88 LXi Coupe - raising the dead

[schaff70]

project has officially stalled out for now. Too many home projects getting in the way and having cold weather (what Texas considers cold) puts me in a mood where being outside is the last thing I want. I was able to finally find a 1st gen Integra front lip that only needs a minor repair. pick n pull is 50% off next weekend and I spotted a nice set of Integra LS mesh wheels with good tires that were still available. I haven't been able to find what I really want (Integra GSR blades) that are reasonable.

I only hope I remember how to put it back together once I'm done. At the very least I was smart enough to put all the hardware I removed into plastic bags with a label.

[Dr_Snooz]

I remember that feeling when I had my engine and trans out of the car and disassembled. I stood in the big shop I was using, looked around at all the stuff and thought, "how am I going to get all this back together?" I wasn't as careful as you. I just set my parts in dedicated piles everywhere for the nephews to kick, but I still got it all back together. There were some steps where I had to think through some things carefully, consult the manual and make my best guess, but it worked out well. Once you get back into it, there isn't much that can get mixed up.

Good luck with your other projects.

[schaff70]

Another month and no update. Bathroom renovation is almost complete, but the house project list keeps growing. Hopefully time will be available in March once the weather is regularly warmer. Still on the hunt for a few parts here and there and at least the car is inside.

Could really use the following if anybody has them or comes across them at pick n pull

- driver and passenger door weatherstrip : the one that runs up the a-pillar and across the top of the roof. Texas sun has taken it's toll on both of mine
- Prelude steering wheel w cruise control or another non-airbag Honda/Acura wheel that will fit without modification. The sun roached the whole top of my wheel
- Prelude upper control arms - would like to lower the car once it's running and from everything I've read I'll need these. I've located some parts cars on row52.com, but most are on the west coast

Any ideas on a rear lip spoiler for the trunk? I've never been a fan of typical 'wing' type spoilers, including the OEM style. I've always preferred a subtle lip spoiler instead.

[schaff70]

Still no progress. Haven't had any time to work on the car since November. I have been gathering parts though. Picked up a set of used Tokico blue front and rear shocks with H&R springs. I was also finally able to find a pair of 2nd gen Prelude front upper control arms last weekend.
About a month ago I got lucky at pick n pull and found a steering wheel in good shape and both driver and passenger side door weatherstrip seals.

In other news, I was in 2 more accidents with my daily drivers this year. In April I got hit on the highway by a guy with no insurance. Took out the entire passenger side of my 01 Toyota Landcruiser that I've owned for the last 14 years. I wanted to keep it, but it was at the point where it needed a lot of preventative maintenance, so I used my uninsured motorist coverage and let the insurance company take it.

I picked up a 2006 Acura TL as a new daily driver. The day after I paid $300 in taxes and tags with the state, I got hit by a lady in a 2013 Escalade who cut over 2 lanes to try to make a left turn at the last minute. Due to the age/mileage that was a total loss also. Spent the next 2 weeks trying to find a good replacement vehicle for under $5000. Got very lucky and found a 1999 Lexus GS300 with 138k miles for $3800. It needs basic maintenance (timing belt, some oil seals, ball joints, tie rod ends, water pump, thermostat and radiator), but the interior was well kept and 2JZ-GE powered.

I already picked up a set of 19" Infiniti G37S wheels made by Enkei that were powder coated by the previous owner with 245/40/19 tires for it. Knocked out rebuilding the front end, still gathering parts for the timing belt/oil seals and VVTI cam gear rebuild.



Almost forgot my reason for posting. Pick n Pull has 40% off this weekend and I found a set of 14" period correct wheels off a first gen MR2. I'm stuck deciding if I want these or want to hold out until I find a set of Integra GSR blades for it. I wish I took photos of the MR2 wheels while I was there Saturday.

[Dr_Snooz]

You've had quite the adventures. Good luck getting the wheels. Post up pics if you get them.

[schaff70]

Decided on the period correct MR2 wheels yesterday. Ran down to pick n pull and was able to get all 4 after paying to remove the dry rotted tires for about $130. I'll be able to polish up the faces myself and remove the minor curb rash on 1 of the wheels.

I really wanted 15" wheels, but I think these will fit the look much better.

[Dr_Snooz]

Good choice!

[schaff70]

It's been a long time, but I'm still around. Finally have news worth updating this slow thread.

I was able to pick up a pair of Prelude front control arms from pick n pull over the summer. Still gathering parts also. A guy on the Facebook group had a set of Tokico blue shocks with H&R springs for sale, so I got them while I had the chance.

House projects and my daughter in college have been tying up most of my time (and money). We're paying for her spring 2020 semester, junior year. She's going to have to get student loans for her senior year. Pretty much the same deal my son had while he was at UTSA, but my GI Bill covered his first 3 years.

Back to the car - Upgraded lighting in the garage so I can finally see what I'm doing. Added more plugs with a dedicated outlet for the compressor in the corner near the Accord.

Driver side front suspension is completely off the car. I've been removing the decades old rust and painting all the parts satin black. It was finally time for me to get serious about tackling the timing belt. I raised the car up higher on the jack stands to get more room to maneuver. Tried using a 30" breaker bar with no luck. Tried my son's cordless electric impact wrench with no luck.
Heated the bolt with a propane torch for 20 minutes then tried the breaker bar with no luck. Bought a corded electric impact wrench with 1000 ft lbs of torque with no luck. Bought a hotter torch with MAP gas and heated the bolt until it glowed red then hit it with the impact wrench and finally the bolt broke loose.
Things are moving along pretty good now that the timing belt is off. Got the water pump pulled, alternator is out, battery tray is out, painted with POR15 to stop the rust then painted satin black. I also ordered a kit to rebuild the power steering pump. There's still a lot of parts I need to pull just to get the engine bay clean and painted where it's needed.

The goal is to get it actually running this spring, work all the bugs out then start prepping it for paint. I'm going to paint it myself in the garage.

List of things I still need to buy :

Crank seal
Camshaft seal
Lower timing belt cover
Harmonic balancer
Crank pulley bolt
Alternator
Tires
Brake calipers, pads & hardware
Possibly a radiator & starter

I'll update with photos this weekend.

[schaff70]

Thanks to the stay at home policy I've been getting a lot done around the house, garage and with the cars. I installed a big brake kit onto the GS300, but couldn't get any brake pressure after bleeding 1 qt of fluid through the lines. Took it to a shop and it was diagnosed with a failed master cylinder. Come to find out the master cylinder is integrated into the ABS pump. I was quoted $3500 - $4000 for the shop to replace it and found it online for $900 rebuilt. Had to make a decision to let it go. It actually sold that same day. I had to find yet another daily driver and got kind of lucky finding a 2006 Toyota Avalon limited with 89k miles for a good price. Installed a set of coilovers on it and am in the middle of refinishing a set of BBS RK 18" wheels for it.

As far as the Accord goes, making a ton of progress. 90% finished replacing all the vacuum hoses in the engine bay with silicone. Replaced the power steering hoses, got the master cylinder removed (it was rusted and stuck to the brake booster), driver side rear suspension was inspected with new rear upper control arm and ball joint replaced. New stainless rear brake line and cleaned and inspected the drum brake on that corner. Waiting on the poly lower shock bushing to arrive before installing the rear shock & spring combo.



Driver side front suspension has been torn down, cleaned and painted. New wheel bearing installed, stainless front brake line and picked up rebuilt front calipers yesterday. I'm about 50% complete reinstalling the driver side front suspension.







I cleaned the carpet and seats on the interior. I finally started the task I feared most - draining the gas tank and removing the fuel pump. I was so happy to find a drain plug on the bottom of the tank, but not so happy to find the tank almost full. Drained close to 8 gallons from the tank. I pulled the fuel pump and it was really bad. Completely rusted. Inspected the inside of the tank and it's just as rusty. I'm going to have to order a new tank. I already have a replacement pump and a guy in Canada is sending me a new rust free fuel pump bracket.






I took a week and also started really cleaning the paint using a heavy polishing compound. This removed most of the surface dirt and top layer of the clear coat. I followed it up with a really good quality polish. The paint will never be perfect, but it is now white and glossy in parts. Other parts the primer is showing through. The whole car except the roof has been polished. I removed the rear tail lights and trim panel to clean all the dirt out from behind them. I took everything off the driver side front inner fender and was able to really get that part of the engine bay clean. Passenger side I didn't have to remove as much as it wasn't as dirty. Cowl cover is off and everything cleaned around the wiper mechanism.

[Dr_Snooz]

Yay for time off, stimulus check and progress! Go go go!!

[88LXi68]

It is nice to see another being saved, keep up the excellent work and bringing this car back.

[schaff70]

Project has stalled out again. New projects and issued came to that need attention. My daughter's 2000 CRV had a coolant hose let go on the highway and she wound up blowing the head gasket. It's been down for about a month while I fix it. Head was removed, resurfaced, cleaned and tested. Pretty close to having it put back together. Other projects include new leather seat bases in the wife's Lexus GX460, building the prinsu style roof rack for it plus some cosmetic things I've been planning. I also have a number of projects for the daily driver 2006 Avalon I'd like to complete.

[glutenfree]

After seeing your pump, I am a tad scared to pull mine, haha! I will be looking into that AFTER I get my 86 LXi back on the road (doing front end work now). I will be posting up a thread to help me keep things sorted and to share with the rest of you 3geez nuts.
Still learning these Honda's but I will be doing some custom work down the road to get my hatch where I want it.

Cheers and thanks for the update.

[hatchback_wes]

Wow, this is great. Your work on this old car is awesome, sir. I myself have an 86' hatchback LX-i that I'm trying to get running too

[schaff70]

Dropping by to say still no updates. I have most of the parts in the trunk of the car aside from the new gas tank, just haven't been motivated to work on it lately. This and attempting to fix my daughter's CRV for nearly a month took it's toll on me. Got the head cleaned, resurfaced and tested before installing it on the block only to find coolant was still mixing with the oil after running it again.
Had to make the decision to move on. Put the CRV up for sale and had a local Honda guy buy it and drop in a used JDM motor within a week. At least with COVID and working from home I for once wasn't in a rush to find a replacement vehicle, however, my daughter has become more and more addicted to her phone and offered little to no help in finding a replacement. Her social life (she's 21) has taken priority and is now the center of her attention. For example, while I was trying to find her a replacement car, she was driving my 06 Avalon. I finally got the car back and drove it for the first time in almost 3 months only to have the check engine light on with a failing ignition coil and the traction control no longer working. Not real happy.

Searched and searched for a good replacement, looked at several cars here locally, but every one of them turned out to be a turd. Car shopping in Houston is absolutely the worst. I'd almost rather wait in line at the DMV than try to find another car here. Expanded the search and found a 98 Subaru Legacy GT manual transmission sedan in Boulder, Colorado at an independent Subaru dealer. All the right maintenance was completed - recent clutch, head gaskets done (2.5L N/A are notorious for head gasket failures), new timing belt and water pump. Bought 1 way tickets to Denver for my buddy & I and went to pick it up and drive it back. Had a couple of needs once we got home, tie rod ends, end links, misc trim was damaged, but the worst of it was the shifter linkage bushings. Mother of God was that a total nightmare to remove and replace. Subaru decided to use this crazy spring pin with an inner additional spring pin to hold the linkage in place along with 20 years of age didn't help. I had to cut the old linkage apart in order to get a ball joint press tool up there and push out the pin.
When I put it back together I applied a good amount of anti-sieze compound and made my own linkage pin from a filed down aluminum rod with a cotter pin on top and bottom to hold it in place. All these recent difficult repairs took their toll and really got me to the point where I don't want to work on cars for a while.
Next the wife decided to remodel the kitchen, so I've been removing tile from a concrete slab. I'm going to take a couple week break then get back into the garage to get more done on the Accord. At least it's inside, off the ground and not acquiring any more damage.

[Dr_Snooz]

Sounds like you have your hands full over there. Best of luck to you.

[schaff70]

Finally at a point where I can start getting back into the garage and turning wrenches on the Accord. Finished the last house project with remodeling the kitchen. Got the garage straightened out, added new overhead lights, additional outlets, got most of the misc stuff either in the attic or stored on the walls. Picked up a new toolbox from Home Depot, something I've always wanted. Bought a 2 piece Husky toolbox for $399. Rolled it up to the register and before I went to ring it up, the cashier offered me $100 off if I opened a Home Depot credit card. Fine with me, I just paid the bill and closed the account. Out the door for $329.

Bad news, the company where I was working for the last 5 years went belly-up at the end of last year, so now I'm out of work and trying to find a new career. Been job hunting the last 3 weeks.

Still having trouble sleeping which is dangerous (military related) because I spend too much time on YouTube (completely streaming media now, no cable) and got the idea planted in my head to buy a wrecked NB Miata and swap the drivetrain into the Accord converting it to RWD. I have the tools and the talent and resources for answers, but it's a huge undertaking. I'm not 100% sold on it just yet, still exploring the idea and everything related. I've also been considering a more modern engine/transmission combo too. Leaning towards a Ford Zetec 4 cylinder, Audi TT 225hp 4 cyl or even the SR20 Nissan motor.

I've seen the Audi swap into the Rabbit (MK1 Golf) with insane power to weight ratio and I know the MK1 engine bay is smaller than the Accord's.

Just really shooting ideas out into the open without taking the leap right now. Thoughts and or comments are welcome.

[Dr_Snooz]

Sorry to hear you lost your job. Get that handled first. Then decide what to do with the Accord.

[schaff70]

I'm ok for a while. Only 1 car payment, mortgage is under control, wife is in a stable job and I have my military retirement to help out. Still looking for a new position though.

[hedilberto]

Hola, Excelente trabajo con este HONDA.
Qué tipo de amortiguadores KONICO se colocaron?
tengo un HONDA Accord LXi 1988, CA5. Necesito cambiar los de mi carro, pero no encuentro nuevo ni en desarme.
Todo dato para encontrar un reemplazo alternativo, se agradece.
Saludos a todos.