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The Midnight Express

71K views 749 replies 41 participants last post by  collegekid  
#1 · (Edited)
Ill start off by saying this will be a build over time as 8.65 hour job limits me.

Long story short i helped build back my friends 1991 auto dohc from the start of my freshman year all the way to senior year in high school. it was auto but i loved the car itself and i decided thats what id get. Sadly it "died" 2 weeks before we graduated from a 1960's corvette.

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The name came from my grandfathers 1972 El Camino he drag raced with my grandmother in the 70's. It had a 550 big block that was used in their boat during the summer (go figure).

When i turned 18 in july i went to chino hills, ca and got a 1990 fastback for 1600. It was a 200 mile drive home, with no problems :). Once i got the car my grandfather asked if i wanted the name for the car, so i took it :)

Pics when i first got her:

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The radio wasnt there but he was nice enough to leave all four of these, which are 80$ a peice

So my friend let me have whatever i wanted from the car (before he decided to sell it), so i got the dashmat, custom gauges, seat covers, door panels, and some other things.

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Tried to match the bumper up with the rest of the car.

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Got some new pedals

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I got tired of no music and i did want a gap either......so i decided mounting my ipad would be the cheapest solution :) I got a amp hooked up to the speakers and and a sub. Hooked the ipad stright to the amp and sound quality is actually great. Mount was only 50$ and it clips in and out.

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To the left was a 4 inch house sub..i know i know.

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I also purchased a power inverter (straight to the battery) that had a direct usb mounted where my mirror contols would be (if my car did have them). and i also have regular plugs where the ash tray in the back would be

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My attempt to bondo and paint my dash...its didnt work out so i went back to the matt.

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Then i got some turn signal mirrors after one of mine was ripped off by a garbage truck :doublefuc

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Its brighter than the pic. Coulda made it alternate between blue and amber buuuut i dont want a felony....

After 20 days of waiting my suede interior sheet FINALLY came,,,from south Korea lol

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I also got a new steering wheel. The glue came off internally so it flexed around the wheel... drove me nuts.. also i got a toggle switch for the power inverter since it was a bitch to turn on and off since it was behind the ipad....anyhow...the interior as of today...

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Exterior as of today....

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As of the engine... currently 194xxx (what ive done so far was over a period of 2 months). I got it in an alright condition....The 4th cylinder plug threads are done. If i ever have to take it out again itl need rethreading. The owner did NOT take very good care..... Did a tune up and ran wayyyyy better after....

Mods/Replacements: CAT, CAI, NGK plugs, wires, o2 sensor, TPS, HUGE battery, new belts, removed AIV, the diaphragm was stuck no matter how much i tried to clean it, relocated carbon canister, oil change ( it was soooooo burnt) to mobile 1 synthetic, only leak was valve gasket :woowooo so now the engine idles at 650 and stays there unless i hit the brake (gonna be fun finding that vac leak).. some pics when i took the air intake tube off....i was amazed (not pics of tube cause it came out in pieces)

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Looking from inside the air box

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Wish i took a pic before i sprayed carb cleaner....

oh my first clutch change :) had a friend to take the tranny out but not to put back in :mad:

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gotta love saving 275$...you shouldve smelled the tranny fluid....it was reallllllly bad...anyhow if u actually read all this thanks for looking! up next are kyb agx struts on eibach 1.5 lowering springs..


SORRY forgot to post the the engine bay pics...

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#5 ·
^ haha i know... i had the tiniest POS that failed me allllll the time. and i have 2 range rover batteries that have been sitting around doing nothing, they were free :) so ya i got that thing to fit..... barely... it wont come out...ever.....lol my electrical stuff is way brighter tho now...and the alternator hasnt had any problems keeping up with it....(knock on wood)
 
#6 ·
i would suggest a header and a catback exhaust... makes a world of a difference. gl with the car it has a clean body which is a bonus.
 
#7 ·
^thanks ya it did...only hiccups were rear bumper and roof clear coat is fadding, but im making the top black pretty soon. Ya i wanted to get the exhaust replaced but theres an autox in a couple weeks close to home so suspension is comin first
 
#9 ·
:gc-smiley-sign-i-ag ya my friends 240 had oem suspension and when i forst got the car i treated it as such (that didnt last very long haha) the shock absorbers completely depressed at a casual 30 mph turn and ill almost lost it off a 10 ft drop lol.

however new update will be electric fans since i got some off a civic for free today :wavetowel2:
 
#10 ·
How do you plan to wire it? Im in the process of doing the Taurus on mine but idk how i want to wire it? I want it to be temp sensitive not Ac activated
 
#11 ·
well i have the sohc so i can use the wireing for the ac fan up front. use the relay and temp sensor for it and have it kick in that way
 
#12 ·
hah ya i can't find the wires to your temp thing i got rid of most of those a while ago
 
#13 ·
that temp sensor is right before the lower radiator hose connects to the radiator...the plug should just be sitting there more to the left side in front of the radiator
 
#15 ·
for now get the damn thing working again since my fuel rail has nothing to hold it down. in the long run, get a DE and supercharge it with an s15 front end, 6 pt roll cage, but like i said, the wayyy future, i got the electric fans installed, never thought id have anything from a civic in my car
 
#18 ·
i just bout a adjustable in line thermo control kit from amazon for like 30$, and i also wired it in with the AC fan pigtail should the relay ever fail
 
#21 ·
Well I plan on fixing the body redo the sound dedning and then suspension work....then in the future Vq35/6speed swap make a front tube chassis and s13 Silvia or 180sx type X wichever I get the taste for when I buy it Haha
 
#23 ·
My bad bro but my other thread is about the shop..... Hmm if the hood, top and hatch are faded then yeah Haha...did the white hatch have koukis kuz if it did that's my homies hatch and another guys got a black coupe his is pretty clean but eh I don't like our 240 community here in Oxnard they all think there better than anyone.... I liked( past tense ) kicking it with people in the IE but haven't been there in a while
 
#25 ·
idk, i just saw the front coming opposite ways, he activated his pop ups at me, all i could do was give a thumbs up cause mine dont work lol, and tht sucks, there used to be meets i guess in like 2007, but i guess theyre no better if they have minds of a civic driver