My 1989 Accord 2.0SI Exclusive ALB

[Eternal3Gee]

Hello! I’m mainly found on the Facebook group page but I’ve been around on the forum for a few years now. I’ve never properly contributed to any discussions and purely used this website for information- However upon stumbling across this gem I felt like it was my responsibility to report on this restoration build!

To introduce myself, I’m @churgarage Instagram and am located in New Zealand. I have owned two previous Accords both being white A-series sedans from 1987. My very first car was an A18A carb auto and my second accord was an A20A2 auto that I manual converted and put coilovers into, swapped the interior out for a different trim level and did a full body lip kit amongst other things. That however didn’t last long due to the impending doom of rust and a rear quarter panel being crushed in so I had to cut my losses and look for another accord… and now I’ve found one a year or so later.

Recently I stumbled upon this 2.0Si exclusive that is FULL of OEM goodies (will document these later) and a Blacktop B20A auto. It has a fair bit of rust and not very clean paint but the interior is pretty mint! (Especially the carpet!!) I’ll be having all of the rust cut out and professionally fixed before giving it a lick of paint. I picked up this car a week ago roughly and have already delved into the deep end. I’ve started stripping the entire car down to inspect all the metal and the interior is completely out currently, so I will get photos of that tomorrow in the morning when I’m out with the car. I’ll make sure to try to document my activities and modifications and take photos of whatever I do.

I also managed to score a Gold-top B20A motor and B18A bell housing + rear mount bracket for an A series gearbox manual conversion. B20A manual boxes are a dime a dozen and I can’t find one near me right now so I’ve pulled the trigger on this instead! I’m stoked! Stay around and I’ll keep you guys and gals updated!







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[Oldblueaccord]

Welcome!

Please do a resto write up on here when you get going on it. We need more fix up write ups!

[Dr_Snooz]

Welcome from California!

[Eternal3Gee]

Hello again,

Nice to meet you @oldblueaccord & @dr_snooz, I've seen your names all over the forum for years so it's nice to finally meet you.

Thought I'd pop in and write a brief update of what I've been up to while I'm at work with nothing to do...

I recently did an EGR delete and got rid of the black emissions box in the corner (yes I retained the MAP sensor), gave the valve cover some love with a lick of paint, and put some new wheels/tires on. I've been driving daily the last few days to try and get a feel for how it's driving. I've already picked up on the rear end being sloppy and the front right shock needing replacement plus some other misc bushes and pretty much all ball joints (minus steering rack ends). There's a substantial amount of rust that I'm fighting back currently until my friend clears a spot at his workshop and it can go there to be cut and welded up! The auto-tragic transmission's a bit clunky sometimes, but then other times it shifts pretty smoothly. I'll do a filter and fluid change on it for now until I obtain the rest of my manual conversion parts! I've already got a set of main, big-end, and thrust washer bearings sitting on a shelf at home, I'm starting to collect parts that are on clearance or are on sale!

I'm doing both of the rear wheel bearings/hubs this weekend and possibly the rear sway bar bushes if I can manage to source some in time. The muffler was also about to fall off with rust so I took a hacksaw to it and did some weight reduction- my god it sounds droney. An exhaust is definitely on my to-do list now. Also looking at the foglights through the bumper it looks like the brackets are held on by hopes and dreams- so much rust!!! I'll do my best to restore what I can without it looking like I've hacked away at it- I'm gutted that they're damaged so badly!


I've got quite big plans for this car so I don't intend to cut any corners to hack anything together without a significant reason behind it. The motors running quite healthy but I'll be doing a full service and clean up of it soon. It seems to have a nasty leak behind the lower timing case cover- but we just keep it topped up!

Ill be back in a few days with more photos and updates!

[Oldblueaccord]

Being in the USA I am surprised it had that amount of rust. Is it because of the ocean? Sorry if thats a dumb question.

[Eternal3Gee]

Yes! it's been around the ocean its whole life in NZ, not sure about its history in Japan. It is kind of impossible to distance yourself from the ocean in New Zealand unless you're in the middle of the north island! They rust quite badly here- at least in my experience... I also think it sat in someone's front yard for an extended amount of time due to a previous owner having it for "17 years". I also forgot to state the mileage in my original post, it's at 158,000kms or 98,000 miles!

[ShiRen]

Cars definitely rust in Japan, I assumed it was the same in NZ. Only Aus is really safe from it

[conozo]

Glad to see your fixing it up. Please post pics of the process.

[Eternal3Gee]

Hello Shiren and Conozo! More names I’ve seen everywhere! I feel like I’ve just walked into a room of 3gee gods hahahaha.

Just walked in the door from work so thought I’d post a couple pics of what I’m doing at the moment. I’ve had to put it on hold to help my flat mate do a head swap on his H22 in his CL1 EuroR- but I will be back in motion as soon as that’s done! I’ve got two brand new rear hubs and bearings that I picked up yesterday on clearance from my local parts shop! Will be throwing them in next week after work if I have the patience after dealing with knobheads all day.

As for now- I’m retiring her back to the garage after a couple weeks of daily action. I feel like I’ve got a good grip of what needs to be done to her now so I’m happy to start dailying the Daihatsu again!

Will keep you guys updated. Thanks for tuning in- it makes me even more motivated.




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[GreyACR]

Hello Shiren and Conozo! More names I’ve seen everywhere! I feel like I’ve just walked into a room of 3gee gods hahahaha.

Just walked in the door from work so thought I’d post a couple pics of what I’m doing at the moment. I’ve had to put it on hold to help my flat mate do a head swap on his H22 in his CL1 EuroR- but I will be back in motion as soon as that’s done! I’ve got two brand new rear hubs and bearings that I picked up yesterday on clearance from my local parts shop! Will be throwing them in next week after work if I have the patience after dealing with knobheads all day.

As for now- I’m retiring her back to the garage after a couple weeks of daily action. I feel like I’ve got a good grip of what needs to be done to her now so I’m happy to start dailying the Daihatsu again!

Will keep you guys updated. Thanks for tuning in- it makes me even more motivated.




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That looks great, man

[Eternal3Gee]

Howdy all,

Happy new year, I'm ready for 2025!

It's been about a month, so I thought I'd share an update on the things I have completed and what I have uncovered.

Completed:

- Battery relocation to the boot.
- A full heat shield mockup was made, and will soon be made out of a spare speed limit sign I have lying about. xD
- x2 12" subwoofers lined up.
- Restored wiper arms to gloss black.


Uncovered:

- Small rust hole in the corner of the engine bay on the firewall that goes into the window wiper cowling area.
- Smallish, penny-sized hole under the lower right side of the boot seal.
- A fiberglass bog composite crack mix covered a hole on the c pillar against the rear window.
- Some previous cut and welds were done in the back right of the roof.

Honestly. It's in better condition than my last accord so I'm not complaining.

I'm just waiting to save a bit more money, then I'll get the windows pulled and get all the holes patched up by my panel-beater friend. It'll be returned fixed and primed, ready for paint- then I'll give it to my painter mate who will finish 'er off! I want to acquire a few pieces to make up my kit for the car. I'll be running a 3g prelude front bumper for sure, but am unsure if I want the Falcon XR6 Sideskirts again. Will see how it comes out with some paint and decide further then. Pretty boring stuff here so far- just bodywork and saving for bits in the background before I can start to enjoy it a little bit!

See you soon!

[Eternal3Gee]

Argh took it out for a drive yesterday and was tinkering with things, noticed another big patch of rust in the boot, started brushing away the flaky metal and it opened up a small hole to the rear r/h 1/4 panel. Atleast its accessible! Ive found a 2nd gen prelude parts car for cheap that I'm considering picking up as its near a part I need anyway. Just juggling up my money. So many things to buy and not enough income xD

[Eternal3Gee]

Update!

I'll upload the photos later but I had a small accident in the SI... I smacked my boot lid right into my mate's Hilux. Of course, the Hilux doesn't even have a scratch and my bootlid is crumpled! I have a solution though so this is no stress! I have semi-obtained a second sedan to have in my current fleet. I know the previous owner well and have helped him with his accord over the last few years. (I even found him a crate motor from the 80s with a fresh 0km A20!, thank you, Jared and Haden, if you ever see this!) The motor went in not long ago and has barely 3000kms put down on it and it is believed to have blown a head gasket...I blame the shop that dropped the motor into his car. It's an 8-hour drive from me but I've managed to get it stored at my uncle's house in that city.

[Details on the car: LX, A20A2, manual, sedan, Weber 32/36 swapped, boss kit/steering wheel, aftermarket 15" work equip reps, closed door respray at some stage in its life, blastpipes]

I'm considering flying down with a head gasket and attempting to do it on the road through my Saturday and then drive it back up 8 hours on Sunday... Bit of a risky mission though! More leaning towards hiring a car trailer and towing it back up as I don't want to risk damaging the crate motor. I've managed to source a spare goldtop B20A and a rare B18A M/T bellhousing. I may end up using the LX as a donor for the SI but right now I'll just drive it around and continue saving my money/doing bodywork on the SI.

I also picked up a bare B16A intake manifold to modify for the B20A! I just need IACV, Fuel rail + injectors, Throttle body, and intake piping to finish up my temporary N/A coldside setup.

[Oldblueaccord]

Yes finding a donor car and just making a new one might make sense. Thats a lot of rust to deal with.