Well, after being on this forum for quite some time now I can FINALLY post a build thread! I joined this forum just after buying my civic with plans of buying an Integra, but at the time I could not afford insurance on one so I had to settle for my civic. I owned it for about 2.5 years. The car was good to me, but I wasn't able to insure it while paying for tuition so I ended up selling it. Since then I have gotten my full license, insurance rates have gone down a considerable amount, I've gotten a few small promotions at work, gotten accepted into the automotive program at school, and I have paid for tuition in full. Things are finally looking up for me. I was working like crazy and putting most of my money away so I started the hunt for a car.
The first teg I looked at was a 2000 LS which was local. It looked immaculate in pictures, but upon seeing it in person it had rust on literally every panel, the rear calipers were seized, the hatch was flooded in a good 2 or 3 inches of water, the passenger door did not open or close (accident I'm guessing?) and the list goes on and on...
After looking at that one I decided to save some more and move up into a higher price range. This leads onto the second one I looked at. This one had a few problems that the owner told me about on the phone. I decided to send him a deposit through Paypal to guarantee the car would still be available by the time I have a chance to go out and look at it , as it was out of town. My dad and I drove up to Toronto (4 hours from where I live), and the car looks fine just like it was described. Upon further inspection we find out it needs more work than what was told to us. We take it on a short test drive and right away the car starts to over heat, and then the axle broke so we had to push it back to the guys house. We decided to pass and get my deposit back. That started a whole issue with the guy not wanting to give it back to me, but lets not get into that.
After the failed test drive my dad and I spent the day searching in Toronto for an Integra to buy, or at least get an idea of what is out there, so that our drive was not to waste. After countless phone calls, Autotrader and Kijiji searches we stop by a dealership to see a trade in they had. At first sight we passed. It had a giant quarter panel dent and hail damage. After even more phone calls and searching we stumble upon an ad for a 1997 Integra that does not say much about the car other than some recent work done to it, a picture off google(of a 98+ no less), and a super old, pixelated picture of a car.
For Sale Ad by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
We went out there and looked at it. When we got there, we were notified that the keys were not at the house. The guy who was home told us that it was his sister's car and she did not plan to sell it, but she got a deal on a new Accord that she could not refuse.The key was with his sister and she was out of town for work. They had a keyless entry remote on them so we opened the doors, hatch and hood. The car was clean. It had just over 196k kilometers (122k miles) on it and tons of maintenance has been done on the car. We said if the car was still available we would make the trip up the following weekend to drive it.
On July 12, 2012, the following Friday, my dad and I took the trip up to Toronto after work. We got there around 9:30 to look over the car. It was starting to get dark quickly, so we took it on a short test drive. Unlike last time, we actually got into third gear and the car didn't over heat and the axle was still intact! It drove really nicely so we went back to their house and worked out a deal. They had extra 17'' wheels and tires to include with the car, so I paid $3000 total for everything. Compared to other cars in the area this one is super clean and priced pretty good, I think. We signed the ownership over to my name, they gave us the key and maintenance records. Everything has been done to this car- timing belt, waterpump, brakes, rear calipers, brake lines, etc. They were the original owners too! Female driven its entire life! I am now the proud (second) owner of a 1997 Integra LS :D
We hung our dealer plate from the hatch and filled the car up with a tank of gas. It was a huge relief to see smaller fill ups again. I've been driving my dads truck for 7 months now and $40 gives me a quarter tank which lasted a whopping 150km at 123.5 a liter (close to $4.70 a gallon). My new teg was $50 to completely fill at 133.3 a liter (close to $5.07 a gallon)
Here is my dad filling her up for the first time under my ownership:
It was now 10:30pm and we had a 4 hour journey for home. My dad drove the car home since I have never had the chance to drive stick before. During the drive home we played with all the controls and found out what was working and what did not. We were told that the A/C did not work. It blew, but not very cold. I'll try recharging that later, or removing it, we'll see. The radio is very complicated to work, but the sound was really clear and the car felt like a go kart, it was great! I was plastered with an ear to ear grin knowing that this is my little go kart!
We arrived at our house at just after 2:30am that night. My dad and I both worked 8 to 5 that day and spent about 9 hours on the road total, so it was a long day. As soon as we got home we parked the car and went to bed. In the morning I took a few pictures of the car to document what she was like prior to her first thorough cleaning and bath.
The extra wheels and tires loaded in the back:
I have a thing for buying cars with flithy engine bays...
The crappy pictures of the interior:
I'm so happy to finally have a standard transmission! Now I just need to learn to drive it...:roll:
After our 355 km (220 mile) journey home there was a total of 196,913 kms on the car (122536 miles). Not bad for a 16 year old car!
The car was all stock other than the radio/sub/amp/cd changer combo that the previous owner installed. I decided to rip out the sub,amp and cd changer along with all the wiring. My dog decided to help.
A little while later the interior was a huge mess, but the wires were out. While I put the interior back together my helper took a nap since he was tired.
While removing a the wires I found an 8gb flash drive containing wedding pictures, so I contacted the previous owner asking for her address to send it back to them, a ribbon, a granola bar and a light bar. Here is everything that I removed, while my lazy "helper" slept in the hatch.:roll:
With all the wiring and junk out now I moved onto cleaning the interior plastics with some Mother's Protectant spray I had in the garage. Here is a picture of the treated, cleaned plastic in the back seat, next to untreated, uncleaned plastic. The color is so deep now without an oily finish!
Clean dashboard
After cleaning the interior I wanted to test my skills, or luck, at my standard transmission maiden voyage. I live on a court so it wasn't very fast, or smooth for that matter. I rolled the car out of my driveway in neutral, put it in first and tried to take off. I stalled it twice without moving a foot.:oops: my third try was a charm. After letting the clutch out I was rolling! I shifted into second without a problem either! A stop sign was coming up so I stopped, put it in first and took off. I let the clutch out a little early and chirped the tires a little. I brought it the rest of the way around the block, and parked her in my driveway where she sits now. I was really impressed for my very first time driving stick, and by myself too! I can't wait to get her on the road so I can actually enjoy driving her!
I stopped at my work to purchase some cleaning supplies. I ended up buying Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to help bring some life back to the paint, as well as engine degreaser to clean my engine bay the same way I did for my civic. The headlight restoration kit and the clay bar I already had sitting at home. I ended up cutting a spare key as the one given to me after purchasing it was the only one.
I gave her a quick bath and application of the Ultimate Compound before some friends of the family came over for a BBQ.
The car is really shiny for just a wash. I'll do a clay bar treatment and wax sometime during the week while I have time.
This is how she sits as of now. I'm waiting for more time to vacuum out the interior, clean the engine bay and remove the hideous tint banner on the windshield.
There are a few minor issues that I will address along the way, but overall I am very happy with my new car. I will update this very religiously as I do things on the car.:)