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Vthonda's 90' Si RHD build thread

21K views 72 replies 23 participants last post by  VThonda 
#1 ·
Looks like it's time to start a build thread for my 1990 CRX Si. My brother bought the car about a year and a half ago with an LsVtec, intake, exhaust, Neuspeed springs, GSR Blades, a CF hood and TONS of extra parts. The car was nearly rust free, a rarity in Vermont, it had been recently resprayed and came with a few sets of wheels. Within only a few months of buying the car the engine spun a bearing, so the it went up for sale and I was able to buy it as a project car. How it looked when it still ran:




With 232,000 miles on the body, the interior wasn't in the best shape. The drivers seat has a few large tears, the sunroof and trunk leak steadily, but everything still worked!


With the car at a good starting place, I decided to make it my own with a RHD conversion that I purchased from Hmotors. I highly recommend them for anything Honda! The clip as I first unloaded it into my garage:


The clip came in great shape with zero rust and 80,000 miles. It looks to have every component of the auto climate control, although the faceplate is cracked a bit. Nothing some epoxy cant fix!


Has the rare EF8 gauge cluster and looks spotless!


Even came with a cool sony cd player that i've never seen before! And two Seven Star cigarettes in the ash tray.


Now I just need to finish pulling the engine and I'll be able to post some real updates on progress!
 
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#4 ·
zexalm said:
Looks like a fun project!
I'm interested to see how the Auto Climate control is wired and set up!
I'm pretty excited for it! I have an ek hatch that I did a b series swap into but this is my first real project! I'm still figuring out how the climate control works and making sure I do have all the pieces. There are a lot of little sensors throughout the clip that I'll need to swap, and I'll try to take lots of pictures for anyone else trying to do this.

pinkywhyyoumad said:
how long exactly did the clip take to arrive after you purchased it?
It was about a month. Hmotors took two weeks to prepare the shipment then about another two weeks for the shipment across the country.
 
#5 ·
A few new updates, I pulled the engine in the CRX yesterday so I can begin stripping down everything on the firewall and cleaning up the bay.


Came out without too much trouble, but still a lot to do.


Began to make progress on taking the dash out of the RHD.



I can post more pictures of individual pieces of the RHD if anyone wants to see. I'll also try to document pieces of climate control as I come across them. I also picked up a set of very faded 90's Corbeau seats that my friend had in his BMW race car, just need some cleaning, dye and maybe some stitching and they should be good to go!
 
#6 ·
No new updates yet.
I'm planning on converting to a hydro clutch, I've seen Hasport's kit but I'd rather do something more like the Suja one kit which uses a full hydraulic line. From what I've read the Suja one and Hush kits work for LHD only, If anyone has made a custom kit for RHD I'd love to hear how you made it fit. I don't want to lose the drivers side vents since this will be a daily summer driver, but there may not be much room otherwise.
 
#8 ·
I may have found a different route for the clutch, I'll post more on that when parts come in. My plan was to drill out the whole firewall so when I weld it in everything lines up like stock. I thought about leaving the windshield in place and cutting around it but I think I would get a better outcome if I mount it to the RHD firewall.
 
#10 ·
Dr_Drache said:
I agree with you,
I have seen it done both ways, and I think the firewall swap is by far the cleanest.
different route? wonder how different. I am on the fence with the hush kit right now.
From what I saw, any way of mounting a master to the top of the pedal will have to interfere with the drivers side vents. I like the quality of the kit, and the fact that it's basically a bolt on kit and replaces the cable unlike the Hasport kit, but I still want to keep as many amenities intact and working, since it will be my daily during the summer once it's done. The way i'm planning is pretty different, I should have parts in tomorrow for it, then mock up something thursday or friday. I'll need to drill a hole in the firewall, but I'll be able to retain all air vents.
I have a small update for today, I dropped the subframe and steering rack, along with the crossmember. I was surprised at how light the clip was to lift!


All of the dash is out, along with blower motor, AC and heat. I have since taken out the pedals and foam sound deadening.


Tried to keep some order of what came out and where, but there are still a lot of parts!


All that's left are the metal lines for fuel and brakes, the wiring harness and all of the sound deadening and seam sealer blocking me from the welds holding the firewall to the body. Only a few more hours of work until I can start doing this all over again to the LHD to prepare that!
 
#11 ·
Small update today, I began tearing down the car to prepare for taking the firewall out of that as well, still a ways to go but progress is going quickly! Still brake lines and the complete wiring harness to remove.


Took most of the interior out as well, just a few more pieces until I'm ready to start drilling the firewall!


No updates on the clutch master retrofit yet, I'll try to mock something up this week to see if it might work. Also I'll have to figure out how to remove the windshield without it breaking, which should be interesting!
 
#14 ·
It's been a few days and I have a few new updates.
First I have gutted nearly all of the interior for installation of the jdm wiring harness and ease of installation of the firewall.


Then I looked more into the clutch conversion I'm working on. I bought a master from an 89 BMW because the shape looked to me like it would fit better under my dash. It is very long and thin and allows for an externally mounted reservoir. I made a small mock up clutch line to check for movement between the BMW master and the Honda slave.




I continued to prep for removal of the firewall by cutting the fuel and brake lines in the car. I figured I wouldn't spill any because the tank is downhill from the cutting spot of the lines, which was true until I came home from work the next day and realized that enough pressure had built in the tank from the fuel cap, that gas was spilling out into my car and dripping underneath the car as well. It created a huge sludgy mess of all the sound deadening on that side of the car. I wheeled the car halfway out of the garage so I could clean it with a garden hose and sponge. :rolleyes1:
Not what I had planned on doing that day.



Take it from me, ALWAYS keep your gas cap off after you cut your lines or completely drain the tank.
Otherwise the build has been going smoothly, It feels like I've drilled about a thousand holes so far between the two cars so I must be getting close to taking the firewalls out and begin welding!
Also I made this show plate the other day out of a blank plastic license plate and hand-cut white vinyl because I couldn't find anything online that I really liked.


Should have a few more updates in the next few days as I take out the firewalls and begin the assembly process.
 
#17 ·
Nice project, that should be a fun one. Where in VT are you? I live in Barre but work in Burlington and have an 88 that we are restoring (let me know if you wanna sell your old LHD dash). This looks like a huge feat to take on, let me know if you need any tools/spare parts. I have seen maybe 3 other CRX's in the state so far so this is cool that you are on the boards too!

Mike C
 
#18 ·
Cementups said:
Nice use of skateboards. :rofl:
Haha thanks! I didn't feel like throwing the subframe and suspension back on just to move it out of the garage for 20 minutes!

g4crx said:
Snap on that stereo....

That's a lot of work ahead of you, hats off for dedication Sir!! Good luck with the build, should be quite unique once finished.
No way! Thats a very clean CRX you have! Looks just about identical to what mine will once it's done. I certainly haven't ever seen this head unit stateside. I'm still debating whether I should keep the radio or not, I have the Honda block off plate, and I love the way it looks, but I'd also like to show off the head unit since it's so unique. Either way there will be a radio stashed somewhere in the car because I cannot go without good driving music! Thank you! This is my first ever build of anything this big, but I'm not going to rush and make sure it turns out the way I want. I set off to make something unique and I do think I will have accomplished that!

momikey said:
Nice project, that should be a fun one. Where in VT are you? I live in Barre but work in Burlington and have an 88 that we are restoring (let me know if you wanna sell your old LHD dash). This looks like a huge feat to take on, let me know if you need any tools/spare parts. I have seen maybe 3 other CRX's in the state so far so this is cool that you are on the boards too!

Mike C
I live right outside of Brattleboro, definitely a ways south of you. Good luck on your restoration as well! I will be selling as many LHD components as possible, and everything is still available right now. The dash itself is in great condition but the fusebox cover was replaced with a blue one, and the center console has some signs of use(but I think I have a spare.) I got a few extra boxes of interior parts with the car so if theres anything you need I may have it! I'm up in the Burlington area every once in a while and I'd be glad to get rid of whatever LHD components you need. I know of a few CRX's in my area, and two are track only turbocharged monsters! I've got a friend at champlain college and they hold a few meets a year, so I'm sure it will be in the area once it's finished!

I'll be posting an update soon, I'm very close to getting the RHD firewall out!
 
#19 ·
g4crx said:
Snap on that stereo....



That's a lot of work ahead of you, hats off for dedication Sir!! Good luck with the build, should be quite unique once finished.
:shock: If my CRX is half as nice as your's I'll be a happy man. I've been staring at that picture for a few minutes now I must say that it's perfect! Great job.
 
#20 ·
Progress slowed for a bit after I needed six stitches when my arm slipped trying to pry the firewall out, but I'm back to working on it, and should be able to get the firewall out tomorrow! I do have a small update now though, I received an order from Honda with a few various clips, gaskets and bolts. Always nice to see a bunch of the red labels, and there's two very old blue Honda packages in the mix as well!


I did order a reservoir for the custom clutch set up I'm planning on using, taken from a 99 civic, which I will mount right above the hole from the clutch cable.


Finally the firewall is very close to coming out, I've pealed back as many panels as I can without bending the firewall so just the floor is holding it in.


Once the firewall is removed I'll get more in-depth as to how I took it out. That's all for now! hopefully I really am as close to getting this firewall out as I think I am!
 
#22 ·
g4crx said:
Blood, sweat and tears!!! The car owes you around if flesh lol.
Haha no tears yet but this build will be a long one, I'm sure I'll have my share of difficulties.

Today I was finally able to get the RHD firewall out! Now if I can only take the windshield out of the CRX without making a huge mess I might be able to get that firewall out too!


Not a whole lot left of the donor clip. I can try to take better pictures if anyone wants to know exactly where I drilled and separated the panels.


If anyone has a spare set of Civic EX knuckles they are looking to sell I am looking for a set.
 
#23 ·
Well it looks like it's time for another update!
I managed to get the window out using piano wire, hopefully the last windshield I'll have to take out!


With that out of the way I began to work on getting the firewall out in one piece. I took measurements to make sure everything is strait after the car is back together and made a brace to keep the chassis more stiff while the firewall is out. I also welded where the frame rails meet the floor under the car to make sure the front of the car doesn't fall onto the ground with nothing to hold it up. After a few days of what looked like no progress of removing the firewall carefully, I became impatient and with the help of my dad, began to chop out sections.


I'm down to just the bottom half of the firewall that I should be able to get out in the next few days.
 
#24 ·
Since this won't be just a stock restoration/rebuild I began to do some work on the rear suspension components. 24 years of dirt and rust had fused some of the bolts to their bushings, including both rear toe arms and one of my LCA's. I'm also fairly sure that my trailing arm bushing was not helping my handling very much...


I made a second order with Honda to get all the bolts I need for the rear suspension set up!


Finally as far as parts in the rear, I got new Wagner blank rotors, Goodridge braided brake lines, Project Mu HC 800+ brake pads, and new calipers which I painted silver to prevent rust. I also got a set of Whiteline trailing arm bushings and out of the many boxes of parts that came with the car, found compensator arms and lower control arms with brand new Prothane bushings already pressed in!


Unfortunately the sliding nut in the frame for the compensator(toe) arm fell out of the small rails it sits in and is lost in the frame for the time being. I did find a thread incase someone else encounters the same problem and I'll post pictures of how it worked for me soon: http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1619903


I did manage to get the right side of the suspension bolted up and complete. Its a great feeling to use nearly all new bolts to hold everything together again.


I test fitted a few wheels that I've been holding on to, I got the 15 inch silver K1's for this car because I love the design, the weight, and they can always be found for a reasonable price. The black 16 inch K1's from my 99 hatch look way too big with too little tire for the CRX. And while I'm not a fan of Rota's, this set did come with the car and fit it well so if I don't sell them I might have them powder coated as a spare set. The gold lugs are definitely NOT permanent, I'm not really a fan of how the gold looks on the red.


Finally I scraped and cleaned the old Honda sticker off of the rear triangle and put a fresh one on.
 
#25 ·
Was able to get the nut for my rear compensator (toe) arm out of the frame using the method described in the thread I posted a link to.



I bought a 1 7/8 hole bit and drilled directly below the area the nut is supposed to sit.


With the nut out, I was able to put it back where it's supposed to go, and the suspension bolted back up. I'll get more pictures once the hole is welded back shut.

I was able to get the firewall out in about 20 pieces and immediately started prepping it with welt through primer.




The new firewall was not easy to slide into the firewall, and for whoever has not done this before, there will be a large bump on either side where the wheel well attaches to the inside of the fender. It sticks out about an inch on either side and has to be bent in for the firewall to fit. A minute with the hammer solved this and I was able to slide the firewall into place. These will be bent out to their original positions once the firewall is in it's final position.






As the floor fit together some trimming had to be done to get the firewall to slide under the floor in the center.


The firewall now sits in the car, and will only have to be adjusted slightly for welding in the next few weeks.


Finally, I received a few parts over the weekend that I'm pretty excited to put on!
 
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