fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-12.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-1.jpg

polished the intake

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-10.jpg

the DC battery tie

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-16.jpg

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

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-19.jpg

and finally the oem metal door sills

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-18.jpg

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

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-17.jpg

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

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-14.jpg

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

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-15.jpg

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

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-9.jpg

also polished up the tail lamps

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-11.jpg

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

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-20.jpg

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

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-3.jpg

replaced chrome trim door handles with 2001 civic color matched versions

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-4.jpg

blacked out projector fog lights with yellow H3 bulbs

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-5.jpg

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

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-6.jpg

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.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-8.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-2.jpg

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.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ivmods09-7.jpg

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.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-13.jpg

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.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...vmods09-21.jpg

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

Nice work! Car is looking great as always.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

projector fogs.. thats a first, great work

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

whatt ! fogs look sick

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

haha but its OEM!

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

Wow looking great as always, Gear.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

how do you like your head unit

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

great fix!!

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

oh yea cars looking good as always.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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 ass...lol.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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!

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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

Re: fixed up the ride a bit
 

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.