So I didn't post my DB1 build here, but I've decided to move on to bigger and better things. So I grabbed a DA for $300. It's very rough around the edges, however the frame is 100% so IMO that's all that matters!

4dr build:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3188315

Here's a couple pics of how I received it:



When I got the car the guy who sold it to me said the starter was fried because he couldn't start the car through the ignition. He had an extra one sitting in the trunk for me. I noticed there was a bunch of electrical hanging down under the dash but kept my mouth shut. He also mentioned it had a stock alarm. So right away it all made sense. I used a cotter pin and jumped 12v to the starter and surprise surprise it fired up and ran like a champ I ripped out the Acura alarm and plugged in the stock harness and voila, key start! So with that out of the way, my next issue was the driver's window being smashed. Fortunately I had an extra DA door kickin' around with good glass so I whipped that in. I lubed the crap out of the sliders aha. I know they're common for sticking. I picked up another hatch for cheap, doesn't have any holes, verrrry little rust and it has a stock spoiler which works for me. The left side arch is spotless in terms of rust, but there's rust further up the car which can easily be resolved. Still need a picture of that.

The power steering lines are rotted on it. The p/s pump is already removed and the fluid has been removed from the system. I'm in the process of making an extra rack I had kicking around looped. I unbolted the 10mm and gutted the springs n' things inside so there's less resistance to fluid flow. I just gotta swap things eventually. I currently don't have any pictures, but I'll get some soon!

The brakes were completely destroyed Whoever owned it before burned through the metal piece that the friction material is bonded to I replaced the left caliper obviously. Right side was surprisingly salvageable.
Left rear
Right rear

Fronts were still barely within MTO spec, but I got a full set, kind of. I bought all 4 wheels' worth. Got the rears assembled fine, but when I went to assemble the fronts I found they were the wrong pads!



So, a little work on the grinder and I got:




I made sure to take it easy so they fit snug and still slide freely. Spent about 20 mins per pad. And fortunately they didn't overhand the rotor. You can see in the pictures they line up perfectly

I forgot to take a pic of the rears assembled without the wheel on but this should be a good enough teaser:


Got the wife to help me bleed the system too.. She's learning car stuff

I picked up a b16 tranny too. Ended up paying $180 for it in the end I was expecting to redo the synchros in it but when I opened it up I found some things that are considered "un-good".

Looks pretty right?
Where's the magnet??
Ohh, that explains the magnet
Some debris took out my ring gear bearing
Non-LSD

Yup, the input shaft bearing grenaded. Amazingly, no teeth were harmed Sooo ya, since everything's apart I'm getting a complete rebuild kit and now I'm looking for an LSD
Rebuild kit will be purchased here:
http://shop.synchrotech-transmission...BSK-SYN103.htm

Since I don't want to disable the car yet because I still like to play with my DB1, I decided to work on the suspension. I noticed the springs were broken. So tonight my bud and I -----hammered the front end and got everything torn apart, lubed properly and reassembled in an hour haha. Nothing was anti-seized so it took some effort to crack things but nothing was seized thank god.

3-piece springs add 5hp
new height

Enjoy this "What not to do" video


And just for fun, another "What not to do" and that's park on country grass no matter how dry it looks because this happens:



I had to use my 2DR to pull it out because I was by myself


Still tonnes to do!

More or less prioritized:
Rear suspension
Full bushing kit
Remove LS engine/tranny
Engine bay clean up
Wire tuck
Still deciding on engine set up (really interested in a reliable turbo set up)
Body work
Clean up interior

More updates and pics to come, stay tuned!

 

Lookin good, sounds like you've got this car planned to the tee. Good luck, keep us posted.

 

After learning some stuff with my DB1 and reading other people's posts there's some things that I'd love to try. Like depinning for example. I did it for my obd-0 to obd-1 conversion and I was blown away by how easy it was haha..

 

Nice start to a project.

 

nice work, the spring dismount is something i see myself doing :P

 

Thanks.. I'm a sucker for bringing a car most people wouldn't touch with a 5 foot pole back to life lol..

 

start seems really good and really interested in seeing updates

 

lol have you seen what my car started off as? haha
GJ keep the ol'DAs rollin

 

lmao that how not to disassemble a strut video is ------- classic. we should definitely record EVERY SINGLE unconventional thing we do from now on.... cuz we definitely do a lot of it.

 

brian is you need any of my engine ---- i have left over. feel free to come by and pick anything up. for free

 

Yea man, I'll take that b18b throttle body.. That's about all I need.. It's for my white 4dr though not this one aha.. I'll be heading to the shop soon.. Might rip out the rear suspension and swap on the sleeves.. I'll bring a proper camera so it's better quality

 

very good build man congratz on the find.

 

nice to see ppl still have faith in reviving DA's. i did it and i'm glad i'm not the only one some people would consider stupid enough to do it.

wanna buy an EM Racing Rear strut tower bar?

 

Yeah I love seeing stuff like this, like it's almost a restoration, just tackling a hacked up car...

I wanna see steady progress!

 

So I haven't got much progress done because I've in the middle of purchasing some property. But I managed to snap some shots of the worst rust, the engine bay for a "Before" reference and my new goody num-nums

Driver side worst rust:


Driver side arch solllid:


When I bought the car, the window was smashed and a garbage bag was taped over to protect the interior from weather. When I got it home, tore the bag off and opened the door this is what I found:


Engine bay before:


Annnd my goody num-nums

 

Nothing done to the teg, just finished a 60 hour work week but I got my dad to build me a sandblasting cabinet Cost me $33 so far cuz I got the wood from work.




Still gotta get the gun attachment, plumb it for compressed air and cut the holes out for my hands.. I designed it to comfortably fit our rear trailing arms

 

Nice tires

 

i hope that little compressor isn't what you're planning to use.

 

Thanks spike, cant wait to burn them off lol.. There's gunna be lots of fun with those tires.. And no Buff, we built it in my dad's shop and that's his little portable guy he uses to fill tires.. I got a 15 gallon 3 hp at the garage.. It'll most certainly be cycling a lot, but only when I use the blaster. I'm also planning on making it a gravity feed style as opposed to venturi style. I know it's more work to recycle the sand but the gun will never clog up..

 

this is a sweet project, i love guys that take old cars like you mentioned that wont touch it with a 5 foot pole and start to work on it. I am exciting on seeing futher progress done to this car and hope you enjoy every second you work on it.