Project Civic Si(gh): The school year is nearly over

project civic sigh 001 It’s had a busted face, a dead battery and dying alternator, and the airbags are both long since deployed. The wheels come from a lower spec version of the car, and the passenger side window stopped working. This is a car that’s had some issues, and these issues were being neglected by yours truly. That’s a shame… but I’m rectifying all of that, thanks to the kids at Norco High School. Project Civic Si(gh) is nearly back together, which is good timing since the school year is almost out. Let’s dive in and see what the students have accomplished to date. project civic sigh 000 Well… that’s going to need replacing. project civic sigh 007 project civic sigh 009 If you remember the last update on Project Civic Si(gh), you’ll know that we discovered a bit of an issue with the motor mounts. To fix this, I reached out to HASPORT for one of their complete kits. These new mounts are far more substantial, and also manage to look kind of cool at the same time. Is it weird that I just said an engine mount looks cool? No? You agree with me? Good… I knew there was a reason we started this site. project civic sigh 002 The valve cover has been cleaned up and repainted. project civic sigh 003 project civic sigh 004 We received a few goodies from our friends at Royal Purple and ACCEL. For our fluid needs, we’re using Royal Purple. The oil company has supplied us with its HPS 5W-30 motor oil and an extended life oil filter. They’ve also sent over more 5W-30 oil because this Honda likes to drink that for the gearbox. We threw in some of their Purple Ice to help with any potential cooling issues that could arise, and we also dumped in the Max-Clean to see if it does anything under the hood. It’s supposed to clean and stabilize the fuel system, which could result in a return of any lost horsepower. The good folks at ACCEL have supplied with their SuperCoil product. This is a higher performance version of the one that comes with the car from the factory. It’s stated that it will deliver 10-15% great spark energy, which should translate into a bit better throttle response and a dash more horsepower. The ACCEL 300+ ThunderSport plug wires help dress up the engine bay a bit, and this specific set is custom tailored to the Honda B-Series engine. Finally, we’ve added a new exhaust manifold gasket thanks to Mr. Gasket.  It’s made from solid copper, which means it’s not supposed to shrink or deteriorate on us. project civic sigh 010 project civic sigh 011 Eventually the front bumper will be painted, but for now I’m just going to be happy with the fact that it’s not broken. Additionally, the wrong grille was ordered so this Civic Si is going even further into incognito mode. The non-Si grille will match the non-Si wheels. I can assure you, however, that a B16A2 most certainly sits between the front fenders. project civic sigh 012 See, it’s in there. project civic sigh 013 project civic sigh 014 New tires will come down the road, but the freshly painted steel wheels are here to party right out of the gate. No, that’s not a space-saver spare, the car’s not on the ground. project civic sigh 015 project civic sigh 017 The tried-and-true righty-tighty spin-it-to-win-it method of reinstalling screws. I’m a fan of this method. project civic sigh 019 Produce placement shot! I’ve seen the engine all buttoned up and I can tell you that the new wires actually look great in the engine bay. Along with the cleaned up valve cover, the strut brace has also been repainted, and the intake was cleaned up as well. The car looks far sharper than it has in a long time. Still… we have a ways to go. At least it’s ready to roll though, and that’s what matters most. Stay tuned for one more update after I get the car back. From there, we will be deciding next steps for the car, and that means it might be time for some upgrades. A special thanks to Royal Purple, ACCEL, and Mr. Gasket for sending over the goodies. We’ll let you all know if the car feels any different, more sprightly, or just more fresh once we get it back. Hell, there’s a dyno down the street from me… it might be fun to see what the car is making from this 127k-mile B16A2 engine.

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