May 22nd, 2026 - Update on the "Soft-Pause" on my CR-X PROJECT PRO.2

May 22nd, 2026 - Update on the "Soft-Pause" on my CR-X PROJECT PRO.2

I have tried no less than six times to post an update to this blog about my CR-X project. All of them are sitting in my drafts, so I'll try and piece them all together to provide a much overdue update for the 3 of you that may actually see this. 

2025 Can Eat A Bag Of Hot Dicks... Seriously.

2025 was not a "banner year" at my house. I want to start off by saying that I am grateful for some of the things that happened in 2025. Everyone I care about stayed healthy, more or less. We all had our various aches and pains and medical issues, but everyone remained alive and did fairly well. 

Bonzai Update
We opted not to do the cancer treatment for our dog, Bonzai, and we are closely monitoring her for quality of life and for any signs of pain or behavior changes which could indicate that she is not doing well. Here we are nearing June of 2026 and she's still here next to me sleeping as I type this. 

For the most of the past year she's been happy, healthy and pain-free as best we can tell. That's been our focus and we watch her closely and are hyper-vigilant to her needs and state of well-being. That being said, we are nearing the end. She has begun having slightly more bad days than good ones and her weight has begun dropping. I fear that it won't be much longer until we have to say goodbye. 

EDIT: Two days after writing this, Bonzai took a turn for the worse and had to be put down. She didn't suffer, and she left us peacefully and with dignity. 

I have lost my little girl and my heart has been shattered.

General Update
Spring of 2025, the client I was working for decided to go in-house for their needs and our contract would not be renewed. My place of employment lost two large clients in Q1 2025 and managed to squeeze in almost everyone at other sites, leaving not a lot of opportunities for myself and my team. One member of our team was let go and the rest of us, thankfully, found other opportunities within our company over the months that followed. I'm very grateful for that. The job market is not great right now. 

I was out with my family in April 2025 taking the dogs for a walk when I tripped and fell. Initially, the fall didn't look serious. I rolled into it and didn't seem to have any injuries, but over time my back and my shoulder told a very different tale. Even with physio, it took until almost the beginning of October before I started to feel well enough to return to my normal activities. But sadly, the injuries meant I couldn't drive or work on the CR-X and I wasn't able to go on walks with the dogs. I couldn't even go to car shows, even as a spectator. I couldn't stand or walk for any length of time. 

Every week it seemed there was a new crisis to deal with that took up time that I could have spent doing something for the car... And then in November, my wife was laid off from her job. The company was not doing too well and the stock prices have taken a beating and they mentioned that they would be doing some layoffs. 

CR-X Update
As most of you may know, I took a soft pause on the CR-X project. I continued to buy parts for the car during pretty much all of 2025, strictly adhering to my list to ensure I could hit the ground running once our goodbyes were said and the grief subsided enough that I felt like continuing on my car. 

I did try to get out to the garage a few times when Bonzai was home but I tried to time it when she was sound asleep or hanging out with "Mommy". A couple of those times she figured out what I was up to. When I'm in the garage she will go downstairs and lay on the mat outside the door and cry for me to come back inside. Absolutely breaks my heart, so ya: I didn't stay out very long on those days.

Around October/November of 2025, Bonzai was looking well, and my wife and I discussed un-pausing the CR-X and what that would look like. Since was wintertime here in Calgary, and we're coming up on the 30th anniversary of the first time I'd ever seen a Mugen spoiler on a CRX and decided I needed one (way back in 1996) , I thought it might be time to prep the spare hatch with the DOHC accessory decal on it for installation along with the Mugen spoiler.

I planned a visit to my new favorite shop, Infamous Aero, to get the estimate but I forgot that was SEMA weekend and the boys were all in Vegas so I made arrangements for my next free Friday to take it in... Then the week before that appointment, my wife was laid off. Currently Calgary has the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the country so we have had to pause everything in our life - which still includes, unfortunately, the CR-X. 

Despite those challenges above, I still managed to make some small progress on the project. I was forced back into the original approach I’d taken with the project as a whole since the early 2000s: buy all the parts first, assemble/pay for the labor later. Those familiar with Project Management terminology would probably label my approach as using somewhat of a Waterfall-style strategy — securing the complete parts inventory before beginning major assembly. 

My attention shifted to organizing and planning all the remaining jobs for the project. My hope is that if I can plan the parts purchases efficiently, I can get more done more quickly when I'm able to focus on the CR-X again. 

Glovebox Hinges & Longer Spring Pins
Shortly after my CR-X arrived 20 years ago, I noticed that the glovebox was from an 88/89. Two big indicators were the lack of flocking on the inside as well as the slightly green tinge to the glovebox when compared to the black on the rest of the trim.

I bought a new glovebox back in 2012, and I've finally gotten around to installing it. Sadly, I wasn't confident in removing the pin springs for the hinges on the 88/89 box. They were so firmly in place that I saw the plastic on the box flexing dangerously and I didn't want to risk wrecking a perfectly good glovebox for the sake of a couple of (somewhat) easily obtainable hinges. 

Since the hinges were discontinued new at the dealer, I bought some replacement hinges from Japan from an already broken glovebox. I also swapped the pin springs to OEM ones a little longer than the original 30mm length so that, if needed in the future, I could more easily remove them without risking damage to the new glovebox. 

Air Filter & Cleaning Kit
I haven't cleaned my K&N Filter in a couple of years. I didn't want to wait for the filter to dry to be able to drive my car, so I picked up a HAMP (Honda After-Market Parts) replacement filter to use while the cleaning and re-oiling is taking place. I had tried to buy and use an HKS filter last year but when it arrived, the foam media was disintegrating. Very gross. 

I also picked up a K&N Cleaning kit from Canadian Tire.

Hood Rubber Stoppers, Washer Nozzles & Hood Striker
I have the new hood that bought from Honda back in 2011 and I thought it may be easier to swap it over if I prepped it beforehand, as the time grew near. I picked up some rubber stoppers and another latch that was in really good shape. 

Auto Climate Control Panel / Tape for Climate Control / 3x Switches (AC)
I noticed that my best-condition auto aircon climate control had developed a crack. I'm not sure when exactly it happened but the mounting ears had started to disintegrate. While I have some spares in my inventory, I can't help but wonder how long those replacements will last. This is a very well-known issue on the 2nd generation CR-X and 4th generation Civic chassis. After much deliberation I decided i would invest in a 3D printed replacement, provided I could find one that is properly textured to match the OEM panel. I didn't want obvious 3D print lines. 

I purchased the part from <source> and it was exactly what I wanted.

The original climate control from my CR-X when it arrived was already in multiple pieces so I chose to start looking through it for the spare parts I would need as opposed to destroying one of my intact ones, even the one with the broken mounting ears. It wasn't cracked in the middle, after all. 

Watching some tutorials online I followed their advice and purchased some ultra-thin tape to put the decals back in place after the swap. I also damaged a couple of the button caps, so I found 3 AC switches from a single seller; much cheaper than buying another climate control or parts from one. I'll gently remove those, clean them up and use those to replace my broken caps.

EACV Hoses and Clamps
In preparation for removing and reinstalling the EACV, I picked up two replacement hoses and clamps. 

Timing Cover Seals
Found a good deal on some timing belt cover seals. Since I'm doing atiming belt replacement soon, I snapped them up. 

Aomori Prefecture Decals & Triangle Garnish Clips x6
I found some really cool Japanese prefecture decals that look like circuit tracks in the shape of the various prefecture boundaries. I picked up some Aomori ones to install on the rear triangle on the left (where a North American CRX has a "Honda" decal but the SiR has nothing). I also want to replace the left side triangle, so I bought some extra clips in case any get damaged in the removal.

Windshield Washer Tube Clips & Clips for Cowl Weather-stripping x8
One of the small things about my car that's bothered me for years is the weather-stripping along the wiper cowl was slightly torn and is separated from the cowl clip. I have a replacement cowl assembly with seal but I don't want to use it if I don't have to. I'll try removing the cowl seal and repairing it with some 3M before attempting to re-attach. I also picked up replacement clips in case some day I have to use that NIB cowl assembly in storage.

Parking Pole Interior Wiring and Switch
I found a great deal on the interior wiring for the parking pole where it connects to the fuse box. I would like to use that instead of the custom wiring harness made by the seller of the parking pole I purchased on eBay. 

Honda Verno Rear Bumper Stickers
My car was originally sold from Honda Verno Aomori. I've collected dealer materials from Honda Verno Shin Tokyo, including an emblem for the rear bumper, but it's always bothered me a little bit that that is not the actual dealership that sold my car. As the repair and work on the rear bumper is getting close to completed, I think that I may have found an acceptable solution. A seller on Yahoo Japan has begun selling Honda Verno generic decals that don't have a dealership associated with them. I think these will fit the bill nicely. I still am holding out hope that one day I'll find a treasure trove of old memorabilia from Honda Verno Aomori.  

Mugen Room Mirror Cover
Back in 2023 I heard that Mugen was discontinuing some of the room mirror covers. I know that they come pre-painted in some common modern-day Honda colors, but if I'm being honest, black on black doesn't really turn my crank. Don't get me wrong, but I really love an R72P Torino Red Pearl CR-X. I've never been a fan of NH523M Flint Black Metallic. I feel that some of the accent colors get 'lost'. The flat black of the molding colors, the interior colors, etc... 

I thought that a nice silver could look really good, so I reached out to King Motorsports and they were out of silver. I asked what colors were in stock thinking I'd repaint one. They did have a black that was returned by a customer because of a minor paint defect and they offered to sell me that one at a discount since I'd be having it repainted. Sold! 

Then I started pricing out the paint and supplies I needed to do this up right and when compared to the price of the actual chromed Mugen room mirror cover from Japan, which they also sell, it was a no-brainer. So, I ordered one of those this winter. 

EF6, EF7 and EF8 Owner's Manual (x2)
Picked up an owner's manual on a pretty good deal. It's a little dogeared but perfect to keep in the CR-X's new glovebox. A second one came up for sale along with some other OE manuals so I picked that one up too.

Asimo Blankets (x2)
I've decided to use my ADIDAS bag from the 1980s as an emergency kit for my CR-X. I grabbed two extra large Asimo blankets to keep on hand in case I have to lay on the ground to do any work on the side of the road and over time I'll add more tools and items that I'll need.

Brake Hardware
To prepare for the brake upgrade, I picked up some odds and ends for the work: rotor screws, caliper slider rubbers, bleeder screws and caps etc.

Blind Hole Plug (Catalytic Converter Heat Sensor)
When I swap my Catalytic Converter to a test pipe, I will be using the one I purchased with the built-in resonator to keep the sound levels down. This pipe doesn't have an overheating sensor bung, and really no place to install one. So I will remove the sensor and plug the hole in the body with an OEM blind hole plug I bought. I have a couple of sizes so I hope one of them will fit properly.

Replacement EF7 CR-X Seats
Well, I'll be honest, this is embarrassing. I've gained a lot of weight in the last couple of years. I'm in the beginning stages of trying to lose it but I still have a long way to go. In the meantime, I am worried about the abuse my SiR seats will face due to my increased mass. I found a deal locally for a pair of EF7 seats with CR-X on them for a very decent and reasonable price. They are in decent shape, but rough in spots. I'll grab some cheap car seat covers. I'd rather use these for cruising and preserve my EF8 seats. 

Just need to swap my existing seat rails, or track down a set of Canadian CRX or 1988 USDM seat rails because they slide back further than the JDM ones, and the USDM seat rails from door mounted seatbelt cars are not compatible.

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