October 26 2007, I started to work on the crx

first thing i did was replace my hood... my friend once had a broken hood latch.. the hood opened on the freeway and smashed his windshield and lowered his roof... X.x.... so i picked up a hood from the grave and roller primed it.

next was that my PGMFI light kept turning on... engine code light 1 was on

so i replaced my O2 sensor.... or i tried... couldn't figure out how to reach it since it was so crammed in there right up to the radiator -.-;;

so i took off the front bumper and took off the radiator and air condensor ^.^;;;

well... after i took that off.. i was kinda lazy to put it back together.... so.. i decided to pull the engine and rebuild it >.>;; lazy indeed XD

 

It's beat up, but for FREE and for the fact that you won't have to deal with barely any rust issues, it's a hell of a deal!

 

days drifted by and my crx sat in the garage as i studied for my finals

a d16a1 or b16a3 engine swap tempted me at the time....
but with my low income as a college student... california's cursed smog
regulations... and my limited time... i opted for an engine rebuild

i obviously didn't take enough pictures of the rebuild but i got plenty of
pictures of my own personal... mm... interest...

i was always fascinated with pop-up headlights... my original plan was to get
a mk3 supra but that car was an accident.. waaay to much fuel.. so if the crx
didnt' have one.. why not.. give it pop-ups?

so whats a very similar car to the crx 1g that has pop-ups.. oh right! the 1g
integra! so i took them and started my process of mounting them on XD

before i did tho, i photoshopped a concept... just to see how it would look
if its not plain obvious, the concept isn't my car.. i needed a good looking car that would give me an idea how i can look

the pop up headlight concept

so after getting a good concept down i began my work ^_^

of course, i shouldn't be toying with mods if i'm not doing engine work ^^;;

so heres my engine outta the bay

and so i eventually took over the rest of the garage ^.^;;;

 

It's beat up, but for FREE and for the fact that you won't have to deal with barely any rust issues, it's a hell of a deal!

actually the rust is inside the sunroof and a bit here and there in small spots..

its california.. not enough snow to give a car cancer (good thing too X.x)

anyways, more pictures! we like pictures yea?
more headlight work! >.>... erm.. no pictures but the head is off by this time and i grinded the valves, honed the pistons, changed the gaskets for the crank shafts and oil pump, new valve seats, basically bought an engine rebuild gasket set and changed everything ^_^

and so... pop ups aren't just the light.. theres a motor... yea, i got that in too XD... and god it was a pain in the ass

head light mount points

and here are the corner lights XD

The EW4, 90hp, 1.5L - FI

 

dropping back in the engine and my nice mess ^.^;;

and... for starters, the popups XD

Starting the engine and lights
and cleaning the garage X.x....

 

and then the bad news -.-

car accident... some girl in a galant hit me... and wow my car flew....

bent rear axle... a huge dent in the rear quarter panel... torn off bumper... 1 torn wheel... yep... -.-
well its in repairs.. but repairs are a b-tch to do

so i took that as an excuse to put on a body kit >.>;;;

the axle has been replaced
quarter panel is a b-tch.. dunno what i should do about it... maybe fiber glass and body fill.. or just cut and weld.... mmm tempting..

 

so the headlights go up and down?

wow... thats cool!

 

I would've never thought to put pop-ups on a rex. It looks amazing. Little tweaking on the fenders and no one will be able to tell it's not stock

 

I would've never thought to put pop-ups on a rex. It looks amazing. Little tweaking on the fenders and no one will be able to tell it's not stock

yep, with the summer heat coming in, once i change my shocks(wheels are hitting car on the bumps).. then comes ac then i'm gonna fiberglass the fenders and nose piece and body fill a bit then paint

the motors are setup all ready, all thats left is wiring, that will come as soon as i pull a headlight tractor module and relays from a 1g integ. wiring should be ez.

all that, after i'm done with finals hahaha... x.x

 

I'm not usually a fan of front end conversion, taking away from the original car, but the 1st gen Integra front end works.
Nice job.

I've never seen anyone do such a thing. I think it will look good when it's done. From the front, it kind of reminds me a the old Toyota Corollas (AKA the AE86, real or look alikes).

 

Stuck on the bumper about 2 weeks ago and finally found time to work on the fenders.

The fenders aren't perfect yet... i still need to do a bit more sanding and shaping.... i just need to go buy more hardener -.-;;

And of course, pictures XD

And of course... the rear bumper... it needs sanding and more prime...

And then i washed my car for the first time since july 2007 @.@;;

Also started to pulled out that dent on the driver quarter panel... tempted tow weld it instead... -.-;;;

so a few things to do...

refabricate the nose piece so it's height matches the pop-up conversion
fix quarter panel
change shocks
fix the AC system
put on front bumper and sideskirts
clean up the fenders

and those are just a few to go ^.^;;

 

Instead caking on all that body filler, could you have used the front corner of the Integra fender. I know 1st gen Crx fenders are plastic, but maybe make a useuable mold out of fiberglass from the Integra front fenders in order to get a better contour?

 

finally got to updating, -.-;;;

took abit of work but the motors for the retractable headlights are finally wired.

interestingly, the wire colors for the integra first gen matches with the crx 1st gen perfectly. The only problem was that the switch requires one of the wires to always be hot.

other than that, if anyone ever attempts to put pop-ups on a crx, the wire colors match exactly. Just tap the wires from a reasonable location.

I still have yet to pick up some integra fender as i found that they bolt on nicely and require only a small amount of fabrication. The nose piece still needs a bit of work and i'm tempted to just saw off a piece of the integra hood to make the nose piece instead of completely fabricating one.

Also, i tried something interesting and stuck an EK armrest into the car. It fits but requires the center console to make complete. I'll be adding that in soon and i'll take pictures once i'm done. Sorry this update lacks pictures.. my camera broke... i'll get a new one soon ^.^;;

 

Thats some nice work you're doing, I think the end result will be pretty impressive !

 

That's one hell of a write-up and some good fabbin' on the lights and fenders. I should have taken pics from the start like you. Keep up the good work.

 

finally got some pictures and video of the pop-ups in action

video of pop-ups

and so i picked up an ek armrest at pick n pull... then followed to pick up a center console for the ek off of craigslist

naturally.. it doesn't really fit... but i worked with it.. cut a bit.. fabricated abit.. and i'm kinda satisfied.. i just need to reinforce teh structure and repaint it.. otherwise for the time being.. the shape is there...

what i basically did was cut off the bottom part of teh center console.. as in everything below the cig lighter and ash tray... cuz i like my power and "extra drawer" haha

i also trimed the ek center console lower and proceeded to merge the two pieces together

to make the two piece inseperable.. i drilled holes and sowed it together with nylon rope... i proceeded to use fiberglass to give a back structure and used body fill to make the connection smooth

unfortunately my body fill job was weak and it didn't stick well.. i might mix in some fiberglass to give it more bonding and structure

nonetheless... ignoring the cosmetic imperfections.. which aren't visible in the photos.. then its pretty nice

sorry, the pictures were taken by a 2.0 mp camera phone -.-;;; my good camera died T.T

complete view of the center console. The driver side stitching is visible and so is the fiberglass backing.

close up view of the rushed stitching

passenger side stitching

fiberglass backing on the inside

completed view within car. note that the console is only primered... i couldn't live with my center console being pink and grey all at once and i was in a rush so i could pick up my gf >.>;;

closer view

old center console.. cut

passenger view. the body fill uneveness and cracks aren't... too visible.. i'll fix em when i get time

Interior view from passenger

lights up :]

headlights down :]

retractor switch

center console

center console w/dash

merge point

passenger view of merge point

passenger view

oh yea, did i mention i got new rims?.. or used rims from pick n pull ^.^;; i've always had an attachment to blades >.>;;

 

i would have just used 1g teg fenders and made them fit ,but what you have done works too ,I think you should have used more fiberglass and got the shape with it then filled but seems like you allmost got it

good luck

 

i would have just used 1g teg fenders and made them fit ,but what you have done works too ,I think you should have used more fiberglass and got the shape with it then filled but seems like you allmost got it

good luck

I actually intend on using integra fenders now. the reason is because the fitment of the integra corners are quite complicated and require alot of work. The integra fenders actually bolt on but require less fabrication.. or at least easier fabrication and would be a nice replacement of plastic panels with metal ^.^;;

so integra fenders are going to be put on.. once i have the finances -.-

 

thats freaking sweet, mad props on the mod, always thought the 1st gen would look better with pop up lights instead of having the back set lights

 

whoa so sick. i envy u guys with extra time and cash

 

That cneter console doesn't look half bad. Gaining cup holders that work is a +...nice upgrade.

 

time, well, i guess lost sleep counts for time

but money is definitely not true >.>, the nose piece is waiting til i can afford fenders... they avg 50-60 at pick n pull .... each... -.-

and i'm actually college student.. music major... haha.. i'm destined to be poor... i just got off summer break.. that was my free time.. ^^;;

the cup holder didn't actually cost too much.. i got lucky and found a 96 civic at pick n pull.. and so the armrest costed me... 16 dollars?.. that pwns ebay haha

and the cupholder and center console was off of craigslist for about.. 25 or 30

the fiberglass and body fill and primer was an old investment... its something useful to have anyways...

a dremel and drill was also useful for cutting and making parts stick.. it was more effort than money really..

the headlights were bought on a half day at the yard... i forgot how much it was tho.. but it wasn't too bad

 

that looks very good IMO... a lot of upgrade and kool stuff installed. Are you doing anything to the engine?

 

that looks very good IMO... a lot of upgrade and kool stuff installed. Are you doing anything to the engine?

haha, thanks

mmmm.. i want to put a b16 in there someday... but that'll have to wait til i get a job and graduate from college ^^;;;

in the mean time, i'm just doing body work here and there with my spare time

the only modification that has anything to do with engine performance is that the intake is modified. The location of the passenger headlight motor gets in the way of the original intake and therefore i removed the portion before the air filter which i believe is the resonator rerouted the tube to go through the wall towards the fender I also removed the plate inside the air cleaner to increase the amount of air intake. It looks stock to someone unfamiliar with the crx 1st gen and allows me to pass visual smog inspection here in california while giving me better air flow which isn't much but its still a little something.

 

so thursday.. was my last day of work.. for a short lived job.. they just laid all the workers off cuz the school rush was over.. laame...

and so today, i went to pick up some prelude seats to swap over to my crx today...

when i noticed a motorcycle pull up behind me... it was 6pm and the sun was right behind me.. so all i saw was a shadow with some headlights... but i had a bad feeling.. so i slowed down... and next thing i know.. it starts blinking red and blue lights... and so i pull over... speeding ticket.. T.T... well.. i deserve that one i guess.. tho i already let go of the throttle.. i was coasting down hill.. so yeaaa... darn

and then later tonight.. 1230am... on my way home... i see my rpms drop to zero.. and i realize my engine died... and i was going at 40 mph.. weird... i pull over and try to start the car.. but all i get is cranking.. i can hear the fuel pump.. but no start?.. and plus its cranking really really fast... uh oh?

so i pop the hood... mm.. smells funny... open the valve cover... and because the valve cover holds the timing cover ... and i look at the camwheel.. to see melted rubber? o.0 whaa?

so my timing belt.. melted... wtf? o.0.. never thought that woulda happened..... .. -.-... called up my friend.. and we pushed the car to a gas station.. mmm.. we needed to get this car home... so we got some straping equipment and tied our tow hooks together.. and pulled that car home... i stayed in teh car to brake each time they stop x.x... no brake booster!.. fun...

so now i'm just gonna stay overnight and wake up early and put in a new timing belt.. hopefully i didn't bent my valves.. does anyone know if the ew4 is a valve interference engine?.. cuz if it is.. i'm screewwed.. haha ... dunno why i'm laughing.. .. maybe its cuz it means i'm gonna need a new engine and i'm gonna be dead broke with the ticket..

mm... hopefully its just the timing belt.. hopefully... its just cuz the belt was defective.. or thats what i'm telling myself ^^;;

edit:
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mm... so far.. everything tells me that the ew4 is a valve interference engine... mm..... now i wonder how hard it is to swap a d16 in... >.>;;; public transportation~! -.-;;