Taistorm Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Hey guys, Finally got around to buying a daily, as some of you may have seen I was looking at an EK Civic but turns out it will be more work than I wanted to get legal and decided i'd spend less and throw more coin at the Mazda. I initially struck a deal with old mate when this popped up for sale about a month ago but now I have finally got my hands on it. It is a 1988 Honda Integra DA3. Not too many of these around, even in NZ I had only come across 1 DA3 but my first car was a DA1 5 door (came with black top ZC). It is in fair condition for its age, 180 odd thousand kms, reasonably straight, interior is good and all there but needs a good clean. The engine is a d16a3 otherwise known as the 'brown top' ZC, unlike the black top it has slightly low compression and smaller, weaker valves/springs. The previous owner replaced the timing gear, w/pump, brakepads, battery, and did the tierod ends and sump gasket to get it through the pits inspection and register it as it has been de-reg and off the road for about a year I think. It runs bloody well for what it is which is a bonus. The body trims and garnishes are pretty dull and worn so will strip these back and restore blackness and give the car a good cut and polish. It also has optional duck tail wing and also top hatch wing/visor fitted, the latter of which i'll be removing as it is ugly as fuck. A cat back exhaust system has also been fitted, I think it is a 2 1/4" but it has some very ugly tips that exit diagonally which have a terrible drone sound so i'll be cutting the tips back and eventually change the setup with something more subtle. Other plans Include: - Period wheels - Slam - Maybe sounds - Steering rack may require attention as it appears to be on its way out but I think the previous owner will assist with this - If I stay in Australia I may get a supercharger kit for it for lols Here's a picture which makes it look much better than it is.. And here's a bit of inspiration: Hope to carry out wheels and low soon so will hopefully update this asap. Let me know what you think. Chur, Tai 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB8-TypeR Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Sweet, the reason theres not many (left) in NZ is then tend tomhave all had the factory rust system installed at the factory haha. Cool looking car though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taistorm Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 Sweet, the reason theres not many (left) in NZ is then tend tomhave all had the factory rust system installed at the factory haha. Cool looking car though The Da1 that I had, had all guards rusted out and all around the rear end. Bogged it all up being a 15 year old at the time with no skills or money haha. This one however has nothing! It's surprisingly extremely good condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taistorm Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 More pictures off the potato. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taistorm Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taistorm Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 Spent a few hours today cleaning up the bumper/side strips and front lip. Scuffed them back and threw some coats of paint on. I didn't fill/smooth out all the little chips and scrapes but definitely looks 100x better. Unfortunately I was having problems with the plasti primer when doing the passenger side bumper strip and it ended up getting pretty bad orange peel. I might look at redoing it at some stage but meh. And here's some pics that make the paint look awesome. I'm going to give it a cut and polish tomorrow. Will look at repainting the other garnishes and trim pieces sometime soon as well. Also i've discovered a small problem, the engine hunts idle when sitting. When it's cold it is much worse but holds ok-ish when it's warm. Having a quick google it looks like it is common problem resulting from the IACV seal being worn or perhaps vacuum line problems? I've just cranked the idle bleed valve out a bit more for the time being to make it more driveable when cold but will look at sorting it out soon. Chur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manamari Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Those exhaust tips 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taistorm Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 Those exhaust tips The disgust is real. I will be taking an angle grinder to them tomorrow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kws Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Thats a cool little car, certainly not many around now! Had a hearty lol at the exhaust, what were they thinking? Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willdat? Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Also i've discovered a small problem, the engine hunts idle when sitting. When it's cold it is much worse but holds ok-ish when it's warm. Having a quick google it looks like it is common problem resulting from the IACV seal being worn or perhaps vacuum line problems? I've just cranked the idle bleed valve out a bit more for the time being to make it more driveable when cold but will look at sorting it out soon. Vacuum leak is the obvious one - I'm sure you know how to figure that out. I have a spare IACV valve/seal if you can't find the leak. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuel Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Check the coolant level too as low coolant level causes the temp sensor to be intermittently immersed causing the fluctuating idle. Also holy LOL at those exhaust tips.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mof Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 You can run a heat gun over the plastic trim to bring the black back to the surface. Bit late now though eh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taistorm Posted October 6, 2016 Author Share Posted October 6, 2016 Yeah will have a look over the vacuum lines first of all. Coolant level is good but I think the thermostat is fucked as well as temperature barely rises so running cooler may also cause issues with the iacv perhaps? Looks like that rear hatch wing is extremely rare and i've got a lot of interest over in the US for it so might be able to make some coin off it! Jeah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taistorm Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 Exhaust tips be gone! Much tidier now but still pretty meh looking. Maybe i'll get it red done one day but probably not. Sounds and looks sooo much better now, doesnt have that awful drone but still a bit too loud for my liking and has a bit of a rattle at higher rpm. I had done some measuring and did the rounds today to see what I could cook up suspension wise. There wasn't alot of options in the way of 'off the shelf' kits bar the usual 'sports low' springs through various retailers and coilovers through a few US websites. Was going to get some 'sports low' springs compressed and some shorter struts suited for a volvo for the rear then reindex the t-bar, add some shorter shocks for the front plus install an adjustable panhard rod however after pricing it all up id be looking at around the $1200-$1400 point and this would also sit the chassis rails around 100mm. Decided against it as it's a cheap daily I don't want to throw a lot of coin at, plus would rather this be kept a little bit higher for daily duties. Instead i've put some Lovell lowering springs on order which will hopefully drop it between 30-40mm which should still remain captive in the original struts and wind down the front end. It will handle like a bag of shit and it will probably bottom out everywhere due to lack of travel but fuck it. May also have some 14x6 (or 7) Enkei Gold 92's in the works but will see if it eventuates. Also I gave it a good clean today and tried to cut and polish it but the polish I had wasnt really abrasive enough so will look at it again another day. Removed the upper hatch wing to clean up the appearance, looks like it is worth around 400-600AUD as well so will be going up for sale. Had a look at sorting out the hunting idle. Unleashed on the vacuum lines and intake area with some carb cleaner but no dice, it all seemed ok. Will have a look at the iacv next. Cheers, Tai 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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