time to move on for me?

Part 1: Ive hit a croassroads, when i was 17 i bought a civic. I'm glad to say i was never into ricer crap, since its been in my posession ive swapped to a B-series, put koni yellows and springs on it, i now have 3 sets of tires for it (all season, summer, and a used set of 225 ra-1's for fun), and uprgraded sway bar yada yada yada..... ive noticed something. its not fun anymore... i first got into cars because i liked cars... then things changed, it became less about cars and more about driving. it became my new passion, a challenge. I have never been good at sports. ever. period. nor have i been interested. but driving was something that was amazing to me and i enjoyed it thoroughly. i am sad that i havent done as many autocrosses or been able to do any track days (4 autocrosses, 2 semi-time attacks:very grassroots style all within 2 years) and those were all fun. but for some reason, not anymore.

part 2: last year i picked up an ae86. sr5 model though, bummer, but it had zero rust and only 100k on it when most have well over that. so i bought it, it was cheap and i thought it would make a great autocross/drift car. so over last winter i started taking things apart and turning it into a little project... then i lost my job i had for 5 years at a local honda dealership. that put a kink in things, i had to sell off half of everything i had to swap it over to a gts (dual cam, lsd rear end, i had all the suspension ready to be put on). so now im left with what i started with. but its in pieces... i dont know what to do?... (possible challenge car for next year for someone else?)

i just drove my civic for the first time in 2 months (finally had my friend mount street tires back on it since i cant do it anymore). and for some reason, it just wasnt fun. the car doesnt feel like anything special or great or even like i want it. but there is another problem. its a salvage title car, and ive done a bunch of stuff to it, if i wanted to sell, i never could. i always knew i never could get out what i put into it but i have this feeling that im kind of stuck with it and im not really happy with it. i recently went back to school and im going to start another job that is the only one i can find in the area that will work with my college schedule and i took a huge pay cut because i cant find anything else. so here i am. a civic, a bunch of pieces of an ae86 and not a lot left to have fun with. im just looking for input, is it just like ive hit a hard spot? i feel like my project car has become a workbench for other things lol and im left with a civic to drive thats just... well... a civic. maybe im too caught up in the whole FR fad, even though drifting really isnt something id like to do anymore because most of the poeple i see do it are constantly wrecking and switching chassis. anyone else experience this? i just feel like maybe i need to sell everything off for the little i can get and move on. but i cant realy think of anything that keeps me as happy as driving. words of wisdom, anybody.

I got sick of my 99Si after commuting in it for a few years.

The lightweight flywheel made it jumpy, it was a bit stiffly sprung, got sick of putting premium in it.

Then I got a beater. I stick the Si in storage for 8-9 months out of the year (main motivation--saves a buttload on insurance) and it hasn't seen a winter in 4 years.

Now, the Si comes out and I LOVE it. I remember why I fell in love w/ it in the first place. Still tight, still quick, still revvy, still loud when I want it to be and still a joy on the rare occasion I drive it competitively.

I dunno--that's my situation. I have no intention of getting rid of that car anytime soon. It's the manifestation of my bachelor years--pre-house, pre-wife, pre-big stress. It's a bit more than a car to me.

You might just need to move onto another car.

Well if this has to do with the finances I'd say do what's best from that angle until you have that part straightened out. If that's not an issue and you truly enjoy driving vs. wrenching etc. then sell what you have and get something that will give you what you want and there are a lot of options i.e. Miata, MR2, 3 series etc.

Having said that I know lots of guys with Civics that couldn't be more satisfied with how they handle...so maybe the car just needs some tuning. However if you think you don't like the car anymore then don't force yourself to like it. Life is too short, do what your heart desires as long as you don't get in over your head. Same with feeling "stuck because I put in a lot of money into it" - many of us have been there, we do what we do because we enjoy it and because we work hard we're entitled to. So make a decision based on what will make you happy and not try to undo the past by doing something else that would make you second guess your decision again a few years from now.

Right now, you need to focus on getting through school and dealing with the finances. The Civic is bought and paid for. Don't burn future earnings when you don't have much left to burn. Part out the AE86 if you need the money.

I'm still driving my '99 Civic because it's paid for. In fact, I've had no car payments since 2004 and I'll never have another one the rest of my life if I have any say in it. Granted, it's not my "fun" car anymore, but there are times in everyone's life when you have to do the "right" thing and it may not be the "fun" thing.

Your Civic, even with the B series motor should get good gas mileage too.

Get through school, get your feet back under you with a good job, then you can start pissing money away on your frivolous car hobby again.

Something to be said for not having a car payment.

I haven't had one since 2002. Beaters were paid for in cash.

I agree--get established in life a bit before you plunge into big car debt.

Welcome to life... peaks and valleys. The civic runs... you need reliable & cheap transportation to get you to school/work. That's what you have to focus on right now. Is it fun... no, but it's paid for and will get you out of the hole that life's dug you the past few months.

On so many different levels, the last thing you want to do is buy a "new" car.

In the last 10 years, I've had a classic car project, a convertible version of same classic car, got into roadracing and bought a IT racecar, trailer and tow vehicle. 2 kids, a second story addition, fabrication business, full time job and a crappy economy later, the truck & trailer are pretty much the only things left, and that's because they're necessary for the fab business. It aint much fun right now, but it'll get there. Just gotta be patient and keep your eye on the ball.

This is why I daily drive nice boring, but economical cars (current DD is a used 06 malibu), but have a vintage car or two to play with. Both Triumphs are modified into what I want them to be and both are great play toys. Lots of folks at work know I'm a car guy, but wonder why I drive a Chevy sedan, when others have BMW's or sports cars. I'll save my money for my toys and commute for cheap in a car with a good ride and A/C.

Oddly enough, while the steering in the Malibu is a bit "numb", it's not a boring car to push a bit in the twisties.

Life is a series of compromises. Drive the most economical solution now and in time you will be able to satisfy your whims.

jack TR's 3&8

Jack, that's a perfect analogy! I put Kumho street tires on my daily drivers and use the money I save to put the stickiest Hoosier's I can get for the REALLY fun cars! My wife doesn't notice a bit of difference between a set of Kumho ASX's on her Outback or the WAY more expensive Michelin's the car came with.

And sometimes I like to hear the sound of squeeling Kumho SPT's on my Honda even though I know I could go around that clover leaf faster on something stickier and more expensive but that would be irresponsible...

^ Very true. I found that the SRT swapped Neon stopped being fun when I bought a house and found finances more strained than I liked. I sold it and bought a $500 Beater neon that I drove for a couple years or so. The fact that the car was a (financial + time) burden for me sucked the fun out of it. I miss it a little now, but will wait until I can truly afford to work on a project.

Nathan

Worst case scenario, you put your hobby on hiatus, get through school, get a better job, and get back into the game if you're still interested in it then. This is not an easy hobby for someone juggling work and school.

No it's not and I took a 10 year hiatus through the dark years of the 90's when I got a family and became "responsible" by buying an SUV... I started to get interested again and realized, my desire was still there, it had just been dormant for awhile and it seemed like the "cost of things" hadn't gone up that much (outside the Muscle cars) but my ability to pay for it had increased DRAMATICALLY in the intervening years! I went back in with new found joy and now have 12 cars... 4 "utility" vehicles and 8 Z cars. 3 show cars, 1 SCCA ITS race car, 1 24hrs Of LeMons "race" car, 1 "proof of concept", 1 drive line donor and 1 parts car and STILL no car payments and more fun in the car "hobby" than I've had in 20 years!

Get your life straight and then you'll have both the ability and the joy to do it right.

I'm not sure why a Civic with a B16 and yada yada yada isn't fun. You have a car that can be used for events, just put on the stickies and go. Daily drivers are meant to get you to where you are going on daily basis and are usually boring. I would pile any more money into the Toyota until you are through school. Or part it out.

i appreciate everyones replies, i guess i am just kind of in a valley now... i dont think i can get out of it. go on hiatus or whatever. i guess its just not fun anymore because i think im bored with ff. or maybe because i havent driven it hard in awhile. the corolla i guess needs to go... i wasnt going to buy a new car or anything, maybe just sell both and get something different, but thats kind of cost prohibitive now that ive thought more about it... izzy's right, just need to keep my eye on the ball i suppose. thanks for your support guys

Is the SR5 in peices now? Or did you just sell off the GT-S conversion parts?

I had an SR5 with a 5-speed, and that was just a fun car to drive. Put tokico blues under it, and replaced all the bushings with poly (less than $100 for the whole bushing set from Summit), removed the A/C, and converted it to manual steering with an MR2 rack. Sure, I couldn't rev it to the moon, but it was quick, nimble, and just a wee bit shy of a fully-laden GTS.

...

I miss that car.

the sr5 has the engine and transmission back in it, i am missing the trans mount and the a pipe (between ex. manifold and the cat) i dont know how those walked out of my garage, i have all the rest and it needs sealed and painted and its done and back to stock. i have it all sanded down. just need to get it going again.

i had the gts parts, rear end at least, i never wanted to go fuel injected so i never got a tank and lines. i had a 4ag i wanted to build and run weber dcoe's on, but i sold all that off too.

lol it seems that the more i want out of a car, the more i wish it were carbed, thats why ive never done anything to my "yada yada yada b16 civic" i have no way of tuning it.

I'm probably the only one that feels this way, but I liked my 4A-C. Same torque as a 4A-GE, it just signs off at 5500 rpm.

However, there's a couple places that sell cams for it. Paradise Racing sells a kit with a cam and valvesprings that will let your 4A-C make power all the way up to 7 or 8k rpm. That's the route I was going to take.

I forgot that I had a 2" cat-back on mine, as well. That certianly helped open up that little single-cam 1.6!

ive noticed if you look the stuff is there for it... i was surprised. does anyone make a flywheel for it?

again, thanks to everyone here on the forum for giving me some insight. its appreciated.

cxhb wrote: lol it seems that the more i want out of a car, the more i wish it were carbed, thats why ive never done anything to my "yada yada yada b16 civic" i have no way of tuning it.

If you gave me a carbed Civic, I'd probably complain that I didn't have a good way of tuning it. :) Depends on what you're familiar with.

lol you know whats funny about that though? i have never even worked on carbs, so really my statement is of total ignorance, i just have always thought that side drafts/carbs in general would be easier than tuning efi. so truly, i dont know, im just assuming that it would be easier for a DIYer especially since im wiring retarded

i just need to learn i suppose.

There are a number of (stock honda) ECU tuning tools out there for free or nearly free. No wiring required. :)

The stock Honda carbs from the mid '80s were a nightmare just to maintain, let alone tune. A set of Weber DCOEs would be a bit easier to tune, but not as easy as either a hacked stock ECU or an aftermarket stand-alone EFI system.

If i were in your shoes, having gone through college with a small budget as well, I would:

-sell the civic for, what, $3k? just move on. you enjoyed modifying the car but that money is probably gone. if you look at it from the perspective of having spent it on a hobby rather than booze or something equally un-rewarding then it gets easier to swallow.

-put 1k into a megasquirt, and simple suspension for the sr-5. probably want to include winter tires in there as well. call it 1.5k.

-save the other 1.5k for school costs.

you'll be happier in the long run, trust me. it sounds like you know you're going to have to give up on one of them. you just don't want to face the music of it yet. i vote for sticking with the yota since you've allready explored the civic.

a little birdie on my shoulder tells me that you're the type that in a year or two after you've sorted the yota, you'll be looking to move on to something else from that as well. hopefully that'll be close to the time you're done school so you can just stick it out till you're done and employed. I really think you enjoy the sorting of the car as much as the driving. something to think about.