This thread is intended to document the progress I have made with my 90 RS in the three years I have owned it.
I purchased the car from a friend in August 2005.
The styling of the car didn’t really bother me too much. The potato-launcher in the back was another story. I did a few things in the first year like getting rid of the fart cannon and putting a Flowmaster 40 series muffler with stock GS exhaust tips I sourced at the local junkyard. I also painted the moldings black.
I did little things like painting the valve cover and picking up a Greddy header.
Then I made the biggest mistake of my ownership of the car… I rattle canned it. GASP
That was a mistake. Kids listen, just save up and do it right. I was planning on getting it professionally done even before I sprayed it myself. It just caused more headaches when I finally got around to doing the prep work later on, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I then decided to replace the motor. It was still pulling strong but I came into some cash and decided I would opt for a swap. I decided to get one from Hmotorsonline. A decision I have not regretted once.
The paint started to look pretty bad after awhile. Prep work began in the spring. It was difficult to prep the car for paint and daily it at the same time.
I picked up many parts from local DA owners. I picked up the fenders from a fellow member on the forum. I also got a rear valence, side mirrors, stock airbox, and some other misc. goodies from a local G2IC member. I traded a local DA owner my beat-to-shit, uncomfortable, and questionably safe Tenzo seats for a minty set of stock seats. I later got a stock hood from the same guy. I also picked up a set of Brock B2 Supercups from a friend. The hatch came from a wrecked 91 GS.
Not long prior to paint it looked like this. RAT STYLZ!
I was originally planning to paint the car Horizon Grey. It had been my favorite OEM color for a while, but I later decided to go with the stock color since it’s fairly uncommon on the DA chassis and it also matches the engine bay. NH-95M (Blade Silver Metallic).
I wanted the handles to be painted black as they were on the RS models but they forgot. I guess I could do those later on myself.
The car is far from finished. There are still some alignment issues with a few panels that I will look at soon. The car isn’t perfect, but I think that it’s come a long way in the 3 years I’ve owned it.
car is nice, it has progressed alot. was it really that hard for prep due to the rettle can paint? my DA is rattle canned and planning to paint it the stock color when i save the money. but i’m going to replace the whole frontend, doors hatch and rear bumper…
Car looks great man. Its gone through many different changes but looks the way it should now. Any plans on getting a stock lip? Also, did Hmotorsonline send you the complete swap on your B16?
Bacardi-The shift knob was some random one I picked up at Autozone. One of the prior owners decided he would make his own “short-shifter”. This entailed taking a hacksaw to the shift lever. Thus my selection of shift knobs is fairly limited. This will be dealt with soon however.
gelocin-The coke can is just a little something I wanted to do. It’s just wrapped around the wiper motor. Boredom I suppose.
da9leo-Sorry about the bike rack. Haha. If I get into a pinch and need the money I’ll let you know. Thanks again for the RS badge though.
mugen-In regards to the rattle can, it sucked trying to get rid of the overspray when I did it. It was all over the window trim and such, but I was lucky to find a wrecked 91 GS in Columbus, OH which is about a 2 hour drive from where I am. I stripped it of as much as I could including the windshield trim and the hatch which I drove all the way back home on top of my roof! I had to stop by a Lowe’s to get some tow straps first though, but it sure made for an interesting ride back home!
BLKGSR-Yes, I am now looking for a stock lip. I haven’t had any luck finding one locally though. Perhaps I’ll check out the ‘For Sale’ section. Hmotors sent me the engine, trans, ecu and the harness. That was everything that I needed to do the swap aside from getting a new clutch, waterpump, etc. I also got the JDM front bumper from them too. Steve is a great guy and I will continue to do business with him.
Dropped it a bit more, put the 92-93 tails back on, took off the rack, washed it, and took some more pictures. Out of the 100+ I took during the day, these were my favorites.
some guy in the a local forum was selling some brock B2s for $100. i was thinking of buying them but didnt think it would of looked good on a DA. now that i keep looking at yours i’m thinking that i should of. but then they were spray painted black with red lip:(
!!! it looks great now, awesome job on everything. What shift knob is that, it looks like something I’d like.
