Spectra)
Fuel pressure gauge
Intake/Exhaust/Engine
Custom airbox cold air feed
Custom thermal airbox lining
High flow filter with velocity stack (CT Engineering)
3” Intake Arm (CompTech, JRSC specific)
Large bore throttlebody (Blox Billet)
Throttlebody thermal gasket
Supercharger (Jackson Racing)
Thermal Intake Manifold gasket (Hondata)
Custom valve job (Portflow)
OEM Cams
Upgraded LMAs (OEM, updated spring based spec)
High strength Head studs (ARP)
High-Flow Header (Comptech)
Custom High flow cat
High-Flow Catback Exhaust (GReddy Supreme)
Custom exhaust heat-shielding
Stiffened exhaust hangers (fiber reinforced polyurethane)
Braking
Steel-Braided soft lines (J’s Racing)
High temp Brake Fluid (ATE 200)
Caliper & Rotor dust covers removed for improved cooling
Front
BBK (Mugen AGBS, S2k calipers)
2-piece rotors (300mm, Racing Brake)
Honed brake air guides
Extended heat brake pads (EBC NDX Blue, S2k)
Rear
Drilled slotted rotors (Racing Brake)
Extended heat brake pads (EBC NDX Blue, rsx-s)
Lubrication
Baffled oil pan (Mugen)
Upgraded oil pump gear (Toda)
Oil temp sensor (AEM, oil pan)
Oil pressure sensor (AEM, firewall)
High flow oil filter w/ back flow prevention (Purolator Boss)
Synthetic Ester oil (Redline Race 40wt)
Quick drain valve (Fumoto)
Cooling
36mm Aluminum core radiator (custom black Koyo)
Dual 12” 1325cfm fans (FAL Flex-Wave)
Silicon main coolant lines (Mishimoto)
Performance fan switch (80C, Mishimoto)
Vented hood (First Molding Carbon)
High performance coolant (Redline SuperCool)
High pressure radiator cap
Drivetrain
Reinforced clutch kit (Ogura Racing Clutch 309 series - rated to 250 ft/lbs tq)
High strength Flywheel bolts (ARP)
Upgraded “36mm” OEM driveshafts and hubs
JDM OEM LSD trans with 4.79 FD
Light weight Forged Aluminum wheels (Rays Volk TE37SL, 15x8 et32, Black)
OEM shifter
Suspension
JDM 98+ OEM front ARB & Endlinks 25mm
JDM 98+ OEM rear ARB & Endlinks 23mm
Adjustable Front Upper Control Arms (PCI)
Adjustable Rear Upper Control Arms (Ingalls)
Eibach Multi-Pro R2 coilovers (650/600)
Electrical/Ignition/Data Aquisition
NGK Plug wires
Lightweight LiFEPO4 Battery (InduraPower series 120)
Multifunction shift/warning gauge (Ecliptech p2+)
Programable Data Acquisition system with accelerometer, gps, and live remote monitoring (RaceCapture Pro)
LED low and high beam bulbs (Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0)
Fog lights (Stanley/OEM JDM SiR-G, Yellow)
Custom AM/FM/GPS “sharkfin” antenna (color matched to body)
Custom accessory power system
For those with a bit of an attention span here's the story:
Ch. 1 Youth
In 2000 I made probably the coolest mistake of my life and bought a violet GSR right off the showroom floor. Stupidity ensued and lasted for about 2 years, until I had my license suspended and traded in the car.
Ch. 2 Love
In 2009 and I met a hottie driving a 97 Integra (CGP LS)..... by 2015 we realize in addition to my wife and myself, we have a baby, a cat, 2 family-appropriate (if boring) cars, and an Integra in need of an increasing amount of attention. Since the cat yowls terribly, if you can manage to get her in a car and our son is 14 yrs from learning to drive it means we’re still a driver short to make that math make sense. The Integra was already looking impractical…. so, I pitch a restoration\build project to my wife. Somehow, she’s game. Did I mention she’s hot and I love her.
Ch. 3 From the jaws of Victory
By Nov. 2017 I’m running out of things to do on this project and it was looking good. Underscore “was” after some guy in a Chevy 1500 decides sexting (or whatever) is more important than watching traffic on the freeway and rear-ends me in the Integra. Pushing the rear bumper to the hatch glass. Sh*t.
Ch. 4 Lemonade from Lemons
I have a totaled shell but to my surprise the suspension, wheels, motor and even exhaust survived. The one thing that had come to pester me as I had put the LS together was that I knew it would never be an ITR. I had no choice but to embrace it, regardless of the motor, suspension, or rest of it, the chassis would always be a DC4. With the LS body destroyed, would it be possible……to have my own actual ITR? Have I mentioned how much I dearly love my wife?
Ch. 5 2001 Complete Shell (Sandown)
I was looking to move fast I knew I was on the wrong side of the market and didn’t want to pay for a full complete car. I already had my last build and didn’t want an unknown motor or trans., hey what’s this one in New Hampshire. Clean accident report, clean title, photos look good, interior is complete, and seller says no rust. Matching vin motor and trans not working. Way more than I wanted to spend but man this will be good to go, done. Let’s get a truck to bring it home!
Ch 6. 01-0386 What did I buy?
Good News:
The car looks great coming off the truck and in the driveway.
Deeper Look:
Some Collision shop painted the whole car for $300, you can’t see the pearl through the orange peel.
Every molding in on the car looks like it was installed by my 3 y/o.
Front Window is not OEM or installed properly
Rear Interior panels both have major are cracks
Ashtray\lighter hang down since ears they clip into on the dash are broken off
Front bumper isn’t attached (I saw this from seller photos but didn’t realize it was because the upper radiator support was bend down to the so it couldn’t be)
Front left headlight leaks
Rear left taillight cracked open
Rack and pinon making a mess of the ground everywhere it’s moved
The Still Deeper Look:
No foam absorber and the front beam is barely hanging on the car
The front beam is barely hanging on the car because the threads in the frame ends are rusted out
The radiator support is damaged in several places and will need to be replaced
The floor pan of the car looks like it was driven as a rally car and front right corner is separated from the rest of the body
The spare tire well has quite a bit of rust and rear right seam is separated
The totally gutted (pun intended) confirmation:
Left front foot well has significant rust
Left side floor pan seam is rusted through nearly the entire length
Right side foot well has some rust and the carpet oddly is still wet underneath, probably from a leak when I washed it
Ch. 7 This is my R. There are many like it, but this one is mine...I must master it as I must master life.
Daunted and honestly uncertain as hell I’ve decided that, hell this is just a hobby any way what’s changed. The LS was a stupid waste of money and time and I knew I wasn’t buying an R for the resale. Let’s get the wire wheel and drill and get going, this is going to take a while...
Current details:
Chassis
New custom stainless steel hardlines
Carbing front strut tower bar w/ brake booster support
Stiffened engine mount bushings (Hardrace, street rubber)
Solid torque bushings (Hasport, Race)
Stiffened suspension bushings (Hardrace, street rubber)
Kingpin compliance bushings
Rigid collar front subframe mounting interface (Spoon)
Engine, hardline, & gas tank underbody panels (ARP Sport/Laile)
Performance Pedal set (OEM ITRx)
Adjustable high grip dead pedal (Sargent Racing, aluminum)
High bolster sport seats (Recaro/OEM JDM ITR)
Sports Steering Wheel (Advan x Personal/OEM JDM ITR /w SRS)
Wide-angle side mirrors (Spoon, blue hydro coated)
Wide Angle rear view mirror (Broadview, blue tinted)
Fire extinguisher on quick release (H3R MaxOut, 2.5lbs)
‘97 OEM ITR Facia
Fueling
High flow in tank pump (255lph, Walbro)
Modified fuel banjo fitting (all orifaces +1mm)
Gas tank replaced (Spectra)
Fuel pressure gauge
Intake/Exhaust/Engine
Custom airbox cold air feed
Custom thermal airbox lining
High flow filter with velocity stack (CT Engineering)
3” Intake Arm (CompTech, JRSC specific)
Large bore throttlebody (Blox Billet)
Throttlebody thermal gasket
Supercharger (Jackson Racing)
Thermal Intake Manifold gasket (Hondata)
Custom valve job (Portflow)
OEM Cams
Upgraded LMAs (OEM, updated spring based spec)
High strength Head studs (ARP)
High-Flow Header (Comptech)
Custom High flow cat
High-Flow Catback Exhaust (GReddy Supreme)
Custom exhaust heat-shielding
Stiffened exhaust hangers (fiber reinforced polyurethane)
Braking
Steel-Braided soft lines (J’s Racing)
High temp Brake Fluid (ATE 200)
Caliper & Rotor dust covers removed for improved cooling
Front
BBK (Mugen AGBS, S2k calipers)
2-piece rotors (300mm, Racing Brake)
Honed brake air guides
Extended heat brake pads (EBC NDX Blue, S2k)
Rear
Drilled slotted rotors (Racing Brake)
Extended heat brake pads (EBC NDX Blue, rsx-s)
Lubrication
Baffled oil pan (Mugen)
Upgraded oil pump gear (Toda)
Oil temp sensor (AEM, oil pan)
Oil pressure sensor (AEM, firewall)
High flow oil filter w/ back flow prevention (Purolator Boss)
Synthetic Ester oil (Redline Race 40wt)
Quick drain valve (Fumoto)
Cooling
36mm Aluminum core radiator (custom black Koyo)
Dual 12” 1325cfm fans (FAL Flex-Wave)
Silicon main coolant lines (Mishimoto)
Performance fan switch (80C, Mishimoto)
Vented hood (First Molding Carbon)
High performance coolant (Redline SuperCool)
High pressure radiator cap
Drivetrain
Reinforced clutch kit (Ogura Racing Clutch 309 series - rated to 250 ft/lbs tq)
High strength Flywheel bolts (ARP)
Upgraded “36mm” OEM driveshafts and hubs
JDM OEM LSD trans with 4.79 FD
Light weight Forged Aluminum wheels (Rays Volk TE37SL, 15x8 et32, Black)
OEM shifter
Suspension
JDM 98+ OEM front ARB & Endlinks 25mm
JDM 98+ OEM rear ARB & Endlinks 23mm
Adjustable Front Upper Control Arms (PCI)
Adjustable Rear Upper Control Arms (Ingalls)
Eibach Multi-Pro R2 coilovers (650/600)
Electrical/Ignition/Data Aquisition
NGK Plug wires
Lightweight LiFEPO4 Battery (InduraPower series 120)
Multifunction shift/warning gauge (Ecliptech p2+)
Programable Data Acquisition system with accelerometer, gps, and live remote monitoring (RaceCapture Pro)
LED low and high beam bulbs (Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0)
Fog lights (Stanley/OEM JDM SiR-G, Yellow)
Custom AM/FM/GPS “sharkfin” antenna (color matched to body)
Custom accessory power system
For those with a bit of an attention span here's the story:
Ch. 1 Youth
In 2000 I made probably the coolest mistake of my life and bought a violet GSR right off the showroom floor. Stupidity ensued and lasted for about 2 years, until I had my license suspended and traded in the car.
Ch. 2 Love
In 2009 and I met a hottie driving a 97 Integra (CGP LS)..... by 2015 we realize in addition to my wife and myself, we have a baby, a cat, 2 family-appropriate (if boring) cars, and an Integra in need of an increasing amount of attention. Since the cat yowls terribly, if you can manage to get her in a car and our son is 14 yrs from learning to drive it means we’re still a driver short to make that math make sense. The Integra was already looking impractical…. so, I pitch a restoration\build project to my wife. Somehow, she’s game. Did I mention she’s hot and I love her.
Ch. 3 From the jaws of Victory
By Nov. 2017 I’m running out of things to do on this project and it was looking good. Underscore “was” after some guy in a Chevy 1500 decides sexting (or whatever) is more important than watching traffic on the freeway and rear-ends me in the Integra. Pushing the rear bumper to the hatch glass. Sh*t.
Ch. 4 Lemonade from Lemons
I have a totaled shell but to my surprise the suspension, wheels, motor and even exhaust survived. The one thing that had come to pester me as I had put the LS together was that I knew it would never be an ITR. I had no choice but to embrace it, regardless of the motor, suspension, or rest of it, the chassis would always be a DC4. With the LS body destroyed, would it be possible……to have my own actual ITR? Have I mentioned how much I dearly love my wife?
Ch. 5 2001 Complete Shell (Sandown)
I was looking to move fast I knew I was on the wrong side of the market and didn’t want to pay for a full complete car. I already had my last build and didn’t want an unknown motor or trans., hey what’s this one in New Hampshire. Clean accident report, clean title, photos look good, interior is complete, and seller says no rust. Matching vin motor and trans not working. Way more than I wanted to spend but man this will be good to go, done. Let’s get a truck to bring it home!
Ch 6. 01-0386 What did I buy?
Good News:
The car looks great coming off the truck and in the driveway.
Deeper Look:
Some Collision shop painted the whole car for $300, you can’t see the pearl through the orange peel.
Every molding in on the car looks like it was installed by my 3 y/o.
Front Window is not OEM or installed properly
Rear Interior panels both have major are cracks
Ashtray\lighter hang down since ears they clip into on the dash are broken off
Front bumper isn’t attached (I saw this from seller photos but didn’t realize it was because the upper radiator support was bend down to the so it couldn’t be)
Front left headlight leaks
Rear left taillight cracked open
Rack and pinon making a mess of the ground everywhere it’s moved
The Still Deeper Look:
No foam absorber and the front beam is barely hanging on the car
The front beam is barely hanging on the car because the threads in the frame ends are rusted out
The radiator support is damaged in several places and will need to be replaced
The floor pan of the car looks like it was driven as a rally car and front right corner is separated from the rest of the body
The spare tire well has quite a bit of rust and rear right seam is separated
The totally gutted (pun intended) confirmation:
Left front foot well has significant rust
Left side floor pan seam is rusted through nearly the entire length
Right side foot well has some rust and the carpet oddly is still wet underneath, probably from a leak when I washed it
Ch. 7 This is my R. There are many like it, but this one is mine...I must master it as I must master life.
Daunted and honestly uncertain as hell I’ve decided that, hell this is just a hobby any way what’s changed. The LS was a stupid waste of money and time and I knew I wasn’t buying an R for the resale. Let’s get the wire wheel and drill and get going, this is going to take a while...
. I'm anxious to see what you do here cause we probably have some similar issues. crappy repaint and rusty floor pan.. i need to get started on my floor pan sooner than later. nice find though. keep us updated and good luck on the build.