Hello all! I am new to the forum. I recently purchased a 2008 Honda fit as a commuter car as my other cars are gas guzzlers (tuned cl55, fully build mr2 turbo, and an old Dodge Ram). I have to say that I love the car. Being a car guy, I couldn’t leave the car alone. It was in pretty rough shape when I purchased it. So I decided to embark on a Type R tribute build. Once the moderators approve my thread, I’ll share all of my progress. I’m sure I’ll have tons of questions for you all. Thanks for allowing me to be part of the community.
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#2
knope's Avatar
knope , Today 05:21 AM
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In for link to thread with pictures..
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sportunage , Today 07:48 PM
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Thanks mods for approving my post! So, let me start from the beginning.... I live in Texas. One day at the end of July while sitting in a fast food drive through, the AC went out on what was my current daily driver. (Did I mention that I live in Texas and that it was in July?)

The silver one is the one I’m referring to. My MR2 never had working AC so both were paper weights in the TX summer unless driving at night.
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sportunage , Today 07:50 PM
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I had just sold my gas saver Toyota Solara since the silver car had been running flawlessly. Less than a week later, AC takes a dump.... Go figure....
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sportunage , Today 07:54 PM
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I couldn’t take too many days of driving with no AC and fixing the AC in my garage in July would be the equivalent of walking through the Mojave Desert. So I began to search the local ads for a cheap fuel efficient car and came across this for $1000....

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sportunage , Today 07:56 PM
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sportunage , Today 08:01 PM
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Cosmetically and mechanically the car was rough but the engine, Trans and AC were in good working order.

One more shot.
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sportunage , Today 08:08 PM
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Once I got the car home, I had a chance to really go over it. Sheet metal screws holding the rear bumper on as well as some other body parts. I love all cars and have always loved the Fit and I hate to see cars treated this way so I began the process of bringing her back. Plus all of my car guy friends gave me tons of crap about the condition of my daily driver. Nonetheless, I was happy to just have AC!
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sportunage , Today 08:11 PM
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One of the first things that I did was replace a bad driver’s side CV axle and motor mount. There was a horrendous clunking on acceleration. Check out the condition of this motor mount...
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sportunage , Today 08:14 PM
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Old vs. New

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#11

sportunage , Today 08:22 PM
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It all began small. Lol. Red OE Honda badges, LED fog lights and disassembled the headlights and painted the bezels black and buffed them out...



also painted the fog light bezels black and replaced the bent bumper reinforcement.
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#12

sportunage , Today 08:38 PM
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The display to the radio was all kinds of cracked. I couldn’t even read what was on the display. I guessed my way through the functions enough to get one random radio station. I eventually had enough and purchase this android head unit that comes with rear view camera, navigation, apps, and Bluetooth calls and streaming for $100. Crazy how prices on this stuff has come down. Also had to Purchase an adapter radio bezel for $55.


running wires for rear view camera
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sportunage , Today 08:40 PM
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Finished product. Sorry about the poor lighting....

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sportunage , Today 08:52 PM
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Knowing that the car needed some serious attention in the looks department, I started to devise a plan for repairing the outside. I thought about a Type R tribute in Championship White but saw that it had been done already (and done pretty well at that). I knew that’s the look I wanted but wanted to do something a little different. So after some back and forth, I decided on Audi/Porsche Nardo Grey. I’ve always loved the color and it was close enough to the Storm Silver that I wouldn’t have to paint under the hood and door jambs...


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sportunage , Today 09:21 PM
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Miscellaneous parts hoard. Replacement front bumper and OE lip, new fender liners, front bumper reinforcement foam, and some OE clips. Oh and some carpet mats. All for under $300

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#16

sportunage , Today 09:28 PM
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Two days of body straitning and primering and finally began the painting process. Starting with the front bumper and lip.

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sportunage , Today 09:31 PM
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Then the body....

3 coats of base. Paint and clear came in a little under $400. The roof, spoiler and wheels will be painted in black...

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sportunage , Today 09:34 PM
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These came in for the wheels. OE Honda centercaps...
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sportunage , Today 09:34 PM
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sportunage , Today 09:43 PM
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3 coats of clear, 5 stages of wet sanding, 3 stages of buffing. It’s got some small imperfections here and there from painting in a home garage but the average person probably wouldn’t notice...


Roof pic is before wet sanding. If you zoom in you can see all of the trash in the clear. I was able to wet sand it all out and get rid of the orange peel...

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sportunage , Today 09:50 PM
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I think you guys are pretty much caught up with my progress for now. Ordered some LED tail lights in red & white but they got stolen from my porch. It was probably a blessing in disguise cause I reordered a set in smoked & red which I think will work better with the look I ended up going with. Also ordered some window visors. Still need a rear bumper, some interior trim, lowering springs and some other odds and ends. I’ll continue to update the thread as I make progress...

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#22

sportunage , Today 10:05 PM
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Been reading the forums on lowering springs and it looks like swift springs are the favored ones. But man... that price. Any other suggestions on good daily driver springs that won’t break the bank?
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Your Fit will look awesome after all this is done! Are you going to paint the original wheels black or get some new wheels?

 

Your build is looking great! I actually have 2 sets of Tanabe springs (DF210 & GF210) that I'm trying to get rid of since I have my coilovers now but shipping will be pricey. Another problem is they're stucked on my front struts lol

 

To build a Type R tribute you need to start with a car that has the Type R package to start with. Otherwise it's just another basic Honda with red emblems.

PS: most of the real Type R's use upgraded chassis pieces. Something you can't buy or make for any Fit when there never was any of those parts ever made.

 

i guess that was kind of my point. Maybe the term “tribute” was a stretch. Just wanted a car that would have the appearance of a Type R Fit had Honda ever made one. But that would be too long for the title line 😂. But I do see your point...

 

I’ll be using the original wheels for now but will be painting them black. I want to use as may OE parts as possible. I would like to get some 16 inchers from the 2nd Gen and paint those black but I keep missing out on the deals. I’ll continue to check the classified section and local listings until I find some.

 

Taillights finally came in.

Clear coat and assembled front bumper.

Front bumper installed. Have you noticed the more shiny stuff you put on a car, the older the original stuff looks....

 

Needs wheels and springs bad...

 

Also got some side markers but haven’t gathered enough balls to make the cut in the fender.

 

Nardo grey looking good! also good choice on where to put he black accents. Keep it up!

 

Thanks Azuki. I did get a chance to install the side markers. I went with amber to add some color to liven up the Nardo Grey. Those stock wheels are really starting to look sad....

 

Making the turn signal harness

 

lookin great man! You’ve got attention to detail and it really shows. it’ll look great once it’s all pieced together.

any idea on what you’ll run for wheels and tires?

 

Still debating. My original plan was to paint the stock wheels but I’m beginning to second guess that idea. I’d like to use OE Honda parts as much as possible so I’ve been looking at som of the second gen 16 inch wheels and painting them black. That way I can still use the OE black center caps that I bought.



With these painted In black...

 

I would personally paint them a darker silver or gunmetal if ur gonna paint an OE wheel, that would keep more with the type-r theme. black painted stock wheels is not a good look in my eyes - I think it just looks kind of cheap... But of course the decision is yours!!!

I wanted to get some fat fives ot LS mesh wheels from an older civic/integra. I think that would be a good look. I’m glad I bought Konigs instead tho.

 

Just got some wheels. Looks like I’ll be going in your direction rather than the black stock wheels. Found these locally and talked the guy down to where the deal was too good to pass up. After leaning them against the car I have to say that you were right NEGD3. The contrast of the bronze hfp wheels looks great against the Nardo Grey. The black is a very predictable color choice. But these look super unique against this color. Now I need to find some springs...

 

Finally got my spray technique down. Was able to spray glass on the last couple of parts I had left (rear bumper and side mirror) too bad I couldn’t figure it out on the rest of the car. Would have saved my arms a ton of wet sanding. But that’s what is was all about from the beginning. It was a learning experience. Now I’m ready to spray the next project. Whatever that will be. Also ordered some tires for my new wheels.

 

awesome score on those wheels, that will look great

 

Thanks NEGD3! Just wanted to share some pics I took with the wheels on and an interior shot since I finally got to clean it out.... I’ll also be using one of those tow hook license plat holders to cover the tow hook hole and removing the factory one I just bought last week... What are you guys’ thoughts on the wheel color?

 

Still gotta get those lowering springs...