[pandorasbox]

Hi DSO!
The latest toy I picked up is a '99 4 door Civic. Basic bone stock rusty commuter car that was SMASHED in the rear end in some hit'n'run situation.
The car was posted for sale by a friend for scrap pricing so I picked it up to toss together for some no-f*cks-given thrills.

The car is being built for ice racing but we also plan to race it in pretty much everything we can. The build is being done by my buddy and myself and filmed for our YouTube channel so if you want to watch the videos of the build they can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSMIO4bUCe0sOlgSGjX-EnA

I'll post pics and updates here as well.

For starters here is the before pics:

 

[EFB055]

Damn that's some heavy damage to DIY fix. How's it coming along? Can anyone pull the frame for you at least?

 

[pandorasbox]

The plan was always to do what we can but we knew full well there was no hope to retain a trunk. The car is too rusty to justify that level of effort and it's purpose is to serve solely as a car to ice race, rallyx, autox... etc.

Here you can see just how pushed in that driver's side actually is. That's the "drift cooler" I built for cruising around the pits at the track. It's hilarious and stupid quick:

We started by trying to pull a little by hand without cutting much but that didn't get too far. :

We decided to just begin cutting the whole rear end up to pull structure. We kind of always knew this was what was going to happen. We intended to build our own box frame in the back to put structure back in so this was really the best way to pull the damage out and start fabbing. That's Donnie (other half of MiShift Garage)

After cutting most of the rear apron off we started pulling:

Cutting the smashed floor out:

 

[pandorasbox]

Floor cut out and we started building our box frame:

Subframe built and partly tied into the stock floor pan. Much more to do yet:

Welds, and gussets and supports...

Not bad. Still rusty and ugly but we're getting there:

Me dusting some paint in:

Sheet metal floor fitted:

Who doesn't love some dimples:

 

[mattliston]

Im gonna PM you an offer of something, Im trying to get rid of stuff that might help you out

 

[pandorasbox]

Stainless rivets in front for the looks, plug welds in all the other spots:

Floor in and ready for paint:

Pics soon of the tail-gate setup for carrying race wheels/tires...

 

[EFB055]

I wonder how successful you would've been if you just roped the back end to a tree and used the car to pull it's own dent out haha.

 

[pandorasbox]

We had a frame rack lined up but the guy ended up leaving that body shop, then we had an excavator as an option but required waiting another week. We were on a time crunch and said the heck with it and started chopping away.
Judging by the steel we removed and cut up, this thing would have had to be cut up with how some spots tore open and others were folded. The poor car was truly done for.
So given the condition we had no qualms about chopping it up for what we had planned.

Funny you mention the tree idea though, that definitely came up in conversation and had hammers and testicle fortitude not pulled the rear quarter out adequately we may have cracked a few more beers and found some unsuspecting tree. hahaha

 

[robgoof]

no fucks given and it's level , I'm in!

 

[pandorasbox]

Thanks Robgoof, that's the plan. Car was doomed so we may as well get the most fun we can out of it and build some cool shit.
I'll share more fab stuff here this week.

 

[pandorasbox]

Time to share updates:

So this car was built so that it can be ice raced. In ice racing it's not uncommon for there to be a little rubbing and bumping in the corner. We decided it would be best to add a little reinforcement, especially considering the thin stock steel and the rust that has compromised some areas. We build this out of 1/8" plate and formed it to the fenders and added speed holes cuz why the hell not.

Starting to build armor plates for the rear quarter panels:

Finished, primed and installed along with the lower tubes. Here you can see how these pieces tie to the rear apron of the box frame:

Now we want this car to be able to drive to the track and back home. We have a trailer but it's just more badass when the "racecar" drives itself there and home. The Civic has to be able to carry it's own gear, so we decided to turn the rear end into a tire carrying platform. Tires comfortably fit with a tailgate that keeps everything locked up and secured. We will be building a latching mechanism that will work with the trunk latch system along with a failsafe in case it lets loose.


Me bending up the tube for the tailgate hoop:

Welded on and test fit:

TIRES:

That's it for now. The episode coming out this week will show this whole process along with how we built the front tube bumper which turned out pretty rad. I'll share more photos here soon.

 

[mattliston]

awesome!!

 

[EFB055]

Cool, i like where this is headed.

 

[robgoof]

Now we want this car to be able to drive to the track and back home. We have a trailer but it's just more badass when the "racecar" drives itself there and home.

 

[...Lostwrx]

Awesome build you got going on. Thanks for sharing.

 

[pandorasbox]

Latest video is up in case anyone wants to watch (this is where we build and almost wrap up the tube and plate work):
https://youtu.be/hRBllYMktQ8

 

[pandorasbox]

Front end:

These are called "door bars" and are pretty much required for ice racing unless you have a cage.
We didn't do a cage because the floor is just too soft in some spots. We may later once we can figure out the best way to tie it all together to be safe:

Bars welded on and ready for paint prep:

Final prep:

Spraying it in rattle can because it's a crappy racecar, no sense in doing a 2K when it's going to get beat:

Not bad outcome:

 

[pandorasbox]

Finalizing the tail gate:

Installation:

Aaaaaaaand, drum roll please.......






...........she's on the road:

 

[pandorasbox]

First car show:

 

[Sailor]

This is a truly awesome build.
:yes:


Thanks for making me feel inadequate!