My '05 EM2 - Project Bass
 

Parts List:

"$" - means done.
"x" - means I've ordered it and it's on its way to me.
"?" - means should I do it?



Hello I'm Walt and this is my story. I have always been into cars and have had a few nice ones. Starting with a '70 Charger R/T 440 when I was 16, a '91 Camaro RS (crate 350) some years after that, and most recently my LowLow, a '98 Sebring bought in 2000 I once had high hopes for as you can see from the cleared front side markers lol..
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She was a good car. I Bass'd her to pieces with 3 Fosgate P3 10's and 1500watts. Not to mention the cheap springs I put on that gave it forward rake and blew the shocks within months. Sag took over from there. She lasted me 8 years and was a soldier 'til the very end.. RIP!
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Fast forward to 2008. After a long day at the dealership with the sales guy tryna sell me broken down dreams for not so cheap, I spot this flawless '05 EX. 1 previous owner. An elderly lady had turned it in for a Cadi. She had 28,000 miles on her. Done deal. Here's the new girl on D-Day..
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Took a few shots at home that day..
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She's been bone stock and meticulously kept as my daily drive for the last 3 years until I was laid off just recently. This has given me lots of free time..
:evil:

Decided I need a hobby, and what better than to get back to my old ways. This time learning from the "go the cheap way" mistakes of my youth and putting together a parts list even mom would be proud of. :D

12/2/11:

Here she sits today, 81,000 miles later, currently braving the cold air of the Carolinas (not sure she's diggin it tho lol)..
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Shot of the stock interior, probably the last stock shot of it..
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...EM2/photo1.jpg

Had to take a pic of my trunk, gonna miss all that trunk space... baa not really lol..
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The engine is untouched no intake no nothing other than religious regular maintenance. The only repair has been the transmission seal which popped just a couple of months ago. Other than that its been smooth sailing with 109K miles. I hope to reach 300K before I swap it. K20A maybe??
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Soon SOOON mwahahaha!! Lol :D
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Couple shots of the parts as they arrived..
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...2/photo5-1.jpg
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12/9/11:

The first thing to go was that ugly painted on pinstripe. A wet sand and polish at the detail shop did the trick. Here's a quick before shot..
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After..
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While at the speed shop picking up my struts and springs, I got a pair of LED license plate lights. I think that qualifies as the first mod on the car. :rockon:

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12/13/11:

Step 2. Got moar loww bro0o..
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...2/photo5-2.jpg
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12/21/11:

Front bumper painted. About a year ago I had it painted cuz of highway chips and flaws but as you can see from previous pics ^ the color was off pretty noticeably. Couldn't live with that so I had it painted again. This time without taping off the the fog light area or lower air dam just to see if it would look cool, yano something different. Fogs are goin in soon so that won't matter but tell me what you think of the color matching cross braces on the lower air dam..
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12/22/11:

Step 3. The TR-808 has spoken.

Morning at the car stereo installation shop, I arrive confident that I've sourced everything I need and the install will go with out a hitch..
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Unfortunately that's not how it went down. Nothing seemed to fit. Not the speakers, not the Navi. Even the tweets protested; the "JL" grills wouldn't sit flush in the factory location, only the OEM's would.

OEM's?? :facepalm: I didn't spend all this money and not be able to flaunt it in some subtle way. :2pimp: :D

After the look on my face the installer asked for permission to "make it fit". I said hell yea bro slice her up do what it takes! The surgery commences..
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The factory 6.5's were only a 1/2" tall and were molded into a bracket that snapped to the door with tabs. The new JL was 2.5" tall and wouldn't fit in the door without that bracket so we cut the OEM speakers out of it and used it with the new JL's but as you can see some metal still had to be cut from the door. The brackets that held the tweeties in place were also cut and modified to accommodate the new tweeties with JL grills included. :tup:

Here it is all done with Dynamat.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...2/photo4-5.jpg

Sleeper az fuuh.. :cool:
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Here's the only evidence..
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Well this too.. :D
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http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...photo1-4-1.jpg

Now for a major speed bump. It eluded me that a component system of this magnitude would barely sound any better than factory without a 4 channel amp. Fact. Seems like I only added volume and radio clarity, not a $1000 component system from one of the most respected names in car audio. Fact 2. The PK4 Kicker amp kit does not come with RCA's. Fact 3. A car with 2 sets of HID's, navi head unit, and 1300 watts of sound will need more than the 12v battery your car comes with can supply. So here's the newest Christmas shopping list as of right now:

-JL Audio 300/4v2 Four Channel Class A/B Full-Range Amplifier
-Shuriken Aux Battery

The amp unfortunately came with a 2 week back order. This is probably the worst news of all. I will have to wait until well into January before I can tune the system for mastering purposes, and just plain jam out! :rockon:

All be wired up and ready to go until the amp arrives. Until then tho I will be riding around like this..
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Somebody might think I'm swapped. :hgrin: :hgrin:

12/31/11

Rear suspension gets some attention. Subframe brace, tie bar, LCA's, front & rear LCA bushings.. let's do this..
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...photo4-1-1.jpg

Didn't get pics of the fronts goin in :shrug: but here are the rears..
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Finally the wheels go on and we lower her down..
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And here's how she sits.. :tup:
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1/1/12

Happy New Year everyone :party:. Needed a round of tires and an alignment after all the suspension work and get the car ready for a trip to Miami. Tire Kingdom decides when car stuck on lift, give it more gas... :confused:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...photo1-1-6.jpg

Body shop scheduled for Feb. 20th at their expense.

Aside from that the show must go on so I had to peace out to Miami for now until I can get back to Charlotte where I will continue all that's unfinished. The retrofit didn't go so well the first time so I've ordered new BOH from eBay and will attempt it myself when I get back. I have a toe in problem that I need to identify also so I can fix or replace what's needed. Finish the car audio install. Put seats back in. Few details here and there to tend to but all in all excited about the progress so far. Thanks to those who have been helping me with sound advice along the way! :tup:

What's Arrived So Far:
 

Update: Couple of shots of what's arrived so far :D
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http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...2/photo3-1.jpg
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They're just little guys aren't they :fullofwin:
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Looks pretty legit..
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Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Dammit, that's my favourite of all the seventh gen colours.


Rep =>https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...all-about.html

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Haha so what do you think bro? With that color, tail light tints? Or no? I'm talkin like 60-70% max.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

I love that color too. :)
And my car has the same "ghost" pinstripes lol. Dammit.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

definitely debadge the "ex" and "civic" and I'd say go for the taillight tint. Should look good! Especially with the black headlights

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

If the pinstripe is leaving a "ghost" then debadging the civic and ex emblems will likely leave a ghost too...I would only do the tail light tint on an 01-03 civic, the 04-05's look really good on their own

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Thanks guys. I'll prolly decide on tail light tints when everything is on the car. I've been collecting parts. Hopefully all will be here by next week and these will be the last stock shots of the car :D

It's really weird they're like flip flop pinstripes lol. Now you see it, now you don't. It's definitely painted on, not like the aftermath of a decal. I'm hoping a body shop can clay bar it off or just wet sand and polish? It's got to come off one way or another!

..and OK the badges are coming off :tup:. Just waitin on a warm day in Charlotte lol don't think it's gonna happen this month. I'll be back in Miami on New Years. 80 degrees, a hair dryer, and some fishing line is how I've always done it.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

id say do the badge delete but leave the tails non tinted. it looks good on some cars but with your color i wouldnt do it. if anything id get some black replacements like these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-CIVIC-...item256a05c232

or wow these are gorgeous lol

http://www.ebay.com/itm/01-02-03-04-...ht_2192wt_1028

oh and you can clay bar it yourself. its pretty easy, not sure if thatll get rid of that ugly pinstripe or not but its worth a shot.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

hmm might just stick with the stock tails and worry about em later. The pin stripe is like #1 priority lol bout to take it to the body shop and see what they wanna rape me for. Its above the clear coat I can feel it. Hopefully won't be too expensive. How much IS a good wet sand and polish at a body shop?

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Ohh ok, it kinda looked like maybe the clear coat was damaged from pinstriping. On my car the paint is actually damaged. Tried sanding and buffing but mine's stupid single stage paint so it didn't work.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

A buddy of mine owns a detail shop. Might try my luck there :tup:

On a separate note, I need to trim these shrouds a bit for my projectors. What's the best way to do that without messing them up? Anyone?

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

a dremel is probably best. but ask gearbox im not sure what he used for his retro

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Just ordered the 7300 cordless mini dremel not but 30 minutes ago lol but I don't trust my hand! I have to cut a perfect circle in the center of the shroud (which will be visible) to fit these coffee mug rings down in the center that will act as projector bezels. Also allowing the shroud to be extended back more to properly cover the projector. I've researched what needs to be done. I've sourced everything I need to make it happen. But actually doing it? Not so much. Is there someone in the Charlotte area that can help me with this? Lol

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

I've been considering the retrofit HID's for a LONG time. I haven't really had time to do it though, and I've been worried that the eBay headlights wouldn't have good quality plastic. I've heard people talking about how their eBay foglights crack from small pebbles from the road while driving. I feel like the headlights would be the same quality. I hope I'm wrong about that and your retrofit turns out great. Looking forward to seeing pictures. Good Luck!

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

The glass OEM fogs break too, when/if my fog lights crack I'll just buy a little piece of lexan and make new lenses.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

They seemed to be decent quality for the price so we will see. Fogs were $40 shipped and BOH were $99 shipped so would be a small loss if something happens to them. I couldn't see paying almost $300 for OEM fogs that's crazy. I'm most worried about the HID bulbs melting the fog light lenses but they should be ok with a 35w ballast. And thanks! :tup: I'm hoping all parts will be here by next week and it's all goin on the car.

Still looking for someone with retrofit experience in the Charlotte area PM please!

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Retro's with the mini H1s is so easy, you wont need any help lol. When i tried to cut a shroud with a dremel, the shroud got kinda melty and ended up effing it up. This is probably cuz i didn't have a lot of bit options at the time and the one i used was crap, but i thought i'd let you know just in case.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

my grandfather just traded in his caddy with 23k on it for a 2012 civic...its still eating me alive, i mean i love my civic but really its a caddy, how do you go from that to a civic...like previously mentioned i still love civics but whatever floats his boat...thats the end of my rant on that...anywho good luck with your build i cant wait to look at the pics when i get home...school blocks most pics...

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Thanks for the advice Shift-E, you're right it's prolly not a good idea to take a dremel to them lol. I talked to a guy today says he can hone them out for me as needed. Much safer than the free hand method.

Thanks man! :tup: and haha I meant an elderly lady traded in the Civic at 28k for a brand new Cadi. She bought the Civic new in '05 and traded it in 3 years later. That's when I got my hands on her, in 2008 with 28k miles. Paid $12k.

Will have pics soon!! Parts still arriving. Grille arrived today. It has some flaws, but I think I'll work with it for now :shrug:. There aren't trusted company's out there like ViS that make CF grills for non Si's so I took a chance with a knock off. Hopefully the fitment is decent..
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Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Dremel progress..
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Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

I LOVE the cf grill, it looks great.

My dremmel is the best tool purchase I've ever made.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

:tup: thanks brother! I hope it looks good on the car or it's back to square one for the grill! And whoever made these coffee mugs for dang sure did not want you taking the ring off the lid :rofl:

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

What did you mean when you said si grilles woudln't fit? My 05 Lx sedan has a grille in it from my buddy who rolled his 04 or 05 si coupe (wasnt sure) and all i had to do was paint the bottom, direct fit.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

He's talking American SI, so our canadian SI-R

The Canadian SI is equal to thr American EX

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Well theres something new I learned today. In Canada I have an Si lol

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Lol ya, I don't know why they did that. Probably cuz it sounded sportier. Our Hatchback is called the Si-R. The Civic is the #1 selling car in Canada, and has been for a long time so I guess a sportier name helps sell :P. I'm not sure about the states.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Update! Pinstripe is OFF!! Installed a pair of LED license plate lights today also. Check the first 2 original posts for updated pics & new parts that have arrived.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

So whats the difference between a Si-R and a Canadian Si motorwise? I understood our si's had vtech and a d16 while my lx didnt have vtech and had a d-something as well. Kind of confused on that, lol.

Re: My '05 EM2 Project
 

Canadian Si/American EX has a d17a2 vtec
All lower models in either market have a d17a1 non-vtec.

Some countries were offered 7th gens with d16s, which were essentially de-stroked d17s and had very little in common with earlier gen d16s, those countries insure cars based on displacement.