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5thOwnerDB8. Retrofitted Headlights!Broken Door Handle..

6K views 23 replies 7 participants last post by  5thOwnerDB8 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey my name is Aaron. I've had my Integra Sedan GSR for a good 4 years (30,000miles). Purchased at 156,000miles for 3 grand. My current philosophy is don't replace if it doesn't really need replacing......unless I run into a really good deal.:smile: I had a previous DB8 before but was in an accident in 2006.

Here's a picture of that! Enjoy!




It was a bad hit... No one was injured.

I had integra fever so I had to move on to this.



100% Original stock Integra with absolutely nothing replaced on it.
Check out that ride height! I know you are all jealous of something other than my ride height..
Soon after that ↑. I had to go and ruin it with my so called "mods"

First car part that was slippery as a snow slope was the clutch..



So I went for something more engaging in every day life.
An ACT 6 puck clutch with a Fidanza flywheel. Shown here ↓ !


This was my first go around with this type of clutch setup. Once I became more in tune with driving with the clutch it was all fun from there.

Then there was an oil leak at the cam seal. I saw a good deal on a wrinkle red valve cover, so I went for it. Plus, I decided to replace all the other engine gaskets while I was at it.



After some time I ran into an old friend that had an LS coupe with a great suspension setup. He wanted to change things up to a Toyota MR2. Long story short we swapped suspensions!!



-MINUS- the breaks.
This included:
- Tein SS coilovers
-ARP Extended studs
-Some Energy Poly-Bushings
-98 spec Type R Front + Rear Anti-Sway Bars
- Front and Rear camber kit
-Function 7 LCA's
-Type R Front and Rear Strut tower braces

Here she is finally lowered!:zmocop:



I did buy some an extra piece while the suspension was off..the ASR subframe brace.



This happened on the way to an x-mas family party...


Apparently, rust got the best of my OEM axle. When it happened it sounded like all hell broke loose under my car.
The car was very controllable when it happened I just couldn't gas the car to move anywhere.

Brakes were next...
-95 Legend GS Calipers & Rotors+ INLINE FOUR SS Brake Lines



I Don't have those rims any more. I received way to many neck break displays. Tooo much attention.


Here is the difference from the GSR rotor/caliper and the Legend GS rotor/caliper.






I am going to fast forward to now because I am posting late and getting tired.

Here is my car as it sits now!



I recently picked up a used Seibon carbon trunk & VIS carbon trunk from a very nice gentlemen in Hatfield Pa. I have to admit an hour drive with no hood was sketchy.

SO both pieces have oxidation on them I plan to refurbish them my self.
1. Wet sanding them down with the proper grit papers.
2. Clear Coating
3. Success.

My question that I would have for anyone out there would be --"WHAT CLEAR COAT TO GO WITH?"

I am aware of the "Dupli-Color Clear acrylic lacquer". I am worried about getting the same oxidation over time. So I have found a UV-Resistant clear which is "Krylon UV-resistant Clear"
Any HELP would be appreciated! Thank You!

ORRRRR should I just not worry about all that and do what this lancer did with his Exhaust "TIPS"



I apologize for the blurry back round in the picture. the Lancer was going light-speed due to all the whp the exhaust tips were throwing down to the pavement.
 
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#3 ·
Going around corners feels completely neutral. Response is great, the car is easy to control. Haha.. I wonder what the Eclipse owner was thinking. He was probably attempting to try and get some "street cred". You would have to imagine too that these people probably put a lot of effort into making those multiple fart cans possible.
 
#4 ·
When I woke up in the morning to go to work a week ago I started my car then pushed on the clutch pedal and I felt almost no push back on the pedal. So I thought I have a leak somewhere in the clutch system. Soon after that I put the car into reverse I stalled out.... Sooo I thought upgrade.

OmniPower Quick Clutch


AND the Goodridge Clutch Tuck line with a new OEM slave cylinder



This is an Upgrade I must recommend to everyone! Clutch response is just absolutely amazing. I currently have it adjusted to a little under the stock clutch pedal height, which is nice because I can just slide my foot over and tap the clutch pedal and change gears easy even at high revs. I could adjust it down to the floor ,but I am liking the way it is now. Plus the pedal is really stiff..not a big deal because all I have to do is tap the clutch pedal.

I also thought if a dumber thief tried to drive my car away..he/she would probably be really confused on what is going on.

Here is a recent picture of my car in the daylight.



 
#5 · (Edited)
5thownerDB8 Log Progress! Re-Clearing/Refurshing/Buffing

Here are my Oxidized Carbon Parts...







and this is what happens when you put bug and tar remover on it..



That finish doesn't last long. After reviewing many DIY+ talking to people that have painted at body shops on how to re-clear these parts I will DIY myself haha. I will try and do it within the next week and will post pics of the process.
 
#10 ·
@5thOwnerDB8, that would be pretty intense.

You wouldn't happen to have your original hood and trunk lid for sale? I'm in need of both and am in the Harrisburg area.
Hmmm I never thought of selling either hood or trunk. How much would you take these pieces for? The hood is really weathered and is the reason I went to get this new hood so I could refinish the new one. The trunk is perfect except the paint needs to be buffed. It is something I need to think about..

 
#12 · (Edited)
Carbon Re-Clearing/Refurbishing

OKAY. So in between my busy work schedule amongst other things I have started to refurbish my recently acquired carbon trunk and hood. I am in no way a professional. With that being said I will post the process and tools I went through. This was labor intensive, absorbed much time, and did save money. For someone like me that doesn't have a lot of time to spare I did have to plan everything out and could sometime only work on this project one day a week. Even though I made it seem like a pain to do, I did enjoy making something look better myself.

I always make sure to read the directions --carefully-- on the back of each product. It has proven to save time and help with some issues that might come up.

Tools Used

-----800 grit wet/dry sandpaper---Acquired at
-----1000 grit wet/ dry sandpaper---Pepboys/
-----1500 wet/dry grit sandpaper---Home Dpot
-----2000 wet/dry sandpaper---
-----Super Fine Grade #0000 Steel Wool---
-----TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) Cleaner--Acquired at Kmart
-----3M Rubber Sanding Block
-----Disposable Gloves
-----Micro-fiber towels
-----Terry cloth towels
-----Pneumatic Shop Chair
-----Knee Pads
-----Rust-Oleum Comfort Grip---if you rattle can a lot
----- Flexible Water Blade ---Used For Quick Drying
-----Duplicolor Acrylic Lacquer--Acquired at Pep Boys
-----Krylon UV Resistant Clear--Acquired at Michael's
-----Hose attached to a spicket with running water






Helped tremendously to dry quickly to see how even the sanding was.

Here is what I started with.



Yea, I know. What the BLEEP happened to this.. and because of this I revieved an excellent deal.

I cut some 800 grit sandpaper and put it in the rubber sanding block.



I sanded in X's and V's patterns pointing the corner of the sanding block forward. I used light to moderate pressure. This seemed to work well.


White Clear coat material will come up which is a sign that the sanding is working. I made sure to hose down my sandpaper here and there because the white material would sometimes clog it.



The hazing should be as uniformed as possible before switching to the higher grit. I used 800grit until I saw zero sign of the previous oxidation. This picture was taken after I used TSP to clean all of the clear material off the trunk.

After I ended at 2000grit I used the Super fine steel wool to remove any small debris that I located by touch after running my hand across the trunk.

So after hours of sanding. It was time for Clearing!



To sum up the directions I stayed 9-10 inches away from the trunk, sprayed in a sweeping motion, and produced light coats. It's best to let it dry in between each coat.


This was after 3 coats of the Duplicolor Acrylic Lacquer.


This was next. WARNING: This product gave the trunk more of a dry clear look afterwards.


After 3 coats of Krylon UV Resistant Clear.



End Result.

I did the same process to the hood!










It's Like looking at a beautiful women shirtless with no bra on!
 
#13 ·
I obtained a cheap one speed buffer from my father-in-law. I was told that I could make my trunk look glossy with a light cutting compound. At the same time these one speed buffers are the worst to use for a cutting compound for which they can cause a "burn in". Sooo I moved on straight to a WAX.







END RESULT.

It was nice to use a machine after all the labor intensive sanding. Don't get me wrong, this did take time and effort as well.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I'll be happy to help. I would hope someone would do the same for me since "Information is Key"!
 
#14 ·
Carbon interior pieces!

I just picked up some car bon interior pieces to get my interior together.



Rugs are dirty as anything... I had the climate control for a while. I just put in the cup holder and the Cigarette piece. That had to be retrofitted since I only have usdm console.



A hydrgraphed carbon Tach insert or whatever you call it. I think it adds a nice touch.



Here's a close- up of my mileage. Everyone keeps telling me I should get rid of this and get a new car......but I'm so attached.

Heres a pic of it a night. Interesting effect.




And lastly these Mirror covers.




I am looking for some sedan db8 door panels with black leather. They are so hard to find. Plus, everyone live so far from me.. wish me luck!
 
#22 · (Edited)
So it's been cold around my area. One morning it was 15 degrees or maybe below. I went to casually open my driver side door and this happened.....SHOCK & AWE at 6AM! $57 to replace... Who would have known Honda doesn't paint behind the door handle. That somewhat erks me.







So I found a pair of already done retrofitted headlights in Canada on the jdmrides.ca forum. A really nice gentleman with the handle Tony the Tiger provided me with them. So I acquired E55 Hella projectors in 94-97 headlight housings with OEM Philips Gen 2 ballasts & Philips D2S 85122 bulbs. Tony was kind enough to hook up the plug n play with the high beams. Of course, there were 3 rusted screws which I had to tap out that were holding on my front bumper. So that turned a 45min job into a 2 and a half hour job. Unfortunately, it was 30 degrees.. SO I was in a rush which means I did not take a before picture. All I know is that compared to the stock halogen lights, night is turned into day. :biggrin: Satisfied.









FYI to anyone that tries this... I kept blowing 20A fuses for each headlight after this upgrade I switched to 30A fuses and has been working since. There is still a slight color shift in my right headlight. It's a little more yellow. It has gotten better over time.

Sooo I'll be at the Kennett Square, PA car meet & show on March 16th at 4:00pm at

345 Scarlet Rd #22, Kennett Square, PA 19348.

If anyone is reading this I'll see you there!

I am starting to entertain offers on from buyers that might be interested in my car. I have had a second child and might need to step it up to a bigger vehicle. I don't really neeed to sell it but, I would like to know what people have to think. If your at the car meet I'll take you for a spin! It's mechanically sound. Well documented. Fluids changed before on time. It's waaay faster than you think.
 
#24 ·
I recently found time to replace my broken door handle. This was somewhat challenging.




I also decided to put in some pieces I picked up.





Old vs. New



This was problem one which was quite difficult!







I had to use 2 of these car tool picks at the same time, plus a flathead screwdriver to pry and pull the threaded pin out while it was still hooked up to the door lock rod. .....TIGHT....





This was hard problem #2. Getting this little plastic piece back onto the rod without breaking it. I ended up using a long big head flathead screwdriver.



TADA! Finished! FIRST TIMERS BEWARE! Clear your schedule to complete this install.



I also decided to do some evening to night time cleaning and waxing.

 
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