Off the Jackstands

First, I'm aweful at keeping this thing updated.  In reality, it's April 2012 and the car is off the road again.  But in make-believe-land, it's early June 2011 and I'm getting ready for the car show at the place where I work.  Which is sweet, because I work at a place that hosts a car show for its employees.

I also know what people want to see.  Mostly pictures, light on words.  In the last year, I've been surprised that this blog is getting more hits than I had imagined, and I'm also thrilled to see that IP addresses from all over the world have stumbled on my humble little website.

On that note, for anyone doing this or similar work that may have questions, email me at jkwan.the.clown@gmail.com.  I'm ridiculously busy in general, but I will try to answer at some point!

Now onto the pictures

Here she is in the air, with all of the final assembly completed save for the front tire mounting.

Note that my garage is full of crap and I use my civic's roof for storage.
Also check out the Black Function7 Rear Lower Subframe Brace.  JHP USA came through and shipped it to me pretty quickly.  Not cheap though, but c'est la vie.

Remember, for those of you with crappy short-term memories like myself, use a sharpie paint marker to indicate when you have torqued a bolt to spec.  This is what we do in "the biz", so to speak.

I debated grabbing a bottle of champagne (ie, a 40) and christening my Civic, but Honda didn't use really heavy gauge steel and the bodywork's bad enough already.

AND SHE'S ON THE GROUND.  Look at that stance.  Honestly, it's too low for a man of my years (27) but I admit it looks tight.

Any time you lower a car, especially if you have rebuild every part of the suspension, you need to align it.  This was my attempt at a ghettoalignment.  I got the toe-in within spec, but in retrospect, I should have driven it to a shop and have them do it.

This last shot shows not only how to measure the toe, but also a juxtaposition of beautiful expensive suspension components and janky rusty wheels with all-season tires. 

xoxo

the chef