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danteisme's 1996 DB8-Found and Rebuild Thread

120077 Views 891 Replies 52 Participants Last post by  danteisme
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dante and car, reunited!

Inspection and initial tear down
A floating GSR and MOAR Tear Down
Chassis Saving the...ummmm....Chassis
Chassis Saving Continued and Undercoated!
Moving Day!
Coated Fuel Tank and Misc. Pieces
Engine Tear Down Part 1
Subframe Pulled, Stripped Block Threads Repaired
Rattle Can Engine Bay
New Fuel Lines, Brake Lines, and Coolant Hoses
Subframe Back in, Transmission Out
ITR Oil Cooler Install, Evap Canister Re-Install, Speed of Science LMA Install
Timing Belt and Water Pump Kit, Valve Lash, New Fuel Meter and Fuel Pump
Valve Cover, Cap and Rotor, Plugs and Wires, New Drive Belts, Start of Body Work
Re-install Intake Manifold, Throttle body, misc vacuum and fuel lines, and start slicing the body!
Front Wheel Arch Repair Completed, Alarm Work, and Security Measures
No Good Bodywork Update + Shaved Door Mouldings and Front Bumper Repair
The Beginnings of an Electrical Nightmare and MOAR Bodywork
Minor Painting and Passenger Wheel Arch Replacement
Passenger Rear Wheel Arch Replacement Complete and Rear Bumper Install
Electrical Demon Captured!
First Start and Front Bumper Install
Uninstalling things I have already installed....diagnosing poorly running motor
Misc. Underhood work and Exterior Work
ECU Wire Harness Repair = Success + First Trip Out of the Garage in 2 years
So close....then it came crashing down...literally.
Out and about!
Random Pics and 4,000 mile since restoration
6,000 miles since restoration, winter storage and winter plans
Starting winter work: access to core support and investigating DIY Ice Box Intake with AEM Short ram piping
Window Motor and Door Glass Replacements
Bent Core Support Removal
Core Support Replacement and More Rust...
Front Windshield Removal and Rust Repair
New Front and Rear Windshields Installed!
Air Conditioning Diagnosing and Open Loop Error Diagnosing
Installed Wheelskin Cover and Road Trip to Melt Bar!
Mileage Milestone and Away for the Winter 2018
Beginning Tear Down and Body Work and Paint Prep!
Dashboard out for Wiring Harness Swap, and Seat Cover Swap!
Finally....FINALLY the Bad Harness is Out and Shows Where my Electrical Issues Came From!


For rust repair and working with rusty parts, just reference every page here...


First i'd like to warn people up front. This will probably be the longest, slowest moving build thread ever. I just bought a house that needs some attention to say the least, so the car will have her turn when i'm sure the roof over my head is secure.

Anyways, here is my story. I'm not sure how many people on here even would remember me. I bought my 96 DB8 with 64K miles on the clock back in the spring or early summer of 2003. put well over 100k miles on the car and then i decided to part ways with her in 2009. i had just graduate college, had a "real" job and the integra with 172K miles on her was starting to concern me. i sold the car, and i picked up a 2009 Tacoma. Well, maybe a year after that i started really regretting my decision selling that car but i was in no financial status to go out and buy another one.

Here is my old for sale thread, you can see all of the hard work i put into her.

https://www.team-integra.net/forum/69-pa-forum/196308-fs-96-gsr-sedan-4500-sold.html

This year and some of last year i've been telling my fiance how much i regretted selling that car and how rare it was and how i would never find one again. with our wedding coming up this fall, $$$ is tight so even when i did find something that peaked my interest, reality set in and i realized it would have to wait.

So lets fast forward to this past Friday. I have my usual routine at work. Get in, log in the computer, check woot and craigslist just to see what is out there. For whatever reason, i searched for integra. The first ad that popped up said 1996 Gsr $2500. I started thinking, same year as mine...i should look at it. I clicked the ad and HOLY CRAP. There was my car. I immediately started texting the seller. Sure enough,he bought the car 2 years ago from the guy i sold it to. I HAD to get her back, this wasnt just some other car that i could make like mine. This was my old car. I talked to the future wife, and she said she would be really upset if I didn't go get it. Worked out a deal with a small personal loan, and yesterday i brought her home.

Needless to say, i was grinning from ear to ear all day yesterday lol.

I do have my work cut out for me. She has been neglected and needs some TLC. motor wise though, she runs great. still pushing great oil pressure, no terrible sounds, no knocks etc... 214K on the clock now, transmission still shifts great (noticed it definitely needs new shifter bushings). the body is where it needs the most attention.

Here is a few pics of what she looked like when i picked her up. These are the sad pics...





You can see my tacoma in this one





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On another note, 1.7 negative camber doesn't destroy tires. That's actually not an insane amount of camber and that's about what I run for my track car setups and my tires last quite long. I'd assume the toe must have been way out of spec at some point.
Man, I just re-read this whole thread. I still can't believe the amount of work you put into it lol. This car is truly priceless.
It's my bad habit lol. Still more to come!
On another note, 1.7 negative camber doesn't destroy tires. That's actually not an insane amount of camber and that's about what I run for my track car setups and my tires last quite long. I'd assume the toe must have been way out of spec at some point.
I'm hoping my bad tire wear was from a bad tie rod. When i took the car for inspection, they said the one tie rod was junk (thanks MOOG!). kind of glad they found it, but i was really hoping tie rods would last more than 15K miles.
Getting the last few pieces of the puzzle to make this happen:
Well, this is not going to happen this year. I'll have some bigger pieces I'll have to get. No local tuners around me have the knowledge or capability to tune VAFC2 units anymore. Which is ok, I might have something better in the works. My main goal for getting it tuned with the VAFC2 is that it is already tuned on it, so mainly the VTEC crossover would need to be changed, maybe some fuel inputs here and there. The other reason was because of my obd2 emissions testing. But, we'll see if I can find a way around that as well. Stay tuned...
Well, this is not going to happen this year. I'll have some bigger pieces I'll have to get. No local tuners around me have the knowledge or capability to tune VAFC2 units anymore. Which is ok, I might have something better in the works. My main goal for getting it tuned with the VAFC2 is that it is already tuned on it, so mainly the VTEC crossover would need to be changed, maybe some fuel inputs here and there. The other reason was because of my obd2 emissions testing. But, we'll see if I can find a way around that as well. Stay tuned...
Why not try it yourself with a street tune? I heard the vafc is pretty easy to work with, it's old-school tech.
Why not try it yourself with a street tune? I heard the vafc is pretty easy to work with, it's old-school tech.
I was thinking about it, but i'm a little nervous. I would really hate to lean something too much or richen something too much and cause problems. And from everything I've read, you really need the dyno graph to determine the best vtec point when switching out to the single stage intake manifold.
IMO dyno is only needed if you want the numbers. I've worked with street tuners and dyno tuners and have gotten similar results on my EP3. The key is just making sure your AFR is correct and not running to lean or rich. Something between 10-13. Although if VAFC doesn't have datalogging then you would need someone to drive while you make live adjustments. Do long pulls all the way to redline while you richen or lean out the fuel. Also I'm assuming VAFC probably doesn't adjust based on throttle input, so partial throttle and full throttle probably share the same map, which is kind of mehhhh. I mean people used them for years so I'm sure it's good enough. It's mainly making your mods safe to run, but not great for making big power.
You can always upgrade to something like HTS, which is way cheaper than hondata. The software is free I believe, but you pay a little bit for the hardware to chip your ecu. It's like a softcore version of hondata but offers more than enough to be dangerous. Honda Tuning Suite | OBD0, OBD1, CANBUS .

They also have a huge DIY community, where you could probably get someone else's tune that you can build from.
I think the Skunk2 items will be up for sale shortly so i can start to buy the supporting pieces for my latest acquisition.

Keeping with the period correct goodness...

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As usual, I don't update this. Getting ready to get this car back on the road for summer hopefully tomorrow. Got some new things installed and squared away.

After much saving, the seats are squared away.





And got this guy installed in it's new home.



Still acquiring bits and pieces of the supporting jackson racing install pieces here and there. Thats most likely a winter 2022-2023 install.
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so you have been on a sk2 manifold with your stock ecu? can you provide me some info regarding the drivability with stock ecu?
i figured that it will throw a cel for the secondary butterflies.
i have been thinking of getting a sk2 manifold but was hesitant
so you have been on a sk2 manifold with your stock ecu? can you provide me some info regarding the drivability with stock ecu?
i figured that it will throw a cel for the secondary butterflies.
i have been thinking of getting a sk2 manifold but was hesitant
Never installed the SK2 manifold. BUT, from everything i've read, disabling the butterflies will not trigger a CEL light. I have a vacf2 if i was going to go that route to change the vtec engagement point if needed. The vafc2 is installed, it only changed the vtec engagement for the CTR cams very slightly. The tuner said that with the stock intake manifold, it didnt need to be pushed any further.
Weekly photo dump of updates. Period correct car audio installed, and out for a drive with the kiddo's new car seats. SO MUCH MORE ROOM with these, its night and day difference.




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are the seats designed for smaller cars or did you just find some that were smaller?
are the seats designed for smaller cars or did you just find some that were smaller?
I don't think they are specific for smaller cars, but I think that because these didnt start out as the infant seats, they don't have the huge base on them. That base looks like it adds about 4 inches to the bottom of the seat, pushing the kiddos closer to the back of the front seats and closer to the headliner. Its all about the inches with interior room in these cars lol.

Here are the ones I picked up.

Just realized I never updated this. So, my AC took a crap on me about 2-3 weeks ago. I actually thought my motor gave out, it was quite the oh sh*t moment. So, I was on the highway going about 70-75. It was raining and it was like 85 degrees out, so I put on the air. Seemed fine for most of my drive, then all of the sudden it wasn't nearly as cool. Then the car really started to bog down. Then all you heard was this loud squeal, then a loud bang followed by "thud thud thud thud thud thud", accompanied with a cloud of smoke and the smell of burning rubber. When I got a chance to pull over, I shut down the car and started inspecting. Looks like the AC compressor seized, and because the engine was still turning the AC Belt, it just heated up and melted and snapped. The loud bang was the belt snapping and smacking the hood, the thud thud thud noise was it getting sucked into the power steering pulley and being slung all around the engine bay LOL. I'm assuming the smoke was a combination of the belt and the AC compressor, because the side of the compressor was covered in oil. So, I ordered a new compressor, new expansion valve, new condenser (came in the kit) and a new receiver dryer. Can't wait to see what is floating around in my lines....

On the Jackson Racing end of things, still getting pieces here and there for a winter install.
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This is exhausting...




Emissions system is still acting goofy.

Need to replace the front axles.

I want my AC back lol.
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Well, what an interesting time this has been.

So, car is finally back together, and on the ground.



Also completed this while i was waiting for parts. The BSQ ice box install, this one used 4" piping. Let me tell you, that wasnt easy to snake around in there.


And the maiden voyage did not go well, I was actually completing my test drive and about to head home when all of the sudden, I had a bunch of neutrals...


Luckily, I have a friend that lives about a mile from where this happened. He should up with his heavy chevy and pulled me back up to level ground in the parking lot. We got the car jacked up and found that the axle decided it was time for ejecto seato. Tranny fluid everywhere.



So i'm guessing the thing wasnt fully seated. I have such a hard time telling if its actually seated, or if it just feels like it. So we disassembled the car, pulled the axle, and reinstalled it in the grocery store parking lot.


I took it easy on the way home, hopefully its actually in there now. Havent had a chance to jack up the car and confirm if its still where it was when we finished lol. I just want to get back to driving this thing everyday before winter hits.
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I feel like I am forever going to be fighting this P0441 code....
Trouble codes aside...

I accidentally snapped off my ebay window visor on the passenger side, so what better time to install my refurbished Yakima rack. Plan to use this for the kiddo's bicycles, i have another rack to use on my hitch for my bike and my wife's bike. oh yeah, i installed a trailer hitch too lol.


gave the car a fresh wash and wax too.


Is there anything I can do with the finish of the Yakima fairing? Not sure if this is as simple as putting some clear coat or clear PPF over this or what. I'm not sure what the finish was like when they came new.



I was NOT prepared for the amount of wind noise this thing makes. The whole way to preschool today, the kids asked about every 60 seconds, "what the heck is that noise?" " Whats that sound?!"
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