A Mugen That Needs a Good Home

Hey 1G fans!  You all need to see this.  I haven't done classifieds on the blog before, but if it means making sure another 1G stays in the care of an owner who can appreciate it, I'll do it (no questions asked).  Also, the seller is a long time Red Pepper Racing member.  He's asking an absurdly low price for what he's offering, and when you start to get into prices 5k or below, the chances of the car falling into the wrong hands are higher.  I'm hoping that a little more exposure to the 1st gen community will stir up some interest in this great car.

Here are the details from the seller:

I bought this car in 2002 as a stock Si.  Soon after I replaced the engine and trans with a imported Japanese B16A drive-train.  About a year after that I turbocharged it (11psi) and started adding more performance parts.  In 2004 I came across the rare 9 piece Mugen body kit and later had it installed, painted, and put in the square 1985 headlights to fit it.  I had the bottom of the front bumper rebuilt because it had been destroyed over 20 years by previous owners.  It was my daily driver until about 2008 when I started a family and it became the toy that sat in the backyard collecting dust.  During the building process all new parts were used like clutch, cables, ball joints and countless other parts.  The Zdyne ecu is completely programmable and I can provide the software so you can change air/fuel maps, vtec activation, clutch cut, rev limit and much more via laptop.   It's been to the drag strip once and just spun the tires through 3 gears, never got a chance to put slicks on it.  I'm moving soon and can't take it with me.  I will take pictures of anything you want to see better and answer any question you may have.  It still runs and drives fine.  You can drive it to wherever it needs to go or you can arrange shipping.

Car specifications:

Genuine Mugen/Moon Craft 9 peice body kit with front emblem
Turbocharged B16A on Zdyne Gold ECU
Comp cams & springs
AEBS intake manifold
Water to air intercooling
Apexi SAFC II
3 bar map sensor
Place racing mounts
Aluminum radiator
Raxles axles
28mm torsion bars
Adjustable rear coils
Konig feather wheels
Integra swaybar
Integra disc front and rear
Drilled/slotted rotors
ARP front lug studs
Momo steering wheel
Relocated battery with Hella kill switch
Racing seats in synthetic leather
Legal DOM cage with Takata belts
Rust free Arizona car
Matching Kumho Ecsta tires

How often will you find a 1st generation CRX with a well built JDM B16 Turbo swap, AND an actual Mugen body kit that is for sale for $5000...? Exactly.  Let's keep this one in the family so that it can be enjoyed for years to come!

If interested, contact Ryan
(The car is located in Arizona)

[NEW] Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOAvO_N28fk&noredirect=1

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Tech Tip: Mud Flap Refresh

Here is my first 'Tech Tip', the Mud Flap Refresh.  We've all seen this problem on the first gen CRX, mud flaps that are sun-faded, covered in 30 years of caked dirt, and are covered in scuffs and gouges.  Some flaps are just too far gone to really refresh, especially if the rubber is starting to crack, but most are savable.  After a little trial and error, I found a good way to bring old mud flaps back to life, and here's how:

Step 1:
Soak the mud flaps in a bucket of Simple Green cleaner and water.  Be liberal with the Simple Green, the more you add the faster the dirt comes off.  Three to four hours soak time is usually all you need, but if the dirt still gives you a hard time, soak them for a couple more hours.

Step 2:
Take them out of the Simple Green solution and scrub them down with a plastic brush.  Rinse periodically to check your progress.  If the solution has broken the dirt down enough, the filth should come right off.

Step 3:
Take a razor blade or a sharp knife and trim off the burrs and chunks of rubber that are sticking out.  Then use a fine file to smooth out abraded edges of the flap.  Don't go crazy with the file though, the rubber is soft and will come off easily.

Step 4:
Wet sand all the exposed surfaces with 400-600 grit sand paper until the surface starts to look uniform.  Be sure to sand areas evenly.  Make sure you make long swipes to avoid over-sanding in one area.  Wiped sanded surface regularly with a dry cloth to check your progress.

Step 5:
Once the surface looks smooth and most of the pock marks and scuffs are gone, switch to 1000 grit sand paper and wet sand the exposed surfaces again.  Again, make sure this is done evenly, and check your progress regularly.

Step 6:
Clean and dry the sanded surfaces, and then rub protectant (I use Mothers Back to Black) onto the mud flap to get a nice black sheen.  You should be pleased with the results.  You will have to continue to apply protectant to the mud flaps because it does wear off.

BEFORE:

AFTER: (Note, this image was taken before protectant was applied)

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Taming the Dragon

I woke groggy and sleepy-eyed on Saturday morning because I had spent the night before painstakingly making sure everything on the car was perfect.  I didn't want anything to go wrong.  The big day had finally come... I was finally going to run the Tail of the Dragon!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Tail of the Dragon, also know as Deals Gap or simply The Dragon, is a mountain road that cuts through the center of Smoky Mountain National Park, crossing the Tennessee-North Carolina border.  Originally created by herds of wild animals moving through the mountains, the pass was also frequented by Cherokee Indians, hunters, trappers, and even British soldiers in its early history.  The pass even saw battles between the early white settlers and the Cherokee Indians.  By 1913 the pass was made into an official road to allow access to a town that was created for those working on 2 local dams that were being constructed at the time.  For the next 80 years, the road was largely forgotten until the early 90's when it was discovered by a local from Atlanta for its benefits as a motorcycle driving road.  The road is 11 miles long with 318 turns so its easy to understand why.  It has since become a popular destination for many driving enthusiasts, me being one of them.

My obsession with the Tail of the Dragon started years ago when a good friend moved to the Knoxville, Tennessee area and told me about his amazing discovery.  He became a regular on the Dragon with his tuned MK1 Mazda Miata.  At the time, I was living in Chicago which made it difficult to visit the Dragon without making a specific trip.  About four years ago, things changed when I moved to North Georgia, an area only 2-3 hours away from the Dragon.  I regret not going earlier, but I had set a goal to make a car specifically for tearing up mountain roads such as the Dragon, and until now, I had been building and tweaking the CRX for that very purpose.  Now however, it was ready.  All the hours of diagnosing idle issues, and tweaking the suspension, alignment, and timing were about to pay off.  I had finally fixed everything, as it was ready to go.

I left early that morning expecting to hit a mass of holiday weekend traffic on the Dragon.  I had heard of the recent issues with traffic, people driving slowly, tourists, and Semi-trucks, so I was prepared to be disappointed... but I wasn't.  After three hours of driving, I came around a bend to see the Tail of the Dragon store and the Deals Gap motorcycle resort, both on either sides of the Road.  The traffic was light, and there were open parking spaces in front of the store.  For a moment I entertained the idea of stopping first to look around, but I couldn't, not with the Dragon entrance right in front of me.  The store and resort are nestled at the bottom of the mountain, and from that point the Dragon goes up out of the valley at about a 5% grade.  I dropped the car into second and headed up toward the first turn leaving the valley with the echos of my exhaust note.  I really wasn't sure what to expect from the Dragon.  The roads getting there are nothing short of spectacular.  Well kept and clearly marked asphalt bands that gracefully carve up the country side.  About a mile in, I began to understand what the buzz was about.  It's not just a twisty mountain road, it's a technical masterpiece.  The turns are tight, some with multiple apexes, some decreasing and increasing radii, and most with significant elevation changes.  It is a driver's mecca.  It quickly became mine, but what surprised me more, was the CRX.  It ate up the corners like a starving shark in a pool of baby seals.  Little to no body roll, almost no under-steer, and power for days.  Since the road is so curvy, I spent 90% of the time in 2nd gear.  I'm not sure what it is about 2nd, but the power band is rich and constant in 2nd.  It pulled out of each corner like a John Deer.  I was transfixed.  Everything finally made sense.  Taking any car to its limits is a bonding, almost emotional experience for car lovers.  Getting the opportunity to do this with the CRX was unforgettable.  I thought I loved the first generation CRX before I took this little journey, now I'm officially obsessed.

As I headed home from my pilgrimage to driving mecca, I reflected on all that I had experienced.  That area of western North Carolina, north Georgia, and eastern Tennessee is just gorgeous.  Mountain lakes and streams, sleepy little towns, evergreen forests, waterfalls, kind folks, and an amazing number of awesome cars and motorcycles.  It was heaven.  I strongly recommend that if you have not visited this place, make sure it is not your to do list, especially for those first gen owners, who are guaranteed a great time!

It was a bitter sweet moment when I pulled back into the garage after such an epic day, but there was one more thing to be done to cap off the day... add the dragon sticker to the hatch!

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