February 5th, 2015 - Happy (Belated) New Year!!!

February 5th, 2015 - Happy (Belated) New Year!!!

2015. A new year, a new beginning. 2015 also marks the 10th anniversary of when I imported my CR-X and began Project PRO.2 - there a lot of "ten years ago today..." anniversaries that will pop up and I will try not to bore you with them all, but rather select a few highlights to share.

Happy New Year, 2015

2014 ended and 2015 began rather disappointingly: My mother got food poisoning and had to skip coming to our house for Christmas, then my wife got sick with a bad flu just before New Year's and spent almost a month recuperating before I was stricken with it. I'm in week number three and feel about 80% normal depending on what day you ask.

I wasn't all bad though.We had a great Christmas with family and friends, and despite the downturn in oil prices wreaking havoc to Alberta's economy, I still have a job and even with a small round of illnesses, everyone is healthy and happy. 2015 is shaping up to be a great year.

I even had a chance to pick up some pieces for my CR-X in late 2014/early 2015.

Some Spare Interior and Other Pieces

The first of the packages arrived around the end of November containing the license plates I'd ordered and some spare interior bits I've needed to get for a while now. Also obtained a near mint triangle, a fuel/hatch cable assembly for RHD models, and center vent.

I received a second package about the middle of December containing some more spare parts that I won for a steal of a price at auction in Japan:

I won this sweet pair of strut forks for the EF8 so that when I get my new suspension I'll be able to set them up before the swap - plus the benefit of some spares. $25 plus shipping seemed reasonable and they look in better condition than any of the Integra ones I'd seen on eBay or locally for a long time.

EF8 Front Strut Forks

Spare front wiper motor. When I took the CR-X in to get a safety inspection the wipers wouldn't work. I gently tapped the wiper motor with a rubber mallet and they started working. I never drive it in the rain, but for $20 plus shipping, better safe than sorry.

CR-X EF8 Front Wiper Motor

Some spare door handles - they came with switches but I already have some spares of those. $15 plus shipping, I couldn't resist.

EF8 Power Window Switches

EF8 Gauge Cluster

I have a problem with my fuel gauge. Ever since I got the car, it doesn't always read accurately. I fill the take and it will only read 7/8 full. Since I still haven't gotten it fixed, I'm still not 100% sure the cause of the issue. I have purchased a fuel sending unit from an EDM VT, but just in case it was the gauge itself, I thought I should keep my eyes peeled for another cluster. When this $40 unit popped up for auction in Japan, I had no choice. It had to be done.

JDM CR-X Video Brochure (VHS)

Found a CR-X video brochure VHS cassette. What intrigued me about this was that it says Verno Shin Tokyo on the back. A good friend of mine from back in the day, rickcab1, had the laserdisc video brochure and he had it transcribed to DVD. This was back in the day before it was all over YouTube, so he sent me a copy of the DVD. I've also got plenty of pictures of the sleeve of the laserdisc from multiple sources saved on my hard drive, and nowhere on it does it say Verno Shin Tokyo. That was enough to get the curiosity flowing so I shelled out the cash for the videocassette and the transcription to DVD once it arrived (seriously, who has a VCR anymore?!). Sadly, it's virtually identical to the laserdisc save for a small bit of intro at the beginning but still a cool collectible.





Last spring I cleaned out the garage and re-organized all my parts, moving stuff that hadn't been moved for years. I found a couple of dead mice and a small abandoned nest behind my toolbox. I take precautions when storing the CR-X and I've never seen any evidence of rodents in my CR-X before. Additionally, I don't eat in my CR-X and am very diligent that we don't leave any food garbage or food in the garage and surrounding area, so I hadn't been too concerned about it.

EF8 Auto Aircon Heater Matrix

At the end of the season last year, I was taking the CR-X to the gas station for a final top-up with some stabilizer. It was a bit chilly out so I turned on the heater. There was a pretty stale smell coming from the vents. Now, admittedly, it could have been just an over-active imagination but after seeing the mice 3 months earlier while cleaning it got me to wondering. Could it be just that the heater hadn't been used in years, could there be an issue with the heater core, or could there be mummified critter corpses in my car?

When this complete heater unit presented itself for a decent price, I couldn't very well pass it up. Thanks to routejp for finding this for me.

If I can buy my car a birthday present, why can't I buy myself one too? 

 

C's Short Stroke Shift

I've been playing Golidlocks with my shifters since Project 88 and I've yet to find one I'm 100% happy with. The OEM was too tall, and last season while driving my CR-X I noticed how uncomfortable my current B&M double-bend shifter is. It's just a little too short and I find myself having to lean a little too far when shifting. Previous to that shifter I was using the straight B&M but I didn't like the hassle it caused when taking the center console apart to get to the stereo and whatnot. 

Now, years ago I had a C's short shifter, but it didn't come with any hardware and one of the bearings was missing so I never installed it. I searched bearing books at my local parts retailer and tried the bearing cross-references and could not find another, so I ended up unloading it on eBay. 

I found this C's shifter for sale on eBay a couple weeks ago, and decided to go for it. What I like about it is that it has a similar bend to the OEM, but a shorter throw. I confirmed with the seller this came with all the hardware and the instructions, and the bearings were intact and in good condition. The seller reassured me it came from a low-mileage car and was in great shape. When it arrived, it is in fantastic condition. I will be ditching the Energy Suspension bushings for some Mugen hard bushings as I've heard some good things about them, and I may even treat myself to the Spoon Duracon (black) shift knob. 

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.