Yet another one of those deals that could not be passed up at IPG. We found this 89 Honda Civic Si that would make a perfect Budget Track Day car. The main goal with this car is to prove that it doesn’t take much to go out on a road course and have fun while passing M3’s in a car that cost less than there race tires.
When the car was dropped off at the shop the B16 motor that was in it was apart and had some issue’s so rather than save that motor we decided to part it out to recoup some of the money that was invested in the car. We also just received a B18C1 here at the shop that would make for a perfect swap for the car. Found inside the car was probably one of the nicest interiors we have seen in a long time in an EF. Another nice thing about this car is it has a Autopower Roll bar installed in it already and the car still retains the factory back seats. The outside of this car is not the nicest probably a 7 out of 10, but for what are plans are it doesn’t have to be nice. The suspension on this car is also a very good platform to start with.
After getting the car and putting it up on jack stands we realized it had full body coilover setup on it with ST rear sway bar and all the factory bushings have been replaced with polyurethane bushings. The wheels that came on the car are not exactly what we are looking for so we plan to sell those wheels and tires to purchase a set of TR Motorsports C1 wheels. Now that we started tearing into the car we have pulled out the B16 motor and tranny. After taking the tranny off the motor we also discovered that the seller was honest and it did have a LSD in the tranny. Now that the motor and tranny are out of the car we have decided it is good time to clean the engine bay and new motor that is going into the car. Also at this time we are going to make sure that the wiring harness has everything that is needed for the new motor. After about an hour of cleaning and a borrowed pressure washer we have a nice clean white engine bay and a cleaned up motor.
The next steps for this EF are to take out the Autometer Boost and EGT Gauge that are in the car and keep the oil pressure gauge as well as add a water temperature gauge. Then after that make sure that one of the two clutches we have will fit and bolt the motor and tranny back together and do one more quick final cleaning on them. Also stay tuned for a DIY Volvo front lip in the works and a few more minor changes to the car to get it track day ready. -- Louis Murphy
