
It’s been a while, but I’m back, and there have been plenty of updates! First, I should start with saying I’ve been on the road doing contract work as a travel nurse with my girlfriend. So far, we’ve been on two out of state assignments in Eastern Tennessee, and currently in Massachusetts.


I should touch on the fact that I have a new daily. This ball joint failure on the Accord wasn’t the deciding factor in getting rid of it, but I was definitely a huge factor. I sold it to a good friend’s little sister, and picked up this manual 2018 Honda Fit Sport. The main reason I got this car was to have a fresh reliable car that had enough space to take us and our stuff all over the country economically. That’s all I’m going to say about this car for now, there are plans I have for this car once I’m done on the road.
Now as for the Civic, since I’ve last posted, there have been quite a few changes. To start, my suspension situation became a lot more dire than I originally planned for.

The old Omni Powers were on the car for 12 years at the point that I ended up swapping them out in May if 2021. As for replacements, I ended up getting a set of Special Purpose Ground Control coilovers that Koni and Ground Control manufactures specifically for Hondas.

I ordered these with Koni Race valving and Eibach 12k/14k springs. I’m wondering now though if something other than age caused that Omni Power caused them to fail the way it did, so I will be going over all the bushings I’ve replaced in this old machine.

Along with the coilovers, I FINALLY did a rear sway bar setup, I installed it with the old Omni Powers still on because these parts all showed up before the coilovers did. Pictured here is an ASR 24mm swaybar/subframe brace, with spherical endlinks, and Hard Race RLCAs (not pictured is the Hard Race front roll center adjusters). I also took this opportunity to replace all my LCA bolts with brand new OEM pieces because I had to cut some of the old bolts out due to seizing in the old LCA bushings.

I have only had the chance to take the car out on track a couple of times since these updates, and honestly I still have a lot of adjustments to make before I’m happy with it. The car has been a bit of a handful since the suspension updates. Expectedly, it likes to rotate more than before, but before I started to really learn about tuning my suspension, the car loved snapping all the way around. Though it definitely doesn’t help that the car is still on the AD08R’s that the Ramblers surprised me with back in 2017, so I don’t know if I trust my adjustments fully yet. But these things will come with time, I have bigger fish to fry at this point.

The current state of the interior isn’t much different than the last time I’ve posted it here short of me installing the hybrid racing shifter and still not having the roll bar installed. I’m still trying to decide if I want to leave the rear interior out, I’ve grown kind of used to it at this point, and it’s not like any of it is going to be usable once the roll bar is in, so we’ll see.


I also picked this GT wing up around the time I pulled all the livery off the car. I’m told it was taken off from a Porsche racecar, and its a great size for the Civic. I originally bought this up from my friend Jamie maybe 11 years ago or so. But now that I have it, I plan on paint matching it and making mounts for it for a spare trunk lid that I have that will also need to get paint matched.

In the midst of all these changes, I had a bit of a mishap in my driveway where I made a mistake working on my brakes and ruined my OEM hood, I don’t like thinking about it because it was literally the original hood of the car, but it led me to a deal on an old vented Seibon hood (as seen in the cover of this post) that I’m endlessly happy with, though it will require paint at some point.

Now, as for plans moving forward, I purchased this LS Vtec with ITR internals to swap in, and I think I’ve decided to do a full rebuild on the B16 to have the freshest backup motor I can possibly have now that Bseries motors are becoming harder and harder to come by. I’ve also started to gather new OEM window trims, seals, emblems, and stickers for when the time comes to do as close to a full restoration as I can. I’ve also ordered a front bumper and side skirts from VIS that I will reveal when I have the pieces in my possession. I’m currently in search of an OEM front bumper and lip that are in better shape than the ones I have as well as front fenders that aren’t as warped. I also got a front end cut off of a straight bodied EM1 sitting in my garage, I may not need it, but I figure it wouldn’t hurt to have, especially considering how bent my front end is. I haven’t decided who I’m going to take the car to as far as bodywork and paint as of yet, it’s going to be a bit more of an involved process considering the rust that has started to form around the quarter panels. I’m not expecting this car to be showroom perfect ever again, nor do I need it to be seeing as it will continue to be taken to the track, but I do want it to be nice.

That’s really it for now, at this point, I’m still gathering parts for the restoration. And when that’s done, I can start gathering parts for the swap. As I’m writing this, I’m making a deal on a set of wheels I’ve been after for a long time with my good friend and fellow Rambler Chris, who happens to be working on a civic project of his own.



These are just a few photos of how the car sits now. Peeling clear coat, swirly paint, misaligned body panels, spots of rust, front end a little bent up, and definitely rough around the edges. But everything “wrong” with this car happened making some of the best memories of my life. This car has given me so much, it’s time for me to give some back.