Skyline's many, many, many cars (2015 Honda Fit LX, 1991 Honda Nighthawk, 2003 Honda Accord EX V6))

SkylineFTW97 · 6 February 2022 01:31

I did it again. I bought another battered Honda Civic coupe, this will be my 3rd one yet (of course my last 2 were EJ1 EXs, and this one is an EJ6 DX). So why not buy another EJ1? Easy, I couldn’t find any that were cheap enough that weren’t riced/crashed/rolling shells. I also really wanted to pick up a Fit, but those things are damn near impossible to find at rock bottom prices low enough for an impulse buy.

Enough rambling, here she is in all her glory.

This one definitely has the most rust of any Civic I’ve bought, but those quarters can still be salvaged. Also she doesn’t currently run. The auction suspects that it’s a fuel issue, which I’m going to test once it’s delivered (I’ve been going to this auction for years and I find their descriptions to be pretty honest/accurate). And yes, it has 2 steelies and 2 alloys. I’m gonna take those alloys off and sell them ASAP. Same goes for that EM1 gauge cluster. Those are worth a lot of money and could very well get me back most of the $500 I paid for this car. And yeah, I finally got something for $500 again (even the Infiniti was $850). The auction prices must be slowly going back down, either that or the hooligans who rice these things out must’ve just not seen this one. I’ve never seen one in this shape go for under $1000, even as a non-runner (my 94 was in much worse shape cosmetically and had a rebuilt title. That’s why I got that cheap).

Now why did I buy this one? It wasn’t actually a complete impulse buy. I’ve been looking for something cheap, reliable, and fuel efficient to use for my business. I used to do roadside assistance, and will soon be getting back into that, in addition to doing more mobile repair work. And for that, I need something compact, fuel efficient, and cheap. I only do fairly basic jobs mobile, so I don’t need too much space for tools, and this will get better MPG than a compact cargo van like a Transit Connect, plus none of those sold (in the US at least) with a manual transmission, which for me is a deal breaker on something I drive every day. I’ll be doing some touching up for sure and making it look much closer to new, although I will also be rigging up some amber emergency lights since it’s gonna spend lots of time on the shoulder of busy interstate roads like I-495 and I-270, and more nighttime visibility = more better.

LordLetto · 6 February 2022 02:34

1 Thing to note with this Civic compared to the 2x EJ1 EX you had before, if this EJ6 DX still got the original engine, I think it should be the D16Y7 non-VTEC instead of the D16Z6 VTEC you would be used to, at least based on Wikipedia. Possibly the fact it don’t have VTEC is the reason it’s not riced & so cheap (along with being a lower trim level, so not as many features like upgraded speakers from factory)?

SkylineFTW97 · 6 February 2022 03:03

Maybe, but you can usually retrofit these engines with VTEC by swapping on a VTEC head and ECU. Don’t know about the D motors, but you can on the F motors. I did it on a 96 Accord I fixed up recently.

SkylineFTW97 · 13 February 2022 17:56

Update on the Civic. Got it running about 3 days after I got it. Ended up just being a bad ignition coil, although I did also destroy the old distributor rotor getting it out, so I replaced that too. It runs pretty well actually. Idles fine, goes through the whole rev range without hesitation. No idea if it burns oil yet (65% chance it does), but I just changed the oil yesterday, so I have a new benchmark to observe from. I also changed the air filter, fuel filter, negative battery cable (the old one was loose and would cause it to stall if I made too sharp a turn), and I replaced those chintzy looking alloys with steelies to match the front. I would’ve sold them on FB or something, but they were CHEAP. The paint on the inside was gone and they were way too corroded to be of use, so I just scrapped them. It runs and drives pretty well, and I got it tagged 2 fays ago and have been driving it for that time.

So what major problems does it have? Good question.

1st, the front windshield is heavily cracked and will absolutely need to be replaced to pass inspection.

2nd, the CV axles are both shot, especially the left one. It has a vibration between 70 and 85 mph, and the left CV is my prime suspect for it. Both will be replaced at the same time, most likely later this week.

3rd, the right front brake caliper leaks fluid from the piston seal. I personally replace calipers in pairs, and will just overhaul the front brakes completely. New pads, rotors, calipers, and hoses for both wheels, and it will be getting a full brake flush with it. The brakes do still work just fine, and the leak isn’t super fast. That being said, this will also be fixed ASAP.

4th, it needs tires pretty badly. the current ones are all old and mismatched (the back 2 are dated for 2006 and 2010), and the front and rear are different sizes. The fronts are the factory 185/65R14s, but the backs have a 75 aspect ratio instead. Fortunately 14" tires are quite cheap at under $80/tire, and being that I work as a technician, I have access to tire mounting and balancing machines, so that will cost me nothing but time.

Beyond that, it’s just a bunch of quality of life things. The interior is a mess and will need a detail, the left door panel is battered and the armrest broken, the sun visors are equally battered and their retainer clips broken, the head unit is some cheap old aftermarket one without bluetooth, the speakers are tinny, and the trunk floor insert is destroyed.

SkylineFTW97 · 20 February 2022 15:33

Been doing some more work to the Civic and Accord. I had the Civic’s cracked up windshield replaced yesterday, and I also went ahead and changed the wiper inserts and flushed the clutch hydraulics while I was at the shop.

I also changed the front lower control arms and sway bar links in the Accord about 2 days prior. The bushings were gone and it was easier just to replace the whole thing. I was hoping to put off the sway bar links, but I destroyed them taking them off to do the control arm, so that forced my hand. But even with buying OEM Honda parts, they were only $40 with my employee discount (I bought the control arms elsewhere prior to the job, so they’re not included in that price. Those were $50-60 each). It does feel a bit better in corners now, and I’ll feel more confident taking it to autocross events once it warms up. But not before finally doing the timing belt and it’s accessories. My tensioner started giving me the telltale knocking noise, so it’s definitely due. Just bought a Gates kit for that (even with employee pricing, the same kit from Honda is $400 vs $157 for the one I got. And every master tech vouches for the Gates and Continental timing belt kits as many of them own J powered Hondas themselves).

I did say that I have no intentions of selling the Accord (and that is still 100% true), but I never mentioned what I did plan to do with it. It will still be a daily, however I do want to improve upon it, and as such I do plan on sticking to OEM+ upgrades wherever possible. I’ve spent lots of time browsing the Accord, Honda Tech, V6 performance, and TL forums for ideas, and I have a vague direction of where I want to go.

The big thing I want to do is some weight reduction using bolt-on parts off of it’s sister models, the TL and Accord Hybrid, both of which got aluminum parts the Accords, even the 6/6 ones never got. I like doing pulls as much as the next guy, but I really want to go more for handling than sheer straight line speed. As such, while I will also be doing a few bolt-ons for power (namely a 3.7 intake manifold/throttle body and performance J pipe and maybe a port/polish down the road), I will be leaving the engine mostly stock and naturally aspirated (it already does 0-60 in the mid-high 5 second range and can easily crack 120 fast enough to get me in trouble). It will also be getting the LSD out of a TL/CL Type S once I get the occasion to drop the trans. I want this car to be the pinnacle of what it could’ve been while still retaining low running cost and sleeper status, which is why I got this over a TL (plus the Accord is lighter, which is better for my greater focus on handling, and it runs better off of 87 octane than the TL does).

By the time I’m done, it should be 120-200 pounds lighter, have maybe 10-20 more HP in the critical midrange, have better grip, and still not raise any eyebrows in traffic all while boasting the same ease/low cost of maintenance as any other J-series equipped car.

Slim_Jim · 21 February 2022 02:11

Keep us posted on the Accord. I’m living vicariously through you until I get another one at some point.

SkylineFTW97 · 5 March 2022 23:37

Finally got around to doing the timing belt assembly on the Accord. This marks the 2nd timing belt I’ve ever done (the first being on a 96 Accord that I fixed up and sold to a friend of mine a couple months ago). Interestingly enough, the belt itself had a lot of life left, but the hydraulic tensioner was damn near FUBAR, so I think whoever did it last only changed the belt. As such, I got the whole kit (belt, tensioners, idler, and water pump and gasket). I also replaced the front main seal and thermostat while I was at it. The tensioner knocking is gone, so now I can feel more confident driving it (the car sees its redline a lot, and knowing my luck, it would jump timing at 6000 rpm if not taken care of).

SkylineFTW97 · 6 April 2022 01:48

Another update, this time with pictures.

Just had it washed before these pics, also finally got proper plates for it instead of the temporary Virginia tags it had (I bought it out of state and the MVA likes to take their sweet time). I also opted for the Chesapeake Bay plates over the standard MD Pride ones because I think the latter is a bad implementation of one of the most distinctive flags. Plus it’s less obnoxious than those crab stickers that are so common here (not putting any stickers on this car).

A couple of weeks after those pics were taken, the alternator started to die. I parked it for a week and a half to work on the Civic (which now has brakes that don’t leak and working front speakers). Just changed that alternator yesterday.

The new one in. An OEM Honda one was just too expensive, even with my employee discount. So I got this Denso one. Still a solid unit, and Denso probably makes the Honda ones too. Plus this was less than half the price, about $200 after getting my core charge back.

I really need to upgrade my toolbox soon. This one is filled to (or rather over) capacity.

Also opted to change the battery since I killed the old one limping it into the dealership. Actually I killed it way before. Only reason I didn’t have to call for a tow truck was because I was able to get creative with my jump box. Times like these I’m glad I worked in roadside assistance.

Never got to show just how clean this car is from underneath (apart from the fact that almost every outer seal on the engine leaks. Only got to change the front main seal so far, but they’re all slow leaks). There is 0 rust on the undercarriage, not even surface rust. That’s why I paid so much for this car despite the 224k miles at the time. That and the fact that it was one of only 2 6-6 Accord sedans I could even find locally, and the other one had a seller who refused to respond to me. Including mine, I’ve only seen 2 in person. The coupes are plentiful in comparison.

I had some spare time after doing the alternator and battery, so I also replaced all the speakers. I already bought them, but hadn’t had a free day to install them. I also discovered that the whole car had been dynamatted by the previous owner.

Don’t know if I mentioned it, but my car has the factory navigation system. That has to be reset anytime the battery is disconnected, on top of tracking down the anti-theft code. Mine didn’t have it anywhere, but being that I work at a Honda dealership, I can retrieve it electronically.

Resetting just requires finding a nice open space and letting it do it’s thing. Usually takes 2-3 minutes, be it an older or newer car.

I also added a device that lets me tap into the XM receiver to get bluetooth in the stock unit. That works pretty well. I want to update the nav, but a new disk costs about $100. That being said, I do actually use it. It’s a nice little novelty, and a nostalgia trip. Reminds me of the old Tomtom unit my mom used when I was 8. This was around the same time this car was built. According to the build chart I got ahold of, it was assembled on September 21, 2005, just over a month before my 8th birthday.

I also ordered a fog light kit for it. I also tracked down a few hybrids to scavenge the lighter aluminum parts off of. I’m looking to get a hood, trunk, front and rear crash bars, and rear knuckles.

SkylineFTW97 · 4 May 2022 00:28

I’ve made the decision to get a new work vehicle. I wanted to use the Civic, but the rust ended up driving me nuts. I wanted to go the cheap route again, but I remembered that I can write it off my taxes, so why not get something I really want? So I got something that has tempted me for some time, a Honda Fit. I’ve driven plenty of them being a Honda technician, so I know just how fun they are to drive. The problem is that they have higher resale than any other subcompact in the US, and rising gas prices will only make it worse. But I found one that was almost exactly what I wanted at a price I could tolerate.

She’s a 2015 LX 6 speed. I specifically wanted an LX because I personally don’t like keyless ignition. Only thing missing with the LX is the fog lights, which I can easily retrofit. It also helped that I’m a fan of the yellow on it. Most of the manual ones were gray or black, which I didn’t want. Plus this one had the Sparco Terra 16x7s pre-installed. I love the look of them and plan on leaving them there.

I brought it in today to take care of the Maryland state inspection (I bought the car in Pennsylvania) and installed a few accessories, namely a front plate bracket (Maryland is a 2 plate state) and rubber floor/trunk mats. I also scrounged up some black lug nuts left over from pre-delivery inspections on new Civics and Accords to better compliment the black wheels. It’s a subtle change, but I like it. Plus getting them for free makes it sweeter.

SkylineFTW97 · 10 July 2022 17:18

Been driving the Accord more lately. Brought it into the shop to do some basic maintenance. Changed the oil and plugged a leaky tire. I need to further upgrade the sound system soon. Preferably get an amp and equalizer since I don’t want to remove the factory navigation unit. I’d also like to start setting aside money to buy the RV6 performance J pipe for my J30A5. That pipe is one of the 2 big restrictions in the stock J motors (and pretty much any other transverse V6) alongside the stock intake manifold/throttle body, but those can be fixed with the larger J37 units off of a 2nd gen Acura MDX. The J pipe should bump power and torque up by 10-15 in the mid and high range, perfect for pulls and throttling out of corners. It ain’t cheap, the part will set me back around $450, but it will be done eventually.

SkylineFTW97 · 28 July 2022 14:45

Did it again. Bought a truck. This time I went back to my roots and got a cheap one from a public auction. I caved and sold my last few, so I got something in a condition that only a weirdo like me would want.

She’s a 1997 Ford F-150. 5 speed manual, 4 wheel drive (floor shift too), 4.2L V6 (probably why I got it for cheap since it’s not a V8), and just shy of 261,000 miles (that too). Of course those who have seen my purchase history know that I do not fear high miles whatsoever, and I’ve consistently had better luck with high mileage cars than low mileage ones at auction.

I needed something I can periodically tow another car with as well as take offroad since I really want to do that again. Being a 4x4, she’s got extra ground clearance and I can always add knobbier tires (something I’ll likely do anyway). I was open to buying an automatic simply due to the difficulty of finding manual 4wd trucks, but this popped up out of nowhere and I won it for just $500 ($722 after auction fees, but that’s still low). Looks like rust is pretty minimal as well.

I already mentioned it has a mechanical transfer case lever, which I like (my old Frontier had a switch which I’m personally not a fan of), and it already has a toolbox on it. The body is clean and it’s only listed as a no-run likely due to an issue with the ignition switch. Of course in my usual fashion, I’ll immediately be giving it all new fluids and filters. Tires I was planning on anyway and it needs a proper tow hitch. Only other mods would be some lights and of course a stereo system. Might even put a sub in this one since there’s no trunk space for me to use anyway, and I can just throw it behind the seat.

Lanson · 28 July 2022 16:07

I don’t know how you do it…unless you have a dealer license or something. Dealing with registration and taxes on these cars must be a nightmare. Ive been through 26 cars and two motorcycles since '96 when I got my license, but it’s always been a bitch to do the state-required stuff and the taxes even on cheap old cars just sucked.

Knugcab · 28 July 2022 16:17

Be careful when cleaning that floor, something might bite you.

voiddoesnotknow · 28 July 2022 18:14

sweet truck! hopefully she runs, gives me real Snowrunner vibes. looking forward to an update!

SkylineFTW97 · 28 July 2022 22:31

Maryland isn’t too bad with registration. ~$150 every 2 years per car. It also helps that we don’t have annual inspections.

And as far as auction cars go, this is far from the worst I’ve had to clean out. Looks like a simple and quick detail is all she needs.

Lanson · 29 July 2022 02:01

Agreed, looks like a good purchase. The 4.2 engine is a trooper. Think about all those Econolines running around with this motor.

SkylineFTW97 · 12 August 2022 23:19

Haven’t had as much time to work on the truck as I’d like. It doesn’t help that I can’t move it under it’s own power yet, otherwise I’d just bring it in the shop. But speaking of things in the shop, I did pull the Accord in yesterday. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the 6/6 Accords and TLs, they’re prone to popping out of 3rd gear under harder acceleration. Mine was doing that every so often. There’s an easy remedy though, switch the stock Honda MTF (just 10W-40 with an additive package) for GM Synchromesh fluid. One of the master techs at my shop has a 6/6 coupe and has personally vouched for this fix. And I’m glad he did because it seems to have worked.

I went a step further and got the AMSoil version because nobody had the regular GM Synchromesh at the time and I wanted to be sure I was using good fluid

Did a couple hard pulls to test it. Did a few even harder pulls as a celebration. Man am I glad to have multiple open and empty stretches of road that are perfect for er… testing purposes. Speaking of my testing, it would help further if I upgraded my stereo some more. The factory 180 watt system runs out of steam too quickly for my tastes (which include lots and lots of metal). I need to be able to blast Children of Bodom with the windows down at 85 mph and be able to hear it over the wind. As such, I think I need an amplifier.

SkylineFTW97 · 27 August 2022 23:16

To begin: bad news on the truck. Engine is seized. Just decided to cut my losses and get something else later since I lack the space to swap an engine.

Anyway, been driving the Accord mostly. Really enjoying not having to worry about 3rd gear popout anymore, although I’ve been intermittently getting a P0430 code (bank 2 cat). It’s been coming and going for the past couple weeks, and I need to set aside some time to properly diagnose it. In the meantime, I did fix a couple little things.

Big one is I replaced my worn out steering wheel with a practically new looking one courtesy of the junkyard.

Not bad for $21.
I also replaced the broken front 12V power outlet (this time I splurged and got a brand new one from the Honda mothership).

When I got the outlet, I also bought some new rear brake hoses. The rear calipers are on the fritz and I’m just gonna replace them both, and I’m a believer in replacing the hoses at the same time as the calipers. I’m also gonna use the occasion for a full brake job out back, as well as a brake flush. Did the fronts shortly after I got the car, so they’re still really good.

SkylineFTW97 · 18 September 2022 13:41

Been keeping busy with little things on the Accord. Let’s start off with some good news. The P0430 appears to have went away on it’s own. I’m convinced it was a sticking downstream O2 sensor now, so if it comes back, that’s what I’m starting with. Plus the sensor is $80 vs $800 for the cat. Also the “new” calipers are holding up, although I still have some screeching from the rear under low speed braking. I already fiddled with all the backing plates and adjusted the parking brake cable, so I’m not sure what it is now. I also replaced one of the engine mounts at the same time and it runs a bit smoother.

It still needs a few little things. The outer tie rods are both on their way out, so I got new ones for both. I should’ve done the alignment after I replaced the lower control arms several months ago, but I didn’t. Definitely doing it after these. I just didn’t care too much about the Goodyears that are on the car now. Goodyear is one of my least favorite big tire brands (although they’re beaten by Bridgestone and Firestone. The OE Honda tires are usually one of those 2. And they SUCK). Once the Assurance Maxlifes on here now wear out (I will say to their credit that they do hold up well long term), I’m getting a set of Continental DWS06 Pluses. It came down to those or Michelin Pilot Sport 4 All Seasons. The Contis are a better value and they have good reviews (one of those reviews is from our shop dispatcher who has a set on his 2018 Accord 1.5 Sport, and I know he’s a leadfoot like I am), so I’m gonna go with those this time (Had Michelins on the Speed3). I debated going to 225s, but thinner tires will be better in bad weather, plus I have no plans to add too much power. Not that it matters since I still have a few months to change my mind. They still have 6/32" of tread on them, but I’ll definitely be changing them by late november so I have good rubber in the winter.

I’ve been taking some scattered video clips of what I’ve done over the past few months, I’ll compile them into one video later today once I do some cleaning. Also the headliner has been sagging and I’m gonna try to fix it the cheap way.

SkylineFTW97 · 24 September 2022 23:49

Decided to poke around the auctions again. And after having been burned with a stuck engine on that Ford, I decided to try in person again. The auction I normally go to is still only only, so I went to a new source: the county police auction. I’ve never gone to one of those before today, but in practice, the only difference is the sort of cars you get. It’s like a Copart or IAAI auction with the selection (mostly wrecked or abandoned cars), but without all the fees. I’ll definitely have to come back later for that alone, your winning bid is the price you pay. Nothing more, nothing less.

I was going to look at some more trucks, but nothing really caught my eye there. What did catch my eye was this.

1998 Honda Civic EX 5 speed (coupe which I’m not really a fan of, but it was cheap and it’s rust-free. Good luck finding those 2 together). Got it for $550. And unlike the Ford, this one will turn over. In fact, once I got it home, I got it to run (on starting fluid, the fuel pump appears to be dead).

How did I get it so cheap then? It’s absolutely covered in mold. It looks like it’s been parked in a field for 10 years (probably less in practice. There’s a DC inspection sticker for 2014 in the windshield). Also for whatever reason, it has a salvage title. I don’t know why since the worst exterior damage is the passenger mirror being broken. It isn’t even covered in dents like my old 94 EX, which had a rebuilt title when I bought it.

A lot of people freak out at that, but with old cars like these, they can get “totaled out” over nothing. Salvage title doesn’t actually have anything to do with major structural damage, it has to do with whether or not an insurance company wanted to fix it. This car will pass a Maryland salvage inspection as is with 0 trouble, which is what I will be doing once I get the title in my name (it was abandoned and didn’t come with one, but since I bought it at a police auction, they gave me a special form that lets me get one with no further hassle).

This is how it sits now. Also it has 255k miles, so it’s definitely up my alley. I took some videos of it, but I’ll edit them together tomorrow once I replace the fuel pump. Like I said, I already got it running on starting fluid, so I know it’s a fuel issue. I already checked for power, so the pump itself is the problem. The sending unit also doesn’t work, so I’ll maybe fix that too at some point (I thought I would on the 94 which also had a bad sender, but I drove that car without a fuel gauge with 0 trouble).