What am I getting into?
I'm pretty savvy with automotive mechanicals having gone to school for it for four years and worked on my daily driven '73 Datsun Z for the last 11. I'm not very capable with regard to body work or welding/fabricating.
I haven't seen these middle-aged Hondas in person very often, but having found one on Craigslist recently I'm drawn to it and want to have a closer look. I'm a fan of older Japanese cars and wanted to find something I could appreciate before everyone else does and the Manga starts coming out and it becomes the next coveted drift car and the price shoots through the roof. I perused the first 6 pages of this forum all the way back to posts initiated in 2010 and, with that being said, hoped I could start this thread without being flamed for not exhausting the search function.
I understand there is a difference from 2nd generation vehicles to 2.5 generation examples. I'm also aware that the '82 and '83 are 2nd gens and not 2.5 gens. From this I recognize there aren't many options for upgrades and engine swaps. And that's okay. My Z does horribly in the snow, and I haven't had much opportunity to do the long term repairs/restomods because it has been my daily for the last 11 years. So I'm looking for a daily driver and snow capable alternative in this Accord if I end up getting it. I'm not looking to restomod it as much as return it to a stock, driveable, and reliable condition. I've also loved the compound vortex controlled combustion engines since I first read about them back in school over 8 years ago. And carbs aren't scary; all those vacuum hoses kinda are though.
I want to know what the trouble spots are for these vehicles so I know what to look at very closely when I go to see it:
Where do they rust?
What is too much rust?
What are the hard parts to find that I wouldn't want to see broken?
How bad can a rough idle be?
What should the compression be?
In addition to checking compression I was planning to look for symptoms of leaky valve seals and blue smoke in general.
Any manuals available online for the '82/'83 so I can look into trouble shooting the rough idle as well as deciphering the VIN?
Anything else?
Thank you very much. Wish me luck. And I love the resources in this forum.
Bookmarks