84 Prelude Auto to Manual

[Dr_Snooz]

All the bolt patterns are the same, and part numbers on 2 of the starters I have are the same.

You might want to double check that. There is a "Mitsuba" and a "Denso" starter. There's a much longer snout on the one. Get the MT starter and you'll probably be good.

[rileyh]

I did some measurements on all the starters this morning, which are both for the automatic and manual. They all have the same length "snout." And on top of that, the starter should reach the flywheel when the solenoid activates since the distance from the case to the flywheel was 1.125" (approx). The total length from the starters flange to the tip of the gear is 1.5"-1.6" when activated. I tested the starter out of the car, and it works fine. The wire that activates the solenoid is also hot on starting, so everything is working.

So my real problem is the flywheel from the '83. Its smaller, and the part number for the flywheel on the '84 is different. After taking off the flywheel on the '84 motor I bought, I have a hunch the diameter is larger. It looks a lot different.

What I'm saying is I gotta take everything apart again.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[InAccordance]

Been there done that

[rileyh]

I got the car all put back together a few days ago. Everything works so far. I've got two problems now though. The car had a high idle before doing this swap, and now its even worse, obviously since there isn't a heavy torque converter on there. All 500 vacuum lines are plugged in, so now I have to diagnose this CV cluster fuck. Its too bad the car doesnt get out of reverse at 2500 RPMs... Stay tuned.

[rileyh]

Ok, got the idle fixed. All I really had to do was adjust the throttle cable, throttle stopper, and the accelerator petal. The main issue was the pedal. I adjusted it the wrong way. And now the car is great to drive now.

One vacuum line was unplugged in a place that I couldn't see.

I do have a small vacuum leak in a certain area, so I'm going to start replacing some lines later. They are about 35 years old anyways.

[rileyh]

Some quick updates:

I've been thinking about ditching the keihin carburetor and going to a mikuni instead. I've been thinking about getting this one here: https://www.amazon.com/Mikuni-RS-Car.../dp/B00HXJD9QS (EDIT: not a good choice)

Any better options? I've read through a few threads and seen videos with this kind of setup.

Also, I have coilovers on the way from ceika. My current shocks are not that great.

[rileyh]

A few months ago I had to move the car out of my garage for an insulation job. Something snapped and my clutch was constantly engaged. Basically I installed a throwout bearing that was too short and it snapped behind the pressure plate.

I didn't work on it for awhile since I had a garage to finish building. I recently did a complete emissions delete and the car has been running better and idles consistently. Also the transmission is rebuilt with a proper throwout bearing installed.



I will leave more info on this in a different post.

[Dr_Snooz]

Sounds like you're keeping busy. Good work.

[rileyh]

So far I haven't ran into any issues with this vacuum delete these past weeks so I will share what I did now. This is the diagram for my carburetor, and it does not have components for AC. I have three of these carburetors, and none of them are the same. I can't guarantee this will work for a different variation.



Everything will be going except for thermo-valve A, the auto choke, the vacuum tank labeled A, and the intake air control diaphragm. The hardest part for me at least was removing the egr tubing since it hadn't been taken off since 1984. The main air jet solenoid valve and inner vent solenoid valve is plugged off, but remains to keep the airbox sealed.

When the emission stuff is removed, the first thing I did was plug off the egr with a plate. As for the new holes in the exhaust and intake manifold I bought some plugs, but I didn't find anything for the larger thread, so a custom bolt was made from the original.

Now remove "air vent cut-off solenoid valve" from the carb. I was able to do this without removing the carbs. Then take the solenoid apart and remove the plunger inside. Doing this will allow the float bowls to constantly vent into the charcoal canister. Plug the smaller hole pictured. Reinstall the solenoid.



Now its time to route new vacuum lines:

-Distributor gets vacuum on both ports
-Power valves get constant vacuum

-Vacuum canister gets constant vacuum, but it will need a check valve so the vents dont flap around at higher rpms

-Line 8 for the intake air control diaphragm needs constant vacuum.

-Route the lines as shown for the auto choke and thermo-valve. This one is a little hard to explain with the diagram.



-Loop lines 22, 23, 24, 25, and plug line 11. These ports have something to do with the air jet controller.



-Take the base of the airbox off and plug off everything except components related to the intake air control diaphragm. Taking this off will also help out while dealing with the power valves.

-Plug off anything from here on out. It would basically be a vacuum leak at this point.

This should cover the basics for the job.

[rileyh]

Other news on what I'm doing with this car:

The spare "ES" jdm motor that I got actually turns out to be an ES2 with a CVCC head. Great. Unfortunately I can't use that with a vacuum deleted 2 barrel carb. Good news is I don't have to fix the spark plug threads the last owner screwed up. Its a shame too since after I tore the whole thing apart everything was clean and in really good shape internally. The water jackets were... gross and the water pump was filled with corrosion and rust chunks. No coolant was found in the oil but I won't know the condition of the block until its all cleared out.



On the hunt for a non cvcc head... guess its time to call the junkyards monday morning.

[Dr_Snooz]

Good work on the vac delete. Best of luck with the head.

[rileyh]

Well my mystery JDM motor surprises me every day... I managed to get a used head for an ET2 motor and it does not bolt on because of the oil feed hole is in a different location. The head off the JDM motor has the same head gasket as an A18 which is going to be different from an ET2 block. What a headache. At least I have a spare head for the motor in my car.

So my option as of now is to modify the CVCC head and try to delete it. It sounds pretty dumb... but I'll try tearing it down and see if things can be plugged with press fit pins.

[Dr_Snooz]

Eek.

[rileyh]

I ended up finding a fuel injected head that will bolt on to the block. So I will just be making a custom intake manifold for the carburetors instead.

[rileyh]

Haven't updated in awhile. I finished rebuilding the bottom end. The whole thing would have been re assembled if the last head I got wasn't cracked. I recently got a new one and its out at a machine shop being rebuilt. Getting parts for this motor is tough.

The custom intake I will be making is currently in the works. The plan is to make models of the side I need to mount the carburetors on, and the side that mounts onto the head. So far I've measured the patterns on my work's CMM. Once the model is made we will cut out the profiles and weld up the tubing. It will be awhile before I get there, but when it is done I will show the finished product.