Autopians Doing Their Civic Duty: Members’ Rides

It’s that time again! After showing off Murtaya Mike, followed by Microcar Mike, I knew I needed to find another alliterative post today. With that, I am proud to introduce Civic Sean! Ok, I know the alliteration doesn’t quite work here, but it’s close, and it made me smile anyway. Moving on, Sean (Maxheadbolts) is an Autopian member living in the Detroit area and earning a living as a Security Researcher, trying to make sure things like this stay simply works of fiction. I know I don’t want it raining cars, so I’m grateful for that!

Members’ Rides is where we share the cars and stories of Autopian Members. The potential to be featured here is a perk for Autopian Members of every level, from the ultra-affordable “Cloth” tier all the way up to “Rich Corinthian Leather.” Click that link and join today!

How did you get into cars?

I was born in Metro Detroit, and cars have been in my blood my whole life. I’ve been an oil lube tech, a race car driver, and an automotive cybersecurity architect and hacker.

What’s currently in the garage?

• 2003 Honda Civic LX
• 2013 Honda Civic Si Sedan

What’s the story behind the 2003?

I took Delivery in April of 2021, which makes this the longest I’ve kept a vehicle ever! With the world being what it was in 2020, I decided I needed a project car. Both to have something to do and to have a vehicle available should I change jobs, as my car was tied to my employment at the time.

Were you looking for a Civic specifically, or was it just what was available?

My criteria were pretty straightforward, or so I thought:

• Cheap
• Japanese
• Sedan
• Manual

I didn’t find this one until March of 2021. Mostly, I was looking at Civics, Corollas, or Mazda 3s, but everything I could find was either super modified or way too rusty.

And after that long search, how is it?

It’s reliable, and surprisingly fun to drive. The slow car fast thing is a cliché, but when you’ve only got 100 horsepower, keeping up with freeway traffic seems like an endurance race! It’s pretty easy to work on, parts are cheap, and even if I catastrophically fail at something and grenade the engine, I can get another one for pennies. It needs some little things, but I’d drive it anywhere I need to go without hesitation.

What does it do better than the 13 Si? – MPG doesn’t count!

I added a CarPlay-capable head unit to it, so that’s better than the Bluetooth and phone tacked to the dashboard experience of the Si. Also, I don’t feel bad about tearing into it; it’s not worth much, and I’ve already taken so much of it apart that I feel pretty confident I can get it back together.

Being a decade older and a lower trim, does the Honda DNA mean these still drive somewhat similarly or not at all?

If you compare it to an older Honda, yes, it’s a very similar driving experience, aside from VTEC. The Si is a much better car; it’s just put together better. Lower NVH, twice the power, an extra gear, better handling, VTEC!

How long do you think this will be in your garage?

As long as it puts a smile on my face when I drive it, it’s a keeper.

What would it be replaced with if you had to replace it soon?

A Civic Si, oh; wait….

Now I understand you accidentally did a pretty extensive rebuild recently?

Yeah… The car came on steelies and hubcaps, so new wheels and better tires were always part of the plan. After a few months of deliberation I finally settled on some lightweight Konig Flow Formed 15x7s. I have a friend with a brother who got me a pretty good deal on a set of four with Toyo tires mounted, so I ordered them up and waited for them to get delivered. It, of course, took two weeks, but when I went to pick them up, they were black, not silver. They re-ordered them, and the replacements also showed up as black!

How does that happen twice?

Turns out the model number for silver ends in 8, and the black wheels end in B. Third time was the charm, so like a month later, I finally have my shiny new wheels and tires, and rush home install them. The very first lug nut I try to break loose snaps the wheel stud off. I put everything away and get online to figure out how hard or easy it is to replace a wheel stud on this, as I figured I’d probably break more.

This resulted in a cascading level of rusty parts failures that ultimately led to the replacement of every piece of the front suspension, including new knuckles, because the old ones were so rusty that removing the wheel hub marred them pretty badly. Even put in a fresh sway bar because it was cheap, and upgraded poly bushings for it.

I had to pay a shop to do the rear suspension, though. The driver’s side rear strut was seized to the control arm, and I wasn’t willing to put heat into it, as it’s right next to the plastic gas tank.

So what all have you had to replace over the years?

• New headlights
• Oil pan and gasket (had to do the gasket twice)
• Horn
• The entire exhaust, including the manifold and catalytic converter
• Timing belt (paid a shop to do this)
• A/C (paid a shop to do this)
• Radio
• Replaced all the dash bulbs with LEDs
• Shift knob
• Re-did the door panel fabrics
• Rear sway bar upgraded to an adjustable with poly bushings
• Progress rear sub-frame brace
• All the speakers were replaced with Infinity Kappas, component for the front doors, coaxial for the rears
• Rear brakes
• EVAP solenoid

Pretty significant restoration! What’s the story with the Si?

I never really stopped looking at used cars after I bought the LX, and had been hunting for a clean eighth or ninth-gen Si for years. One Saturday morning in September 2024, my girlfriend and I were enjoying our morning coffee, and I found it. Fresh trade-in, literally listed the night before at a local dealership. We headed out post-haste! They hadn’t even had a chance to wash it. I drove it and placed a deposit on it by noon. The poor thing was filthy.

Did you consider anything else, or too many good experiences with the other Civics and knew this is what you wanted?

I was pretty set on specifically a K Series Civic, and it took a long time to find one that wasn’t a write-off, heavily modified, or had 300K miles on it. This one was more than I wanted to spend, but my years of looking had adjusted my expectations a bit.

What’s the most improved thing about this one vs the older LX?

Literally everything but the radio. Because it has steering wheel controls and the iMID display, I can’t just go buy a better head unit if I want to fully retain those. Apparently, a 2014-16 CRV radio will give me what I want, but I haven’t managed to find one I’m willing to buy. I did try to buy one last fall, and it never got delivered.

The Si is faster, it handles better, there are fewer squeaks and rattles, the seats are more supportive, the steering is better, VTEC!!!!

Anything you think is a downgrade?

No, based on all the cars I’ve owned, I think the mid-teens is peak car for me, just enough safety and technology to feel new and a pretty decent bump in performance over cars from the mid-aughts.

How do these get used?

The LX stays parked in the winter now. While I have snow tires for it, it’s kinda a hockey puck in the snow. Poor thing doesn’t even have ABS, and after all I’ve done to it, I cringe getting it salty.

Once the snow is gone, I pretty much drive them interchangeably. I don’t commute to the office, so most of my drives are because I want to drive, and the LX is fun for local stuff. If I’m driving more than an hour, I tend to take the Si as it’s more comfortable. My girlfriend and I took both of them to the Dreamcruise last year; she drove the Si.

Thoughts on this compared to a newer one?

I’m too cheap to spend new car money these days, and there is nothing a new Si or Type R can offer that this one doesn’t already do well enough for me. I’ve driven high-horsepower cars, and this Si rides that sweet spot of being powerful enough to keep me smiling, but still being usable. I can redline the thing in second and not be breaking laws on the right roads. Do that in a Hellcat, and you’re in reckless endangerment territory (ask me how I know).

Do you ever get the itch to swap this for anything else?

I’ve owned 24 cars, so clearly I have… urges. I do still regularly look at other cars. Then I drive the Si and realize how much I like it.

Twenty-four previous cars?! What are some highlights?

• 1987 Audi GT Coupe
• 2007 Scion tC
• 2001 Honda Civic
• 2013 Chevy Sonic LT
• 1997 Volvo 940

Amongst all of those, the most important project car I’ve ever worked on has to be the Hot Rod project I did with my boys. They were getting a bit too big for their old Cozy Coupe, so we made it a Cozy Roadster Hot Rod with a custom paint job!

What’s the worst one you’ve ever had, and what made it so bad? 

I had an early 80s Chevy pickup. Never even figured out what year it was. My Dad gave it to me. Required starting fluid to start, and didn’t steer left very well. Something was very wrong in the steering box, went right fine, but had to crank it three times more than you’d think to go left. Getting back to center was the same. Made highway driving far more exciting than it should have been.

Oh, and the gas tank was in the bed because the old one had rusted out. My dad bought it in a package deal with an Olds Omega for maybe $500? The Olds tossed a piston through the block, the truck started backfiring through the carb, and went off to the junkyard.

Any that you wish you’d held onto? 

Probably the Audi.

What’s in the dream garage?

• Locost 7
• AWD K-Swap for the LX

Great choices! What is appealing about each of these?

Back in like 2003 or so, I read an article on the Locost, I think it was Make Magazine, but I can’t find a reference to it online. Back then, they were using old S10s as donors and touted you could build one for $250 (which was hilarious, even then, as the fiberglass panels were more than that).

I am infatuated with the idea of knowing how every single piece of the car went together and how to fix it, plus it would be a great weekend cruiser/track toy. If I had the funds, I’d build a Superformance Cobra MKII, but that’s a lot more money than I’ve got to spend on a big toy 🙂

The AWD K-Swap for the LX is just a great sleeper project, not terribly expensive, and aside from a little cutting and welding at the rear, almost entirely doable in my driveway. For a while, I wanted to EVO swap a K-Car, as they share the same wheelbase and basic dimensions, but finding a suitable EVO donor car is too much money for such madness. I guess I like my weird to appear pedestrian?

Sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks, Sean!

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Top graphic image: Maxheadbolts