Post YOUR Hatchback here
User avatar
By Gram0401
#361245 Here is my little weekend update...
So Friday I came across a good deal on a auto power street roll bar.

I had to drive 100 miles to pick it up but I don't have a truck so I had to stuff it in the prelude and had to drive home a 100mile. I know this is extremely unsafe but I had to do what I had to do.
Other then picking up the roll bar I worked on more wiring on the car, I made up the wires for the alternator and the start from the firewall bulkhead.

Also picked up a new knock-off Cusco oil catch can for $10 locally.

It came with all the hardware and a length of hose but it's not going to be long enough because of where it's mounted. I plan on having it connected between the pcv valve and the intake manifold.
Here is a picture of the engine bay, all of the wiring under the hood is finished now.

Now I have to finish doing the chassis harness under the dash. I have removed all the unnecessary wires, now I just have to start putting every thing back together, which seems like a lot but it will get there soon enough.
User avatar
By EconoBox
#361246 Looking good! I really like how you brought the autopower roll bar home. :lol:

Just a heads up on that clear sleeved copper 4awg wire (if it's from Napa, Autozone, Advanced, other auto parts store) chances are it's not oxygen free sealed wire(even if it says it). You'll see it start to oxidize and tarnish fairly quickly and the resistance will change. I made the mistake years ago of making grounds for my engine out of that wire and within a few months was having electrical issues. When I check the continuity the resistance of that wiring was through the roof and my car was no longer properly grounding the engine. Just a warning. I've had much better luck with high end audio wiring which is usually sealed very well and the copper has been tinned as well to prevent corrosion. Also its usually much more flexible and easier to work with. Also you can pick up Raychem (Tyco) adhesive weather proof heatshrink, same stuff Rywire and Chasebays use, at Home Depot in the aisle where they keep crimps. They don't sell enough to sleeve a wire harness but the short pieces go great over the crimp terminals for some additional weatherproofing to keep oil and water from getting under the sleeving on the 4awg.
User avatar
By Gram0401
#361280 So here's what's been going on with the car over the last week.
I painted the roll bar machine gray

I finished up my rear strut/ c pillar brace and also painted that machine gray

I removed both doors to finish riveting the door openings that I couldn't get to with the doors in the way. While the doors were off the sanded down the surface rust that was under the door hinges and treated it with rust reformer on both the hinge and chassis. Then added a coat of black paint.

Since I was messing with the doors I wanted to get rid of the key hole on the passenger side, so I ordered a rear door handle for a 4dr civic from advance which was only $15. Only the mounting hole towards the front of the car lined up, so you have to make a small bracket for it as shown below.



But I didn't get to install the handle fully because the latch assembly took a shit on me. When I removed the rod that went to the key lock something became loose inside the mechanism and wouldn't allow the door to unlock from the inside. When I went inside to get a light to see better the wind blew the door shut and it was pretty much down hill from there. I tried to do the trick where you use a pick and pull the little gold pin down to release the lock for at least 3hrs straight. I would get the pick hooked on but something was preventing it from moving down. So I found a video on YouTube where the guy say to drill it out so I gave that a try and i dint have any luck there. So at this point I got my dremel tool with a cut wheel and went to town. I had to destroy the the latch assembly, deconstructing it layer by layer. After about 2 1/2 hours later I had the door open, I hope I never have to do this again.



On the last picture you can see the little gold pin on the white plastic towards the right you have to pull to release the lock. When I got this off there was a broken bit of plastic in there that must have chipped off from some where, that prevented me from unlocking it.

Now the problem I'm having is finding one to replace it with. I looked around on the Internet and only been able to find them for 6th gen civics. I went to a local junkyard and pulled 3 of them. One from a Del sol, one from a 6th gen civic and one from a 5th gen 4dr because these where the only older Hondas they had. But with the luck I've been having with this latch none of them fit 100%. The Delsol rod that goes to the door handle was to shot and the inside lock rod didn't line up. The 2 civic ones didn't work because the way the lock was set up since they come out the top of the door panel.
So I'm hoping tomorrow I have time to go to a few different junkyards, get lucky and find a fifth gen hatch or coupe to get the latch assembly from.
If anyone is selling a passenger side latch assembly from a 2dr non ex I will buy it.
User avatar
By Gram0401
#361338 It's been about 2 weeks since I last updated so here is what's been going on with the car…
I'm still having trouble with the 4dr rear handle on the passenger side. I found a new latch at the junk yard, the door opens fine from the inside and out side. If the door is open the lock on the inside of the door locks and unlocks fine but as soon as you shut the door and lock it, it will no longer unlock. I'm able to unlock it using a pick on the latch it self but I don't want to have to do that every time. I'm at the point where I'm about to give up on the idea, because I can't figure out why it won't unlock from the inside once the door is shut. Other then that I've added a bunch more rivets to the car around the b-pillar and around the rear shock towers. I also did teal_dx's tail light wire harness tuck. (Not pictured)




I've also removed all the sound deadening from the inside of the car. I also started sanding the inside of the car to remove any of the adhesive left from the car and sprayed half the inside machine gray. This is still a work in progress since I can only do this when is warm...

I also made a pair of heel plate in order to have a flat floor and to also try and save the paint from getting to dirty. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to paint these with textured paint or use some skateboard grip tape on them but I'll figure that out before I install them.

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have another update soon…
User avatar
By Gram0401
#397442 So it's been a few weeks since I last updated this tread, I don't feel like I've gotten that much done but I've had a lot of things going on in my personal life. Here is what I've been up to, I went to Honda day on April 9th and picked up some spike hardware for the valve cover and shocks. I also painted the valve cover the same grey as the interior.

I finished painting the whole interior "dark machine grey" and started to reassemble the interior. I installed the rear x brace, the autopower roll bar and also reloomed all the interior harness wires.



I'm in the middle of wiring up the battery box right now (battery in the box is temporary) I'm using 2 gauge wire for the positive and a 100amp breaker. I also picked up an r-fab battery hold down. I plan on picking up a sealed motorcycle battery to use in the battery box that is 350cca and weights 11lbs. I made a platform with a sheet of aluminum and all thread so the battery sits level.


I also put the dash back in. In the picture below you can see where the under hood fuse box now sits where the air bag once was. I also I deleted all the vent tubes in the dash where the heat traveled to the far left and right side of the dash. The heat will now only travel out the the vent next to the hazard switch and the defrost vents at the base of the windshield. I also removed a bunch of plastic inside the dash itself, it is now noticeable lighter.




This is where I am at as of now. I hope to get the rest of the battery wired up asap. I'll posted an updated when I get some more of the car together.