After a month of searching for the perfect gen2 integra to be my first car I finally found one last week! (I had to wait a week before I could post :() I’m really excited as the car is in awesome condition and it runs great. It’s a 1992 Acura Integra LS 2dr auto. I tried hard to find a manual but I just had no luck. For $1200, it was a great purchase.
I know absolutely nothing about cars so this will be a learning process. Right now, I just want to get the radio fixed. It always resets whenever the car is turned off.
Anyone have any suggestions for sites or books I can read so I can start learning about all the parts and how to maintain a car?
MY TO DO LIST (Which I have no idea how to start/learn what to do except for the sticker…):
Remove NISSAN sticker right beside where it says ACURA….
Fix radio/install new radio deck
new speakers/subwoofers (audio doesn’t sound all that great inside)
Try to find nicer rims
body needs a bit of work
that’s all I can think of for now. I don’t really know what else to do. My budget is really really tight so whatever I need to get will probably take a long time! But it should be worth it. I hope this car lasts me a while.
Anyone have any other suggestions as to what I can do with the car?
Heres a quick picture I took after I washed it the day after I got it
Will have a photoshoot soon! Stay tuned for some better pictures.
Also, what does DA DB and all those 2 letter abbreviations stand for? Sorry for all the noob questions :(.
^^ yea some side pics would be nice. But looks great from the front :D. If you need help then ask and we shall help :D. One thing I would like to warn you though is don’t believe everything you read. Make sure it’s correct before you follow it. But I’m sure everyone here will try there best to help you. Keep us updated!
Congrats on the first car. I miss my first car somedays. DA is the chassis code for a 3 door Integra 1990-93. DB1 is the code for a 4 door. DB2 is the code for a 92-93 GSR VTEC. So when someone says " I put new wheels on my DB1." They are using the code to save time instead of saying “I put new wheels on my four door Integra.” Good luck with the project.
Hey, I have new wheels for my DB1! Good luck with the car. How big are you going with the sub? If your just looking for something that’s not overpowering and blends well with music, I would probably stick to the 10"-12" range with maybe a 500 watt amp, maybe bigger so it doesn’t strain. Whatever you do have fun and just build it how you like it. No sense in falling in line with the rest of these “Nothing But OEM” guys here :giggle: . Just kidding!
I updated the first post with a side picture I took before heading to school.
Do you guys think the radio fix is an easy one? I have no knowledge with the wiring and stuff and I’m hoping its just a cable in the back that wasn’t plugged in.
No, I haven’t had a wheel alignment yet. I should look into doing one soon though right?
What am I looking for when I look at the fuse? Also the fuse box is close to the battery right? I really know nothing about cars! I’m googling about what the fuse box is. I’m assuming its the same as a house hold one right?
Quick update:
I’ve been way too busy with school right now with midterms and everything I haven’t done anything to the car yet. I’m gonna get an oil change in the coming week and then I’ll need to find a place to check for the wheel alignment.
How easy is it to lower the car? I want to lower the back a bit so it’s flat instead of being slightly higher than the front.
Also, wheres a good place to learn about cars in general? Should I try to get into a course or a program? I never had the chance or the option to do it in high school.
post 14 has your stereo fix.
and yes, get into a program if you’re interested in this.
if you’re interested now, the more you learn, the more interested you will become.
cars are amazing machines. learning and knowing how they work is fulfilling, and yes, actually fun!
pick up a decent manual for your car. the haynes manuals are vague but basic enough to get you started on the right track. read through it. it is your bible.
a good place to start learning a bit of hands on after you’ve done some reading is your local auto wrecker. go pull some parts for your car, try not break anything, and basically just pay attention to the configurations of things. it’ll start to come together and that’s a beautiful thing.
DA’s are great first cars. i mean, look what you got for 1200$. 4 wheel disc brakes, power steering, a rigid yet comfortable independent suspension, i assume power windows and sunroof, a very well engineered dual cam engine. all wrapped up in a flawlessly designed body and interior.
not to mention a great website chalked full of knowledgeable folks and information dedicated to these wonderful cars.
anyways, off my tangent, don’t worry too much about appearance. i see, like most of us, you don’t have money growing on a tree in your backyard. cars cost money to maintain and keep healthy. that should take priority.
if you have interest, that’s all that matters. all the knowledge is out there waiting to be taken. doesn’t even cost anything. just time.
so welcome, i guess. and don’t worry about that transmission. we’ll deal with that at a later date :rockon:
I found the manual for the car and I’m gonna start reading that. I might take up an auto course during the summer at BCIT or something like that. I’m actually too scared to take any pieces out of the car. I might mess up the car real bad! But once I start reading the manual it shouldn’t be too hard I guess.
Still haven’t had time to take it out to an empty lot to shoot some pics. Schools almost over though and its spring! Great weather for some photoshoots. Although I’ve never actually used a car as a model before :$.
thats what welfare was saying about going to the wrecker, find a DA in a salvage yard and just start pulling shit off of it. once you learn how to remove it properly, youll almost always do it right the next times.
i was INCREDIBLY intimidated with swapping motors in my car, so i bought a non running, wrecked DA for parts and practice.
ive swapped my DAs motor twice since ive owned it. once to get it back on the road with the spare tired motor from the wrecked parts car while i rebuilt the original one, and then when i put the OEM one back.
once i pulled and replaced the first motor, paying close attention to the shop manual, i put the whole thing back together from memory (labels helped). when i got the original motor repaired i only referenced the shop manual for bolt torque specs and bolt patterns. im sure if i were to do it again it would be cakewalk. i can walk through all the steps in my head as i type this.
a practice car is a good idea. even if its at a salvage yard and you dont actually buy it, just getting the hang of what parts go where and how they go there is invaluable.
Good luck with the car. How big are you going with the sub? If your just looking for something that’s not overpowering and blends well with music, I would probably stick to the 10"-12" range with maybe a 500 watt amp, maybe bigger so it doesn’t strain. Whatever you do have fun and just build it how you like it. No sense in falling in line with the rest of these “Nothing But OEM” guys here :giggle: . Just kidding!
I really know nothing about cars! I’m googling about what the fuse box is. I’m assuming its the same as a house hold one right?
I haven’t done anything to the car yet. I’m gonna get an oil change in the coming week and then I’ll need to find a place to check for the wheel alignment.