Opportunity on a Donor Vehicle

[Dr_Snooz]

Sooooooo... my brother is selling his Type-S RSX. It's pristine, not hammered to hell like most Type-S' out there. I mean, like pristine. He could park it on a dealer's lot and you wouldn't know it wasn't for sale. It's super-clean and drives like new. It's the sort of car I won't find again.

As I've mentioned before, my plan for the Red Car is to do a K20 swap. Because I'm in California, I need to swap over so much that I have to buy a fully working donor car. I can't just buy a JDM long block and wing it. Because my brother's car is so nice, I can swap over a lot of other stuff too, like brakes, seats and anything else I can make fit. It's the perfect donor car. Honestly, I'll feel bad tearing it apart.

I'd have to finance it, which I don't want to do, but I could swing it.

Good stuff, right? The problem is that I'm watching Biden dynamite the economy, so I'm more than a little concerned about my employment prospects in coming years.

What do you guys think? Should I take a leap of faith on the perfect car or hunker down and see how bad it gets first?

[Oldblueaccord]

Sounds like to good to pass up deal. Known car in the family. Be a good driver too for a while until you buy a new Civic Type R.

[ShiRen]

What year RSX? if its an 05/06 Id recommend pulling the trigger as its an lsd away from being identical to the JDM type R. Sounds like its too nice to be a donor car lol, but I had one and honestly I wouldn't care if they were all parted out, the quality of the chassis is a smear on Hondas name, as is everything else from that era. God I do miss that stock k20 vtec sound... just put an rbc intake manifold on it and listen to the symphony.

Oldblue... I have no intention of k20c1 swapping my beater accord, don't even put that in my mind, even if thats not what you meant, you still put it in my mind. Those kind of thoughts will keep me up at night.

[conozo]

As much as i would like to see this project I cannot recommend financing a project even for a good deal. Sorry, call me a party pooper.

What if you got a cheaper K20 parts car. Did all the work for the engine swap then later down the road if you found a RSX Type S then you could swap the engine and tranny without much work.

[2oodoor]

I have reservations about cutting up a pristine rsx but for sure jump on it

[Oldblueaccord]

Thats kills me that your car still needs to pass smog...is there ever and exemptions? I thought my IH Scout 2 were exempt there now?

[Dr_Snooz]

As much as i would like to see this project I cannot recommend financing a project even for a good deal. Sorry, call me a party pooper.

It's a great point, but I'm being coy. The car will be my daily for a long while first. Seeing that I can't get parts for the A20 anymore, and the trans keeps getting more *interesting*, I can't kid myself that it's a reliable daily driver. My only real option to the RSX is to drop $2k+ on an engine rebuild for my '93 Accord. Money will be spent either way. I'm only choosing whether it's on this RSX, another old Accord in my driveway, or something else entirely.


Thats kills me that your car still needs to pass smog...is there ever and exemptions? I thought my IH Scout 2 were exempt there now?

As with every other shining example of government stupidity and overreach, we can only wait for society to collapse before anything changes.

[Dr_Snooz]

I dropped by a car lot today, just to see what else is out there. Answer: nothing. For the money, the RSX is my best choice by far. The only real choice now is whether to buy the RSX or rebuild the engine in the '93.

[stat1K]

I wouldn't finance anything that you're going to take apart and remove the value of immediately. Like others have said if you can find an RSX that was hit in the back for cheap then maybe. Probably just finance the RSX if you need a car and drive it seems like the best choice. What sector do you work in that you're afraid of your job prospects? I work in commercial building automation and we haven't seen anything slow down, business is only picking up. Granted my field is one that you can call recession proof since everyone in Arizona needs HVAC in their commercial building. But I worked more overtime during COVID than ever before.

[Dr_Snooz]

I'm in IT now, but having lived through the Obama years taught me there's nowhere safe when criminals and rats run the country. We'll all being going to the camps soon enough, so it's moot really.

The car will be my daily driver first, probably until I pay off the loan. Although it would be hilarious to dismantle it and have the lender wonder where it went. I might send them pics of the carcass for a laugh. Repossess this! ROFLMAO!

You know it happens.

The big deal for me is that the car is pristine, 6-speed manual, low miles, showroom perfect. Everything I want and need. If I pass it up, I will never find another equal to it.

It will be a stretch but I'm going for it.

[stat1K]

alright man good luck.

[Oldblueaccord]

I'm in IT now, but having lived through the Obama years taught me there's nowhere safe when criminals and rats run the country. We'll all being going to the camps soon enough, so it's moot really.

The car will be my daily driver first, probably until I pay off the loan. Although it would be hilarious to dismantle it and have the lender wonder where it went. I might send them pics of the carcass for a laugh. Repossess this! ROFLMAO!

You know it happens.

The big deal for me is that the car is pristine, 6-speed manual, low miles, showroom perfect. Everything I want and need. If I pass it up, I will never find another equal to it.

It will be a stretch but I'm going for it.

Holds the phones there buckshot!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhwyACeXp88

[Dr_Snooz]

ROFL! Yeah, CARB would LOOOOVE that! LMAO!

[Oldblueaccord]

Yeah I guess its not CARB approved is it!

its a pretty big motor it seems.

[ShiRen]

Dude the thing is freaking massive and I am scared to pop my hood and look at all the hoses. Its like a late 80s Mazda under there.

Scoots though.

[Dr_Snooz]

Well I made a solid, respectable offer and was rejected. He wants well over high Blue Book for the car. He may get it, but it won't be from me.

[Dr_Snooz]

Now I have to figure out what to do for a daily driver. The 4g is in good shape. It needs rings and has a lot of dents, but is otherwise is good. It would be a great car to learn body work on because I don't really like it. I might start a build thread here for it. Even if it is off topic. Then I can complain about it and not offend any fanatics. The thing really irritates me. Mostly because the troubleshooting sections in the manual are garbage. I'd have better luck diagnosing problems with a divining rod and loose feathers.

[ShiRen]

I'm really curious what this RSX looks like because afik there is no real market for them, they're just a sports car. I sold my for $8k 3 or 4 years ago and that was doing really well, granted it probably had a lot more miles, but mine was still low. Well I hope he gets something decent from it.

[Dr_Snooz]

It's solidly in the KBB Excellent category, more toward the top end. It's had some obvious minor body work, so it's not quite at the top. Here's a random pic he texted me.

https://dsm01pap001files.storage.live.com/y4mmjkqilbZ_fCLflvrYShX0-mi1BPjw3briyaTTEFDAZq--P3CxRYenb-7-P-gS9MFnGemPhbiatNo10NtH6_EWyQFl9C3u1W2Z8f8E810mRNU8 9KmntQZmM-5IMGd1ZEVEAcrUHhl8NobXaxPj7s8jeoPlgiEBgbbJeojMCoMW j4C3dczTY-vcx7-p-n57Yub?width=3000&height=2250&cropmode=none

I'll see if I can get the listing for you.

KBB reports values of $8700 - $11,300 for the miles, but he saw someone asking 13 somewhere and so that's what he wants. Like I said, he might get it, but not from me.

At this point, I'd rather pay off my truck and buy more Bitcoin. If I put a new engine in the Gold Car, I'll be good for a few more years. By that time, I'll probably want to Tesla swap the car anyway.

[ShiRen]

Tbf I have no idea what cars go for out in Cali, wouldn't be surprised if cars sell for $2k higher just because. It doesn't have the A-spec package, so that kind of works against it too, but overall looks super nice.

Now this is the part of the post where I heckle you to invest in Dogecoin. Do it. Imagine the swaps you could have once you're a millionaire.

[stat1K]

meanwhile just up the highway you've got stuff like this, 2002 Acura RSX Clean Tilte & LOW miles - cars & trucks - by owner -... (https://stockton.craigslist.org/cto/d/tracy-2002-acura-rsx-clean-tilte-low/7282372199.html)

[Dr_Snooz]

I know right? His is that clean, a Type-S and a few years newer, but yeah. It's already a stretch for me and if he wants well over top dollar, he'll have to find it somewhere else. Hell, I can buy this for a lot less and they'll probably deal too.

Used 2011 BMW 328i Coupe for sale in FRESNO, CA 93710: Coupe Details - 570821678 - Autotrader (https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=570821678&zip=93720&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D93720%26city%3D Fresno%26incremental%3Dall%26seriesCodeList%3D3_SE RIES%26makeCodeList%3DBMW%26listingTypes%3DUSED%26 sortBy%3DderivedpriceASC%26location%3D%255Bobject% 2BObject%255D%26state%3DCA%26firstRecord%3D0%26mar ketExtension%3Dinclude%26relevanceConfig%3Ddefault %26searchRadius%3D50%26isNewSearch%3Dfalse&listingTypes=USED&numRecords=25&seriesCodeList=3_SERIES&firstRecord=0&makeCodeList=BMW&searchRadius=50&makeCode1=BMW&modelCode1=328I&clickType=listing)

https://images.autotrader.com/borderscaler/800/600/2d363e/hn/c/ee84dbee0cad4170ae81a01c9dafed14.jpg

[Dr_Snooz]

FYI:

Used 2006 Acura RSX Type S Sport Coupe 2D for sale in Fresno, CA 93720: Hatchback Details - 579299792 - Autotrader (https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=579299792&zip=93675&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D93675%26city%3D Squaw%2BValley%26incremental%3Dall%26modelCodeList %3DRSX%26makeCodeList%3DACURA%26listingTypes%3DUSE D%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26location%3D%255Bobject%2B Object%255D%26state%3DCA%26firstRecord%3D0%26marke tExtension%3Dinclude%26relevanceConfig%3Ddefault%2 6searchRadius%3D50%26isNewSearch%3Dfalse&listingTypes=USED&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&modelCodeList=RSX&makeCodeList=ACURA&searchRadius=50&makeCode1=ACURA&modelCode1=RSX&clickType=listing)

[Oldblueaccord]

6 speed with no mods...thats 2 pluses.

[Oldblueaccord]

400 Bad Request (https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-Honda-Civic-Type-R-Fresno-d2568_L2727#listing=294789677)

Even better.

EDIT: link is good goes to cargurus web sight!

[Dr_Snooz]

Those are gonna have to depreciate a lot more to get into my price range. Even then, I'm not sure I'd be able to stuff it all under my low hood.

[Dr_Snooz]

This is just something I think about, but does that motor seem true to what the 3g is? What it was meant to be?

[Oldblueaccord]

Well ill have to sleep on that one.

I just thought buy it drive it smile a little.

[Oldblueaccord]

This is just something I think about, but does that motor seem true to what the 3g is? What it was meant to be?

Not slept yet but reading this on the Camaro forums makes me think I want to go in this direction with my car.

'95 Honda Civic DX hatchback, with a LOT of mods. (K24 engine with a BW EFR7163 turbo, 6 sp manual trans, Hoosier 295-30-15 A7s up front (225-45-15 rear), homemade front splitter with diveplanes, complete flat bottom with rear diffuser and a sizable wing. on low boost it makes 450ish whp; high boost is close to 600 whp. weight with me in it is ~2400 lbs. she moves out pretty well; on low boost I did a 2:01.9 at VIR full course on a very hot day at the UTCC event 2019, and was having serious overheating / pulling timing so was probably 380-400ish whp level. on a decent day with the overheating solved this year I'm looking for a 1:58.x lap, which I'm pretty sure is doable.



OneDrive (https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21ADpWUWMfrCx2dM0&cid=8099505B2A580765&id=8099505B2A580765%215687&parId=8099505B2A580765%214909&o=OneUp) Video of a guy running Virginia international raceway. Stock record with a Camaro ZL1 1LE is about 1:57 to compare I think car and driver lap was 2:00 but there course may be longer.

[Dr_Snooz]

Well ill have to sleep on that one.

I just thought buy it drive it smile a little.

I'm too busy being angry to smile. :mad::mad::mad: Anyway, I got no money for a CTR. Plus, I suspect a CTR would only remind me of all the things I don't like about new cars. I felt positively claustrophobic in that 2019 Civic I test drove. It dwarfs the Red Car, but felt so cramped inside. I'm a skinny dude, but everything was much too close, looming. I couldn't see out of it. It's not a beautiful car. More like a basketball sneaker with wheels. I'm telling you, sell all your auto stocks. Tesla is one battery advancement away from putting them all out of business.

[ShiRen]

Not sure what you didn't like about the 2019 Civic, but if I had to complain at all about my ctr is it still looks like my old Si inside, and yes it is very large. The seats are tight enough the dash feels about right, like strapping in a cockpit, similar to sitting in an fd rx7 or supra. It makes the Accord feel a little unsafe with its thin interior panels and low belt line, but my wifes 2012 Fit is about the same way, the seating position just feels a little more grandma-ish. Visibility in the ctr is fine, I could place it exactly where I wanted when I shot it over the rumble strips in turn 1 when I raced it at Houston MSR (http://www.nthimage.com/layout_images/MSR_Data1.JPG), setting up to full throttle the whole way around turn 2, but the Accord basically spoils you for visibility, don't compare anything to that, its outrageous.

Comparing the ctr to the base model sedan and the Si sedan, its a totally different car from the base model, but they fix a lot of the quality issues from the Si, it feels like a much nicer car, or really the level of nice a Civic should be, minus the sun roof, heated seats, lanewatch, and phone connectivity. Its a strange trade off. I have never spent a lot of time in any trim coupe or hatch, but ik the coupes are reeeaally tight inside, fuck that, though if I sat in one again I would make sure the seat was all the way down because I kid you not the seat height adjustment is probably 10". The stereo was balls in the Si sedan because the subwoofer and rear speakers were mounted in the deck and I think now that I've heard the difference any infinite baffle speaker is going to sound like dog shit to me now.

[Dr_Snooz]

Yeah, it might have been a coupe. They said something about "sport" too. It had an imposing center console that started big and wide and kept on coming till it was almost up to my shoulder. I kept banging my elbow into it when I shifted. The length of legroom was great, but width was non-existent. My knees were fractions of an inch from the dash. They'd be toast in a crash. The belt lines are all much too high so forget about squeezing into a tight parking spot. You can't see enough to avoid hitting the cars next to you. You run over curbs in parking lots because you can't see them. And don't get me started on all the new "you're too stupid to drive this car" naggy tech crap. The doors that lock themselves. The lights you can't turn off. The lane departure jazz, the tire pressure jazz, all the constant reminders of what corporate America really thinks of us. Then there's all the satnav garbage, radios with incomprehensible controls, all the irritating blinky blinky everywhere constantly trying to distract you from the task at hand. And don't forget the bomb in the center of the steering wheel, strategically aimed at your face, just waiting for the opportunity to make your plastic surgeon richer.

See Shiren. Now you got me started!

[Dr_Snooz]

In the hope of redeeming myself somewhat, I did rent a Corolla a few months ago that I didn't hate. It was peppy and responsive. It was sticky in the turns and didn't enrage me with blockheaded human factors engineering. It was a decent car. Seriously. What surprised me most was that it had a CVT that was smooth and refined. Not like driving a blender at all. I have to give Toyota credit for that one. They did well.

[ShiRen]

I typed up a response to you twice and my computer crashed both times before I hit post. Sorry Snooz, but the gods do not allow me to continue this conversation.
*angrily opens reddit for answers*

[Dr_Snooz]

Spooky!