I'm in a G2 Again!

GENERAL General G2/G2IC Discussion
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So a few weeks back I posted for the first time in about 9 years to this site. Back in the .mil days, before I moved to North Carolina, I owned a sweet 1990 Integra (DB1 Sedan, GS, black leather, bolt on’s, lowered, etc) and I had been active in Seattle meets and one Florida meet where I got to meet the future Mr. and Mrs. N FUL FX, VI Massive, and several other well-known names from G2IC. My car was sold 9 years ago to pay for my 3rd child (lol).

At the end of January, just casually looking around online, I discovered a car for sale on a small independent dealer site in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a 1990 Integra DB1 LS, one owner purchased brand new January 1990 in Louisville, high miles around 220k, but dealer-serviced her whole life. They were asking $1,995.

Looked to be in decently great shape in the pics, so I started looking further to see if this thing would make a road trip in its current condition. Other than breaking my heart when he said he had thrown out the original Integra floor mats, the dealer was great and worked with me long-distance. It’s Cobra Motors in Louisville if anyone is local there, a great team. Anyway, a crazy adventure occurred yesterday starting at the crack of dawn when a gear-head buddy and I flew from Raleigh to Louisville (by way of Orlando, gg Southwest) to rescue this beauty!

Early flight from RDU, for a connection in Florida. I tried to get a pic of Neil’s old house, but ended up getting this shot of Matanzas Inlet instead, lol.

We got there and started checking the car out. Well used, but mechanically in great shape. The electric seat belts even work! Few rips in the driver’s seat, but overall the inside looks excellent.
Engine bay is filthy, but I have big plans for plenty of TLC.




Paint looks good, and it is obvious that someone replaced the front bumper at some point, but we could not detect any damaged or bent frame on the front end.
The Borbet Type C 14" wheels look a bit out of place on an Integra IMO, and they are a bit small for my taste. Perhaps I can find them a new home soon…

Rear license plate screws were corroded beyond repair, as that plate has been on the car for 25 years, LOL.

We got everything settled, and I was glad to hand over the cash and get on the road!


We had perfect weather down thru Lexington and Knoxville, and I felt like the engine started running better and better as we went. The dealership had just replaced the clutch last week, and it is crisp! Stock suspension was creaky and noisy, but again I hope to be addressing that sooner than later, along with the wheel gap. After 8 hours she was still pulling strong, and we made it back to Greensboro before midnight.



My plans are to slowly fix up and restore what I can, and save for big things like exhaust, suspension, wheels & tires, etc.


Man, It’s good to be back in a 4-door Integra.:hugs:

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nice buy.

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Welcome back to the G2 side of things. Looks like a good base to start from.

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nice

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:dance:

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Welcome back :slight_smile:

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Slowly but surely I’m getting the garage organized and ready to start tearing this baby down and begin the TLC. Cranking the engine and a lap around the neighborhood is about all the driving I do right now- it is what it is. Budget is slow, time is precious, but at least I have a 4-door in the garage to greet me every day! The hardest part is over…

Soon…:burnout:

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Nice find, i use to live in louisville and looked for a db1 forever (still looking actually lol) i ended up flying to philly to pick up a da from boston. Can’t wait to see some updates

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Still has the original hood and core support. A four door 5 speed in that condition is a pretty rare find. Welcome back to the club!

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Props for taking a trip like that.

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:clap:

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Matanzas is almost my area. It’s great to see people traveling and taking a plane ride just to get the perfect car for them. Props to you. Hope it means more to you the second time around.

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Welcome back to the G2 fam

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Thanks guys, it is great to be back and active in this community again. I am realizing I never lost the “bug” for 2d gen Integras, even though I had moved on to other vehicles. Although I am on a “family man” budget this time around, it is still a very satisfying feeling to look ahead at restoring and customizing this car, to make it truly mine.

So tonight I made my first “big” purchase… some gunmetal Rota GT3’s w/ polished lip! Found them locally on craigslist for around $400 with (crappy) tires and a set of custom lugs included. Was nice to get a decent set at a savings.The wheels are in really good shape, except for one dented inside edge which I might need to address. Previous owner claims not to have even noticed the dent, as they were mounted on their car until last week and no vibration, etc. We’ll see…
I think 16’s will be excellent with the modest drop I have planned. These are the wheels I have always envisioned on the car, and they have a certain history in the Honda scene which I appreciate. Next up will be the quest for tires and suspension.


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Nice find! I have been beating my head in trying to find a parts db, they’re rare birds.

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Happy Independence Day, G2IC members in the USA!
So… I am doing these thread updates for myself as a history of the car as much as anything; feel free to ignore if you get bored, LOL.

Had some time this afternoon, so decided to get started on things with the 4-door. What better way to start than a nice thorough wash and some official “Before” pics!

This Garage Queen has been losing charge over the last couple months, so I’ve been having to jump start…probably a different story if it was my DD. Decided to pull the battery completely today after a good 30 minutes of running charge. If there is some type of phantom load, I see a Multimeter in my future!

Nasty. This engine bay is unacceptable, but I have plans to address it.
/

The #1 cosmetic issue I have been itching to “fix” since I first saw the car (other than the f*king body rust spots and 4x4 wheel gap) was to remove the possibly OEM navy blue pin-striping. Found this amazing 3M Stripe Off wheel on Amazon for about $30 bucks cheaper than my local NAPA store, and it is a champ. Started on the trunk lid…

Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound is ridiculous, by the way. Took the oxidation right off, where from more than 6" inches away you can not even tell there were stripes!

Small start, but I am underway!! Parts are coming slowly as I have cash available, and can find the right arrangements. Excited to have begun this process.

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Slow progress, and minor update. I have done the prep work to fix my passenger side cowl leak, to include snapping the obligatory piece off the side of the cowl. Sad face. Decided to “Haggard Garage” it with JB Weld and an aluminum splint… should hold if all goes well.


Also made this reference pic, which should come in handy.

Have decided to re-surface and restore the lenses of my new JDM 1-pieces after I install them, for a nice and secure base to work from. Got them for a fair price from a member on here, but they need a good wet sand and reclear. He did include HID’s so that’s nice. This should be an adventure to figure out wtf these harnesses mean, what goes where, etc. but I am taking my time with everything and studying my Teg Tips.

So today I didn’t get them installed but I did drop the front bumper and started prep. Also deleted the intake resonator while I was at it.

Also some “weight reduction” lol, but it turned a bit morbid when I found a tiny corpse inside the grill debris(!). Poor unlucky bird, all the way from Kentucky.

Looking forward to getting these headlights in and working, as well as fully restoring the lenses. All part of the progress…

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After a significant amount of research on this forum and other places, i pulled the trigger on some Tein Street Basis coilovers from Autoplicity. Fully aware that it’s not a Koni/GC box, in case someone wants to point that out ;). I’m betting on this being an affordable and reasonable alternative; looks like I will have some winter garage time in my future.:cool:

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Keep up the good work.

I’ve had my Integra for almost two years and have put 31 miles on it. Taking it slow, and finishing with a complete interior, caged and track prepped car.

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clean db man