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1989 CRX Si Daily driver project

4K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  Freemananana 
#1 ·
I recently stumbled upon a well maintained 1989 CRX Si while looking through local craigslist ads and Honda parts. A few days later, several conversations, and a long test drive, I purchased the car at what felt like a fair price.

The car has definitely been maintained by an enthusiast. I do believe he went wrong in a few spots and I plan on changing those.

Lets start with some photos!











The car has good condition climate controls and the dash/door cars are all in good condition. There is a blemish on the top of the dash, nothing extreme. The AC and heat both function very well. I live in Florida and on the drive home I turned the AC down to fan speed 2. I believe the heat in dex was 105* F that afternoon. The AC has been converted to R134A, which is a huge bonus in my opinion.

The functionality continues to the sunroof and trunk. Neither struggle to function nor do either of them currently leak. The hood pops without trouble and so does the trunk and gas lid.

The car has had the rear drums replaced with disk brakes and the E-Brake functions perfectly.

The CRX Si OE front seats are in excellent condition. They sport minor discoloration but no rips, tears, or worn down padding. The boast a ton of comfort compared to the STD seats in my hatch. Continuing with the seats, the rear has been converted to a JDM rear seat set up. While leg space is non-existent, it is a nice touch.

The factory head liner is in mint condition with no tears, streaks, markings or noticeable wear. The carpet is all in good condition. Nothing outstanding from the floor carpet, but it is definitely useable and doesn't show large wear.

The transmission has no pops but does have a grind while shifting into 3rd gear at RPM higher than 2,000. The stock clutch has been upgraded to a OE replacement Exedy clutch kit that is extremely smooth.

The car has been resprayed Rio Red in 2013. The clear coat could use a professional cut and buff as far as orange peel is concerned, but it shines very well and has a deep coloration. I'm happy that it was painted the OE color and that they went with a 2-stage paint set up instead of cheaping out with a single stage 'color match'.

The car has been lowered from stock height on ground control coilover sleeves and -I forgot the name- shocks. A smooth ride, doesn't bottom out, but does struggle with some drainage frequently found and steep drive ways. I would have opted for a slightly higher ride height. But the sleeves are adjustable so that is not out of the question.

The car has GSR blades with 195/50R15 tires in decent condition. Nothing to write home about, but it won't need new tires for a long time. The car also has OE mudflaps. They are all present and well maintained.

Unfortunately, there are some bad things. While the motor does run and test drove fabulously, I do not believe the engine management was done right. The D16A6 has had a head swap to a D16Y8 head and the pistons swapped to P29 pistons. This sports a ridiculous compression ratio that I believe has been tuned with rich fuel ratios and best guess timing.

The battery is no longer in the engine bay, something I plan on reversing. For a daily driver, I think the safety of the battery being in the engine bay and the ease of wiring is something that shouldn't be passed up.

The transmission does have it's grind. A rebuild kit from Synchrotech or a rebuilt transmission from Synchrotech is in order. It may be a while before that is replaced since it really doesn't affect the daily drivability of the car.

Lastly, the exhaust is an eBay special exhaust. The previous owner mentioned attempting to find a HKS exhaust but didn't have much luck so this was a 'temp' fix. I plan on replacing it with something near stock.

Goal for the car is a decent daily driver. I don't drive much, about 5 miles a day. And for anything longer than that or with the family, I have a Honda Fit. Things to come:

Remove P29 pistons and replace with new P2P pistons
Replace exhaust with stock twin tip exhaust from RockAuto
Raise the coilover sleeves
Move battery to engine bay
Convert to OBD1
General maintenance
Transmission overhaul
 
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#2 ·
Freemananana said:
Things to come:

Remove P29 pistons and replace with new P2P pistons
Replace exhaust with stock twin tip exhaust from RockAuto
Raise the coilover sleeves
Move battery to engine bay
Convert to OBD1
General maintenance
Transmission overhaul
Based on the condition of the body and interior, these are minor things.
What did you shell out for this though?
All in all, it's not in bad shape at all!
 
#3 ·
Baker said:
Based on the condition of the body and interior, these are minor things.
What did you shell out for this though?
All in all, it's not in bad shape at all!
Yup, that's really why I did spring for it. It was $3,500 and came with the OBD1 dizzy and ECU. I wish I had known more on the mini me that was in here. A piston swap really isn't terrible though. Much easier on a D-series than a B-series IMO. You don't have to take the cams and such apart. Plus, I've done it before so I'm much more comfortable this time around.

Really, I have a solid weekend of work ahead of me if I stepped on it.

I'm debating what transmission fluid to use in this. I've heard that new MTF is a bit too thin and I may just go with dino oil. I may also try synchromesh since the trans does have that grind. At 1.9 quarts, I can afford to try things out.
 
#4 ·
Freemananana said:
Baker said:
Based on the condition of the body and interior, these are minor things.
What did you shell out for this though?
All in all, it's not in bad shape at all!
Yup, that's really why I did spring for it. It was $3,500
I think that's fair based on the rock solid condition of the body and interior, plus all of the "extras" that came on/with the car.
It's also had a cluster swap and updated 90-91 tail lights on it as well.
What brand coilovers are on it?
 
#5 ·
It is ground control sleeves on shocks that I forgot the name of. So not exactly a true coilover, but a decent suspension set up none the less. They are not OE shocks, I just forgot the name.

The price, in all honesty, was fair. It wasn't a major snag nor was it over price in my opinion. The interior and exterior condition plus running R134A AC was all it took for me. The motor is about all I've ever worked on as far as these cars go :)b So I'm glad that's where the majority of the little changes need to be made.

The P29 pistons with a dang Y8 head is stupid though. Well, at least that's what the DSO guys say and I'm inclined to believe them. So in go Y8 pistons and it will essentially be a Y8 running OBD1 with a better intake manifold (Z6).
 
#6 ·
So here's the update:

Car didn't actually get converted to a '91 cluster. It was just a bezel. So out with that junk


In with this junk!


The requested engine bay photo. I added a line to the intake, fixed the wiper fluid line (cracked) and tidied up a few things. I noticed a couple of connections where the factory braiding was worn, so I tidied those up too.


Then it was exhaust time. This...just had to go.


A OE-ish (I think?) Bosal cat back. Not picture is the high flow cat on the car.


I was trying to ballpark the length. I wasn't sure if the eBay exhaust was stock length or if the aftermarket cat was the same length as stock. It ended up being near perfect.


Jacked the car up to get to the exhaust! I removed the rear passenger tire for access to the flange.


Out came the eBay exhaust. It is a nice 2.25-2.5" interior diameter piping. But the muffler is trash and the positioning of the muffler is ridiculous. The muffler had obviously hit the ground running. I don't have a picture, but it was torn up on the bottom.


The cat back I ordered came with all new hardware and gaskets. Much appreciated!


And here is the new exhaust! It barely hangs below the stock tow hook.








I also drained and replaced the transmission fluid with synchromesh. It seemed to help a little with the 3rd gear grind. It is very minor, but it allowed me to shift a little bit higher in the RPM range. I think I'll stick to double clutching or slow shifting into 3rd. Not a big deal for now!

The exhaust is a lot better sounding than what was on there. I actually think it is still a little too loud. But it doesn't drone at all while cruising and is actually very tame when not accelerating.

Little miss wanted to play in the car, so I put the car seat in the back and took her around the neighborhood. Just some back roads and she had a blast with the windows down. The wife even liked the drive.

 
#8 ·
tommy said:
Awesome pickup, especially for the price you got. :)b

That rim on the steering wheel creeps me out, though - is it as greenish as on the pic? Reminds me of what happens to the stock ebrake handle. I'd have to wear gloves. :D
The color is definitely a mixture of the crappy lighting in my garage and the flash :)b
It isn't green in person at all. I usually opt for a $5 steering wheel leather wrap though, just because I like to keep the integrity of my steering wheel in tact. I'll probably do the same here.
 
#10 ·
vanrij said:
The new exhaust looks gooood. I'd add some OEM finishers if you can find them.
:)b Totally. I found some OEM-esq. They are 1.75" tips, so I went with them. Should look good and they were cheap. This car is definitely on a budget and it is approaching it's fund limit.
 
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