The Red Car

The Red Car is my 1993 Honda Civic Si hatchback.

I bought this car in September 2019. It was advertised as having a blown head gasket and mild rust on the rear quarter panels, but for $650 I drove it home.

When I bought this car, I had no mechanical skill, tools, or real knowledge outside of watching Youtube videos of other people working on cars. I was convinced the best way to learn was to try, and thanks to my parents allowing me to use the spare bay in their garage, I got the opportunity to do so - starting in 2020 when I found myself with a lot more free time than before.

The D16Z6 the car came with was probably savable, but I found a good deal on a B17A1 engine from a DA Acura Integra GS-R. These engines are pretty rare - from what I can tell, they were only ever sold in North America DA GS-Rs for two years, with the total production around 5,000 units. Mine was purchased from a Craigslist seller with no pictures, and it had been sitting on a tire in his shed. The engine came with nothing but the long block, intake manifold, hacked-up wiring harness, and a chipped P61 ECU. However, $450 CAD for a VTEC B-series engine was a good deal back then (and an even better deal now!).