gearbox

iTrader: (95)

there are some little things ive been meaning to do, and i got most of it done finally. heres a quick story lol.

cleaned up my headlamp lenses, installed stock 168 bulbs and 7443 natural amber. also fixed my turn signal drl wiring.





polished the intake



the DC battery tie



and the DC jet coated header. im shocked it came back almost like new



and finally the oem metal door sills



didnt like how dim the sidemarkers were, so i went out and found the best and brightest natural amber wy5w bulbs made by toshiba from the vw dealer. $10 per pair



replaced my old beat up switches with new low profile ones from radioshack...



one switch is for led pods under each seat...



the other switch for the extra red-orange led park light



also polished up the tail lamps



painted my black lip kit screws satin silver to match the car...



painted the top trim of the radio faceplate a smoke color, and the trim ring flat black to match the dash better



replaced chrome trim door handles with 2001 civic color matched versions



blacked out projector fog lights with yellow H3 bulbs



new flat style license plate with DNA hologram and new reg sticker!



my brake lights were too dim, so i upgraded them with polarg lens type 7443 bulbs with a built-in focusing lens on the tip.





They "appear" a ton brighter than stock and now match the intensity of my LED 3rd brake light. $40 a pair but well worth it. the outer piece is now brighter than the stock 168 bulb inner piece.



so i had to change the inner bulb to the brightest raybrig w5w hyper clear bulb. it now fills out the whole lens and matches the polarg bulbs.



and finally, i found a 2003 EX gauge cluster with exactly the same mileage as my car! i have a new plastic cover on order waiting to go on.

97EK

Nice work! Car is looking great as always.

MIVtec

Nice looking touch ups, I am especially impressed with your attention to detail. Keep up the quality work.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

*giggle* steve has fake CF.... ricer... u almost as bad as me.....almost......HAHAHAHHA jk man. ur car so dang clean is disgusting...

kcari

iTrader: (5)

projector fogs.. thats a first, great work

jdmplease

iTrader: (1)

whatt ! fogs look sick

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

haha but its OEM!

Vinnie

iTrader: (1)

Where did you buy the dc battery bar? I cant seem to find those anymore.

EnvyX

Wow looking great as always, Gear.

kcari

iTrader: (5)

how do you like your head unit

qijian

iTrader: (6)

great fix!!

BJanzen

iTrader: (2)

Lookin good man. Im hammered. But still...Good.

Edit: dont remember this...Still lookin good though.

filipinop1405

iTrader: (6)

Hey Gear, where did you get the color match door handles from and for how much. i need to change all of mine. Thanks.

filipinop1405

iTrader: (6)

oh yea cars looking good as always.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

DC tie bar is way old, paid almost 50 for it at the time too. crazy but they last forever. i havent seen em anywhere recently.

i love the alpine 9847, its almost 4 yrs old and still going strong altho the faceplate is badly scratched. for a sub $200 basic deck, it works awesome. sounds unlike any other brand ive tried. and it perfectly matches my interior lighting with white led display and amber led buttons.

door handles i got from www.hondaautomotiveparts.com they are from the 2001 civic sedan, you just pick the color. theres this one i think graphite and then a tan color. i think i paid $35 for all four and some extra hardware to fix one of my broken locks. not that much at all. the handles already come with the plastic door rod holders. i got new plastic pieces for them also that cover the two screws underneath.

filipinop1405

iTrader: (6)

thanks gear... i'm gonna get those next.. the damn fake chrome shyt is peeling and cut my wife a while back. it's gotta get changed or else she may kick my ***...lol.

filipinop1405

iTrader: (6)

hey gear do you know exactly how getting new door locks (for the exterior) work? i'm just curious how would it work since i need a new one also but my key? what does honda do? thanks again!

2005EM2

iTrader: (7)

Wow Gear! Looks very nice. Everything is very clean.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you get the new front right and left handles with the lock cylinders, and also a new one for the ignition. AND the new key has to be coded to the ecu immobilizer. if your key doesnt turn the outside door lock anymore, i would suggest just getting keyless entry. its gonna cost a ton to get all new locks and flash the key.

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

looking good, some nice little touch ups here and there.

mule69

iTrader: (1)

Looks good. A few ?s...

1. How do you keep you engine bay looking so sharp and what do you use to clean it.

2. Is that the DC 4-1 header and how does the motor run with it (better/worse/same).

3. What did you use to polish the headlight, I just searched but didnt find anything.

Muchas gracias

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

engine bay is not as clean as it looks, but i try and keep up. alot of painting stuff when it gets rusty, or replacing bolts and nuts. metal polish helps for some stuff, otherwise just use a degreaser and then some plastic protectants. dont go nuts and spray everything, just take your time with a cloth and wipe things down.

yeah its DC sports header that was sent to jethot.com for sterling coating. the header is exactly the same size and shape as the stock piece, i mainly got it for looks. it performs the same as stock, and the coating keeps heat in a bit better.

if your headlight is cloudy or yellowed, there is some chemical on ebay thats supposed to clean it up. dont use the sandpaper kits, it will just cause more problem. if theyre not too bad, meguiars plastX will work to make them shiny. i used it on the tails too and they are as shiny as the paint now.

WannaBFast

iTrader: (16)

hmm i got an ebay cheapie header and the runners were considerably larger than stock.. altho it was chrome, its now discolored, and i did feel a slight difference.. well worth the $65... LOL only time will tell if the welds hold

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

heh i had one too a while back. imo, its waste. the huge ports will just slow down the airflow. the stock header is already perfectly matched to the head.

JJJ

wow, great ride gearbox, love the cleaning up you did...you plan on keeping ur ride for a while longer?? I've got an 02 with 74k on it and I just did some cleaning up on my ride too....good work btw.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah i hope it lasts for a while. i plan to keep it as long as i can. it still has some issues, the rear main seal is seeping oil all over the bottom of the car, but its not bad enough to drip on the ground. i need to get that fixed ($600), and maybe rebuild the trans in the future. overall after 7 yrs its still running great for the most part. it needs a new paint job too there is rust starting to form in the wheel well fenders and alot of rock chips all over. but it still looks decent for now.

WannaBFast

iTrader: (16)

well how come i seem to have picked up some midrange torque? if you get a well designed header i will help out so long as you have supporting mods.. i.e. more open exhaust.. i have a stock exhaust, but i have a 2.5" test pipe which seems to make more of a difference now

and yes i do agree that you can go too big but if you look closely at the stock exhaust manifold, the holes in the flange immediately get restricted about another 1/4" from what the head is, at least thats what i noticed, as the exhaust runners are INSIDE the ports on the manifold and not flush with the ports, which if it were, it would be a lot smoother in power, the new one i got the ports on the flange are the same as stock, but the runners are the same I.D. than the ports, so they are a lot larger than stock, but still retain the stock port size

and i do feel like a cheapskate, but i cant justify paying $200 for just a sticker on the stock exhaust manifold

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i guess it depends on the other mods then. and yes the main reason i went with the dc is the stock header had some weird blockage around the pipes, looked like carbon buildup but now i think its actually the design, where it shrinks. the dc was not like that and perfectly matched the head. i think i paid 100 for the header and another 150 for the coating. but im happy with it. i wouldnt have bought new one tho cause the stock coating sucks.

civicplaya

How did you clean up the headlamp lenses? My driver's side one is really, faded almost, and wondering how you did that.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

try meguiars plastX. do you have pics of yours? also does anyone know how to polish the cd player faceplates? mine is so scratched and everything i try seems to make it worse.