WonderBart

It was a great year for my 1993 Honda Civic and my Blog as many good things happened. Early January of 2008 I got my 1.6 Liter D16A VTEC engine installed and working while learning a lot of things and posting my complete swap on this blog. In the spring I went to a bunch of car shows and posted the great looking photos on my blog and also picked up a 2nd Civic Hatch back just like mine but a 1995 CX model. I starting looking at body kits in May but in June I raced my Civic on the 1/4 mile and decided to wait on the body kit and paintjob and start looking at turbo kits and what it takes to set one up.  I did OK in the 1/4 mile at 16.40 secs which is respectable with my setup and the 15" wheels I was using. I was excited to go to Import Invasion at Mission Raceway in early June but unfortunetly it rained out and the event was cancelled.  In June and July I did a complete tranny swap on the 1995 civic and posted all the info needed for anyone else that might be ... Read More

The XMAS holidays were very different this year with Rocky's passing and the crazy amount of snow, so I wasn't really into doing anything on my RC D16 Turbo Build. I had 2.5 feet of snow over the week so I spent a lot of time just plowing my driveway. XMAS eve was great to spend with my family and I even got new floor mats for my Civic. I did get stuck in the snow with my Honda Civic at work so after that I had no choice but to borrow my brothers AWD Mazda CX-7 and park my Civic. The snow was so high that my Civic was plowing it with the front bumper and hitting my undercarriage. I think next year I will get a beater civic to drive in the winter and keep my turbo one in the driveway under a car cover. I always said I wanted my car to be a daily driver even after performance mods but seeing how this years winter was on my car and the stupidity of other drivers in the snow, I think it would be better to park it for the 3-4 months during winter. ... Read More

It was a crazy XMAS holiday with lots of snow, so seeing as I had some free time and couldn't do much outside I started playing Word of Warcraft again. My interest in that game comes and goes and right now I am excited to play it again. I leveled from 69 to 70 and started saving for my flying mount in Northrend. I like that game as I can play for 3 months straight, then take a 2 month break and then start playing again with no consequences. It's perfect for a guy like me that has other projects and things that are going on all the time. Here is a link to my World of Warcraft character Wildbruiser. ... Read More

I lost both my dogs this year to old age and diabetes so in order to keep their legacy going I am now dedicating my D16 Turbo Build to both my dogs Rocky and Ceazer. So from now on it will be called the RC D16 Turbo Build as in Rocky & Ceazer D16. You can click on Rocky and Ceazer to go the posts about them on my other blog.  Some people might say why you doing this they were just dogs, NO they weren't just dogs they were the best pals ever. It didn't matter if I had a good day or a bad day they were always around to cheer me up and my brothers and sister.  Rip in Peace Rocky and Ceazer. ... Read More

Rocky Piotrowski our 2nd family dog fell ill on Friday from a pinched nerve in his spine and with his complications of diabetes lost feeling and mobility in his rear left leg. After some x-rays and a diagnosis from the vet he was put on some medication to try to fix his issue and get his mobility and feeling back. Unfortunately even with the medication and care he was unable to regain his the mobility back and with him suffering like this the only choice we had was to let him join our long pasted dog Cezar in doggy heaven. Ever since Friday even with the medication to make him feel better he was so sad as he was stuck laying on the floor and could not move around. He couldn't go pee unless I carried him out side and helped him stay up. It was a very sad thing to see him like this as I know it wasn't his fault but just old age and complications of diabetes. From the x-ray we also found out that his hip joint had deteriorated and this was probably causing him pain too.  He had a loud bark to let you know he was around or that he needed food or water but ... Read More

Does your Honda Civic have quarter panel rust? Yeah I thought so... Most people know that a Honda Civic's weakest link is the integrity of the body. If you own a Civic that is 10-15 years or older and it's seen a few winters than it's bound to have some rust.You can patch it up for a year or two but that usually won't last so the best bet is to cut out the rusted panels and weld in new pieces. I found this post about a guy who did some rust repair on his Honda Civic so I thought I would post it on my blog for my own future reference and for anyone else that might need this information. Click Here for the link. ... Read More

We've had our first big snow storm this season and my Honda Civic drives pretty good in it. I swapped my wheels back in October to my old 13" steel wheels and added a set of snow tires upfront and a good pair of all seasons on the rear.  She's a bit lower then a stock 1993 Civic but being front wheel drive and 5 speed the traction in snow is great. She's no 4x4 but she handles way better then any other rear wheel drive vehicle on the road. Caution is always a good thing to have in the winter months and having more control is always easier on the nerves. Below is a picture of my 1993 Honda Civic in the snow, click on it for a larger image. ... Read More

Another great find of a Honda Civic running 372whp on a D16 Turbo Engine. Click Here for the Link. He swapped his intake manifold and got a bigger turbo and gained a good amount of Horsepower. ... Read More

My good friend Tracey gave me an early XMAS present tonight which really made me happy. She got me a 3.5 gallon parts washer from KMS Tools. I was at KMS Tools a few days ago looking at some other tools and mentioned to her that I will probably need a parts washer in the near future, but never thought that she would buy one for me. I have lots of bolts, nuts, brackets, and other pieces that still need cleaning for the turbo build so this will be the perfect cleaning solution, and being so small it's perfect for my type of usage. Thanks Tracey for getting me this great gift which I know I will use and I'm sure you will too while helping me wash some of the parts too. :D 3.5 Gallon Parts Washer ... Read More

My D16Z6 Turbo build parts finally arrived today and man did I have a smile on my face after opening the box. The Vitara pistons and I-Beam rods are of great quality and craftsmanship and the block guard looks nice too. I have all the gaskets that I will need to redo the bottom end now and with the pistons and rods here, I just need to finish chasing the treads on my block and it's totally ready for the machine shop. I will have to see if I can squeeze in the machining before Xmas but if not then early January is fine too.  D16Z6 Full Gasket Kit and BlockGuard 75.5mm Vitara Pistons, FJ R SPEC I-Beam Rods, ARP Rod Bolts, Rings, Bearings, Water Pump and Timing Belt   Vitara Pistons and FJ R SPEC I-Beam Rods Great Craftsmanship on the pistons and Rods   FJDistributors D16Z6 parts are of great quality and an affortable price. FJ Distributors.com   ... Read More

After 2 more hours I finally finished notching the cylinders yesterday. I went through a bunch of grinding bits as some fell apart from cheap glue and others just got used up after intensive grinding. The I-Beam connecting rods should work fine now with the vitara pistons but if needed I can always touch up any cylinders that might need it later. For anyone else that might be considering doing this job, my suggestion is to get yourself a respirator and a good pair of eye goggles. The metal shavings fly everywhere and without the proper gear it's not safe. I used a dremel drill with a flex cord attachement, but I believe that if you use a die grinder you might be able to get the job done faster. Here's a picture of me notching the other side of the cylinder and also a picture of the finished job. ... Read More

I finally got some time tonight so I went ahead and took out my dermal drill and started notching the cylinder walls. It's not a hard job to do but takes lots of patience and a steady hand. I had to swap a few sanding stones to get the botom side done so for the opposite side I will have to pickup some more sanding stones or a carbide bit to finish it off. My only suggestion is make sure you are wearing some protective glasses as metal shavings fly everywhere and also if possible wear a nose mask or a respirator. Picture on the left is the un-notched block and the one on the right is notched. ... Read More

The next step while waiting for my pistons and rods to arrive is to chase all my threads and to notch the bottom part of my cylinders. The notch is 3/4" wide, 1/4" deep and 1/4" down the cylinder wall. The reason I need to notch the cylinders is because the I- Beam connecting rods are a little bigger and thus would hit the cylinder walls. Click Here for a link to a website that shows what exactly cylinder notching is all about. ... Read More

SuperTank molted on Monday, the 2nd time since I got him and it's great to see he is doing well. He has also been moving rocks out of his little den for the past week. None of the fish seems to bother him and once in a while he catches one for fun and eats them. All the Lyretail platies are gone now as they must of been eaten by him. I am not upset, after all he is a crayfish. I had some time last night so I cleaned my turtle auxilary XP4 filter and also my 45 Gallon XP3 Filter. ... Read More

I've been watching my 2 new Convict Cichlids and the bigger one has been chasing the little guy around the tank for a while now. At first I thought it was just for fun but last night I saw the smaller one hiding behind my pirates chest and scanning around him in a cautious way. He was watching for the whereabouts of the bigger one. So since I have the 29 Gallon tank with no other aggressive fish I decided to move the little guy over to that tank and see how he adapts to all the tetras in that tank. He will soon have one of my baby angel fish to keep him company as they are both of a cichlid variety. There might be a power struggle there later with the angel fish but will tackle that hurdle when we get there. ... Read More

Back 15, 20 or even 30 years ago I believe that a lot more people were creative as things needed to last longer. But these days it seems that the life span of most electronics or even hobby like items only last a few months or years before they have new replacements. So instead of creating, drawing or fabricating these custom toys or gadgets we just buy quick mock ups and then find ourselves buying the replacements months later for newer models. But the hope is not lost as there are still a lot of "OLD SKOOL" people out there that are very talented and creative. So hopefully these old timers pass down their knowledge and tricks of the trade for the next generation of creative and talented individuals. Now most people have computers in their homes by now and might even have 2 or 3 but we buy them and that's it,  not many go ahead and actually modify them. Well I found this one forum post about a computer case that will just stun the crap out of you, as it looks so awesome and is totally custom made. Click Here for a creative masterpiece the CPU STINGRAY. ... Read More

Here's a link to a mild turbo build thats using Vitara Pistons, I Beam Rods, Hondata S300 and some other components that I will be using in my build and this guy has hit 240whp(Wheel Horse Power) and he hasn't tuned it fully yet. So looking at the graph and the numbers that are posted on the forum I am sure that I can hit my 250-300HP goal with my build. Click Here for the link for the 240whp build. Click Here for another D16 turbo build putting out 222hp ... Read More

I sand blasted my D16Z6 block, cylinder head, intake manifold, and valve cover today and man do they look sweet now. Once I do the machining and put the bottom end internals in I intend to paint the block. I haven't picked a color yet but I'm thinking of a high heat orange-red, but this is still up for grabs.   I ordered the Vitara pistons with a full gasket kit, I beam connecting rods, and a block guard from FJDistributors yesterday so the parts should be here in about a week. My next step will be to notch the cylinder walls after dry fitting the pistons with the I beam connecting rods. ... Read More

I finished masking all the parts that need sandblasting tomorrow so this should help keep the key areas from getting damaged,  although I know that some of the tape might get ripped off which is OK. I also cleaned the old gasket of the intake header surface that mates with the cylinder head. I used a razor blade scraper and brake cleaner and it worked like a charm. It took about 30 minutes to prep the entire surface and after that I took 400 grit sandpaper and a block of wood and gently sanded the surface to make sure it's completely flat. As you can see the intake header surface is really clean and should mate well with a new gasket. ... Read More

I had an early day at work today so when I got home and I started back on the turbo build. I sprayed citrus degreaser on the block, valve cover, intake manifold, main cap and the cylinder head and then pressure washed them to get rid of the oil. Now I washed the cylinder head last night but today using the pressure washer it worked a lot better. I am going to hot tank all the parts after the machining, but it had to be cleaned before sandblasting anyways. Once everything was cleaned I air dried them and then started masking off the top of the block and the bottom journals so they wouldn't get damaged during the sandblasting. Now I know a sandblaster could rip of a piece of tape like butter if it's pointed right at it, but this is just for over spray protection not for direct spray. While sandblasting I will try to be as careful as possible and stay away from those critical areas.  I still have old gasket to take off from the intake manifold and the cylinder head but that can wait till next week when I have more time. I pulled off the valve seals using pliers and then took off the valve seats and put them in the appropriate valve zip lock bag ... Read More