January 15th, 2016 - Plans for Project PRO.2 for 2016

January 15th, 2016 - Plans for Project PRO.2 for 2016

It's only the beginning of January but already my thoughts have been turning to the spring/summer. The economy in Alberta is in the toilet what with the low oil prices (dipped below $30/bbl today and speculation is that it has farther to fall before it bottoms out) and they are dragging the value of the Canadian dollar with it. Luckily my job is somewhat stable, and my wife's employer seems to be going strong still. With the tens of thousands of layoffs and crappy economy, the timing couldn't be better to be in the market to buy a house. In the coming weeks we will be meeting with our real estate agent to look into it. It's been 10 years in our current place and I'd like to upgrade.

My original list for 2016 looked something like this:

  1)    Remove bronze glass from spare hatch
  2)    Mugen Replica Spoiler Mounts 
  3)    Mugen and CR-X license plates
  4)    Mugen replica wheel decal sets x2
  5)    Second Set of Mugen Front Bumper Brackets, Rear Brackets.
  6)    Installing illuminating front license plate / Honda logo 
  7)    Oil Change
  8)    Drain & Fill: Brake fluid, antifreeze, power steering fluid, transmission fluid.
  9)    Alignment Check
10)    Skunk2 Pro Series Camber Kit 516-05-5660 if needed
11)    Replacement License Plates (Gov’t issued)
12)    New Door and Rear Speakers
13)    Get estimates for Rock Chip protector (roof and headlights)
14)    Remove SiR spoiler, install Mugen Spoiler, Re&Re DOHC glass
15)    Heater Hose Kit
16)    Door Visors for non-power folding mirrors
17)    Endless Brake Steel Braided Lines
18)    Endless Front/Rear Pads (Vita Nuova maybe?)
19)    Brembo Front/Rear Cross-Drilled Rotors
20)    Installing the Tanabe exhaust I picked up in 2015.
21)    Installing the C's Shifter w/Mugen shifter bushings I picked up in 2015


When you add up the economic uncertainty, buying a new house, the low Canadian Dollar value -vs- the US, and the rising cost of used CRX parts it all points to this maybe being a good year to back off on the purchases and stick to installing parts/working on the CR-X a little. The scary part is that prices and scarcity of the parts I need will still rise... but I'm banking on the dollar recovering faster than the rise in parts prices. Wish me luck...

So what are the (revised) plans for the CR-X this year?

 1) Installing the Tanabe exhaust I picked up in 2015.
 2) Installing the C's Shifter (unfortunately I will be buying Mugen shifter bushings for it)
 3) Installing illuminating front license plate / Honda logo
 4) Replacing my actual government license plate(s) (long story for another time)
 5) Picking up some new speakers
 6) Installing the new Mugen Spoiler
 7) Oil Change
 8) Drain & Fill: Brake fluid, antifreeze, power steering fluid, transmission fluid.
 9) Alignment Check
10) Get estimates for Rock Chip protector (roof and headlights)
11) Full detail performed
12) Affix genuine Mugen emblems to side skirts / remove old glue and tape residue
13) Powder-coat Mugen brackets purchased in 2015
14) Affix "OK" decal on side window (this one's only on here because I'm superstitious and I didn't want 13 items on my list LOL)

It feels like a short list with not much of substance actually on it, but that's the point I suppose. I won't have a lot of time or money either with the new house. I think it may be fun to look back on this post in December to see what from this list actually was accomplished this season... will it be more or less than I've planned?

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.