WonderBart

The last 2 weeks I've been hearing a squealing and scuffing sound coming from my rear drum brakes so I was getting concerned. On the weekend it turned into a grind so I decided to park my 1993 Honda Civic till I figured out what it was. I was worried that I some how used up my rear brake shoes faster then normally possible. So today after work it wasn't raining I decided to take a closer look. I jacked up the car and pulled off the wheels and drums and inspected the brake shoe lining and the rest of the brake assembly. The brake shoe linings' were in really good shape but I did notice that the bottom part of the shoes looked like they were scuffed up with something. I then checked the drum for any irregularities and smoothness on the inner braking surface but I did not find anything out of the ordinary. I was a bit confused for a second on what would of made these scuffing marks on the shoes, but then discovered this was caused by excess brake dust. Because the rear brake assembly is basically closed off, there is very little place for the dust to go so it starts to attach it self to the brake assembly. It is trapped inside the drum ... Read More

Launching this site over a 1.5 years ago there was two main things I wanted to focus on. One was the installation of a VTEC engine into my 1993 Honda Civic and the other was the installation of a turbo. Now I've done a write up of the engine swap that I did last winter but I've been lacking on solid turbo support from my own experience. On this blog I have posted a few turbo installations done by other Honda Civic enthusiasts but now it's my turn to show what I can do. I will be honest, I have never owned or installed a turbo into a Honda Civic but I sure intend too this spring. My intention is to have a built up D16Z6 engine with a turbo installed in my Honda Civic by late Spring or early Summer 2009. My goal for horse power is around 250 to 300HP with a properly built block and good tuning. This is not an impossible goal to reach as a lot of other Honda Civic enthusiasts have reached far more then 500HP and beyond. This is going to be a good learning experience as I have never done any internal engine modifications to add horse power in the past. I will try to post as many images and write as much information as I can, ... Read More

I was reading some posts on D-Series forums tonight and found this post about a guy who wondering what paint scheme he should use on his Honda Civic Hatch. This was the same question I had last summer and never came up with an answer, but looking at these images makes it easier to figure it out. Click Here for his forum post. Out of all his ideas I found these three schemes to be the most interesting and possibly one that will be my future paint job. ... Read More

I've been really busy the last few weeks so I've been neglecting to post up new information on my blog but today I figured I would finally post something. 2 Weeks ago I topped up my anti-freeze in both my Civic's as my previous drain and fill of 50/50 mix was not good enough for Canadian winters so I had to drain some coolant out again and topped it up with pure antifreeze. I also did a front brake job on the 95 Honda Civic but within a few days they started to pulsate again. I pulled the disks of the hubs and checked for any rust between them and there was very little there that would cause the disk to warp so I went back to the parts store and exchanged them for new ones. Just to be sure the hub was super clean I used my drill with a scratch pad attachment and cleaned both hubs to a clean metal surface. I put the new disks back on and took the car for a ride and it seems to have worked. I also checked the hub for free play and none was visible so I will have to drive it ... Read More

I was taking care of my brothers dog and house last week so I was very short for time as you can see the lack of posts but now it's time to get back into the rhythm and start posting again. Today I am gonna talk about bumpy roads and that I hate them. There is no question about it that when you have low profile tires and coil overs you feel the bumpy roads a lot more then the average person with a stock suspension and tires.  The road to my brothers house use to be so bumpy I didn't want to drive there but now they repaved it and it's not too bad. Butas you maybe agree a bumpy road is just terrible to your neck and back if you have a lowered car and low profile tires. Now don't get me wrong I do like the performance and handling that has improved with low profile tires and coil overs in my Honda Civic, but sometimes I feel like my teeth are gonna fall out. There are two sides to everything as in the Good and the Bad. Either you go with bubble tires with a 70 or 80 profile/height and ... Read More

Here is a good question, how much have you spent on your Honda Civic turbo build? $1000, $3000, $6000, $10000 or more. People that don't customize or work on cars might tell you that your crazy for putting so much money into the car, but really is it?  My turbo build is sadly still in the planning stage as my other hobbies and interests have drained my cash flow. I am not mad or pissed off at this situation but I need to start focusing my intentions to get this going soon. I don't smoke or drink so I don't uselessly spend my money on things like that but I have other interests such as aquariums, RC trucks, and video games and these do have there costs too. Money comes and goes, it all depends where you want to put your hard earned cash to get the most enjoyment out of it. I have estimated that my build will be around 3-5 grand over the next year and a half, so working at my 2nd  job will come in handy. Now for most people this is a big chunk of change but really if you put your mind to it anything is possible. Here is a link ... Read More

I've been working crazy hours this week so I haven't had time to write up a complete Bumper Swap How-to article, but I thought I would at least get up some pictures. As you can see the newer bumper from a 95 Civic has the fog light area painted the same color as the bumper where mine is just black. From what I've seen this was only done on the 94 and 95 models but I am not 100% sure. In all the bumpers were really easy to swap, with 2 screws by the wheels, 5 under the hood and 2 under neath the bumper. As soon as I get a chance I will post a complete How-To on the bumper swap but here are my pictures for now.    These are images of my 93 Civic with the old bumper on the left and the new bumper on the right. It might not be visible but my old bumper had dings in it from rocks but the new bumper has a fresh set of paint on it so my car looks better now. ... Read More

The bumper and fender swap between the two Civic's was a success, it was quite easy and only a few tools were needed. I pulled the bumpers and fenders off by myself but got some help from a friend to put them all back on. The reason for this swap was that my bumper and fender in my 93 Civic was all dented from rocks but the 95 Civic had a new painted bumper and a fender with only 1 ding. I will post pictures tomorrow as I didn't get a chance to pull them off my camera yet. I also replaced the drivers side headlight on the 95 Civic because it had  a hole in it and the inner reflective part was all rusting away. Check back tomorrow for some before and after pictures. ... Read More

Well It's officially September and crappy rainy weather will be upon us very soon so I'm gonna park my 93 Civic and use the 95 Civic as my winter beater. This should give me lots of time to do some winter work on the 93 and keep it away from those crazy winter drivers. All thought the 93 Civic project was never meant to be a full race car but instead a daily driver, I don't see any reason why not to take it off the road for winter especially since I have a spare Civic that's pretty much ready for a winter beater. And when I do get my turbo this winter I can install it piece by piece and not worry that I have to drive it to work next day and do a rush job. Depending what happens this fall and winter I also plan on picking up a spare D16Z6 block and start working on my full turbo build from scratch. The best way to learn is to do it yourself so this will be a great winter project and finally build my 13 second Civic. I will have to completely take apart the block, clean it ... Read More

I've been driving the same Honda Civic Hatch for over a year now and have modified everything from suspension to headlights to a complete engine swap, and the more work I do on it the more I enjoy driving it. My drive to work is about 20km each way and the route that I take gives me lots of room for cruising. This in no doubt gives me a chance to be one with the car and feel the road thru it. When I drive it, it's like I am part of the car and we are one entity. Now this might sound weird for some but for those that feel the same way know that this zone exists, the problem is that most of us are too busy with our lives and forget how to enjoy the ride. In my case for instance when I am in this zone and some crazy person cuts me off I react with no delay and automatically maneuver the car to avoid this situation and soon after I continue driving along enjoying the ride. When I was really small I always wondered what it would feel like to be in a car and instead ... Read More

I've been doing some research today on gauges and GlowShift gauges are the ones I want to add to my Honda Civic. The ones listed below are the ones that I want to add to my dash and drivers side pillar. Boost / Vacuum Gauge Air / Fuel Gauge Fuel Pressure Gauge Exhaust Gas Temperature Gauge Oil Pressure Gauge Oil Temperature Gauge Water Temperature Guage Voltage Guage ... Read More

After friday night's Mission Raceway drag racing event, I put a 360 spin on my idea of doing the bodywork first and instead will invest the time into a turbo setup. Before I actually go through with it, I will do some research and post what I come up with. My Goal is around 200HP with my stock D16 engine. So far this is what i believe will I need, but this may change. - Hondata S300 Engine Management - AEM UEGO WideBand A/F Controller with Gauge - RC 330 Fuel Injectors (if going over 190HP) - Walbro 255 Fuel Pump - eBay Turbo Kit Now your thinking why buy my turbo kit from eBay? Well I figure if there are any mistakes that I might encounter it's cheaper to do them on a cheaper turbo, I can always upgrade the turbo later.   ... Read More

This is my first drag race video at Mission Raceway with my 1993 Honda Civic. The video of the 16.40 quarter mile time was too shaky so this one will do. The time was 16.54 @ 85MPH for quarter mile. ... Read More

I did my first Mission Raceway event today and it was a success. I did 4 runs down the drag strip and my best time was 16.401 @ 85.68MPH and reaction time of .726. I was told that the reaction time is only used if your racing against someone else and does not matter to your quarter mile time but I will have to investigate this farther so this may be wrong. I will post a video soon as I can get it on youtube. Here is my timeslip results for this race. R/T  ... .726 60' ... 2.610 330 ... 7.010 1/8 ... 10.627 MPH ... 67.34 1000 ...13.778 1/4 ... 16.401 MPH ... 85.68   ... Read More

This Friday night I'm going to take my 1993 Honda Civic to the drag strip to see what kind of quarter mile time I can get out of my VTEC engine. I have never raced on a drag strip before so this will be a great learning experience. I want to go because I want to have a before turbo and after turbo quarter mile time slip. I estimate my quarter mile time to be around 15.9-16.5 seconds at 82-88MPH Things I will need to do to my Honda Civic before it's ready to race - Save $30 for race admission - Drain antifreeze out of my engine and replace with water - Swap my front 15" rims to 13" rims and deflate tires to 15-20psi during racing - Clean out the contents of my car including the glove box of any unnecessary weight - Check all fluids to make sure they are topped off especially oil and coolant. - Wash car so it looks nice on race day - Clean my K&N Filter Charger - Swap my drivers side mirror with a spare one as my current one is damaged. For additional information on Mission Raceway Friday night street legal racing click Here. If you want to practice your drag strip response time click Here ... Read More

I found a Honda Civic on Cardomain.com that has the same side skirts that I want to install on my Civic. The owner attached the side skirts to the car and then molded them right to the side of the body so they look like their part of the car not just pieces of plastic that are attached. This is exactly what I intend to do with mine so the car looks like it came like this from factory. The front bumper is slightly different then the Bomber one I want but that's ok, I like the look of mine better. The other thing about this hatch I like is the hood, it's carbon fiber and it's got a nice indentation in the middle, looks very sporty. Below is the Civic with really nice side skirts and here is the Link to the owners page.   ... Read More

  So I've been thinking about the body kit for my 93 Civic and I think I am going to mix and match different pieces to make the kit look better. I am going to use the Bomber Front Bumper , the CB Style Side Skirts , and the XN Style Rear Bumper . As far as the paint is concerned, I am going to stick with the original red that my Civic came with because it should be easier to buy and paint. Doing this will eliminate the problem with the inner doors and under the hood being a different color so this will fit my car better. Candy apple red is a really nice color but from what I've heard and read online it's an expensive paint job and tricky to do to make it look good. ... Read More

My plan this summer for my 93 Civic is to get a body kit and paint it candy apple red. But before I do that I have to do some body work to get the dents out and fix any rust that might be hidden. The body kit that I am thinking of is available at 2 places, Extreme Dimensions and Rocketz.net. The Bomber 4 piece kit includes front bumper, 2 side skirts and a rear bumper. I am still debating whether or not to get the matching roof spoiler because I want to make the car look good not over done. I found a Civic on CarDomain.com that has the same body kit already mounted and painted blue. Below is the image and here is the Link to the owners page.     ... Read More

I've been working on my civic for over a year now and mostly showing it off on my blog but a few days ago I decided to create a thread on one of my favorite forums D-Series.org. Here is the Link to my thread. I've gotten 12 replies so far and they all have been positive, plus some minor upgrades that people mentioned I should do. Thanks goes out to all those who replied to my thread about my 1993 Civic Hatch. Once I get more upgrades for my car I will add to my thread. ... Read More

Yesterday I finally got around to swapping out my water filled non working tail light with a spare one I picked up a few months back. I had to remove some clips and a few screws to move the inner molding out of the way to get to the light mounting nuts. I used a 8mm combination wrench to undo the 4 nuts that held the light to the car, unplugged the harness and pulled the light out. Part of my problem with water in the tail light, is a crack in the body seam and a bad hatch seal. I swapped the tail light wiring harness from my other Civic since I am not driving it right now.  I plugged the wiring harness back into the car and placed the tail light into place. Then used the 8mm wrench and tightned up the 4 mounting nuts. Once that was in place I smeared some silicone on the cracked hatch seam and pushed the hatch seal back in place. I screwed all the inner body panels into place and tested the lights and they all work. When I start doing the body work on the car for painting I will change the hatch seal so it's new again and for sure won't have leakage problems.   I pulled ... Read More