About Cause For Alarm
Cause for Alarm was born from the layout constrictions encountered in posting tutorials in forums. Forum politics, entrenchment of wrong information, bullying moderators and their cronies all took precedence over communication and community building. Forums don't support image hosting or allow donations that might help cover the cost of reliable hosting. After I was offered to piggyback off the now-defunct thecarthing.com, my site was seen as competition to the forum instead of part of the ecosystem. So I gave up my unpaid moderator position and devoted my time to adding content to Cause For Alarm.
This is currently the ninth version of Cause For Alarm, with each version representing a large overhaul of the design and content. It was originally hosted at thecarthing.com in the early 2000's, and then revived here at civic-eg.com in 2012 thanks to Brian.
Vehicle Ownership History
Here is a list of vehicles I've owned and projects I've built for close friends. This does not include the dozens of alarm installations I did on the side.
"Deep" maintenance refers to vehicles I bought for less than $1000, often not running or registered, not passing emissions even after professional repairs, or considered unfixable "parts cars". I brought all of these cars to excellent running condition.
- 93 Honda Civic DX auto (purchased in 2002, sold)
- ZC engine swap
- Stealth Alarm Install (behind gauge cluster)
- 90 Honda Civic Si (sold)
- Stealth Alarm Install (rear quarter)
- 01 Honda Civic (sold)
- Stealth Alarm Install
- ?? Civic Wagon RT4WD (sold)
- Replaced rusted Rear Crossmember, removed broken AC
- 07 Honda Civic EX
- 92 Acura Integra LS (sold)
- Stealth Alarm Install (rear quarter)
- 92 Honda Civic VX (sold)
- D15B Dual Stage VTEC Swap, JDM LSD Transmission
- Street Tuned AEM EMS, COP Ignition Conversion, Wideband O2
- Stealth Alarm Install
- 97 Acura Integra GSR
- Rebuilt Engine Install
- Transmission Rebuild
- Stealth Alarm Install
- 92 Honda Civic VX
- Rebuilt B18B Swap
- Stealth Alarm Install
- 88 Honda CRX DX (project)
- D16Y5 Swap, OBD2 Conversion
- Stealth Alarm Install
- 97 Honda Odyssey (project)
- JDM Engine and Transmission Replacement
- 88 Honda CRX Si
- HF 5th and Final Gear Swap
- Stealth Alarm Install
- 1998 Honda Civic HX (project)
- Restoration and Deep Maintenance
- Stealth Alarm Install (rear quarter)
- 94 Honda Accord (RIP)
- Restoration and Deep Maintenance (recurring bad axle caused seller to give up)
- Rebuilt Auto Transmission Install
- Stealth Alarm Install (center console)
- 05 Subaru WRX STi (sold)
- Turbo Replacement, Tuned ECU
- 96 Honda Civic sedan (sold)
- Deep Maintenance (seller could not pass SMOG)
- Stealth Alarm Install (rear door)
- 1997 Honda Civic HX
- B18C1 Swap, ITR Transmission
- F23A5 Swap, M2F4 Transmission
- Stealth Alarm Install
- 98 Honda CRV
- Rebuilt Auto Transmission Install
- Stealth Alarm Install
- Deep Maintenance (sat in front of seller's house for 2+ years)
- 91 Acura Integra LS
- Deep Maintenance (not running in seller's driveway for 5 years)
- Fuel Tank and Pump Replacement
- Wheel Bearings, Complete Brake Replacement
Professional History
In the early '00s I was an Advanced MECP Car Audio/Video/Security Installer at two national chains and then an independent shop. Then I was a certified Safety and Emissions inspector while going to school for Graphic Arts. From there I went into Web Development. Some years later I went into Social Work.
Personal History
My first introduction to modifying Hondas came in 1999, but at the time I was loyal to an early Corolla and active at club4ag.com. I swapped Celica front and rear hubs and swaybars onto the Corolla, installed cross drilled rotors, a Pacesetter header, carbon fiber hood, Eibach Prokit Springs, KYB Struts, Kosei K1's, and made my own intake and strut braces. Eventually I attempted a silvertop 20 valve, individual throttle body 4AGE swap with an AEM EMS prototype. It lacked a MAP sensor due to the individual throttle bodies, and the swap didn't come with the factory intake and MAF. It made power on a TPS based tune but driveability sucked.
In 2002 I "sold out" and got my first Civic EG hatchback. My passion at the time was for suspension tuning and theory, but theft security became an immediate concern after repeated attempts against a friend's car. Honda car theft spiked when the Fast N Furious craze hit and has held steady ever since. I learned vehicle electrical by teaching myself car alarm installation. I continually refined my installations through community critique and the advice of mentors. After further experimentation, I began offering custom installations. I began photo documenting these installs and then decided to fill a knowledge gap in the community.
I have continuously owned two to four golden-era Hondas nonstop since 2002. Theft security has always been the first priority, followed by maintenance, then modification. These days I like to have one car devoted to fuel economy, one to performance without losing sight of daily driver comfort. I build all of my own adapter harnesses, preferring to preserve the vehicle's original dash harness and leave the swapped engine harness intact. So this has meant building jumper harnesses at the strut towers. My electrical knowledge bleeds over into my audio setups, where I prefer the best bang-for-buck setups consistent with these minimally noise dampened economy cars. My brother taught me to rebuild manual transmissions and I now tend to upgrade the sychros and swap gears. I still hold true to the pre F&F disdain for "show parts", and I also have never been interested in JDM parts unless they make the car go or corner faster.