The $50 Accord

[DLC]

Thought I'd post a picture of my 89 Accord that I bought a couple of months back for $50. One of the first cars that my wife and I owned back in the early nineties was an 89 Accord. When I found this one I had to have it for old times sake. It had been sitting for a couple of years and wasn't running very well. I stuck a set of Rotas on it yesterday that I had lying around to see what it would like like. I think they look pretty good. This is the good side, some of the paint is coming off the other side :)

I would like to lower it a little. What are the options as far as springs go?

Here is a picture that I took yesterday.

http://supratrucks.com/pictures/89Accord/89%20Accord%20sm.jpg

[Dr_Snooz]

Dude. You're not allowed to post one pic. That's just cruel. We need more pics!

Car's looking very good, BTW.

[derolph]

I'm amazed that someone would sell a car like that for $50. I can't make sense of that.

[DLC]

I'm amazed that someone would sell a car like that for $50. I can't make sense of that.

Well, technically it was $50 and four pints of sourwood honey but it was still a good deal. The former owner thought it had a blown head gasket but it just needed plug wires.

[derolph]

Well, technically it was $50 and four pints of sourwood honey but it was still a good deal. The former owner thought it had a blown head gasket ...Well, even if it had a blown head gasket, $50 seems absurdly low.


... but it just needed plug wires.LOL. That reminds me, I took my 88 LX-i to an auto repair shop last summer to discuss suspected distributor issues. They tested my plug wires and said they needed replacing. And, they said the old plug wires were the originals. As far as I know, that was probably correct.

[88Sleeper]

Nice car! Keep us posted on updates to it, but I love the snow white paint. Hit it auth a good meguiars/mothers treatment and it will look like it rolled if the assembly line!! :-)

Btw, somebody correct me if I'm wrong here, but I'm my lx, the original plug wires are copper... I had a problem with my dizzy and changed my wires before I find out the dizzy & ignition coil were POS's. Thank God I kept my old wires, they make a visibly brighter spark vs the crap I got, but I also had cold plugs when I was checking this...

Am I crazy or does wire material really matter?

[DLC]

Snagged a set of ST Suspensions lowering springs for dirt cheap tonight on ebay. Gotta get rid of that unsightly fender to wheel gap. :) There are four more sets left if anyone is interested in name brand springs for $80 shipped.

St Suspensions 86 89 Accord 4CYL 1 8" 2 0" lowering Springs 63005 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/ST-Suspensions-86-89-Accord-4cyl-1-8-2-0-Lowering-Springs-63005-/271610704062)

[pajamas95]

Those springs are $50 shipped to CA where I am. I got those 6 months back and they have sagged about another quarter inch now. Even though they have the name, it does not mean they are really high quality. It makes the car about the perfect height without getting bouncy while using stock struts. Just be warned that these are soft and do sag a little bit over time from the weight of the car.

[DLC]

Those springs are $50 shipped to CA where I am. I got those 6 months back and they have sagged about another quarter inch now. Even though they have the name, it does not mean they are really high quality. It makes the car about the perfect height without getting bouncy while using stock struts. Just be warned that these are soft and do sag a little bit over time from the weight of the car.

According to this post ( http://www.3geez.com/forum/suspension-wheels-tires-brakes/103584-suspension-setup-picture-thread.html ), your springs are different than mine. Mine are Suspension Techniques brand and yours are JDM brand. Have you changed springs again since you posted in July?

[derolph]

Btw, somebody correct me if I'm wrong here, but I'm my lx, the original plug wires are copper... I had a problem with my dizzy and changed my wires before I find out the dizzy & ignition coil were POS's. Thank God I kept my old wires, they make a visibly brighter spark vs the crap I got, but I also had cold plugs when I was checking this...

Am I crazy or does wire material really matter?Based on my experience, I doubt that is true. After the shop replaced my wires, I learned that they had installed the lowest cost wires sold by Advance Auto Parts. See Autolite Professional Series Ignition Wireset (http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/autolite-professional-series-ignition-wireset-96457/15250027-P?navigationPath=L1*14923%7CL2*15034%7CL3*16072#fr agment-2). The wires seem to be working fine.

[DLC]

I'm on my 26th Honda and I've never ran anything other than OEM NGK wires and I've never had a failure.

[pajamas95]

According to this post ( http://www.3geez.com/forum/suspension-wheels-tires-brakes/103584-suspension-setup-picture-thread.html ), your springs are different than mine. Mine are Suspension Techniques brand and yours are JDM brand. Have you changed springs again since you posted in July?

You're right...my bad. I had looked at those, and when I saw the link I thought it was those I had bought. Maybe you will have better luck with these with less sagging.

[Jafir]

I'm on my 26th Honda and I've never ran anything other than OEM NGK wires and I've never had a failure.

OE Honda wires are sumitomo not ngk, and have a date printed right on them.

I've seen plenty of Honda wires bad on the type that go through the valve cover into the head. Mostly due to heat and oil. The older style on 3G last a lot longer, but I personally always replaced them, along with cap and rotor and new plugs, on vehicles that I've owned, if they were original from 1986-1989.

[MessyHonda]

pic link is broken.

[Dr_Snooz]

OE Honda wires are sumitomo not ngk, and have a date printed right on them.

I've seen plenty of Honda wires bad on the type that go through the valve cover into the head. Mostly due to heat and oil. The older style on 3G last a lot longer, but I personally always replaced them, along with cap and rotor and new plugs, on vehicles that I've owned, if they were original from 1986-1989.

I'm experimenting with running tune-up items for longer. I check wires with an ohmmeter occasionally and do a visual inspection. If they aren't becoming too resistant, I leave them be. With manufacturing quality what it is these days, it's about a 50/50 chance that new stuff will be worse than the old stuff you are replacing. When it comes to tune-up stuff, you'll know if something fails by the way the car runs.

[firefighterwhite89]

Like Soichiro Honda said, "Success is 99% failure."

[DLC]

Just got back last night from a 2 week trip to Iraq. Got in the garage early this morning and got the lowering springs installed. Took about 3 hours total. I think it turned out pretty good. Ride is a little more firm but other than that it feels pretty much like the stock springs. Dropped 2" in the front and 1.8" in the back. Here is the result:

http://www.supratrucks.com/pictures/89%20Accord/89%20Accord%20lowered%20small.jpg

before:

http://www.supratrucks.com/pictures/89%20Accord/89%20Accord%20sm.jpg

[gyates93]

That ride height really adds to the looks of the car! How were handling and ride height affected? Looks like this wouldn't affect the car WRT driving over bumps and things.

[DLC]

That ride height really adds to the looks of the car! How were handling and ride height affected? Looks like this wouldn't affect the car WRT driving over bumps and things.

I can't tell a lot of difference in the ride. It is a little firmer but not by much. Definitely handles better with the lower center of gravity. I'd love to have a set of ST sway bars but I can't really see paying $310 for them when I have so little money in the car so I'll probably just wait it out and try to find a good deal on a set.