Hello everyone! As you may know, I’m a fresh new member of this forum. I’ve been digging around the internet searching for the best forum for Integra enthusiasts. Here I am now at the Generation 2 Integra Club. What better forum would be out there than a community specifically dedicated to my specific generation of Integras? Well, now that I’m finally here, I’d like to give you all some background information of myself. I’m Ali, a 19 year old from Detroit who just recently purchased his first car: a 1991 Acura Integra LS. [IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“custom”,“src”:“http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u499/AlphaRomeo97/DA9%20Front%201_zpsoajoffbg.jpg”}[/IMG2]
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It was only $1,500. It has nearly 240k miles on an all original B18A1 engine and 5 speed manual transmission. Initially I was afraid that my purchase was merely an impulsive decision and a bad idea just because it was unheard of for me for vehicles to have nearly a quarter million miles on them. My friends would all have their jaws drop upon hearing of a vehicle so high mileage (these are people who think only 150k is too much.) However, this car runs like a champ. Of course, it has seen better days though. I’m much more concerned about the body and chassis than the mechanical workings. Recently, I’ve sanded down the vehicle at any apparent rust spots and discovered that it was merely filled with bondo and painted over. I kicked those areas and pieces of rust came flying off. Giving a full inspection of the rear end, I removed the rear bumper and while attempting to remove seized screws, I became frustrated with it and began barbarically tugging at it attempting to break it free. And indeed, it came free. The entire metal reinforcement inside the bumper cover was all rust and completely crumbled.
Now it’s my intention to restore this vehicle. I bought it for a low price but I’ve already known that far more money would go into this vehicle that what it’s worth. I couldn’t care less as I intend to be the final owner of this vehicle. I have faith that it isn’t too late to restore this older JDM icon. If this project goes well, I intend to overhaul the engine and transmission and go completely wild with this car. At the end of the day, this all depends on the body and chassis however. I cannot build upon a broken foundation. I can only hope and pray that this car hasn’t been neglected so badly that it is beyond repair. I don’t want to see this beautiful vehicle in a junk yard being torn apart for parts. Thank you everyone for your time. I surely hope some of you folks could give me some input and guidance as I work on this vehicle.
Here is a list of everything I’ve already done or have thought about doing to the vehicle (depends how far I feel like going I suppose.)
Welcome! I grew up in Iowa, I remember what it’s like struggling to find cars with as little rust as possible. It’s tough with all the salt and shit that gets thrown on the roads there. The first civic coupe that I bought had a hole in the rear quarter that my buddies used to ash their cigarettes out of. Weight reduction :excite:
Looks pretty nice! Good luck with it! This place is an excellent resource, use it often!
Here is a little update on what I’ve been doing with this car. I’d hope this would shed some insight into the true condition of the vehicle. I’ve sanded down all the rust spots I could find on the car. I removed the rear bumper in order to do a thorough inspection for the typical rear quarter panel Honda rot. Turned out the rear bumper support beam was completely compromised due to rust and completely crumbled. Some of what appeared to be minor rust turned out to have had body filler applied and painted over. There is a high probability certain panels will have to be cut out and have new sheet metal welded in or patched with fiberglass bondo. I’ve had people cracking up, talking smack, and telling me this car should be in the junkyard and that I’m stupid and should save all the money that I’m putting into this car for buying a brand new one instead since the days of suped up tuners are apparently over. But I disagree. I love this DA9. It is my first car and I intend to make it worthwhile.
Cool shit man and welcome. I actually so this car on Craigslist a while back. I live about an hour and a half from Detroit out in Lansing. I used to live in port Huron which was roughly an hour away. I’m pretty young like you, I’m 19 and I’ve started a turbo build on my 93 ls.
I know that feeling people just do not have the passion or drive like they should no one is telling someone noooooooo don’t rebuild that Chevelle of course not soon someday these integras will be classic cars then when yours is all restored like one of mine lol you will have that appreciation for wherever it is I am in mn so I only get to drive her about 5-6 months a year less cause of rain and stupid shit my car is not a daily though anyways keep it up and let them hate, the dollar amount is going to add up reguardless but the first start up first time revving and that feeling you get walking up to your ride is irreplaceable can not put a price on it!
Well I’ve just recently gotten myself a new sunroof and rear bumper reinforcement. I’m looking forward to putting these on. The bodywork is also currently in progress of course. We’ve sanded the problematic rust areas down to bare metal and used fiberglass strand body filler and glaze putty to patch them up. The ventilation areas around the sides of the trunk where the bumper would attach to the wheel wells will most likely need to be cut out entirely and have new metal welded in somehow. I’ve seen EricTheCarGuy do some kind of Tiger Hair fix for that area on an Acura Vigor but I’m not trying to do a temporary fix. I’ll try to see if I could bang out the dent on the right fender even though we all know that won’t be a perfect fix. You’d have to take into consideration the natural lines of the car and once that has been compromised then it wouldn’t be perfect again. I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for parts as many OEM ones were obviously discontinued. Anyways I will continue to update as notable improvements are made. It’s kinda painful waiting on biweekly paychecks to blow on the project. But patience is a virtue. I’m kind of beginning to realize how much effort truly goes into restoring vehicles. The more I learn about this vehicle, the more I’m discovering its flaws. I don’t think this car will ever look like those gems you would see in a tuner magazine but I will see what I can do for it regardless. Sometimes I wish I saved up a grand or two more and bought that 3rd gen GSR I saw instead. But I guess part of the fun is wrenching in the garage and building something rather than merely driving something newer and not even changing your own oil or tires even for that matter. Besides… there’s just something about these older cars that makes me feel at ease.
P.S. I had something special going with this girl right before I bought the car. I showed her a picture of the DA9 as I was contemplating on buying it. She was like “NO! EWW! IT’S UGLY!”
lol she wasn’t worth it man. and yes you could be like all the guys I work with who think that shit you buy off the dealership lot and think its better than everything in the world. a guy I work with has a 09 impala that has rust and he wants 10k for it…I was like you know what I could do with 10k? i’m the only one into Hondas or imports at my work for that matter and they joke and kid but at the end of the day none of them would know how to do anything with out the help of the master mechanics at my job. I’ve driven all sorts of vehicles like bmw m3’s, m4’s and 5’s they are nice but the feeling they give me is nothing like my integra. I’ve done everything to my cars by myself and taught myself. it’s a learning curve but don’t get discouraged as there is a light at the end of every dark tunnel trust me man. I’ve been there too many times to count. just keep at it and if you ever need help that’s what we are here for so ask away
Well here’s a little update on the project. As you may know, I’ve been working on the body work and rust removal. It’s getting better gradually. Some things I’ve done was remove the spoiler and visor, put a rubberized undercoating on the rear bumper panel, installed a new sunroof, installed a new interior driver side door handle assembly, tweaked the throttle cable, and installed new brake and clutch pedal covers (they were dangerously worn out.) Also, a couple of friends and I decided to go all out and literally gutted out the interior. And it’s hilarious how the hatch hydraulics that used to fail before now can hold it up just fine after removing the plastic panels and whatnot. The doors are so much lighter now too. Anywho, I’ll keep you folks updated as more progress is made. I’ve got quite a hectic schedule so unfortunately progress is slower than it should be.
The bumper reinforcement I’ve bought from a site called AcuraPartsforLess. It is a discontinued part (71530-SK7-A03) so the price was insane. I pitched out about $270 for a brand new one (including shipping). The sunroof (70200-SK7-0000) I’ve bought off of eBay for around $140 (including shipping). Truth be told, now that I’ve replaced it, I realized that the track assembly for the sunroof is beginning to rust in the corners. I’m beginning to consider whether or not I should eventually scrap the whole sunroof assembly altogether and find one of those sunroof plugs because weight reduction bruh. I really wish I bought a base model instead. That way there would be less amenities I’d have to strip out to my preferences. Either that or just bought a GSR. But what can you do? There’s not a lot of options to choose from here in Michigan. And I’ll never forget the memories I already have with it. Especially the night I drove this car home for the first time right after buying it on St. Patrick’s Day and I was scared shitless (because I haven’t driven a stick in months) for about half an hour all the way back home and turned a corner and nearly plowed myself face first into a firetruck right in front of the cops at an accident scene around the corner from my house LOL.
Ouch on the bumper support cost! I just noticed mine is in pretty rough. I’m hoping I can find a used one outside the rust belt which isn’t in too bad of shape.
So since yesterday, Michigan weather has improved significantly and we’ve actually had a warm sunny day that felt just like summer (instead of it raining and snowing nonstop even in April). Progress has been made on the vehicle. As you can see from the photos, the rust areas in the corners of the trunk pan have been cut out and had sheet metal riveted in. The car’s not pretty but I’m sure it will see at least 300k miles and keep a smile on my face all the while.
