My 1990 Wagon RT4WD build thread:

Hello all.

I finally got a 1990 RT4WD manual wagon a few weeks back with 156,000 miles and started working on it. I figured I would throw some pics up and tell a little bit about my journey.

I live in IL and flew down to NC to pick it up. The car is great, aside from a little bit of misleading by the seller. He stated that the car used about 1 quart every 3,000 miles, well… on the 700 mile trip home it used 1 quart so I started thinking about slapping new rings in it.

After looking around a bit, I thought hey… why not drop a D16Z6 in there and get a bit more power. I’ve swapped a B18C1 into two EG’s (one of which I did an auto to manual conversion) and a LS/VTEC into one EK, (and have helped on a few other swaps that I did not own) but this is my first EF. I was talking to a buddy of mine and low and behold, he had a 1993 Civic EX sedan that was T-boned at 70,000 miles. I worked out a deal and brought home my donor car. My plan is to recoup my money for the Civic EX by parting out the other items… here’s hoping! :)

I spent this weekend cleaning on the motor and getting it ready to be rebuilt… here are the pics so far:

My new ride: (I should have bought one of these years ago!)
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The donor car in all it's beauty. (had to strap the hood down on the way home)
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OUCH! (the passenger mirror made it through the crash without a scratch!)
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D16Z6 WOO HOO!!!
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I'm planning on painting the valve cover the Honda black krinkle paint, but here is the long block after a bit of cleaning and a valve cover swap:
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And a couple great reasons to have a wrecked car in your garage.

1. To store unwanted or broken parts.
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2. To use as a prop/holder for repainting parts.
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Comments

  • EDwEFprtsEDwEFprts Senior Wagonist
    good find..
    both the wagon and parts car..
  • unlimited02unlimited02 Senior Wagonist
    can't wait to see more..
  • wyld kardz ee2wyld kardz ee2 Senior Wagonist
    how much did you pick up your rt for?
  • B-RadB-Rad Wagonist
    Motor is all fresh, new rings, bearings, seals, hose, etc. Plus a new paint job for my valve cover. Once I get the 4 door out of my garage it will be swap time. :D

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  • your story sounded about the same as mine..the guy said smokes a little between shifts ha more like smoked non stop and burned a quart every 500 miles. good luck with the build and nice score on the z6
  • ?whereisthis ...r e d... thing...

    :mrgreen:

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  • B-RadB-Rad Wagonist
    ****UPDATED BELOW 10/21/10****

    Here is the old D16A6 in the wagon... say goodbye!

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    Buttoning things up:

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    D16Z6 nestled all nice and snug in the wagon:

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    The underhood mat is in great shape, I can't believe it even still has it. LOL

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    Fresh from the body shop! Thanks a bunch Ricky!

    So this is what one of these looked like back in 1990! I splurged and had to get some JDM Stanley sidemarkers. :-)

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    Fresh undercoating and clean rear quarters!

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    And just in case you were wondering what the inside looked like. Anyone got any gray Honda floor mats for cheap?

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    Fun stuff.

    After getting the car all freshened up, the stock wheels didn't look quite as good. I picked up some knockoff JDM ITR 96-spec wheels. The real ones only came in 4x114.3, but you can get the knockoffs in 4x100. I'll post some better pics soon.

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    ***UPDATE 10/22/10 New pics in better lighting***

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    Future add-on... Yakima roof rack. I'm going to wait until spring to put it on since the paint is still fresh. I was able to get my hands on an old school big fairing that was still brand new in the box. The box has the original UPS label on it still and it is dated 1996. LOLOL

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    Now I get to just enjoy driving the car. What a fun daily driver!
  • RuoccoRuocco New Wagonist
    Very very clean!!!
  • Awesome ride! Sooo clean!
  • unlimited02unlimited02 Senior Wagonist
    yes... very very clean indeed...
  • B-Rad wrote:
    After getting the car all freshened up, the stock wheels didn't look quite as good. I picked up some knockoff JDM ITR 96-spec wheels. The real ones only came in 4x114.3, but you can get the knockoffs in 4x100. I'll post some better pics soon.

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    Are you sure those aren't just HX rims repainted to look like ITR rims? No matter what, they look awesome! The car looks great too! Did you post in the red wagon squad thread yet?
  • sol2vsol2v New Wagonist
    They really do look like HX rims?? If they aren't what are they.

    Looks good though. :D
  • B-RadB-Rad Wagonist
    sol2v wrote:
    They really do look like HX rims?? If they aren't what are they.

    Looks good though. :D

    Like I mentioned in the post, they are knockoff JDM ITR 96 Spec wheels. 15x6.5 and 4x100. The real ones only came in 4x114.3, but yes... they look like big Championship White HX wheels. :D
  • BillBoardBillBoard council member
    disgustingly clean...
  • BillBoard wrote:
    disgustingly clean...

    Hahaha...so true!

    Did you get new paint or just a super awesome wax/buff job?
  • B-Rad wrote:
    sol2v wrote:
    They really do look like HX rims?? If they aren't what are they.

    Looks good though. :D

    Like I mentioned in the post, they are knockoff JDM ITR 96 Spec wheels. 15x6.5 and 4x100. The real ones only came in 4x114.3, but yes... they look like big Championship White HX wheels. :D

    Very interesting. I was under the impression that they were 14's and you just moved the tires from your RT rims to these rims. Where do you get knockoffs like that? They are the first I have seen.
  • cb723cb723 Wagonist
    Clean and nice. Love those rims
  • DAMN I hate that fact that I keep seeing these super clean wagons :lol: :lol:

    This thing looks perfect. Stance, wheels, looks good. I will be somewhat disappointed if this thing becomes another street sweeper. :mrgreen:
  • B-RadB-Rad Wagonist
    Thanks for all the remarks. I am really happy with the way it came out.

    I can't wait to get a roof rack and possibly a front lip. I haven't decided whether or not to go the bull bar route yet. Still trying to decide.

    Oh... and I bought the wheels on Ebay. I looked everywhere to buy them from a dealer or shop, but Ebay or Craigslist were the only two places I could find them. They have these in the OEM gunmetal color as well as the 16" Type R knockoff wheels. I haven't ran Championship White wheels since I had my 98 ITR... love the color!

    I added a couple new pics of the car in better lighting with the wheels.
  • AaronAaron Wagonist
    wow, im so jealous of how clean this thing is bro
  • CarGuyCarGuy New Wagonist
    I hate your wagon, I hate it....but i love it so much lol
  • leWolfleWolf Senior Wagonist
    what did the paint cost?
  • super nice bro, got a red one myself, think urs is a lil cleaner though, hehe ,
  • Def. score !.!

    Getting better effry picture...

    nice.....

    : )
  • hi, i've got a 90 rt just like yours, but blue. it burns quite a bit of oil, and i've been thinking about a z6 swap, or a rebuild. can you tell me a little about how involved this swap was, and what, if anything you needed to do with the car's obd system?

    thanks!
  • EDwEFprtsEDwEFprts Senior Wagonist
    Ruocco wrote:
    Very very clean!!!
  • tophertopher Band Wagon
    dang that thing is clean. paint looks awesome!
  • B-RadB-Rad Wagonist
    SPRING 2011 UPDATE:

    1. New brakes from BrakeExpert:
    9.5" to 11" front rotors
    S2000 calipers/pads
    15/16" master cylinder (Civic EX)

    2. Installed roof rack & fairing

    Lovin' the wagon!

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    Next up... fabbed bull bar... maybe...
  • dude that is freshasf*ck(stance nation) you should hang out with us every weekends we always have a lot of good times. where you in IL though. pm me if you have time.

    btw nice car and pick up!!!
  • bigwillystylebigwillystyle New Wagonist
    this thing is beautiful, but it needs a drop IMO
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