Thanks for the reply. So how deep should I go when sanding the paint? Down to the primer? Or am I just roughing up thr surface and straightening the body before priming?

Hi phee

You need to make sure there is a good bite on the existing surface. If the paint is original and in good shape, then sanding down to the primer isn't necessary. Of course you will in places, but generally you'll be only be scuffing and smoothing the original surface.

If the car has been repainted previously, you may want to remove most of the previous coat of colour, otherwise it will may become too thick in places. Also remember that steel is never perfectly straight (even in flat areas), and it will be common to have low spots where more material will be present. Not really a big deal as long as the surface is correctly sanded.

Thank you for your help. One last question: would you suggest replacing the doors if the panels are wavy? I have no idea how I would get them straight otherwise.

Hi phee

I guess it depends on how far you want to take the bodywork. It looks as if to me you're looking for a well sorted driver that you can enjoy. Replacing doors, or especially skins, isn't that easy. If you can live with a bit of waviness or don't have access to the proper tools to do the repair, it may be easier to live with them as they are now. You should also consider the colour of the car: black will show every imperfection or poor repair, while lighter colours tend to mask imperfections to a certain degree.

I may leave the doors to a body shop. I will focus on the rest of the panels. But I absolutely want to have the car straight.

small update

i have finally sourced all the AC lines and parts to retrofit an r134 system into the car. i had originally purchased all new r12 parts by accident so you can imagine my surprise when my a/c lines did not fit.

i managed to keep the D series (original) compressor with my B series block by using the CR-V compressor bracket. turns out that the 99 CR-V has a b series engine and a D series compressor. only spent $20 dollars at the junkyard (honda wanted 120)

I have also installed HID headlights and replaced the broken foglight lenses with glass ones.

Did you do a projector retrofit with the HIDs?

bad compressor

no retrofit. just the proper h4 bulbs with hid highs and lows

^^^
Money sounds like it's tight for the build, I was going to go ahead and GUESS that you didn't do a retrofit.

PS, car is looking great, I am really admiring your drive to get the body straight, man. There's something about a car that is nearly "antique" license plate status, looking like it just rolled off the line. There's no shortage of EG's rolling around with shitty paint, dented panels, waves, cheap poorly DIY painted rims and slammed undriveable with a fartcan exhaust....IMO, no pride.

...
Or no cash, maybe I'm a snob.

another update. car now has retrofitted r134 air conditioning. I really wanted to keep the original r12 lines and all but the compressor failed and the r12 ones are hard to find.

I also found out why my back seats would bow into the trunk when weight was put on them, apparently the center bracket was cut off by the previous owner. had to go to a junk yard and cut one off another civic then weld it into my car.

I also replaced the rear set belts and clips for the seatbelts along with the magic seat snap clips. interior is almost fully done and mechanical is completely done.

no issues with the car at all since the distributor 10k miles ago.

Phee I have a few parts left over from my build that never went anywhere. ill pm you a list when I get a chance. I started doing a mini-me so I alot of parts related to that. I also have a rear brake conversion.

Hows the body work coming along?

i had refinished the fender but then this happened and i ruined my fender and some other parts...



i am just now starting the work again and i am going to purchase some new (used oem) fenders in the next couple of weeks.

i already replaced the drivers door with one that is straight (no waves)

Is that a Rota?

came on the car, then came off the car

Wow...that's a good picture to post when people say that rims are rims and quality is all the same.

I'm sure that was scary if you were doing anything over 15mph...glad to hear you're getting everything figured out!

I was doing about 30 mph too. I couldn't contain my laughter when I saw the barrel rolling down in the grass about 30 feet from my car.

I wish someone wouldve caught that on tape.

Did you hit a bump or something? Or did it just shatter all on its own?

Sweet I knew my lame meme I made would come in handy someday!

wow...that's scary sh*t..shoulda gone with motegi!

Holy eff, I didn't know wheels did that.

Well, they shouldn't. But......Rota.

hit a curb going 30

this is exactly what came to mind when it happened

sold!

lolwat?

Da fuq?

Say what?

someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse

Soooooo....what are you driving now?

something green

Something.........midori green?

^He meant a prius...

Green...hmm...a charger is the first thing that comes to mind.

while i agree quality is not all the same..

a broken wheels is most certainly not contained to knockoff wheels. although i would bet the AMOUNT of abuse they each take is different.

BBS wheel.

Bbs ? Or bbs knock off ?(Big Bull Shit)

well they arent Linea Corse, thats the only LM knockoff to my knowledge that is even close...
their is usually an imprint that borders the lug dish that makes them easily distinguishable, but there is a large portion of that missing in the pic.

the end of the spokes and dish around the lug holes say BBS to me.
but their are several pics of other high end brand wheels severly broken or cracked.. i just used the first one that popped up.

Yea I dunno if those are actually BBS.... hard to believe even if so.

not Prius.. it only has 2 seats