87 LX Sedan Restore (pajamas95)

[pajamas95]

How I got the car:


Roof is pretty bad:



Ready to Plasti-Dip the roof with the back bumper done:



Fresh wash:


The water bubbles up real funny on the Plasti-Dip:



Also, tried Seafoam today and it went pretty well...at least the car is running quite a bit better:



Put in a new clutch last week, and now for the trunk Plasti-Dip, LEDs all around, new rims (maybe), and get this thing registered. The DMV suspended it because it wasn't registered non-op by the previous owner and now they won't accept my insurance online and it takes hours to get them on the phone.

Will gladly take suggestions for cheaper upgrades to make this thing look the best it can. It already is running good except I'm just looking for a new distributor assembly as the vacuum advance is just zip-tied on.

[pajamas95]

Had some fun tonight...installed an LED dome light, a driver seat cover, and new pedals.


LED off Amazon:


Really lights up the car a lot better:



New pedals...actually they just go over the top of the existing pedals but it looks awesome:

[pajamas95]

Plasti Dipped the trunk lid today (and added an Android vinyl just for fun)

In progress:


Four coats:


Looking good in my opinion:


Any tips on whether I should paint the hubcaps black? Thanks for any opinions and reasons not to do this.

[Dr_Snooz]

Car's looking a lot better. Glad to see you saved it.

I've never been a fan of black wheels myself. Aesthetically, you want to have some contrast (some dark stuff with some light stuff) if visual appeal is your goal. According to the Wikipedia article on Neuroesthetics, "regions of contrast are information rich requiring reinforcement and the allocation of attention." In other words, having good contrast will make people check you out. Of course, others really love black wheels and it's your car after all, so do what appeals to you.

[pajamas95]

Car's looking a lot better. Glad to see you saved it.

I've never been a fan of black wheels myself. Aesthetically, you want to have some contrast (some dark stuff with some light stuff) if visual appeal is your goal. According to the Wikipedia article on Neuroesthetics, "regions of contrast are information rich requiring reinforcement and the allocation of attention." In other words, having good contrast will make people check you out. Of course, others really love black wheels and it's your car after all, so do what appeals to you.

Well, since it is just plasti dip I think I'll do one side and see what it looks like. I definitely agree about the contrast though.

[derolph]

I painted the steal wheels on my 88 Accord black as a low-budget effort to improve appearance. 3 of the old OEM wheel covers were damaged so I threw them away. I admit I would much rather have custom wheels but I'm holding off on that until I resolve some mechanical issues. Since my car is silver, I guess the black wheels may look better on it than on your car. My colors more closely fit the "contrast" concept mentioned by Dr_Snooz.

Edit: Oh, I see you were talking about painting the wheel covers black, not the steal wheels. I would not paint OEM wheel covers black. I just can't visualize that as looking better than the regular color.

[pajamas95]

I painted the steal wheels on my 88 Accord black as a low-budget effort to improve appearance. 3 of the old OEM wheel covers were damaged so I threw them away. I admit I would much rather have custom wheels but I'm holding off on that until I resolve some mechanical issues. Since my car is silver, I guess the black wheels may look better on it than on your car. My colors more closely fit the "contrast" concept mentioned by Dr_Snooz.

Edit: Oh, I see you were talking about painting the wheel covers black, not the steal wheels. I would not paint OEM wheel covers black. I just can't visualize that as looking better than the regular color.

Yeah, I might try taking off one wheel cover for the steely look and dipping that, dipping one cover black, and leave the other two stock. Then I'll pick which one I think looks best of the three. Maybe I'll post some pics on here for your guys opinions.

[pajamas95]

Finally got the registration in the mail. Now for an oil change and new spark plugs. Any other recommendations for getting this thing tuned good?

[pajamas95]

Just put new NGK plugs and new blue NGK plug wires and it idles a lot smoother, the ticking sound is gone, and it looks way cooler too. Now I just want to find a way to tuck the A20a1 wires away, but I'm not so sure how possible that will be. Anyone ever done it before?



Also going to do a high mileage synthetic blend valvoline oil change tonight and add some Marvel Mystery Oil to the oil, gas tank, and crankcase.

I want to recharge the A/C but am not sure how. The previous owner converted it to R134a, but I'm not sure how much to refill it with. Should I just take it to a shop or does someone have a how-to on that?

[Dr_Snooz]

Extensive wire tucks have definitely been done. There's lots of pics floating around here.

For the A/C, take it to a shop or get someone to show you how to fill it hands on. It requires some special (and fairly expensive) tools and you can hurt yourself badly if you do it wrong.

[pajamas95]

Extensive wire tucks have definitely been done. There's lots of pics floating around here.

For the A/C, take it to a shop or get someone to show you how to fill it hands on. It requires some special (and fairly expensive) tools and you can hurt yourself badly if you do it wrong.

Yeah, the wire tuck is not a big deal and will cost a little too much and take too much time right now.

Turns out the AC compressor is bad and needs to be replaced before I do anything there. My big priority right now is getting the P/S working. Also just got the car registered today...waited in line at the DMV for 2.5 hours to get my sticker.

[pajamas95]

I wanted to try the black wheel look and it almost looks like I have four spares on. Going to set a poll to see what everyone thinks of these:

[pajamas95]

Decided on Plasti Dip Vintage Gold for this week... What do you all think (If anyone ever looks at this...)?

[1813mdw]

Nice 3gee you got there. Wish i could find one in Michigan that clean lol. I think I liked the black plasti better; tho if it was mine Id prolly pull the wheel covers and rock the steelies(plasti dipped to match the roof and trunk)

[pajamas95]

Just finished tinting the windows all around. Will post pics soon.

Nice 3gee you got there. Wish i could find one in Michigan that clean lol. I think I liked the black plasti better; tho if it was mine Id prolly pull the wheel covers and rock the steelies(plasti dipped to match the roof and trunk)

Yeah, I liked black, but my friends all said it looked like I had four spare tires. If I go back to black, I'll take the covers off and do steelies. I need to lower it about 1.5" as well.

[1813mdw]

Will look alot better dropped a little. Did you tint them yourself?

[Dr_Snooz]

I like them better than the black.

[pajamas95]

Will look alot better dropped a little. Did you tint them yourself?

Nah, just took it to a pro who did it for $89. Pretty good price for how good he did it. Only a few tiny bubbles in the back window that you can only see in certain lights when you look for them.

[scania360]

I like standard color...
White color also not bad...
Perfect with black tinted..
Vip style...

[pajamas95]

There, just resurfaced my front rotors and installed new pads, and I have new springs coming tomorrow that should lower the car ~2.25". I may need to get new struts as I don't know if these old ones will hold up to the pressure, but I'm probably going to keep them until they blow. (Unless that could be bad for the car???)

1986-1989 Honda Accord Red Sport Lowering Springs - Lowering Spring - Suspension HK5 Motors

[1813mdw]

I would try and find out the spring rate on them and match a set of struts accordingly. They are gonna be stiffer than your current springs. Stiff springs + old/OEM struts= very bouncy ride/poor handling. Others on here may be able to point you in the right direction on what struts would be a good match. Luckily only going -2.25 you wont need to do any other mods to make these work. Should look dope tho

[pajamas95]

I would try and find out the spring rate on them and match a set of struts accordingly. They are gonna be stiffer than your current springs. Stiff springs + old/OEM struts= very bouncy ride/poor handling. Others on here may be able to point you in the right direction on what struts would be a good match. Luckily only going -2.25 you wont need to do any other mods to make these work. Should look dope tho

These are progressive springs, so how would I measure the rate? Do progressive struts exist? With the little bit I know about how struts work, aren't they just like an automatic closer for screen doors? There is pressure inside that slows down the spring so it doesn't bounce around? Just wondering why lower springs would put any extra pressure on the existing struts?

Also, if I did that tophat mod everyone is talking about, would I be able keep using the OEM struts, or should I just get some nice aftermarket ones that are a little shorter?

[pajamas95]

OK, feeling really stupid here. I just took the struts off and can't figure out how to get the springs off without it coming off in my face. Do I need to use a spring compressor? I called a shop near my house and they said they could replace them for $50 each if I brought the 4 struts in, but like everyone else here, I don't have that money on hand. My friend said he did his on his Scion xB by hand, but my guess is that these are quite different. It would be cheaper to just buy new struts and put the new springs on them. What would you all recommend I do...I guess if I got new struts, I could put the old back on if I don't like the way the new ones ride.

EDIT: Nevermind, went to Oreilly's and rented a spring compressor for $50, and if I bring it back in two days I get all my money back. Already got the back springs replaced and working on the fronts now. The compressor doesn't fit between the coils too well, so I might have to MacGyver this one a bit. Both of the rear struts feel like new, so I'm thinking they must have been replaced not too long ago. Hopefully they hold up to these new springs!

[Accordtheory]

I'm always surprised by how many people don't realize you don't need a spring compressor to replace struts/springs/shocks at all. Pick the car up, set it on jackstands. Just whichever end you're working on, front or back. Put the jack under the control arm, close to or under the ball joint. Lift that up a little, so the spring isn't extending the shock all the way. Next remove the nut on the top of the shock/strut. The lower the jack. You have now uncompressed the spring using the jack. Install is the exact opposite. Back in the day, me and a friend removed, cut, and reinstalled all 4 springs on my hatch in 45 minutes (!) using this technique. The craziest part was the car actually sat level and rode okay with the cut springs. Most aftermarket springs are complete garbage, and no, oem style struts will Not work with any stiffer springs. You need to have stiffer shocks. My revalved bilsteins were around $700.

[pajamas95]

I'm always surprised by how many people don't realize you don't need a spring compressor to replace struts/springs/shocks at all. Pick the car up, set it on jackstands. Just whichever end you're working on, front or back. Put the jack under the control arm, close to or under the ball joint. Lift that up a little, so the spring isn't extending the shock all the way. Next remove the nut on the top of the shock/strut. The lower the jack. You have now uncompressed the spring using the jack. Install is the exact opposite. Back in the day, me and a friend removed, cut, and reinstalled all 4 springs on my hatch in 45 minutes (!) using this technique. The craziest part was the car actually sat level and rode okay with the cut springs. Most aftermarket springs are complete garbage, and no, oem style struts will Not work with any stiffer springs. You need to have stiffer shocks. My revalved bilsteins were around $700.

I already got the back ones done in about 1.5 hours this morning by myself (never done anything like this before), and am working on the fronts right now. I took it for a quick drive up to 75 MPH and there was no bouncing at all from the back. However, the front might be different because the struts don't feel quite as smooth as the back were. Hopefully because I'm not going too low it won't be too bad...just looks better than before where it looked lifted.