Been doin some body work on my Civic

[T_Raven]

I bought this 92 Civic Si hatchback, VTEC 1.6L with manual trans for $350 a few months ago. I saw it on craigslist and it turned out to be my buddy's sister selling it. She said it was at her aunts house with the dash out because she was having some kid replaced the broken head lights....yeah, I'm not sure how the head lights are connected to the dash either lol. So I went to get it and her aunt told me she had the kid clean all the mouse poo out so he took the dash out to clean it out. All the head lights and turn signals were still broken so I don't know what was going on lol. I drug it home, put the dash back in place, plugged everything in, put a battery in it and fired it up. It was stolen at one time so the column lock is broken and it starts with a screw driver. It has good tires, a decent interior, and runs and drives fine so for $350 I think it was a score. After title fee and sales tax, a battery, and a used set of head lights I had about $550 into it. It even has an aftermarket cd player and speakers. At this point I needed a tail light, column lock, and the driver's side needs some body work.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20101101_122558_468-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20101101_123209_128-1.jpg

I was planning to drive it like this but I couldn't stand the body damage. I started seperating a few panels to get a good look at the damage

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20101227_125929_455-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20101227_125934_315-1.jpg

Started banging out the fender and quarter but they were pretty bad

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20101227_125942_920-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20101227_125956_718-1.jpg

A new quarter panel is $500 and all the inner stuff would put the cost of fixing it way over what the car is worth. I figured I could bang it out as much as possible, fab a few patch panels, slap a bunch of bondo on it and call it a day, but I decided too look for a parts car I could cut the quarter out of.

I found this one for $650. 92 DX automatic with power steering and AC, 135,000 miles. It has some decent looking wheels, lowering springs. Guy left a nice CD player and speakers in it. Wrecked in the passenger front but the rest of it is in good shape.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20110106_095050_765-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20110106_095030_664-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20110106_095112_156-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20110106_095140_619-1.jpg

[T_Raven]

Cut some of the damage out of the Si

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20101228_115931_140-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00918-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00919-1.jpg

Cut the quarter out of the parts car

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00921-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00920-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00925-1.jpg

Test fitting the new quarter

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00929-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00928-1.jpg

[bart0510]

Looking good

[T_Raven]

After some more trimming her it is tack welded in

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00930-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00931-1.jpg

And fully welded

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00933-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00934-1.jpg

I lap welded the inner wheel housing and floor

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00941-1.jpg

Tail panel

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00943-1.jpg

Welds most of the way ground down, bumper on and light in to check how it all fits

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/DSC00939-1.jpg

So I now have $1200 into the two cars. I've got the parts car on craigslist to part it out. So far I've had guys want $350 worth of parts, I'm hoping to get $500 out of the engine and trans, maybe $200 out of either set of wheels and tires, and maybe a little more out of what's left over. By the time I finish parting out the parts car I should have an almost free Civic. When the weather starts to warm up I'll probably spray some cheap paint on it.

[elitecustombody]

just wondering how you're planning on attaching the replacement quarter under the quarter glass?

[elitecustombody]

um... nevermind, I guess that's one way to install a quarter

[DarkoNova]

I wish I could do bodywork like that. My car would look mint. Nice work, dude.

[T_Raven]

um... nevermind, I guess that's one way to install a quarter


What do you mean you guess? Ever seen someone skin a quarter on a muscle car? Same thing right? I woulda liked to remove the quarter glass and spot weld it in at the pinch weld to avoid butt welding it in but I didn't feel like pulling the windows out of both cars and then reinstalling the window on the black car.

[T_Raven]

Oh also, another reason I did it the way I did was to keep the stickers in the door jamb. If I hadn't cared about that it would've been easer to remove the full quarter and weld it in at the pinch welds all around.

[CruizinKev]

looking good! pics remind me of this AWD civic :)

http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2763036

[DarkoNova]

^^wow that thing is clean.

[T_Raven]

That awd Civic is sweet. I like the way it looks with no side moldings

[T_Raven]

Body work is done for now and been driving it, put about 600 miles on it this weekend. Only got 33 mpg but that was with a buddy and all his crap in my car and in desperate need of a tune up. I'm driving it to Salt Lake City this week after I tune it up so we'll see how good the mileage is. Still gotta sell off all my spare parts but hopefully I'll end up with a less than $500 car that gets almost 40 mpg. I'll do a little more body work here and there and spray some cheap paint on it this summer and see how good I can make it look.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20110116_143533_895-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20110116_143546_531-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/20110116_143601_374-1.jpg

[2blownstangs]

hey I used to have one of those in Germany, it was a euro spec. They are really fun cars. What are your plans? Engine swap/turbo or??

Will

[DarkoNova]

Nice work, dude!

[twosaturns]

love that gen of civic. I knew a guy who put an integra setup in one; all business, no A/C, plain white wrapper. there is SO much you can do w/ them!

[T_Raven]

hey I used to have one of those in Germany, it was a euro spec. They are really fun cars. What are your plans? Engine swap/turbo or??

Will

Just gonna leave it stock for now and keep it as my DD. I'm not about to drive a Firebird in the snow and my truck likes to suck the gas, tires cost more etc. So this will be a cheaper way to get around when I don't need to haul anything and I'll put less miles and wear and tear on my truck. Plus it's a fun car to drive with the 5 speed and easier to manuver/park. I use to be a Honda tech so I grew to like Hondas though I'm not into the "ricer" scene lol. I'd like to paint it either black or white, get some bronze or gold wheels, maybe a carbon fiber hood. A turbo would be cool but I don't know if I'll ever want to put that much in it. And it will definitely be QUIET, 4 bangers sound dumb with loud exhaust.

[2blownstangs]

lol, good luck with the daily bro. she should get you around just fine :)