Accord Hatchback in UK

[Hirst]

I could do with replacing the "heavy capacity fusible link" on my car, the one on the side of the engine bay in a rectangular little box. Anyone got one, or a part number? I'd like to replace the whole assembly if possible as it is a bit worn.

[79cord]

Don't have an Accord parts book but found a Civic one which listed
98200-64500 FUSE,45A
And looked about right (there's a spot for a spare in the under-dash fuse box too).

It also lists part numbers of
38250-634-008 FUSE BOX.MAIN
38250-634-660 FUSE BOX.MAIN
not sure which one the Accord had.


edit:

Sorry if I misled: I just went & checked & my Accord claims to have a 55A main fuse...
My Prelude parts book providing:
98200-65500 FUSE G, (55A)

[Hirst]

That is utterly brilliant info - with that parts number I played "Internet detective" and found that said 55A fuse is used in all sorts of Honda machinery (including lawnmowers, boats and bikes). I then fired the parts number into the site of an independent Honda bike specialist who has a load in stock for mere pennies! Going to order a few later so I've got some spare, seems like a fairly intelligent thing to do with them being so cheap.

So in conclusion, many thanks! It has saved me a visit to the dealer, which is my worst nightmare - strolling into a glass-walled palace of cars and asking for a part for some defunct, nearly 30 year old car is a risky business. They always look so unhappy with me.

I probably won't be able to do much on the car over the next few weeks, but it's nice to know that the foundations are there. Even with slightly binding brakes and a blowing exhaust/muffler it drove so well, I really can't wait to see what it is like in good running order, freshly serviced, etc.

[79cord]

Yes Honda motorcycle & even PowerEquipment Parts can be far easier to get & sometimes be shared with cars... like honda life/360 piston rings....

[Hirst]

Any common faults on these Accords with regards to the doors?

Mine has some difficulty on both sides, you really have to slam them with quite some force to get them all the way shut. I've greased up the hinges and that hasn't really done anything, other than stop them being "stiff" in operation. The doors don't appear to be sagging but the strikers seem OK too, wondering whether it's the actual thing inside the door.

[2ndGenGuy]

I think you're probably sagging. Mine are beginning to get that way as well. I would first see if you can adjust the striker, and if that doesn't work, start messing with the hinges. Prepare yourself for some serious work though, lining up gaps can be a mega bitch.

[79cord]

Can't say I've come across problems from sagged doors... & UK doors might not have the substantial
(& heavy), additional side-intrusion bars required in many other markets.

One complaint I had was problems with the rubber stopper inside the latch mechanism wearing & causing the door to rattle, which someone might have tried to eliminate by moving the door strikers?

Or maybe that time I had accidentally refitted my door handles with the adjustable rod from the latch to the handle incorrectly adjusted.

[2ndGenGuy]

Hmm yeah I misread this thread. My 81 doesn't have sagging doors, my 84 does though. So my story doesn't apply here I guess.

[Hirst]

Could someone take a close-up picture of their door strikers? Mine seem to have a weird metal "blob" on each like someone has taken it upon themselves to weld onto them or something, doesn't seem very "factory" given the neatness of all the other stuff. The plot thickens.

Anyway, things are moving again, got a nice set of Honda fuses. Also found a place which has a load of old stocks of panels, so I can get a new set of sills at a low price, terrific!

On top of that, found various cheap exhausts/mufflers on eBay - just need to have a close look at mine to compare as 1981 appears to be a cross-over year, the later ones have slightly bigger silencers. Think it is just the front pipe, the back box seems OK.

Do clutches tend to need adjusting on these? On the way back, mine was slipping a tad, though it was manageable on hills and unnoticable on flats. Doesn't seem that bad, so I'm wondering whether it just needs adjusting rather than replacing. Though if I require a new clutch that's not much of a big deal.

Anyway, it would be nice to get boring stuff like that out of the way, then I can start messing around with the killer sound system (stock LW/MW radio) and cruise around like Vanilla Ice. I miss driving it.

[79cord]

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0020_large.jpg
Hope these will do & nothing changed by '81

Note there is a small rubber stopper within the latch behind its 'claw' that I mentioned earlier

[Hirst]

Cheers for the pics, mine have definitely been tinkered with. I suppose the best approach would be to get rid of the tack-weld or whatever it is on mine (both sides!) and see what happens without - probably rattling like you say. Hopefully a new rubber or whatever will cure it properly and then I won't have to bang the doors shut at 2am and wake the entire street up.

[Hirst]

Replaced that fuse at last, was a bit dicey because the screws were getting rusty. Had to do it with a really big screwdriver and take it easy. As an incredibly unexpected side-effect, the radio now works! Make of that what you will. It's a stock tinny mono thing, but given the sort of cars I drive around in, I feel lucky to have a radio at all - let alone one that has both LW and MW bands.

To celebrate, I ran it for a bit and did a brief video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lcQqZc3Gd4

The exhaust has a bit of a hole, hence the slightly raw sound. Will replace that at some point soon.

[Daddy]

Nice find man! i love it

[speedpenguin]

You have a lot of interesting cars, sir. It's nice to have one more project to subscribe to.

[79cord]

Spotted this thread on the 1st gen Civic forum & thought it might apply to your door problem.
http://www.1stgencivic.org/world/c1z...pic.php?t=9877
(might need to sign up to see posted pictures)

And I meant to say how you missed out on the more unusual (if noisy) 'period' leaf-style digital clock. I gather it might have been an upper-spec clock in some markets though I think Australia got them standard after '77.
Glad the radio's OK too... they are an oddly shallow size.

And I played around adjusting my clutch for a while & managed to hold on to it for about a year in a flat area (driving it more on revs than torque since brother couldn't drive it cleanly with habits from his horrible but slightly torquey '79 Toyota Corona 2l), before slippage became absurd @ 252,000 km.

[Hirst]

That's excellent, I'll save that and keep it handy. Even has part numbers!

Yeah, I like those weird flip clocks. Seems like the UK didn't get them. As far as I know there were two specifications of Accord here - there was an "Executive" version which had electric windows and a few other bits, maybe that got one of those clocks, not sure. Only ever seen 4-door Executives though.

Anyway, I was having a bit of a play with it yesterday and took it for a drive round the yard, what a superb bit of kit. Hasn't left a spot of oil anywhere which is pretty impressive for something under my ownership. I also discovered the button which checks the tailgate/brake/door lights in the dashboard. I hadn't even noticed that until now - very classy.

Will be ordering parts in come payday.

[2ndGenGuy]

Here's those door silencers. I see them on eBay all the time when doing searches for parts:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda...Q5fAccessories

[fogged]

Nice collection of old cars. Welcome.........

[ESDEEZ]

Hey. Nice to see another uk old honda owner. Nice car. Infact nice collection of cars, its so hard to find somone in the uk with a love for these cars while the government hates all cars older than 10 years.

Keep up the good work.

[A18A]

yup cool cars, old ones are so win

[Hirst]

Here's those door silencers. I see them on eBay all the time when doing searches for parts

I'll do you a favour and get rid of them, thanks!

Thanks for the comments also, the UK is a strange place when it comes to ordinary old cars. A combination of disinterest and snobbery has pushed most old cars into the ground - no one really has to drive anything older than about 10 years old, so most don't. In addition, a lot of people assume that an old car is going to be expensive/unreliable to run, which is certainly not the case for me!

As a result, things like old Accords don't tend to be around now. I'm told mine is one of 16 first-generation models left here, if anything that might be optimistic. I'm not massively worried about the first generation Accord going extinct though - they're a striking-looking car so there'll definitely be some enthusiastic owners amongst that bunch. I'm more concerned about bland stuff like the Quintet, they could all be dead now. Hope not.

[GraniteLXI]

and nice clean 1gee you got there. Must be quite interesting knowing you have 1 of 16 of the first generation accords where your at.

[Hirst]

Thanks, yeah, it's a bit of an odd situation. Most of my stuff would have those sorts of survival figures I think. Found out in a classic car magazine yesterday that there are 40-odd Quintets left, bit of an unexpected surprise. Would love one of those - MK1 Accord mechanicals in a slightly ungainly chassis, sounds great to me!

Anyhow - got those door silencers, will get round to fitting them at some point. Got other cars to do at the moment so Mr Accord can just chill out with his obscure buddies.

[79cord]

Found out in a classic car magazine yesterday that there are 40-odd Quintets left, bit of an unexpected surprise. Would love one of those - MK1 Accord mechanicals in a slightly ungainly chassis, sounds great to me!
.

Ha! Sounds like the Quintet had the last laugh there!

Australia only got the Quintet from '83 since Honda Australia didn't think them worth the bother...& then we got them badged as Rovers since Jaguar-Rover Australia couldn't get any Maestro's made for them!
By then the local media didn't think they were as good as the 2nd gen Accord since like the 1st Prelude were still based upon the 2nd gen Civic sedan (& Triumph Acclaim) floorpan.

I guess they are that bit newer though having staggered along into '85 until the Integra came out, giving them a longer lifespan & making them the last model to use the EK/EL engines.

I recently bought some driveshafts from one thinking they would have adopted the new driveshaft spline pattern the Prelude got for '81 & the Accord in '82.... but no they still retained the early Accord design! (guess that makes them good for 4x100 conversion parts)

[Hirst]

Just a quick update, not a lot happening on this at the moment, though I'm driving it around on private land every so often to keep it in good order.

I really like this car!