I don't know if I should even post here,
but
HMT RHMT has always been a huge influence on my building.
The cruise missle comment comes from comparing an 89 CRX which I drove for 7 years to a 94 civic which I drove for 4 years. The CRX had lightning response and despite it's slowness was 'fun' to drive. The 94 coupe was probably capable, but did not have anywhere near the responsiveness that the CRX had. Hence the 'cruise missle' comparison. The turbo 94 went in a straight line very quickly, but that was all. Once I started driving the 1980 civic, all I could think of was the quick turn in and go-kart handling like my CRX, and the 1980 has completely blown struts/shocks while the 94 had pretty tight KYB's + adjustable coilovers. (Can't wait to upgrade the 1980 susp. Once it's up and running I'm positive that traction will be my #1 issue. I'll likely fabricate some custom heim joint radius arms with a separate sway bar setup - opposed to stock which integrates the two.)
As for the axles, the L. axle is nearly perfect. The R. axle has a tiny bit of runout. If it causes vibration or problems in the vehicle, the axles will be sourced out very quickly now that I have prototypes but the inner tripod joints should absorb most of the heat. (Raxles was unresponsive when I first asked them about 1980 Civic-1998 Integra custom hybrid axles. Go figure
) I have no worries about the shafts. They are sleeved AND plug welded for strength (as JD noted). I have minimal machine tools, but lots of fabrication capabilities at my shop, so they are the best I could manage. I figure the diameter is so minimal that the runout will hopefully be negligible. If it chews up my bearings. Well, that sucks, but I can move on from that.
The mounts are 1/8" plate welded inside and out and they pass all the way through the frame rails, so again, I'm not too concerned, though I may go back and add some trusses to make them bullet proof. I KNOW THAT MY WELDING LOOKS LIKE SHIET. It's not very easy to weld 1/8" plate to 18 guage sheet. As figured out earlier, blowing out is too easy despite dragging the heat from the plate to the sheet. The really crappy weld you see is me trying to melt my earlier weld into something respectable without success. Underneath that surface weld it is pretty well damn penetrated. Again though, I may add some trusses to shore it up since the factory mounts, while thin sheet, are ribbed and folded for additional strength.
As for the dolling-up of the engine bay, well, it's my car, will be my DD, and I've got 6mo. into this build, so suck it. I do what I want.
Oh, and you'll have to keep checking HT or 1stgencivic for updates if you give a damn. But I'm not doing it all over again here. It'll be running very soon.
kisses.