Never even owned an import before, but lately I had been looking to get a civic, integra, celica, something along those lines. Found my 96 civic hx and just got it today. Anyways I have two things I'm trying to figure out:

1. My hood release handle/lever thing is broken off, and I have to use pliers to grab at the end of the cable to pull on it. It looks like this.

I figured I could just get a new lever, but I was looking on ebay and all I saw were lever+cable combos. On one of the auctions, a buyer asked if he could get just the lever, and the seller responded that you have to replace them both. Is that true?

2. Would it make any sense to replace my HX emblem with a DX one? I'm kind of paranoid and I figure that could be at least a small theft deterrent -- but would it work? Are there visible things that would immediately tell a thief "this isn't a DX, it's lying to you, steal it"?

 

Welcome to HAN young import padawan.

I don't know about needing the whole cable and handle assembly, but if you do need one I would suggest you find one at a salvage yard. That should save you some cash.

Yes there are things that ID your car as an HX. I dont' think a whole lot of people know them though, so you could change that if you wanted to. And you can get the emblems off of a scrap car!

 

No one will steal a hx ever. Its is an economy car, like 50 miles per gallon, it is basically a dx though, just with perfect mileage. Your mirrors and side moldings and licensce plate frame are black, and you can tell by the wheels.

Also you have to get the whole cable and latch asssembaly, it's one peice, you have no choice. They are cheap, I would get it from the dealer. You have to take out the fender liner (and wheel) to put it in. Have fun!

 

Ah so a vtec-e isn't attractive to thieves?

Cool, thanks for the info.

Thanks too, bluetwo.

 

noone is going to steal your hx obiwan, you do need to replace them both if u use pliers . in fact are you the one bringing your car to where i work at tomorrow for that?

 

Nope, although I do live in the midwest (iowa).

 

Welcome.

Dont worry bout swapping things, its an HX, i dont think anyone is going to try and steal it unless you swap a type r engine in it and advertise it to the world. no worries mang.

 

VTEC-E has no performance advantages.

I wouldn't buy that cable from a dealership, they will totally rape you. A salvage yard = :thumbup:

I wouldn't bother with the whole swaping emblems thing. If a thief wanted a civic he would just steal a civic thats in the right place at the right time, I wouldn't think that trimlevel would be a determining factor (unless its a GSR teggy or a Type-R etc)

 

To put aftermarket 6.5's in the doors, it looks like I'll need to dremel out the backs of the openings, since they aren't that deep. On this page, the last pic looks like the person did exactly that, although they don't mention it.

This sound right?

edit: Oh yeah and to avoid getting shavings all inside the door, I should probably take the whole door panel off, bah. How hard's that gonna be?