Hi everyone, first-time EK9 owner (US, TX), finally was able to import my dream car

[haveanap]

Hi all, new to the board. I read the stickied post!

Imported an EK9 via MagicMotorsports, and the process was excellent. Car came with a legal/valid Virginia title, and registration in Texas (Dallas) was easy. Due to vehicle age, they only required title + proof of insurance. No inspection or emissions required.

It took a while to find one, my requirements were:

1. Championship White only
2. Stock or as close to stock as possible
3. Maintenance records if possible





Chassis #: EK9-1203607
Year: 2000
Paint: Championship White
Mileage: 85,854 KM / ~53,347.202 miles
Location: Dallas, TX
Mods:

• Tein suspension w/ damping controller
• Aftermarket Japanese head-unit w/ accompanying butchered center console gaps (will return to OEM once I source parts)
• Front bumper studs/gap closer
• Greddy radiator
• A device I can't find *anything* for online or via Grok, ChatGPT, Google Image Search, ANYTHING. Looks to me like it used to be a boost controller? Or engine timing adjustment computer?

Maintenance done as of 2025-05-19:

• Timing belt
• Water pump
• Spark plugs
• Left rear control arm
• Stage 1 clutch (my personal preference, I won't track the car, just for longevity+more buffer for aggressive shifts

Vehicle condition on reception:

• Dirty from sitting in Galveston port, but otherwise good
• Slow start, old JDM battery, replaced with Prius battery (due to smaller terminal size)
• Missing oh **** handle on passenger side
• VERY good seat and carpet condition
• VERY good paint condition
• Paint is original (verified with spectrum scanner), with exception of hood, which was resprayed (very very small overspray marks on black plastic trim where wipers are mounted, plus engine bay. But is color-matched and looks identical visually to the original paint)
• Wipers, power mirrors, power windows, A/C, etc all 100% functional and good
• Wheels have small blemishes but otherwise good
• Interior generally in almost like-new quality

I plan to drive the car as there's no point to buying something and then just stashing it in the garage. But, I'm new to EK9s, is there anything to be on the lookout for?


Previous cars:

• 1962 Mercury Comet
• 1986 Subaru DL Wagon
• 1989 Ford Crown Victoria Wagon
• 1994 Honda del Sol Si (D16 single-cam VTEC motor)
• 1998 Jeep Cherokiee
• 1991 Honda Prelude (B20, non-VTEC)
• 1994 Jeep Wrangler
• 2001 Volkswagen GTI 1.8L Turbo (automatic )
• 2003 Toyota Tacoma 5spd/4x4/xcab
• 1992 Honda Civic CX (RHD converted)
• 1985 Honda Civic CRX DX
• 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi
• 2000 Honda Civic Si (EM1), black, sold back to original owner
• 2017 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro

 

[12packofAA]

Welcome. Looks great

 

[TEXEK9RX]

The WP350 is probably the speed-limiting delete device. all JDM cars are limited to like 108 MPH. They use those boxes to trick the ECM. You can try to find one of them on Blackhawk Japan.

Welcome , I'm also, Texan, I live in East Texas.

We need to make a TEXAS EK9 MEET.

I got an EK3 JDM, EP3, AWD EK. Currently,

Acquiring this car was also a dream for me, so CONGRATS

 

[rvm]

Amazing car.

 

[haveanap]

The WP350 is probably the speed-limiting delete device. all JDM cars are limited to like 108 MPH. They use those boxes to trick the ECM. You can try to find one of them on Blackhawk Japan.

Welcome , I'm also, Texan, I live in East Texas.

We need to make a TEXAS EK9 MEET.

I got an EK3 JDM, EP3, AWD EK. Currently,

Acquiring this car was also a dream for me, so CONGRATS

I'm finally getting back to this thread! Had the timing belt, water pump, clutch, oil, oil pan, coolant, exhaust manifold gasket replaced, just got the car back a couple days ago. I'd love to hit an EK9 meet! can you DM your #? I'm north Dallas, (Plano-ish). Also, nice collection

 

[haveanap]

Hey to both you guys, and yeah, it'd be awesome to meet up! I've been trying to find a club or meet to attend monthly-ish.

I'm out of town this weekend but back in town after that.

 

[mars786]

Welcome to the club! And super clean EK9! My EK is similar spec just a 98. I'm also in Texas but in Houston. Funny enough, had to drive up to Dallas and bring it down. As for what to look out for, your car has very low miles, and you've addressed timing, pump, plugs, you should be good. Just drive it. If you ever open up the dash, let me know how it goes... I need to install a cover since it's just been exposed.

 

[Dino-Spumoni]

Nice car! How much did it cost?

Such low miles, so most of the stuff you'll be doing will be more age related. Not too much specific to the EK9 but a few EK hatch related things might come up, like tail light gasket leaks between the tail light and the body. Also want to look for leaks inside the tail lights or headlights themselves. There are things to check that are just old Civic related, and a few B series VTEC things to check.

The first step to figuring out what that little electronic box is is finding out where the wires physically splice into, and then looking up a wiring schematic for your car to see what the wires are. That's a start.

I would look do or check the following-

• Flush the PS fluid with new Honda fluid. Check for leaks, as the pumps are easily rebuilt with new o-rings and seals.
• Brake and clutch fluid with new unopened DOT 3 (if you're not tracking the car DOT 3 is better as it is slower to absorb water).
• PCV valve, replace, and make sure it has metal in it and not just plastic.
• You could send your injectors out to be tested and cleaned.
• Air filter check. Use factory paper style air filters for best filtration. Other kinds you get less restriction but worse filtration.
• Check the ignition timing. Sometimes these cars respond better to 17 or 18 degrees of advanced ignition timing vs factory recommended 16. But I think the acceptable range is 16+/- 2 degrees.
• Most bushings are probably still fine, but check them all. Why was the left rear (lower?) control arm done but not the right? Rear trailing arm bushings are quick to go bad in all these Hondas. As are the sway bar end link and sway bar to frame bushings, front and rear. Also the engine torque mounts, there are two, but especially the driver's side is quick to go bad. A wild card for you is that all the bushings in the EK9 I think are different than in regular non-R variants, usually a stiffer compound IIRC. Mugen sells OEM style mounts and probably bushings as well.
• Grease your door hinges, you could use Shin-Etsu grease from Honda.
• If there is any slop in the shifter, the bushings on and around the shift pivot can be replaced, and the plastic cage. LHT performance on youtube shows the whole process.
• Check for oil leaks. On these cars, there is a lot of "secret" o-rings inside and attached to the engine. Over time, they become hard as plastic and everything leaks. You've just had the valve cover and oil pan gaskets replaced. And they probably did valve cover grommets, and spark plug tube seals. Common leak points are the VTEC solenoid o-rings, of which two are very specific OEM parts. Also the cam plug behind the VTEC solenoid. And the distributor o-ring where it mounts to the cam. There are a few other specific VTEC related o-rings to change next time you have the cams out or do a timing belt (check out ACH garage GS-R back to stock videos, timing belt). Next timing belt you'll also want to do your cam and crank oil seals.
• Check your idle speed and adjust if necessary.
• Check to see if the brake caliper slides are moving freely and need to be re-greased with silicone brake grease. I would clean and re-grease them as a matter of maintenance on any new-to-me car.
• If it hasn't been done, the ball joints and tie-rods need to be looked at for play.
• Check over your coolant hoses, and power steering lines, and brake hoses.
• Transmission fluid change. Get new crush washers from Honda as the trans fill is a special size. I've used a set of Spoon magnetic oil and transmission drain plugs in every Honda I've had and they always pick up a little metal. Easy mod.

That's all of the top of my head. Also when you do open up the center console there are screws behind the buttons in each of the top corners, but it's been about 20 years since I've taken out an EK center console.

 

[Hikaru]

Everything is looking good except whatever crap that tied the bumper and fender.