Sora-My '87 LX-i Hatch

[allhailmj23]

Well, I'm bored on this Thursday night, so I thought it's about time I posted my baby here. I have a little story to tell.

This car was bought brand new by my grandfather back in April 1987. Well, I wasn't born until 1993, but this car has been a part of my life ever since I could remember. My grandparents took care of me most of the time when I was young, so that included a lot of time in this car cruising around SF. To me it was just another car, but it eventually ended up in the hands of my dad because my uncle bought my aging grandfather an automatic Civic in 2006. My dad would drive this occassionally, but he stopped after he experienced some weird instant stalling when the car was already moving. Because of this, the car spent pretty much 4 years sitting in my driveway. But I kept it alive by starting it up everyweek. My uncle tried hard to get this car out of my driveway into the junkyard, but I really wanted to keep it for the nostalgic factor. Then came 2010, I got my permit and urged my dad to let me drive it. I was already loving the car, from the sweet shifter and clutch takeup, to the direct feeling of the steering. But at this point, the car was looking really, REALLY bad.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7066/6820158700_d753f0debe.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820158700/)
07242010121 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820158700/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7190/6820158730_ee11854772.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820158730/)
07262010126 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820158730/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6820158754_1c9b3bd008.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820158754/)
07262010127 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820158754/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6966280045_a999acc4b1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966280045/)
07262010130 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966280045/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

All this rust and paint that turns water into a milky liquid is a result of the years spent in the misty fog of SF :( Both my dad and I couldn't see the car like this, so after a trip to Maaco...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6966280181_4d8b335052.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966280181/)
08062010139 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966280181/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6820159030_13e53c9600.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820159030/)
08052010137 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820159030/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

The paint job was actually quite good, but there was so much overspray onto some trim and some of the rust fill ins were crappily done, but hey no rust :o And then I became unhappy running on the stock hubcaps...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6966280447_dbaf3df7e0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966280447/)
09072010012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966280447/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7205/6966280599_03eab9cd72.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966280599/)
09072010016 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966280599/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

Got some Enkeis. I think they complement the body lines pretty well. But it made it more apparent how much the car resembled a freaking monster truck!

[allhailmj23]

Darn image limit! Well...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6820160440_934b5d583a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820160440/)
03032011218 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820160440/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6820161480_e23bfd31a0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820161480/)
05142011352 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820161480/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

Got some H&R's slapped on around Tokico Blues, but I ended up rubbing on my wide wheels, so got the fenders rolled and fixed everything, but some rust was found in the quarter panel area thanks to those darn fender liners :mad1:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6820160776_efa9d87557.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820160776/)
03112011239 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820160776/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr
You can see it here.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6962798797_6fa6a5dd50.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6962798797/)
DSC_0026 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6962798797/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

At this point I was happy with how my car was already, so I just used it as my daily driver to go school. After a few thousand miles, a trip back and forth to Santa Barbara, and some hard driving, the head gasket finally gave up... at 96,000 miles in August 2011. Got the head rebuilt (was in my friend's shop for a month!!!) And the car pretty much got a new life. Much smoother and stronger than it was before. And everything has been good since :D I'll shut up and post more pics.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6814275284_9881d5f8c5.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6814275284/)
DSC_0834 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6814275284/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6820211532_2ba9f5edba.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211532/)
DSC_0793 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211532/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6966332639_ab7d031e7f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966332639/)
DSC_0807 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966332639/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/6820211700_e2517679cb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211700/)
DSC_0810 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211700/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6966333145_2e3a22f8e0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966333145/)
DSC_0873 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966333145/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

[allhailmj23]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6814275788_bf99c4f7e6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6814275788/)
DSC_0878 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6814275788/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7200/6820211792_6e43849d7d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211792/)
DSC_0880 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211792/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/6820211440_90df7d2dc0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211440/)
DSC_0885 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211440/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6820211196_41edfe5443.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211196/)
DSC_0918 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211196/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6962797827_b5f650ec31.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6962797827/)
DSC_0025 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6962797827/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7068/6820220392_48f0226361.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820220392/)
DSC_0109 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820220392/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6820219942_cbf1905ff9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820219942/)
DSC_0072 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820219942/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6966341409_8380eaf6c5.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966341409/)
DSC_0117 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966341409/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr
Love this one haha

[charliekuney]

You got a few exterior lights out. (; Beautiful hatch, though. You should consider getting facelift trim for the front end (corners/eyelids/grill).

[allhailmj23]

You got a few exterior lights out. (; Beautiful hatch, though. You should consider getting facelift trim for the front end (corners/eyelids/grill).

Haha, as far as I know, my corner reflector lights and one of my license plate lights are out. Am I missing any? And thanks man, I will consider that. I'm looking to get some JDM corners.

[charliekuney]

Your hatch would look hot with the blue 1986-1987 corners (same as yours without reflector) since you already have the lights missing. All looks good except I can't tell as far as your brake and reverse lights go - have a friend check for the reverse lights, but your tail lights and brake lights should all work if the "tail lamp" light doesn't come on in your gauge cluster.

Get them wiper arms painted!

[RAZR]

THats a great looking car. What size rims are those? And what model?

[allhailmj23]

Thanks Charlie, brake lights work, reverse lights stop working every now and then. And the wipers are on my to-do list :)


THats a great looking car. What size rims are those? And what model?

Thanks man, they are Enkei GF-1s 16x7, but I'm trying to look for some wheels that are "old school" and more era accurate to the car (ie Enkei 92, Work Equips, etc).

[ghettogeddy]

nice another bay area hatch

[A18A]

car looks awesome just the way it is :thumbup:

[Honda Man]

Dam there's a lot of hatches in the bay now. Your car looks dam good man. Really clean and not to much rust for being in SF. Makes my hatch look like poop. And would you still have those hubs by any chance??

[bullard123]

Nice car man....I would have painted the mouldings white too..Maaco did a pretty nice job painting it. And good selection on the rims:thumbup:

[allhailmj23]

Dam there's a lot of hatches in the bay now. Your car looks dam good man. Really clean and not to much rust for being in SF. Makes my hatch look like poop. And would you still have those hubs by any chance??

Not even bro, your hatch is coming together nicely and would be sick with the whole bosozoku look you're going after. And yes, I have the hubcaps and steel wheels sitting in my garage, but I plan on holding onto them lol


Nice car man....I would have painted the mouldings white too..Maaco did a pretty nice job painting it. And good selection on the rims:thumbup:

Thanks man and I was thinking about doing that, painting the bumpers black like on the DX's, or being risky and painting the bumper mouldings white and painting the part below black like the bumpers this AE86:

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9216/130061203z252b1985toyot.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/189/130061203z252b1985toyot.jpg/)

But I wanted to keep the car looking (mostly) like my grandfather had remembered it, so I stuck with how the car looked.

[obdriver6]

Not a lot of people can say that their accord has stayed in the family. I'm glad you were able to save it from the jy and keep it for yourself. BTW, The hatch look really clean! Keep it up!

[89HatchbackLxi]

Great looking hatch!

Have you replaced/resealed your taillight gaskets since you took those first pics? Looks like there's some condensation happening in there.

[pickupman6]

Very nice! I love white hatches!

[allhailmj23]

Great looking hatch!

Have you replaced/resealed your taillight gaskets since you took those first pics? Looks like there's some condensation happening in there.

Thanks man, and yeah, I removed my tailight housing, drained it out, and flipped over that gasket. I thought it wouldn't work, but its been dry ever since.

[Tdurr]

I love this.
Great work man!

[blknblu]

Beautiful Hatch Clean and Classy!

[MessyHonda]

another clean bay area car

[allhailmj23]

Quick update and study break for me:

My hatch has undergone some subtle changes. All exterior lights are now in proper order. I put on a first gen Integra lip, which that needed cutting at the ends to fit the prefacelift bumper. Got a CR-X ebay steering wheel hub with a white Personal Grinta steering wheel. Lowered the front end a bit by installing Eibach Sportlines to replace the old H&Rs. Installed Jason's front strut bar. And finally, I got a 2.25in custom catback with Buddy Club Pro Spec muffler installed. Some pics of the progress...

Yay, lights!
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/559401_10150702148993030_117111970_n.jpg

Felt a little iffy about putting the lip on using zipties, but after several trips up and down California cruising at 80mph, it hasn't torn off.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/294663_10151038388383030_1848020563_n.jpg

Without the fruity zipties
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/378754_10151038561723030_622974027_n.jpg

Left the horn button off since I can't connect the wire to it. Yes, I know I'm missing one screw - it was misthreaded.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/255475_10151038388118030_722645974_n.jpg

After I put the Eibachs on. I'm even lower than Brian's flared sedan!
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/423739_10151053383583030_2128004792_n.jpg

And finally, my new exhaust. It may look pretty ricey, but it sounds amazing! No rasp, and I even get complements from the V8 guys! On the performance of the exhaust setup, I lost some torque below 2800rpm, but from 3000rpm and up, it pulls much better!
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/253068_10151053383348030_1138529481_n.jpg

The car is definitely not done at this point. I'm planning on making this an SCCA Street Touring car. So on my list of future mods are:
-Hawk HPS brake pads
-Brembo blanks, or Stoptech Sportstop drilled rotors
-Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake Lines
-Suspension Technique, CB7, or Vigor rear sway bar
-Integra Cold Air intake
-MSD coil
-new fuel pump
-And maybe some bolton flares to deal with my quarter panel rust.

I hope to keep this thread better updated, but college is a killer!

[2oodoor]

those hatches always look good in white, esp with a shine... nice car

[Dr_Snooz]

Very nice car. You've kept it very clean and tasteful.

[Legend_master]

Car looks great!

[Edward Ochoa]

what does this mean"so got the fenders rolled and fixed everything" also what size you got on the car???

Darn image limit! Well...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6820160440_934b5d583a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820160440/)
03032011218 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820160440/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6820161480_e23bfd31a0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820161480/)
05142011352 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820161480/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

Got some H&R's slapped on around Tokico Blues, but I ended up rubbing on my wide wheels, so got the fenders rolled and fixed everything, but some rust was found in the quarter panel area thanks to those darn fender liners :mad1:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6820160776_efa9d87557.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820160776/)
03112011239 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820160776/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr
You can see it here.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6962798797_6fa6a5dd50.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6962798797/)
DSC_0026 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6962798797/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

At this point I was happy with how my car was already, so I just used it as my daily driver to go school. After a few thousand miles, a trip back and forth to Santa Barbara, and some hard driving, the head gasket finally gave up... at 96,000 miles in August 2011. Got the head rebuilt (was in my friend's shop for a month!!!) And the car pretty much got a new life. Much smoother and stronger than it was before. And everything has been good since :D I'll shut up and post more pics.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6814275284_9881d5f8c5.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6814275284/)
DSC_0834 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6814275284/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6820211532_2ba9f5edba.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211532/)
DSC_0793 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211532/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6966332639_ab7d031e7f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966332639/)
DSC_0807 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966332639/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/6820211700_e2517679cb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211700/)
DSC_0810 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6820211700/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6966333145_2e3a22f8e0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966333145/)
DSC_0873 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allhailmj23/6966333145/) by allhailmj23 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allhailmj23/), on Flickr

[Fedor B.]

Like it.
Original except on wheels and ride hight. Just how i love it.

[allhailmj23]

what does this mean"so got the fenders rolled and fixed everything" also what size you got on the car???

Along the fender line, there is an extension of metal that sticks out about 2/3". That caused my tire to rub on the outer part of the tread whenever I hit bumps. So to fix this, I got the fenders rolled, which bent that extension of metal upward and created the proper clearance for the wheel to fit. Wheels are 16X7. The guy I got them from said the offset was +45, but I think it might be lower since the wheels line up perfectly with the body. I'll check it when I get the chance.

Also, thanks for the compliments guys!

[Fedor B.]

Maybe these lights in your front bumper?
I think it would look great.
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/2959/img2910sb.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/163/img2910sb.jpg/)

[Edward Ochoa]

http://images.craigslist.org/3Ee3Ia3F25N75Gd5Jecc6a9f606df45ac12ce.jpg i got 215/45/r17s on it any ideas good or bad advice???

Along the fender line, there is an extension of metal that sticks out about 2/3". That caused my tire to rub on the outer part of the tread whenever I hit bumps. So to fix this, I got the fenders rolled, which bent that extension of metal upward and created the proper clearance for the wheel to fit. Wheels are 16X7. The guy I got them from said the offset was +45, but I think it might be lower since the wheels line up perfectly with the body. I'll check it when I get the chance.

Also, thanks for the compliments guys!

[Legend_master]

http://images.craigslist.org/3Ee3Ia3F25N75Gd5Jecc6a9f606df45ac12ce.jpg i got 215/45/r17s on it any ideas good or bad advice???

Get smaller rims, or ones with less offset. You could get flared fenders, or very stuff suspension.

[redneck]

whos blue sedan?

[MessyHonda]

whos blue sedan?

im not sure if he is on here but his name is Brian

[obdriver6]

Hatch is still looking pretty nice, keep it up!

[Civic Accord Honda]

car looks sex!!! love it...stick with 86-87 grille and eyelids, and get 86-87 JDM markers (Y) amber = FTW

[allhailmj23]

http://images.craigslist.org/3Ee3Ia3F25N75Gd5Jecc6a9f606df45ac12ce.jpg i got 215/45/r17s on it any ideas good or bad advice???

It looks like the wheels are poking out a bit. You will rub on bumps and if anybody sits in the back, unless you got a stiff suspension. If you really wanted to keep the wheels, you can try tucking them in with a bit of negative camber, just like most of the "hellaflush" cars nowadays. Regardless, I believe you still would need to roll the fenders.

[allhailmj23]

car looks sex!!! love it...stick with 86-87 grille and eyelids, and get 86-87 JDM markers (Y) amber = FTW

Thanks! I never thought I would see the almighty CAH appreciate my car :D But my plan was to keep the prefacelift bumper but put the facelift grille, eyelids, turn signals, and corners . OR keep the prefacelift grille and eyelids and put the Aerodeck corners. But I really like the turn signals that were posted above by Fedor. What car is that from??

[Edward Ochoa]

what are u talkin bout stiff suspens????what brand, sizing ??? this is my first 3geez
Get smaller rims, or ones with less offset. You could get flared fenders, or very stuff suspension.

[Edward Ochoa]

i dont know about the flushin part dont wanna get too crazy i like the orig look on it im tryin to swap my 17s for 15 or 14s
It looks like the wheels are poking out a bit. You will rub on bumps and if anybody sits in the back, unless you got a stiff suspension. If you really wanted to keep the wheels, you can try tucking them in with a bit of negative camber, just like most of the "hellaflush" cars nowadays. Regardless, I believe you still would need to roll the fenders.

[allhailmj23]

i dont know about the flushin part dont wanna get too crazy i like the orig look on it im tryin to swap my 17s for 15 or 14s

By stiff suspension, I mean KSport coilovers at max height and max stiffness, but I doubt it would ride well at all and they're pretty expensive. I'd just get different wheels, maybe 15x7 with an offset near +40. No wheels are worth having to shell out great heaps of cash to put them on correctly, unless you're really into the whole stance game.

[allhailmj23]

5833

5834

I guess you can say a lot has changed since my last post :cool: