I hooked power to the old cluster, and this updated one at the same time… no question it looks massively better… But super bright. The potentiometer is definitely needed or it will blow your eyes out at night.
I will see if I can get a decent picture of the two on straight 12V power. Stock looks sooo dim and dingy.
I should specify… the is TopGear-UK we’re talking about!
My main word of caution for anyone intending to do this is be super careful of the clear plastic window on the fuel gauge. If it gets scuffed it will look pretty bad.
So, I polished up the cover for the cluster and got it nice and clean again. We have a small 3" pneumatic detail buffer that made it super easy.
Also, got a temporary registration permit so I can make it to the meet… Decided to put a dent in the list of things to do.
The carpet was nasty, of course. I’ve never spilled a drink in this one, yet clearly someone has!
Carpet and all seats/panels removed. The floor wasn’t all that bad. Around the e-brake was gross though. I gave it all a quick wipedown and decided to run the RCA/remote/Power cables for the system I’ll eventually have. Sadly, when running the wires under the firewall insulator, it was saturated… With coolant. Apparently my heater core is shot. Which explains why I do consume coolant, and why I still smell faint coolant. Fml. The plan now is to drive it as little as possible.
I’ve never really gotten clear confirmation of what stock accomodations there are for the arm rest… well this can serve for a solid answer as far as '92-93 coupes go. Under the carpet there was a 10mm bolt on each side, for the front holes. In the rear there are spot welds, but also a dimple that identifies where you need to drill.
I didn’t take any pictures of the underside, but it’s tight-quarters unless you drop the exhaust. You’re dealing with not only the piping, but the heatshield as well. There was not enough room for my fat fingers to put the nut on… I had to put the nut in an open-end wrench and get it started. Then I could reach up with a finger and spin it on. Being that there isn’t a ton of torque needed for these, I put some tape on the inside of the car, to hold the bolt head in place. And tightened from underneath.
I decided to put the red-stitched ITR shift boot on since I had the console out. Not bad… I need to clean the stock one up because the all black is a nice look too. You do have to swap the frame because DA and DC shift boots aren’t the same.
All back together… well, kinda. The dash is still tore apart because of the cluster and all. It’s so nice to have an arm rest now. FTW!
I finished up a few things today. Door sills, with new hardware. Finished fully installing the interior panels. Diagnosed and fixed an exhaust rattle. Installed the two smaller splash shields.
I made sure that everything I installed had every screw and bolt to secure it down. I was getting a ton of interior rattles… come to find out when I pulled the cluster, the dash was held together with maybe half the fasteners. Really hoping to rid the car of miscellaneous rattles and vibrations.
NAPA part number, for anyone interested.
These fasteners are the biggest whore in the world. Such a major pain in the ass. This was the best method I could think of.
I did take a drive as well because I wanted to see how the temperature and idle acted after doing a lengthy (60mi) drive. Temp stayed solid, idle wasn’t too bad, but something needs sorted out.
Nice updates! You’re banging through that to do list! I personally used self tapping screws to mount the armrest in my db1 because I didn’t want to deal with dropping the exhaust or trying to be inside and under the car at the same time. I’m lazy though.
[QUOTE=rollinmyda;2313321]Nice updates! You’re banging through that to do list! I personally used self tapping screws to mount the armrest in my db1 because I didn’t want to deal with dropping the exhaust or trying to be inside and under the car at the same time. I’m lazy though.
Car looks great![/QUOTE]
you shouldn’t have to move the exhaust to mount the armrest, the two hole that aren’t threaded has threaded inserts to pop in.
Nice updates sean, i like how the cLuster turned out
Having the front pre-drilled and threaded was nice. Having to jack the car way up and get undetneath it for the rears sucked. But, it is solid now and so nice to have.
Looked at prices for a new heater core…
OEM has a list price of $450, but $380 from online vendors.
Keystone has one for $190
AutoZone is $80-160
Add it to the list of stuff to replace!
Speaking of, not sure if anyone remembers… emblems. Mine were all old and pitted. Last year I bought the discontinued the rear “Integra” badge. The other three were still available. Since then, the only availability goes:
Front A May Have Been Discontinued
Rear A Available
Rear INTEGRA badge Discontinued
Rear ACURA badge Discontinued
That being said, on eBay right now there is a seller that has 10 brand new “ACURA” badges. I scooped one up! If anyone needs a new one, I suggest looking now on eBay. Since it’s discontinued you’ll likely never get another chance. New badges look so minty!
So… I got jerked around on the eBay listing, in a way. The day after using the BuyItNow function, I received an email about my PayPal transaction being refunded. Sure enough, the seller refunded me my purchase price. I sent them a message asking what was up, no response. Gah… I really really wanted that, considering it’s discontinued. I may try to get a '94+ ACURA badge and see if the fitment is the same. It looks so bad compared to the new emblems…
Anywho, this past weekend was the yearly spring meet. It was nice to attend… had a bit of interest in our work, got to see some good friends and best of all, got to drive my car. As small an upgrade as an armrest is, DAMN do I love it. Makes it so much more comfortable imo.
Getting to see the other cars definitely reaffirms my belief that I need new wheels. The fitment is killing me, and I don’t want to run crazy camber. Meh.
Anywho… here are some random photos. You can look up Import Spring ShowOff on FaceBook and see more.
What’s wrong with your wheel fitment? For optimum looks I think you should just lower the car more, your car is perfect height for the street. If you want to take pics just lower it a bit for the photoshoot then raise it back up for driving. How much camber do you have now? I’m a big fan of running a bit of camber even on a street car, its a performance benefit and as long as it’s not too much it won’t shred your tires. Your tires will be old and hard before the camber wear is an issue.
With the wheels being x8, they are a lot more wide than I really imagined. At this height I already rub in harsh/aggressive bends. It would be pointless to roll/pull the fenders to fit wheels that I don’t care for. A nice set of x7s is in my future!
As far as the ride height, these coilovers are shot. Since I’m rubbing presently, lowering it is out of the question.
Camber I ‘believe’ is -1 all around. Indeed I could go more (-2 or -3) but more than that and I begin to dislike the look. The last time I had an alignment my buddy told me I needed a new rear camber kit, and that my coilovers were “frozen”. Said that the nuts were beginning to strip in the 1/2 turn he managed.
With WD40/PB Blaster and a wire brush I could get them in adjustable-condition, but with moving in the next month or two, I simply don’t have the time. Hoping to be able to replace the entry-level Skunk2 units with some proper Koni Yellow/GCs.
My front Skunk2 camber kit is brand new, and I have a rear set ready for install as well. Once I get settled and have good cashflow coming in, the suspension is getting revamped entirely.
