Throwing my hatch into the ring... a 2012 challenge build - 1989 Honda Civic

Definitely check the compression again. I bet you pick up at least 15-20 points a cylinder.

Sorry for not updating the thread lately.

I drove the car over to my buddys shop last week and I am planning on getting it aligned hopefully this week. It drove really well other then needing an alignment. Once the alignment is done I am going to paint it.

I am sitting pretty good on the budget at the moment so I may just have it painted at the local Maaco. My friend who has a car lot has a deal worked out with them and he said I can get it painted for $200.00. I have seen some of the work they have done in the past and they do a much better job then I would, also time is becoming an issue and if I have room in the budget why not...

Awesome work so far. I love tasteful builds of these Civics, keep up the great work man!

So I spent the past couple days working on the civic's interior. I know that adding weight is detrimental to performance but that is only part of the overall package and the weight of the carpet and the insulation is minimal.

Here is the battery in its new home.

The interior is pretty spartan and will look pretty rough in the concours...

I cleaned up the wiring in preparation

The car did not come with carpet and thus did not have any of the batting normally found under automotive carpet. Since I am using thin indoor/outdoor carpet all of the vehicles humps and ridges would show up when I was through and this was not the look I was going for. I decided to improvise and went to my local Lowes and purchased a 4x8 piece of styrofoam insulation for roughly $10.00. It is approximatly 1/4 inch thick and weighs literally nothing. My floor now has an R value and will be nice and quiet.

I first made a template out of masking paper and then transfered it to the styrofoam.

I then test fitted it before taping it to the floor with metal A/C tape.

Very cool, and thanks for sharing. I'll move this over to the new build thread section so it doesn't get so lost in the shuffle.

Back floor passenger side..

Drivers side...

Here is the carpet that I am using it was approximatly $18.00 from Lowes for a 6x8 piece. More then enough for the floor of my little civic... (Notice it matches the carpet on the step of my garage, coincedence I think not)

I started with the center tunnel...

I then cut out pieces for the floors that were bigger then they needed to be by about an inch. First the drivers side and then the passengers.

I then cut the pieces for the door sills and glued them down. I got this idea from Per's 2002 build in last month's classic motorsports. I knew that subscription would pay off...

Here it is all trimmed up and ready to mount the seat...

Seat is in and mounted.

From the hatch looking in...

And finally here it is with the dash installed...

Not to shabby for a total investment of $28.00. I used some double sided tape to hold the carpet in place and some left over glue for the sills. I am really happy with how it came out. The carpet is pretty heavy duty stuff to so it should hold up much better then the thin speaker box carpet I have seen people use in the past.

What is the order of the carpet? As in, did you glue down the tunnel and sills then lay the floor section over them? I'm trying to work out which edge is vissible and how that;s retained.

I did the same thing years ago with an old TR7, but found the floor part kept lifting up and I caught my feet on it all the time.

good work on the carpet... amazing how something so simple makes a car look so different...

Thanks guys, It is all about eye apeal and the carpet definetly helps.

As far as the order and the use of glue. I started with the tunnel and used double sided tape and the bolts for the center console. I then glued the door sills and used the bider clips to hold them in place while the glue dried. I finally did the filler pieces and used the tape to hold it down. So far I have not driven it any great distance to see if it pulls up or not. Where it is trimmed it should not interfere with anything and I am going to put a spare floor mat over it while I drive it around.

Haven't updated in awhile. I have been working away trying to get the car ready for the challenge. I "knock on wood" think I have it almost buttoned up.

Here is the rear cargo area that I constructed out of leftover plywood.

Freshening the interior panels, a little paint goes along way...

looks real good... just make sure your battery box is tied down properly... from what I understand the box's clip strap doesn't pass.

It has a real metal tie down inside the box, The strap can barely hold the lid down :)

Nice car. Look forward to seeing it. Couldve been a nightmare with the wiring but you came way out on top.

pimpm3 wrote: It has a real metal tie down inside the box, The strap can barley hold the lid down :)

thumbs up figured that wasn't a real issue with GRMers... but worth mentioning just in case lol

I'm really impressed at how that has come out looks great! When I first saw the plywood I thought that you were going for a wooden flooring look but it came out great.

Thanks for all of the positive comments, I have been very happy with how the car is coming along.

The outside is progressing as well...

I am not the best at body work but it came out OK, except for the hood which I am unhappy with. Oh well.

Somehow these are the only decent pictures I took after getting the car painted.

In the autocross picture you may notice the black trim on the side of the vehicle. When I purchased the car it did not have any trim on its sides. I didn't want to bondo the holes and I didn't want to pay for OEM trim from a junkyard (Most don't want to sell it by itself because it makes the door not complete, and the local u pull it yard did not have it). After pondering the problem for a few days I went to the local Home Depot and discovered that they had a perfect substitute for the bargain price of $3.75.

It is 1 3/4 wide lattice trim, whatever that is. It is made of a PVC plastic material and is easily cut with a small saw.

A little trimming later and some paint.

Right side done...

Left side in progress...

Nice. You just motivated me to get back out to the garage.

Painting the rear bumper...

Engine after timing belt. The valve cover on the engine is now sporting wheels and a new paint job.

Here it is now after a little cleaning and new valve cover...

I am kind of disapointed about not getting the turbo installed. I concentrated on the autocross this year and the concours. I feel that the car should do well in both of those catagories, but the anticipated high 14 in the quarter mile is not going to cut it in that catagory. I think with the turbo the car would be capable of a 12, which coupled with a solid autocross could make it a contender.

Painting the wheels...

Finally finished! I have to load the car on the trailer and pack but as far as I am concerned the civic is ready to go

I have had a great time building the car and I am really happy with how it turned out. We will see if all of my work will pay off on Friday when I hit the autocross course and roll the car through the concours. I am looking forward to this weekend as I am sure everyone else signed up is as well.

See everyone Friday.

Just want to say well done and high five.