My suspension is here!

I am so excited to announce that I received my suspension in the mail the other day! Ground Control threw in 2 t-shirts, and 6 stickers. My car was already up on jack stands, torn apart and waiting for them to arrive. UPS package tracking is so useful like that. the springs are 430 front and 350 rear. The konis are fully adjustable so my car will most likely be changing ride heights several times over the next few weeks until I get it to right where I like it.

While we were dismantling the suspension (much  to my boyfriends annoyance) I meticulously cleaned everything. not only to check for the tiniest bit of rust but also so I could cover up any red in the wheel wells. While I was doing that I made an amazing discovery! Because this car spent the majority of its life in the pacific northwest someone had the forethought to get the entire undercarriage of the car sprayed in a protective rubber coating. I dont know if it was my grandmother, the dealership, or the guy who had it for about a year or so before my grandmother bought it. Anyway it worked wonders, there were only a couple of spots where the original paint was exposed and there wasnt even a hint of rust. Not on the quarter panels, not in the front fenders, none. I have been going over every inch of this car. When I got everything dry, I sprayed the exposed paint black.

My boyfriend painted the lower control arms and the sway bar purple for me. Now before anyone gets a heart attack oer the colors, I will be painting the car a dark grey. I havent yet picked the actual color code but it gave me the ability to decide that I want purple as my accent color. It looks crazy right now though... I was joking with my friends that it looks like a crayola crayon box.

 

And the finished product! For now...

And the fronts. Oh and yes I do get my hands dirty too, I did the front passenger side by myself while my boyfriend was at work.

I decided to take the mud flaps off since they were in perfect condition and I didn't want to see them damaged once the car was lowered. This is what I found behind the wheel well in the front fenders. Gross right? Luckily, still no rust!

Rimspiration

Lets Start with the rims I love... These rims may or may not come in the size and offset I'd need, and they are our of my price range... I just want to dream for a minute. Also pay no attention to the color. I plan on doing a custom powder coat on whatever I end up with.


HRE
C100

501

SSR Formula Mesh

Enkei

RCG4

RPF1

These are some rims I wouldn't mind rocking until I can afford what I really want.

Axis OG Mesh

Spun
Supamesh

SW909

 

CRX Color Inspiration

I have spent countless hours on Google searching for imports, preferably Hondas, which have qualities that I like. Anywhere from color, stance, or rim style, to meticulous wire tucks or interior transformations. This entry is going to focus on body colors that I would be interested in painting my CRX.

"Battleship Grey" let me start by saying that unless we are talking about the paint that the Navy uses on their ships, this color is completely open to interpretation. There are some supposed BSGs that I absolutely love, and others.... not so much. I am in love with this representation. It looks nice. I'm not a huge fan of flake so this basic color is really pleasing to me.

 This color was guessed to be Battleship Grey. Technically the guy who guessed that isn't wrong because its more of a description of a gloss grey with minimal flake instead of a true paint color. Going off of the knowledge that this car is located in Japan and they really like to mimic euro car colors there, I'd be willing to guess that this is either the grey black color Porsche offers on the GT3 or one of the dark greys that Lamborghini offers. Regardless of what this color code really is, I am a fan!
 

 This is the stock pewter grey metallic color the CRX came in. I like this color quite a bit, but I kind of feel underwhelmed at the thought of changing my CRX's color from its current stock color, to a different stock color.

Supersonic blue. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this color. I get excited just looking at it. This is such a beautiful color that I cant help but drool over it when I see it in person. However it is such a bold color that it doesn't offer much wiggle room in color coordination with performance parts. I know, what a girly reason to shy from this color... but its hard to accessorize with that. The other issue with this particular paint is how pricey it is! I want only the best for my CRX but the unfortunate reality is that no one will respect my car as much as I do. I cant tell you how many times I’ve seen a girl at a car show put her little Pomeranian or Chihuahua on the hood or roof of whatever car they happen to think is pretty and take pictures of it. Complete disregard for the fact that the paint costs more than the pedigree pooch that’s on it. Thats just one scenario, as many car lovers know, you just cannot trust people around your vehicle. I need to pick a paint color with the full intention of touching it up every so often.

 Rio Red! This color is fantastic. Its just so popular with this car. A huge number of fixed up CRX's are this color. Its easy to see why, its just so pretty! It'd be soooo easy to just freshen up the body with a new coat of Rio, but that's one reason why I am hesitant to do it. Its the easy way out. Its also the popular choice. If I were to go with the popular vote, I would have bought a Subaru STi and called it a day years ago.

 Chianti Red. This is a Honda red that is not as well known. I love it, its a richer deeper red than Rio. It looks so nice; I am a fan of the darker reds. The issues I have with it are: Its red, it lacks originality, it makes your insurance go up, (Side Note: I understand why it goes up but its such a superficial reason; it'd be like making a blonde's health insurance go up because they are more likely to get in an accident its discriminatory, point blank) and it doesn't play well with other colors so you are very limited with accent color options.

This is really more of an honorable mention. Milano Red, because well.... its iconic. Also the CRX that really inspired me to get moving with my own project was this color.

'88 CRX Si

I have a '88 CRX Si that I will be fixing up over the course of the next year or two. It is actually what inspired me to start my own blog. My ultimate goal for my CRX is to not only to restore it but to make it tuner magazine worthy.

The car as it is now is all original. Its got its original SOHC D16 with 251,000 miles on it, decently clean for 88 original Si interior, and lucky me, it came stock from the dealership (back in 88 of course) with an SiR front end. I know nearly all of the car history because my grandmother bought the car in 89.  I remember riding in the trunk on a pile of pillows staring at the sky through the hatch window when I was 5. There is most definitely sentimental value here. It still has its original Rio Red paint..Its in need of new fenders, hood, and door panel due to some irreparable dents.

Every time I go to an import show I search for the 88-91 CRXs. I get so excited when I find one that is done tastefully and brings out the original heart of that car. Prime example, Import Faceoff, Baytown, TX Oct 2012, I had the privilege to see a very minty CRX in milano red. Gorgeous leather, JDM Back Seat, B16A swap. Not many people paid it much attention because it looked too stock. not many noticed how much labor this guy had to have put into his car. My boyfriend and I spoke to the owner for a good 45 minutes about his car. I found my inspiration for my grandmothers CRX. I wont be copy catting, but that car gave me hope for mine.

Now, to the exciting part! I ordered the engine swap and suspension for my 88 a few days ago! I decided I want to do what in my opinion is a legendary build. I don't want to spend the next several years building my way up to what I know I would ultimately want. Also the particular engine is going to be increasingly rare and difficult to find the longer I wait. For you Honda fans, if you haven't already guessed, I am getting a B18C ITR swap. The Integra type R was, and still is in many eyes, the pride and joy of Honda. The developers poured their hearts into this engine and it is renowned to all Honda fan-boys (and girls).


I ordered my swap from HMO. I refuse to do anything half assed on this car, if I am going to get one of the most pricey swaps I want to make sure my investment is sound by buying through a company that warranties their products. They were a DREAM to work with. I ordered a whole bunch of Hasport parts through HMO and they gave me such a deal on my custom ITR package which included a JDM ITR gauge, hood with buttons, some custom plugs and several other assorted items. We had to wait on an ITR stearing wheel, we'll be ordering it as soon as its back in stock. The owner was so helpful every step of the way. He went above and beyond what we could have asked for.

For my suspension I contacted Ground Control and they put together a custom Koni package for me. They too were FANTASTIC to work with. They threw in t-shirts and stickers and a bunch of other goodies for both me and my boyfriend. I got one of the tank tops that they have for their models to wear, so that will be fun to have at the next car show.

So now I just have to wait for everything to get here to get working! Also I have to make up my mind on what color I will be painting the CRX. Pewter Metallic Grey, Rio Red, or Milano Red?