Bagged B18 '88 DX Coupe Build!

[Hash_man_Se_i]

And then, as you can tell, I started work on my other DOHC fender trim! The first one came out preeeetty good, it might catch a bit more time with sandpaper, but I’m pretty pleased so far! I had a lot more success with the second one, so I might build one more left side one, just to be safe!
Attachment 9864

Great progress as always, any chance you want to make another set of these fender trims? such a great little detail.

[B0CKS]

Great progress as always, any chance you want to make another set of these fender trims? such a great little detail.

Thanks man, I'm pretty geeked with how they're turning out! You'll have to forgive me, but I'm probably going to pass for this favor, the parts are plenty available- any DA integra has the pair you need, and all you'll need is a dremel and an exacto, it's not tough!

[B0CKS]

Alright, I know I suck at keeping this thread on track, but I’m like an adult, I want to make my own bad decisions. I’ll keep it brief, I know 3D printing has been a more common theme in this build, and I wanted to show off a little bit of work I’ve been taking care of on the side! I made that post a few back about modelling a coupe, well I finished up a Hatch and Aerodeck off the coupe base, and might spend tonight making a sedan! And so since the community seemed to be pretty excited about this, I printed off like fortyyyyyyy-six(?) 1/64 (hotwheels!) sized cars altogether and got them ready to ship! Each one has four stok skinny wheels, and then four wider, shorter wheels for laying some frame! I also threw a little addition of a lip into each kit just for fun! It won’t be a massive amount of income or anything, but should make some people happy!

[B0CKS]

More simple updates! Really waiting on word from a machine shop to know what the next steps for my block are going to be, so while I’m waiting, just keeping up on ticking away at the usual suspects. Got the other side of the DOHC trim leveled out, and close to ready for its first coat of primer, I scanned it in, and built it out DOHC in illustrator, so now I’m good to make a vinyl mask to use so I can shoot the text dark red! I’m excited! Then, the Subaru XT6 headrest centers needed to be sectioned down the center to fit between the skinnier Prelude/Integra headrest pegs, so they’re cut, reinforced with a bit of metal, and waiting their turn to get blacked out! Gonna look so sharp! Then, also in the swamp of detail work that plagues this build, If you look closely in the image below, you can see a door handle bezel, and to the right of that, the current iteration of my tweeter housing! It’ll mount in the empty trapezoid in front of the door handle, I plan on taking OEM speaker grilles and cloth and wrapping the face of them to really give them that OEM look. Gotta make a new iteration of some of the surfaces, then it should come together pretty nice! But this image sums up most of my weekend!

Lil’ Detail!

Then, also did some packaging with the Integra bumper and found some pretty positive news! The Accord bash bar (Bumper core? Center Pretzel?) under the bumper fits very nicely and snug inside the Integra cover. There’s a crucial upper bracket that keeps the Integra upper nice, flat and rigid, and it turns out I can probably have it make a hybrid Accord to Integra support with a couple laser-cut brackets, and make it a nice, factory look! Just gotta be really precise in how this ends up placing the bumper, as I know panel gap can easily kill this project dead!

Then here’s a side view of the sectioned wing, it’s a loose alignment, but you can see that it’s fairly close!

But yeah, more of the same, once the block is back, I’ll be able to start hammering onto bigger things! Till next time!

[B0CKS]

Score! There’s a new Accord on the lot at one my local junkyards, a 1987 LX sedan, and while I’m mostly set for parts for my build, it’s always good to go out!


Because you never quite know what you’ll find, for example, this car had an armrest, but like most of them, the top is blown off. But hey, now I have two, and I bought that lower, a speaker grille, and two bumper side attachment plastic brackets for five bucks. Score!

[Fixedit]

Talk about score! Armrest anything is hard to find! Looking sweet with that integra bumper cover too, great progress!

[B0CKS]

Talk about score! Armrest anything is hard to find! Looking sweet with that integra bumper cover too, great progress!

Thanks! Just making my million little baby steps, and I'm really geeked about the bumper, I hope I can make it all work! But yeah man, one man's trash! Always geeked for the junkyard scores!

[B0CKS]

Carcaine is real. Like the last post, I own duplicates of things! But I just realized I owned five hoods. FIVE. I mean, I can explain, but sheesh. This isn’t really a “build thread update”, but oh well.

This is the hood from my Accord when I first got it- the one that was on the car when I found a tree. It’s got a bend in it, and after realizing I don’t need it, it’ll be going out for scrap this weekend, so see you, space cowboy.

Then these two are for my actual Project! The grey hood in primer was one I cleaned to laser straight for the main build, and after realizing the Carbon Fiber hood is pretty well pitted and in need of serious repair (and pretty heavy…) I’ll probably be going back to the painted one.

Then, there’s this hood- when my spare coupe wasn’t in my care, the hood got dinged hard, and needed replacement, so this was the volunteer. Unfortunately at this point, the “B-Cord” apparently has low compression, and to me it’s worth more in parts than running and driving, so it’ll be torn down, which is a sad end to a car that’s been through so much!

Then finally, another hood, currently on the B-cord, which is also destined to be chucked with its new wrinkles.

Spring cleaning isn’t fun! I've also got three A20s that need to be torn down and scrapped too- but that's for another day! Happy valentines I guess?

[Dr_Snooz]

Those bumpers are tricky to get all lined up nice. I did my best with my aftermarket, but it's not quite right, and about a million washers and shims and such. Good luck with yours. I'm sure it will turn out nicer than mine did.

[B0CKS]

Those bumpers are tricky to get all lined up nice. I did my best with my aftermarket, but it's not quite right, and about a million washers and shims and such. Good luck with yours. I'm sure it will turn out nicer than mine did.

Hahaha, now don't go expecting things from me! And yeah, I'm pretty positive this is going to be a bear! But wait, aftermarket bumper? When was this!

[B0CKS]

It’s already been another weekend? Jeez! I only got about an hour in on barn time, gonna have to up my game!

So, still hammering out the little things, always got six things going at once! The Headrest Accordion joints are firmly held together, and the seam is filled, next step for them is paint then they’re DONE. Next I pulled a couple of parts for the bumper corners, seeing if I need to convert it to Accord clips. I’m not quite positive yet, but I do like how well the seem to be intent on fitting! There’s even a tab for them to clip into, or at least a variant of this corner probably works, so we’ll see!

Then, the prototyping corner of things is nice and fun, the nerd in me is having a blast! The tweeter housing needs a mesh grille to cover it, and since we’re going for OEM, why not use OEM parts? I picked up a spare grille, cut it up, and then made a male & female mold and pressed it!

It actually stamped out very nicely, I’m unfortunately going to have to print another (better!) version of this mold since I got an offset backwards, and so this grille is a little too big!

So then I trimmed out the tabs I wanted, and gave it a fit! It’s too large, BUT, I really like the way it looks! Very much like a real part! I’m going to wrap it in the OEM fabric, but don’t get me wrong, I really like the way the just metal face looks, that radius makes all the difference!

And so up after that, I was playing with DOHC trim again, I’m hoping to vinyl cut some paint masks for the trim to paint it, but was curious if I could just use the cut out text instead of paint. It’s unfortunately not quite what I’m looking for, but I couldn’t help but see what it looked like. Just opening Christmas presents the night before! Freaking love seeing words on cars.

And speaking of gifts, I got word from the machine shop!! The Type R block has been fully shot blasted (so geeked to see that block clean!) and the crank looks good, just needed a slight polish (probably from that burnt bearing) and then we’re most likely going with ARP Piston studs and ACL bearings. The current cost thus far is a little more than 1500 bucks (I’ve got around 3k budgeted for this, so we’re actually doing great price wise!) but came with an little bummer. Somehow I missed it, but one of the pistons has a good crack in it. Thus, going to get four new ones, so slap that price on top of everything else! But it’s okay, I’d much rather pay the literal price now than grenade a motor a few months out. And they’re hoping to get the head soon, and that’ll be very exciting!

As usual, nothing crazy! In other news, my Weber setup is leaving to a new home this evening, kinda' bummed to close out on this chapter! But the money from it will of course be going directely back into this project, so It'll live on. On a surely unrelated note, anyone have a Type R LSD sitting around?

[Dr_Snooz]

But wait, aftermarket bumper? When was this!

Aftermarket as in not OE. The kind the dealer warns you from using because they won't fit right. It's a boring replica part l got on eBay a few years ago when I ran into the back of someone's F-150. 😒

[B0CKS]

Aftermarket as in not OE. The kind the dealer warns you from using because they won't fit right. It's a boring replica part l got on eBay a few years ago when I ran into the back of someone's F-150. 😒

Aaaaah, that's rough. That's no fun, "aftermarket" didn't really sound like your speed for aesthetics, it's a bummer that was a bust. I'm surprised someone even made a replacement for us to be honest.

[B0CKS]

Oh boy oh boy! I shot out the valve cover to Charlie Moua a few weeks ago for powdercoating, and he just shot me some pictures of the finished part! What can I say?? It looks sooooo good! Should be here this Friday, today needs to hurry up!



And just as a reminder, this is the SAME PART.

[Fixedit]

That’s going to look AMAZING sitting in the engine bay

[Dr_Snooz]

That's a nice piece.

[B0CKS]

That's a nice piece.

Fact! Can't believe how nice it looks!

[B0CKS]

That’s going to look AMAZING sitting in the engine bay

Right!? Too killer! With my mapped out timeline, I might be able to make this car a driver by mid-summer! Unreal! I know.

[B0CKS]

Heyo! Got a weekend update!

Picked up a lot of knowledge over the weekend, but not many photos! But I’ll fill you in on all the little things that are happening!
One! Got the valve cover back, and it looks like HEAVEN. It’s so punchy in person, I can’t wait to put an engine under it!

Two, a roll of PETG filament landed on my doorstep, and so while the model itself isn’t news, this is my first successful print with it! If you’re not familiar with PETG, PLA is the bread and butter 3D printer filament, it’s easy to print with and fairly strong, but not really UV resistant, and will break down and debond if outdoors for too long. ABS is the ultimate opposite, it’s literally what Lego is made out of, and we all count that for invincible, unfortunately it’s a pest to print with, as it loves to warp, and is generally a pain. Enter PETG, not invincible, but far more happy to be printed! Still got a lot to learn, I’ve already made four failed prints with it, but we’re learning!

Three! While I don’t have any pictures of it, I tore down my GSR transmission, aswell as what I learned to be a Y1 transmission to see how interchangeable the guts are, and they’re not! BUT! I have a good lead for on a YS1 Transmission that I’m hoping to pick up Friday, and I also bought an Integra Type R LSD from Japan , so that exciting purchase is checked off! So by next week I should finally have all the ingredients I need to build my ultimate transmission! YS1 Cable Trans case (bolts up to the Innovative mounts!), GSR Short Internals(So we can handle that ITR power!), with an LS Trans 5th Gear (for lower RPMs while highway cruising!), and finally an ITR LSD, because of course, not sure how I got this deep into the mud on transmissions, but I’m honestly pretty excited to see what this horrifying Frankenstein transmission does once it’s on the road!

Four, in detail work land, it’s time for paint! Painted three of four Accordions, both the joiners, and sprayed one of the DOHC pieces, but forgot to take pictures. Ope.

Then, just to wrap things up, I made a *correct* stamping piece for the grille, but then we cooked up the concept of integrating both the door handle and the tweeter housing into one cohesive part, which would really, really, give it an OEM look- so that project is gonna be a bigger bear than I expected, but the result should be really, really sharp!

That’s most of it! Also sold an armrest, shipped out eight more model Accords, just having a good time!

[Dr_Snooz]

[B0CKS]

[B0CKS]

Alright! Nearly missed the weekly update, ope! I know that my millions of fans were super nervous! But, got some pretty juicy things to share! It hasn't been a checklist weekend, but I have been acruing parts for when this car finally comes together, and it's been some REALLY nice stuff. I guess we'll start with the most recent junkyard pull! I'm always watching the horizon for a new parts car and whatever bits that might be on them, and scored some goodies with this one! A 1988 DX Sedan, with all the usual rust and misuse these Midwestern cars normally have.

But what's different about this one? the mere 80k on the dash! I pulled the Cluster, those hard to find non-AC DX vents and something that's going to fix a minor pet peeve of mine- the E-brake lever! Those chrome buttons are notorious for getting scuffed up on the slide in, and one with mere minimal wear was a refreshing find! Although I suppose they're often nice on automatics!

But that's just the everyday stuff! How about some REAL goodies! Let's start out with a Genuine JDM LSD I scored last week! Got a pretty solid deal on it just topping the scales a little over 400 bucks. I thought I had a good lead on a YS1 transmission over the weekend too, but it was a dud! So darn, I'll be watching the horizons pretty close for one to surface!


Then, after scouring around, a very kind member shot me a link to something I thought I'd have to wait years to find- a pair of JDM Corner lights! Trying to clean off the interior as much as possible, and these are a great touch if you can find a clean set, which I very fortunately did! They'll be shipping out of Australia fairly soon for a total fee of $150, so I'm geeked! The little details like this absolutely make me buzz. Can't wait for them to get here!



And in other events, I got to drop off the head for the ITR at the machine shop to let them get started on that! More goodness!

[B0CKS]

So, looks like another weekend is wrapped up! Not many pictures for this time around, spent most of Saturday and Sunday on other projects- (we’re building a home-brew powder coating booth, which is coming along great!) But I was able to square up a task I didn’t realize wasn’t a bolt on swap! I moved my factory Accord rails onto my Prelude seats, and holy cow, they’re deceivingly close! At first glance, they should just bolt across the platform, but I ended up having to drill out a few holes, cut off some brackets, and cheat a few attachments, but they’re in place! I also spent some time emptying out the interior of all the various car parts that had washed up in it and gave it a good vacuum- which really helped clear my head!

I also spent a few hours cleaning out the rest of the barn, which felt great! Near fifty degree weather is a beautiful thing here in Michigan. Then, last on the interior list, I also finished up the Amp wiring, as well as finally getting the correct subwoofer hardware to properly hand the subwoofer, which included like 8 nylon lock nuts and common thread pitches! Feels like it might as well be welded to the car, but time always tells! Then, there’s an open debate on air filters, not sure what route I want to go, but there’s basically three choices. 1)Running with an OEM ITR box and making it fit the engine bay, which I like for sake of factory look and it’s not the cliche D15 Civic cone that seems to be slapped onto everything but, we don’t really get any sick performance gains, but also end up with a big thing in the engine bay that I was trying to keep clean. Which brings us to 2) the Cliche Cold Air Intake cone, seems like it’s on literally everything, so I’m not really a fan of it, but I’m content with the idea of cutting down a long arm and keeping it simple and short, for a cleaner engine bay. Again, just not really a fan of how much of an overused look it’s become. 3) Custom hood scoop. If we can’t really run to the side or go with a cone, it makes sense to go on out and make a ram air intake, so it’s not just an everyday part. Catch with this is that this would be yet another time intensive project, and one I don’t think I want to take on. Plus, it kinda messes up the overall cleanliness of the exterior I’ve been so keen on keeping, so that also throws a wrench in it. But, mocked up the front end to look at location of where this (functional!) hood scoop would go and I’m not really too sold on it yet. Dunno, I’d love to something clever and unique, but we’ll see what comes around!

[Dr_Snooz]

I like the idea of a ram air scoop. l was looking in my bay the other day and realizing just how much space all the intake plumbing takes up. I'm not sure what the reasoning was for that. I'm tempted to do something about that.

Yeah, probably not.

[B0CKS]

I like the idea of a ram air scoop. l was looking in my bay the other day and realizing just how much space all the intake plumbing takes up. I'm not sure what the reasoning was for that. I'm tempted to do something about that.

Yeah, probably not.

Hahahahaha, sounds like we're about in the same boat. Those factory intake tubes are quite the distance. It'd be cool, but man- the hours it'd take to make an OEM looking setup? Not sure about it.