"Lil Blue" DA9 Integra GS

[DeltaAlpha9]

its gotta be really interesting working on planes...that fascinating. that's good you caught that switch when you did. my engine bay needs a lot more than a good detail lol.

Like anything it loses a bit of its luster the longer you do it. That being said I still love it and it keeps me from getting burnt out on working on cars. That was one of the biggest reasons why I got into the industry and it still allows me to turn wrenches and troubleshoot.

its looking clean! I love the fact that you've had it for so long. Strenghten the bond

Thank you. And ya, I used to think about selling it to pick up a 240sx coupe, but the girlfriend of 3 years says she'll leave me if I ever sell it. It makes it any easy decision to keep both around haha.

[DeltaAlpha9]

So a bit of an update but not really much of one.

One my way to do my first ever photoshoot with the car I smoked a sandbag on the highway and I didn't break anything but the alignment was pooched and the axle was binding a bit on tight turns. Here's a little before and after (sorry for the instagram).



So I was racking my brain trying to figure out what the hell I had bent and had no luck while it sat up on the hoist. Then one morning I got home from work and figured I would wander down to the shop to see if I could find anything. I found some rust had came off the spindle and after some googling I found out that it's not uncommon to bend them. Then during disassembly I managed to drop the inboard pad on the pavement so it got new front brakes because the pad had been dropped and the rotors had hot spots.



While I was getting that sorted out this happened:



So as usual I had the mad dash to park the Integras before even more snow came down so I changed out the oil on both and put the new from Pick n Pull spindle with a fresh wheel bearing and a new ball joint in. It was somehow cheaper for me to get parts from Acura than it was from Napa.



Now I'm driving the winter beater for the next 6 months and enjoying the all wheel drive and the rate it likes to eat wheel bearings.



and the FAG wheel bearing after only 25,000kms. Gotta love the beige wheel bearing eater.

[DukeNukeEm']

Lookin good man, keep it up

[rice4life]

Glad to see you're still around!

You should clean up the one piece lights and throw them back on. H4H bulbs aren't rare, you just need to know where to get them. There used to be a Super Autobacs not too far from my place and that was the most common light there, along with a bunch of mad tyte jdm HID kits. They always had a shortage of the common shit, and an excess of the strange.

[DeltaAlpha9]

Glad to see you're still around!

You should clean up the one piece lights and throw them back on. H4H bulbs aren't rare, you just need to know where to get them. There used to be a Super Autobacs not too far from my place and that was the most common light there, along with a bunch of mad tyte jdm HID kits. They always had a shortage of the common shit, and an excess of the strange.

Haha ya I'm still kicking. Not much happens fast with this car so it's a bit sporadic as I'm saving up for a house. And I honestly wish I still had the one pieces but I sold them last summer because they had been sitting in the bottom of my tool box for years prior to that. And of course I start seeing people being able to find bulbs easily after I get rid of them for a steal of a deal haha. I might pick up another set when the Canadian dollar finally bounces back (or maybe earlier if I find a deal).

[rice4life]

Haha ya I'm still kicking. Not much happens fast with this car so it's a bit sporadic as I'm saving up for a house. And I honestly wish I still had the one pieces but I sold them last summer because they had been sitting in the bottom of my tool box for years prior to that. And of course I start seeing people being able to find bulbs easily after I get rid of them for a steal of a deal haha. I might pick up another set when the Canadian dollar finally bounces back (or maybe earlier if I find a deal).

Oh man, hope you get some. I didn't know the Canadian $$ was hurting.

Yeah, I know how hard it can be to keep modding a vehicle when saving for much more. I haven't even touched my car in terms of mods in the last year and a half. The struggle is real.

Do you remember RJ DeVera's old integra? You should check it out, it was the shit when I was like 2 years old. Still pretty good looking to this day.

[DeltaAlpha9]

Finally got the high res pictures back. I'm quite happy with the result even with the messed up front camber/toe.

[cblock406]

Looks awesome! I daily a 91 prelude si, makes me want to start a build with it.

[jalenda9]

pictures look so good man. im really missing that captiva blue pearl!

[DeltaAlpha9]

So some good news! I'm still alive and the car is tucked away for awhile yet. I've been working on doing some small mods like a sun roof visor and amber bumper light lens. I've got some extended top hats en route so I'll most likely be going lower when I can get the car back on the hoist. Now on to current concerns... The Achilles ATR Sport tires I currently have on are nearing the end of their life and I have started the hunt for the new tires to run. I found some Bridgestone Potenza RE760's for a little bit more but have no idea about how well they'll stretch. I'll be sticking with 205/45/R16's but have no clue what to go with when it comes to tires. Anyone have any suggestions?

Because pictures are always good. Excuse the mess, it hasn't been washed in 5 months while hibernating.

[jalenda9]

do you just mean like tire brand?

[DeltaAlpha9]

do you just mean like tire brand?

Well brand/model of tire would be helpful. The Achilles stretched so easily that it's tempting to just get another set, but I want to actually get out to a track day this summer so something grippier would be nice.

[jalenda9]

I feel you there shoot I have no I dea i'd have to do some looking around to figure out what would be a good tire

[DeltaAlpha9]

Well I started her up for the first time in 5 months and she started a bit grumpy but got over it after idling for a while and getting heat in the oil. It survived being pickled for the winter with only a corner light bulb going out.

I've been working on small but relatively inexpensive projects because I really need to save up for a house. I did laminate flooring in the hatch area (not really sure if I like it but it made me feel like I was doing something productive to the car) and this week I'll hopefully be throwing on the DC side skirts I've had laying around in the shop for years. I'll get pictures up tomorrow or the next day.

[DeltaAlpha9]

So much for a day or two for pictures, but here are a few now. I got the laminate more or less finished and to my surprise it doesn't rattle against the plastic in the hatch area. I threw some closed cell foam tape along the bottom to get it to sit up a bit higher as it was rubbing on the spare wheel. I also took it out to the local meet last night and had a good time. It was a bit of a slouch on the cruise in with my friends but I chalk that up to me trying to keep up with cars with 6.2 litre engines.



The 'Teg and my buddies 2014 Chevy SS (I believe one of three in Canada)



And finally how the laminate looks in the hatch. I might just go back to the plain grey speaker covers as the tartan kind of clashes a bit. The right side piece was rather warped so for now it leaves a convenient spot for my tools.



And a bonus airplane picture from work. Two blades got hit by FOD so they all had to come out to do a proper fan map to keep engine vibes in check. For anyone interested the engine is a CFM56-7B.