My first love... 1988 Honda CRX Si - The car that would become Project 88

My story begins on a used car lot tucked behind a Budget outlet in Langley, BC in April 1996.

Budget Car Rental, Langley BC

I’d just landed my first decent job and was in the market for an Accord or Prelude. I was already sold on the brand since my first car was a ’78 Civic that had seen better days. When I arrived I noticed that there were both a Prelude and an Accord on the lot… and tucked neatly in the back corner was a red ’88 CRX Si. It was buried behind two rows of cars and was a little dirty.

After a short conversation with Derek-the-salesman I was on the road in the Accord. She was blowing a lot of blue smoke and even as an automotive novice I knew that was not a good sign. My next adventure was in the Prelude. The sunroof wouldn’t work and it smelled bad inside. Not quite enough to make me want to vomit, but enough that the little yellow tree wasn’t enough to successfully mask the aroma. I also test drove a Volkswagon Jetta, a Suzuki Samarai and even a Ford Aspire. 

My first car -- a beat up '78 Civic I bought from a friend's sister for $50

Each time I returned to the lot from a test drive my eyes were drawn to the CRX in corner, but I was afraid to take it out. I knew that if I did I would end up trying to buy it and I was sure that a car like that would be out of my price range. I wasn’t prepared to have my heart broken that day but I’d run out of vehicles to drive in my price range and it was getting late… I had to ‘shit or get off the pot’ as my parents would say. I’m sure that Derek-the-salesman believed I was wasting his time, but he moved the two cars blocking it in without missing a beat. Derek-the-salesman explained the car had sat for a while and had a dead battery, but I was understanding.

One of the earliest pictures of my first CRX; an 88 Si.

I sat inside the CRX and waited for Derek-the-salesman to boost the car and I had a look around. It was different than my friend’s ’87 Si. The dash tilted slightly towards the driver, and the “CRX” on the door panels were the two differences I noticed immediately. In hindsight, I think I was sold right then and there.

The test-drive was fairly uneventful; what I remember most was being scared of stalling the car since it had been a few years since I’d driven a manual transmission car and the pressure was amplified because of the failing battery.

I returned to the dealership and proudly declared to Derek-the-salesman that I would take it, but I needed to make sure that I could get the payments that fit my budget. I was introduced to the business manager, John, who crunched the numbers but sadly I had to walk away. They said that because of my young age (I was 21) I would need a co-signor which I couldn’t provide at that time. In the week that followed I drove a few more CRXs, a DX and a couple Si’s and even a Mazda Precidia GS.

Then it happened. I received a call at work from Derek-the-salesman. He asked if I was still interested in the car, which I was, and he said that we could work something out. This time I took my father to help me check out the car. With Dad’s Seal of Approval, I went back in to see John and not only did I get the CRX, I got $1500 off the sticker price but I didn’t have to get a co-signor. I had to wait two very long and agonizing weeks to pick her up but on May 16th, 1996 she was all mine!

My 1988 CRX Si, circa June 1997

I’m not sure what exactly led me to that dealership on that Saturday. Almost 15 years later it’s easy to say that it was God, or fate, or destiny or whatever, but no matter what you choose to call it, that day changed my life forever. That sounds like a very cheesy thing to say but it’s the truth. Almost everything I’ve done in my life for fifteen years has had some connection to that car and that day.

My 1988 CRX Si circa 1999

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

Bitten by the JDM Bug... The 1st Annual BC CRX Meet

Fujimi Model Kit

In 1998 I was in Richmond BC, browsing in a hobby store called Herby’s Hobbies when I stumbled upon a Fujimi model kit of a CRX. Of course I bought it right away… I’d never seen anything like that for a Honda before. All I’d ever seen were model kits for Muscle Cars and classics. When I got it home and opened it up, I discovered that Japanese CR-Xs came with rear seats (and in Japan it was called the CR-X) I wanted a back seat. I wanted one real bad… but I had one problem: I don’t speak Japanese and didn’t know the first thing about how to go about getting parts from overseas.


Later that summer I attended the 1st Annual BC CRX Meet. It was there I met a man named Will McQueen who had a back seat in his CRX. I’d never seen one up close and in person and I thought it was just about the coolest mod ever done to a CRX before. He said bought it from his cousin in England, and when I realized they were not only standard equipment on Japanese CR-Xs but also on European CRXs, I saw an opportunity for me to get one since now the Japanese language-barrier that prevented me from obtaining one had been removed...

Will McQueen's rear seat in his CRX (taken at BC CRX Meet, 1998)

I didn’t have a computer or the Internet back then, so the following Monday I got up at 4am and started calling England. I phoned information, and got some phone numbers and talked to Honda dealers and junkyards looking for one. Honda wanted $1500GBP ($3600 Canadian) and the junkyards I managed to get ahold of all said they didn’t have one. It was an expensive and painful process to say the least but I told myself to be patient. I would have one someday…

…Fast forward to Y2K. The world had not ended, I was now living in Calgary and this thing called the Internet had really taken off. I was working at a local jobber store that had a computer with a DSL Internet connection. I decided to go there on one of my days off and scour the Internet until I found myself a used rear seat for my CRX. I was there for almost two hours reading and researching, but I hadn't found anyone in the UK selling a rear seat for a CRX. Just as I was about to give up and go home, I stumbled upon a website run by a guy named Asuka Kuroda who lived in England. His site showed a lot of the different items from European and Japanese that he had for sale. There were SiR clusters and power window kits and yes, back seats.

The JDM fever had begun.

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

JDM CR-X Fever... My 1988 CRX turns into Project 88

My first JDM part: rear seat for my CRX

My rear seat arrived in the Spring of 2001. It was in mint condition, and cost me a little under $600Cdn with shipping and Western Union fees (although Asuka asked if I had a PayPal account, I didn’t even know what that was back then).

Rear Seat installed in my 88 CRX Si

By late 2001, I had quite the ‘JDM wish-list’ for my CRX in progress and had signed up for an eBay account. Coincidentally, my eBay account was actually the first time I’d used the screen name JHMED. When I created my account, every name I entered seemed to be taken already, so I tried something obscure: the first five letters of my VIN number… and JHMED was born.











After being sniped on a few auctions on eBay, I quickly realized that using the computer at my job on my days off or after work was simply too limited a time-frame. If I wanted to get the parts on my list I’d have to make a non-automotive-related investment. So I bought a computer and had a DSL internet connection installed. 

Glass roof I bought for $750

Over the next four years I had amassed enough parts to make a reasonable JDM CR-X SiR replica from my North American CRX. I had a glass roof,  tail lights,  power folding mirrors,  front end conversion, the list goes on and on…

JDM Front End Conversion

By far the best purchase I made was a Honda accessory ashtray called the Personal Box. I bought the Personal Box on eBay from a seller named rickcab1. With shipping and the Canadian exchange, it worked out to a little over $300. After a few weeks, and it hadn't arrived, I checked online tracking. It showed that it was still in California. I called the seller and he checked with FedEx.

They lost it.

My Personal Box "Ashtray"

Rick called me immediately and offered my money back. I told him “I just bought a $300 ashtray; do you think I care about the money? I just want my Personal Box.” FedEx eventually found it and delivered it to me. Over the course of the next couple months we began to IM each other and became good friends. With his help my project went into full swing, he hooked me up with several contacts overseas, and he helped me find some rare and amazing parts. Without his help I doubt my current CR-X would be what it is today.

Funny (But True) Cartoon

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

A Tough Decision - Import JDM CR-X Si / SiR or build SiR replica from USDM, JDM and EDM CRX parts?

1989 JDM EF7 CR-X Si

One day in February 2005 a 1989 JDM CR-X EF7 Si showed up at my work. It needed ball joints and other small items fixed. It was only the second genuine right-hand drive CR-X I’d ever seen in person. I found out that it was for sale but the current owner/importer had to get the ball joints and some other things fixed before he could drive it to Edmonton to complete the sale.



I started to seriously think about it. I’d considered buying a genuine RHD CR-X before, but this was different. I agonized over this decision; I couldn’t sell my baby, but at the same time, I was facing an $8000Cdn bill for body work alone (to install the glass roof, new quarter panels and rockers (rust), cut and weld SiR front bulkhead (so I could use stock motor mounts for the engine instead of HASport ones) and a complete repaint). Then I needed to buy a B16A engine and transmission, and I’d need to complete the installation of all the other toys I had purchased over the last five years. I could do some of the basic labor myself, but it was starting to feel a little overwhelming. The cost of all the parts, and the constant search for something in better condition kept me constantly on the verge of being broke.

A JDM EF8 from Edmonton I'd considered buying but couldn't afford.

Moving to Calgary in the CRX

This decision wasn’t all about money though. It was also about time… I had recently turned 30 and I wanted to drive my CRX again before I was ‘an old man’. And then there was the sentimental factor. I’d had that car for almost nine years. I gave up many paychecks so that she could have tires, or servicing or whatever else she needed. Years before, I lived on bread & peanut butter and dry Rice Krispies for an entire month because I couldn’t afford groceries after paying rent, car payments, and insurance. I moved myself to Vancouver in 1997 and then back to Calgary (1999) using only the CRX. She was also my first ‘real’ car – not a beater, and with payments. She was like an old friend. She was with me when times were good and she was there when times were bad.

Moving to Calgary in my CRX

Even though this new CR-X wasn’t in the greatest condition, I realized I already had over 90% of the parts to make it a decent looking car. I’m not really into power or speed, I’m just as happy with all show, no go. Another big plus was that it was drivable… now. At the rate I was going, with my CRX I was at least two years before I could reach the point where I could consider driving it again. It had been parked since October of 1999 so I could work on it, and I had done a lot, but there was still so much to do.

The state of "Project 88"

The state of "Project 88"

The next day, I made the call to the owner/importer. He said he already had an offer on the table for that car, but I talked him into entertaining my offer. The money was better and he wouldn’t have to go all the way to Edmonton to sell it.

He told me that he would call the other potential buyer and then call me later in the day to firm up the deal.







I had made my decision.

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

Meant To Be...? - JDM CR-X EF8 SiR in Japan, awaiting import into Canada

One day in February 2005 a 1989 JDM CR-X EF7 Si showed up at my work. I’d considered buying a genuine RHD CR-X before, but this was different.

After much deliberation, I had made my decision. My baby; my 88 CRX Si would be replaced. I made the call to the owner/importer, Import Concern. After much convincing, he accepted my offer of $5000Cdn and told me that he would call the other potential buyer and then call me later in the day to firm up the deal.

Project 88 ca.2000

Literally one minute after I hung up the phone from him, a friend of mine, Dieter, called to tell me that he’d found an EF8 SiR for sale in Japan and he was going to import it. He had been talking about bringing cars over from Japan for quite some time, but I didn’t know he was that close to getting set up and actually doing it. When I asked him how much, I was floored at the response… approximately $6500Cdn landed.

I confirmed the options on the car and the condition with him… A Grade 4 at auction in Japan. Now, here was everything I wanted: CR-X SiR, B16A, glass top, with Auto Air Con, power windows, etc… in decent condition and for a mere $1500 more than the Si I was prepared to purchase. And I was purchasing through a friend; someone I could trust. I called Import Concern and canceled my offer right after I hung up from speaking with Dieter. They were fine with my cancellation since only about ten minutes had passed, and we even joked some months later about it being the fastest about-face he'd been involved with.

But before I would put money down for this car, I told Dieter that I would need to see some pictures. He agreed that to buy a car absolutely sight unseen was not good, so he told me he would set about getting some pictures for me ASAP. The wheels were in motion…

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

The Right Choice - First glimpse of my JDM CR-X SiR

Later that same evening I called another friend and told him that I had decided to buy an SiR instead of finishing my CRX project. I was having a few doubts about my decision I was wondering if I’d made the right choice. He assured me I was doing the right thing although I still wasn't convinced. He put me in touch with friend of his named Allan that had an EF8 for sale in Nagoya, Japan. He said he'd arrange for Allan to sell it to me at cost as a favor. He estimated Allan's cost to be even less than what I was prepared to spend on the CR-X Dieter was selling!

I spoke to Allan and he sent some pictures of the CR-X and the VIN number so I could run it through the Honda Japan EPC (Electronic Parts Catalog) and see what other options it may have on it. It was indeed an SiR with a glass top and auto air conditioning.

As soon as I saw the pictures I fell in love. It reminded me of how I felt at the car lot back in 1996 when I test-drove my ‘88. I wasn’t crazy about the black color, but I loved her regardless. It looked relatively intact, and had some white four-spoke wheels on it.

My JDM CR-X at auction in Nagoya, Japan

But the thing that made me certain THIS was the car I had to buy was that the VIN for that unit was one digit higher than my old CRX: … 60. The EF8 was… 61.

I just had to have that car... If I had any lingering doubts about my decision before, this squashed them all. 

A week later I received an email from Dieter saying he had gotten some pictures of that CR-X he wanted to sell me. I opened the attachments:

I had two people trying to sell me the exact same car! 

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

Tsunamis, Monsoons, and Earthquakes, Oh MY! - A journey to Canada from Japan for my little CR-X EF8

After receiving pictures from two different people trying to sell me the same car, my first reaction was that someone was trying to play a cruel joke on me. I called Dieter and he told me that his contact in Japan was the same guy that Allan uses to import his cars as well. He also assured me that the car was his, and if I didn’t want it he was still bringing it to Canada and would sell it when it got here. I called and confirmed his story with Allan who offered me some other CR-Xs that would be coming up at auction later in the week, but I said I didn’t want them. That was the CR-X I wanted, even if it ended up costing more money.


The next day I put a deposit down on the CR-X. And then I started to worry...


My mind raced with all the terrible possibilities and scenarios. Earthquakes, tsunamis, monsoons, boats sinking, trains de-railing! I was a nervous wreck. Then I heard on the news March 20th, 2005, there had, in fact, been an earthquake in Fukuoka Japan. I looked up Fukuoka Japan on the atlas to see how far away it was from Nagoya where my car was patiently waiting for the next boat to Canada. Luckily they looked far enough apart, so I was somewhat relieved but still a little shaken. I wanted that car out of Japan and in my driveway ASAP!

Nagoya, Japan

To try and take my mind off of worrying, I began planning my build. I started by examining the few pictures I had, trying to decide what parts I could keep and what parts I could sell, calculating how much money I could get for them so I could afford other pieces, etc.

I was lucky enough to find a set of unused Mugen Pro.2 "CR-X" door decals at auction in Japan. I was considering keeping the Mugen sides that were coming with the car, and I already had a rear spoiler for Project 88 (which I fell in love with back in 1996 when I saw my very first one). 

But, I think what sealed the deal on making the new CR-X project into "Project PRO.2" was finding a set of used 15" Mugen MR5 wheels on the Yahoo Japan auction site. I made arrangements with Dieter that for $100 he would have his contact in Japan place the wheels inside a car (mine or another) that he was sending over, and I could pick them up locally. That saved me about $300 in shipping. (I had the decals sent directly to me from my own contact overseas via EMS) 

The car was scheduled to leave the middle of March, but there were some problems with finding a boat leaving Japan with space on it for my car. Apparently they had to ship it about 400kms from Nagoya to Yokohama by truck in order to get it out on the boat to Canada by the end of the month.

More delays kept it leaving Japan until the beginning of April when she finally set sail on the vehicle carrier ship "Pacific Explorer".

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

Arrival - My JDM CR-X EF8 imported to Canada arrives in Calgary

The car arrived on Canadian soil, April 15^th 2005 after a mere 11 days at sea. At first I thought this was an awfully short amount of time for shipping but then I realized: it’s on a boat out at sea. What were they going to do, stop for evenings and weekends? 

She was cleared by Canada Customs, Agriculture Canada and was ready for shipping to Calgary by April 25^th. The CR-X was Paid In Full on April 27^th and by April 29th she was on a train headed from Vancouver to Calgary.

Because Allan had given me the VIN number I was able to track its progress across the Canadian Rockies via the shipping company's website otherwise the not-knowing would have been excruciating (not that it wasn't already, mind you). After a few short delays the train arrived without incident and when I called the shipping company I found out I was in for... you guessed it, more waiting. Waiting for the train to be dismantled and waiting for the vehicles to be off-loaded. Then waiting for final delivery... That could take up to a week, they said, but they said to check back on Thursday.

Fortunately, I worked about 10 minutes from their main lot, so at lunchtime on the Thursday, my fiance and I drove past the lot armed with my digital camera… just in case. I had my eyes peeled out the passenger’s window at one lot and she was driving and scoping out the lot to the left. All of a sudden she shrieked: “There it is!! I see it!! I see it!!” and I turned just in time to see a flash of ugly white wheel. We parked the car and walked down the street. I started snapping pictures, my heart pounding… there she was, a mere 50 feet away from me and I couldn’t do anything about it.

It was pure torture. I couldn’t stop smiling all the way thru lunch, and it was very hard to concentrate at work. My boss was nice enough to let me have the next day off so I could be there when the car arrived at Dieter's shop.

After work we went to the lot again to take some more pictures, and we were soon joined by some of my friends who had heard thru the grapevine that my car had arrived. So there are now about nine of us standing on the grass at the side of the road next to a chain-linked fence topped with barbed wire, staring at the back half of a Japanese CR-X and talking. Obviously security arrived within minutes, and after a brief conversation he said we could stay as long as we wanted but he couldn’t let us in or turn a blind eye if we carefully climbed the fence to get a better look. LOL


I left at nightfall and could barely sleep that night. I tossed and turned until about 3am when I finally dozed off.
 
Tomorrow, she would be mine...

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

The CR-X Has Landed - Project PRO.2 Mugen Replica JDM EF8 SiR arrives

The next morning I got up early and bought donuts for the staff at the shipping company. This was both to make amends for being a giant pain in the ass by calling all the time and maybe help coerce them go the extra mile to deliver my car safely and on-time.

My fiance gave an Oscar-worthy performance to convince her boss she wasn't feeling well and left work at 10am. We met up at her place and drove to Dieter's shop to await the phone call to say the CR-X was on the way.

We were there for about an hour when the call came in that the CR-X would be delivered at 1pm.

One o'clock came and went with nothing. We sat in the waiting room. We sat in Heather's car. I paced outside, watching the street. I paced inside, in the showroom. By 2pm Heather had fallen asleep, but I was too wired to doze even though I was working on an all-day adrenaline rush with three hours of sleep under my belt.

I glanced over at something happening in the shop and when I looked back out the window, I caught a glimpse of ugly white wheels in mid-air. I yelled out “there it is!” and jumped out of my chair, camera in hand. The driver had driven past the entry to the shop and continued down the street. I really think that was just God’s way of prolonging my wait by another few minutes. As we got out to the sidewalk we saw him driving back the way he came, and he passed by us again!!

I will never forget that moment when I saw her riding majestically on the back of the flat bed truck. She was a little dirty, and looked a little rough around the edges, but that was ok. She had just come to the end of a very long journey, and was about to begin another one here in Canada. As the driver rolled past, I yelled out “Hansen’s!” as loud as I could. Luckily he heard me and did a u-turn back towards the shop.

While the driver was inside getting the paperwork signed, a small crowd began to form, surrounding the car like vultures, snapping pictures with their phones and ogling the newest Japanese car to hit the streets of Calgary. The driver came back out and began the off-loading process. I was taking some video of her release, when the driver asked me if I could get in and back her off the truck for him. The car was so low to the ground that he had to lay some blocks under the front wheels while someone backed her off the truck.

So I climbed up on the ramp, already about 45 degrees in the air, and opened the door. The first thing I remember was that ‘Japan’ smell (Anyone who has ordered parts from Japan knows that smell: it's a very distinct odor that wafts to your nose when you first open a package of parts straight from Japan). Well, that and a little stale cigarette smoke smell.

I tried to keep the door open while I climbed into my car for the very first time. As I sat down for the very first time I whispered softly “Hello” and tried to get my bearings. I was terrified. My first time sitting in the driver’s seat of a right-hand drive car, let alone my first time driving a right-hand drive car, and the driver is expecting me to back it off of a flat bed at a 45 degree angle.

Lovely.

I had visions of taking out the front bumper on the way down, or running over the Hansen’s driver, or worse, making an ass of myself in front of the small crowd gathered around the front of the shop.

I put the key in the ignition, my foot on the clutch and turned... This was it... ‘Would it start?’ I wondered.

She fired up with that typical Honda starter sound, and ran smoothly and cleanly. I didn’t see plumes of smoke from the tailpipe, so I was a little bit relieved. There was still the small matter of backing it down. I reached over to gear lever and – wham! I whacked my right hand into the door. ‘Oh yeah, it’s over there’ I thought, and chuckled to myself. Backing the car off the truck was a lot easier than I thought it would be, no scraping, the Hansen’s driver was unhurt, and the bumper was intact. I pulled it over to an available parking stall and shut her down.

She had landed.

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

She Is Happy, Too - After a long journey, my CR-X SiR is finally home..

After the CR-X was off the truck and safely in a parking stall, we went over every square inch of her. We tested the power windows, the climate controls, and the CD player. We played with buttons, checked the signals, I even looked at the brakes through the wheels to make sure I was comfortable with how much brake pad I could see before I took her on her maiden voyage back to my house. The owner of the shop, Paul, even gave me two replica Mugen emblems for the side skirts.


There were some oddities that came with the car as well... We found about four "JDM cigarettes" in the door pocket, which we smoked. We found kitchen sponges and a floor mat in the trunk; a keychain, and some spark plugs in the glove box, a cellphone screen cleaning pad, and there were two pieces of rubber wedged between the rear interior side linings, and the ¼ window trim.


My car’s previous owner was an odd one indeed. There were some inconsistencies with this car that to this day I cannot explain. Why some of the best name-brand upgrades were installed on the car (APEXi, Spoon, Spats, SPAC) but yet the interior was not showing signs of the same love and attention to detail. There were nicotine stains from smoking in it, no spare tire, broken heater control, and someone "hacked" the side linings with what I can only imagine was a dull steak-knife to install the rear Spoon bar instead of trimming it nicely.

After almost an hour of combing over the car, we decided to call it a day and bring her home. I was a little excited and a little nervous all at the same time. This was my first time driving a CRX in a long time, and my first run out with a right-hand drive.

Heather got in the passenger’s seat (a weird feeling, having her on my left while I'm driving), and we were ready to roll. Slowly, I pulled onto the street and we were off... A few seconds later I hear a little voice, kinda scared saying: “Honey, you’re in the middle of the road.”

That was something I hadn’t expected; getting used to the center line of the road being farther away than just to my immediate left. I pulled a little closer to the curb and proceeded to make my left turn from the side street onto the main street (and into traffic with other cars!). The wipers suddenly came on… Now, this was something I had prepared myself for. I bought a JDM wiper switch to use in Project 88, so I knew the switches were reversed, but in real life when everything is happening all around, you just don’t think about the wiper switch being on the left side of the column versus the right. You don’t realize how much of your driving is based on instinct and habit until you’re forced to change it. I banged my hand only a couple times on the door panel while attemping to reach the shift-knob but otherwise the drive home was fairly uneventful. I got some odd looks and even a couple double-takes.

I was even got to open her up a little bit on a deserted stretch of highway, and it felt good...


When I got her home, I felt like a new father; there were people calling, emailing, and folks started stopping by. Hell, I’m surprised no one showed up with ‘It’s a Girl’ cigars with them (hmm, maybe that’s what the JDM cigarettes were for). The Japanese family from next door even came by to see a little taste of home.

My friend Tsuyoshi from Japan mentioned to me during an IM conversation shortly after my CR-X arrived, that he thinks ‘she is happy too’. I asked him what he meant  by that and he said, ‘if she is still in Japan, she is not going to get any spot lights’.

I guess that’s true... If she had stayed in Japan, she may have ended up at a salvage yard. And we may have been seeing pieces of her on eBay by now.

One of my good friends once asked me why I didn’t save my money and just buy an SiR to begin with rather than collect parts for my North American only to end up buying an SiR anyway... I thought about that a lot and I’m happy with my decision(s), not that I could change them now anyways. If I had it to do all over again, I’d still do it the exact same way. I know some people will just look at my car think "Bought not built" but that's not the way I see it. I paid my dues, and I've earned my stripes. I've learned so much more by doing things the way I have, that in a lot of ways, I feel I have built this car. I've torn it down and built it back up in my head millions of times. I've gathered over 60GB worth of information, tens of thousands of dollars worth of parts and years worth of research. This EF8 didn’t just fall into my lap; I didn’t just wake up one morning and there was an SiR in my driveway. Buying my first CRX literally changed my life and these past 17 years were a learning experience, a journey; and one I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

Let The Games... BEGIN! - The restoration of my new JDM CR-X SiR begins with a Honda badge...

My new JDM CR-X wasn’t in the driveway five minutes before I performed my first upgrade: the ‘H’ for the hood.

Next in line was the center tail light with CR-X VTEC badge and then some cleaning. Before I knew it, it was dark and I was exhausted.

The next morning I began working on the front end. I removed the fascia, headlights, and the crappy air intake hoses. I converted the air cleaner box and hoses back to factory Honda pieces. While I was working in there I noticed that it had aftermarket replacement horns, so I swapped in the horns left over from Project 88. I replaced the headlights and fascia with better, cleaner parts.

The interior was the next stop. The center console was removed and the JDM radio was replaced with a North American unit capable of playing our FM radio stations. I added my EDM center console with the heated seat switches, a new climate control box (with Kanji writing on the face), Spoon intrument cluster. Also replaced the steering column covers with NIB JDM ones, and swapped the Nardi steering wheel for a JDM ITR wheel. I also removed the APEXi controller and installed the Spoon ECU and VTEC Controller I had been saving.

The rear seat was removed and replaced with a fresh, unripped EDM rear seat and the rear side linings were removed in favor of fresh (unmangled) EDM ones. I also carefully inspected the quarter panels for any signs of rust or repair.

The Spoon rear upper strut bar was yanked and an OBX one put in its place. This allowed for my custom mounts from Project 88 to be used instead and thus spared the rear side linings from having to be cut to get the bar to fit. The rear bass tubes were added and topped off with NIB "Super Sound" rear speaker covers.

That was my Saturday.

Sunday wasn't as busy as Saturday. I finished bolting the rear seat into place and replaced the front door panels and speakers. I put a NIB 1/4 panel glass with SiR badge on the back. I also replaced the air intake hose to the manifold and the valve cover was swapped with a red JDM ITR one. I did other odds and ends and various cleaning tasks. And I test-fitted my glasstop sunshade and replaced the sunvisors (he had some sort of decal on the passenger's side one that left a large round mark on it).

But most of all, I was happy to be started restoring my CR-X.

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.

The wheels on the car go ‘round and ‘round… - My CR-X EF8 at V8less Sport Compact Challenge show and Mugen MR5 rims

If you look really hard, you can spot my CR-X. Yay for ugly white wheels!

Fast forward to August, 2005.

Our  very first car show. V8less and Sport Compact Challenge; held at the Race City racetrack in southeast Calgary. I made sure I detailed the hell out of my CR-X. I couldn’t afford to paint the front bumper in time for the show so I did a lot of little things I thought would help with the judges. I put Japanese coins in the coin tray, laid out brochures on the trunk tray, I put a mint copy of the JDM owner’s manual in the glove box, and I even had the correct series of JDM license plate for the size of engine.

A lot of people stopped to look the CR-X and most seemed quite impressed with her. I was beaming like a proud Papa. One passerby stopped and looked at the CR-X, then began to check her out more closely: "I think I tried to sell you this car... Is your name Andy?" he asked.

Turns out it was Allan, the friend-of-a-friend who was going to sell me my CR-X before it was promised to Dieter. He recognized the SSRs, but wasn't sure it was the same one until he looked at the VIN. He was a really nice guy, and although he lost a sale, he said he was happy I'd ended up getting the car I wanted. We talked for quite a while, and I even ended up meeting his contact from Japan, named Lon - another great guy, who sold the CR-X to Dieter.

And we all had a good chuckle over that whole situation and my initial panic over two people trying to sell me the same car!  

Note: The guy in the green shirt in the top left photo is Allan.

A few hours later while wandering through the staging area for the drag races I pointed out to my fiance a set of MR5s that were mounted on (strangely enough) a Toyota. She'd never seen a set of MR5s in real life before.“Those are what my wheels are going to look like”, I told her.

MR5s on a Toyota (background, right)

I had been in touch with Dieter several times throughout the summer regarding my wheels and when they would be shipped. I even inquired about the wheels again when I met Lon and he assured me that they were safe and sound back home in Japan, and he'd try to get them out just as soon as he could. I wasn't worried about them... A little anxious for them to arrive, maybe, but not worried. Winter was fast approaching and you could feel a chill in the air at night. I wanted to put them on before I had to hang up the keys for the season.

I didn't win any trophies at the car show but we had a lot of fun checking out all the sweet rides, seeing some old friends and meeting some new ones. Watching the drift competition and the drag races were also some of the highlights of the day. In hindsight, it's a shame that I never ended up going to another car show with my CR-X that year - or in the years that followed... Maybe in 2012 I will try and get her out to an event or two...

Winner, Best JDM: Nissan Skyline

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.