Another 1st gen Accord: 1977

[79cord]

Yikes!!!
I now have another 1st gen Accord on my driveway!
And for the first time it's not a '79, but a March '77 complianced model; possibly amongst the first to get out here since the car magazines were still publishing their first local roadtests at the time.
Previously I've always tried to stick with my '79's just to avoid chaos with the multitude of changes Honda made & stick with the EL drivetrain where earlier models had EF or EG drivetrains.
But it was advertised through the local Honda club and curiosity meant I at least HAD to investigate. I'm still not sure whether I bought it or was given it, since its previous owners have had it since 1982 and mostly just wanted to see it go to a good home. So while they weren't really interested in money I feel a little guilty for only giving them $150 since I REALLY don't need another car needing care & should be looking for a new job for the first time in 12 years since my workplace is closing down at the end of the month.
Its a white 5-speed hatch with factory A/C that's covered 268,000km over its 32 years, the owners just getting the clutch done (by a dealer) 2 years ago & having had a changeover rebuilt engine fitted 80,000 km ago! There's minor rust re-appearing on the rear corners of the doors & front fenders where some filler has been tried previously & some more suspicious repairs to check-out on the rear 1/4 behind the left door ( they filled in the side trim holes?), but overall its nice & straight bar door-dings, minor bumper wobbles & dodgey paint and goes and stops nicely but for steering to the left. Though it will still no doubt need a little time & effort to get it properly roadworthy.
I'm still spotting the HUNDREDS of tiny differences between it & my '79, at least as much or more than my car would have to an '81 model. From its blanked clock aperture, chrome alloy window-winders, chrome rear seat release, different ventilation controls, "clock" surround trim, AM only radio, minor switches, seatbelts, handbrake linkage, engine, g/box, rear suspension, front panels, grille, grille trims. Even the slider for the door locks is a slightly different shape!
Pictures will follow eventually but I'm excited even if a friend is already wanting to buy it until he gets his other car sorted out or replaced.

[2ndGenGuy]

Cool man! Can't wait to see pics. Don't feel bad about the $150. The car is in a good place! Can't wait to see all the little differences on the early ones. Never seen one older than a 79 out this way. And that was the one I got all the good parts out of before it went to the crusher.

[Hazwan]

Sounds like a deal! Pics!!!!

[79cord]

I thought it important to get a shot of the last owners; they had had it since 1982. But the husband ducked at the wrong time. And their "new" Honda, the husband admitting it wasn't as nice to drive in some ways; probably lacks the Accords torque.


Paints a little scruffy at first glance but has been given lots of attention over the years, albeit of a more practical than perfectionist nature.


As usual dash has cracked in the sun, & drivers seat is coming apart at the seams.
What do you expect after 32years & 268,000km?



An unexpected bonus; the fairly rare accessory roof console with spot lights.
Should I fit it?
It might be a smaller Civic console though ...?
Would seem a little odd with the car not having the AM/FM radio, Digital clock, Tinted windows, Luggage cover, Wheel trim-rings that were standard here by '78.. Yet it has the $700 A/C (car would have cost $6000 & or a Civic around $4000) & full mudflaps!

Definitely an unusual Deal!

They mentioned "restoration or parts" & "$50" to a friend who wanted an early Accord 5-speed for his Civic... He proposed I have the rest before we went to see it!
Obviously it deserves better than that!

I wanted to give more than the $150 I had at the time, they agreed on $100, I gave them $150 anyway but still would have liked to give more.... but where do you stop?

Glad I had polished up my Accord, replaced most of its trim & rear bumper a few months ago so it looked respectable as I parked it behind theirs when we went to investigate!

[carotman]

This is a nice find indeed!

[Hazwan]

Nice. I want the roof console!

[2ndGenGuy]

Dude, that thing is clean. It's a 5-speed even! You've gotta love that. Pretty wild that it has A/C and a clock delete. You wouldn't think that the clock would be all that expensive. But that blankout plate is probably a rare piece in itself.

Man those early ones are the best looking. The recessed headlights, and the short bumper ends look so clean. Plus the taillights are so much more stylish looking than the later 81 lights. You guys with your non-US bumpers that are not huge, that look so good, and the smaller markerlights on the front fenders look great as well. And I dig the lights that are in-bumper as opposed to our lights that hang underneath.

Nice find on that car, and I wish you good luck with it. Should be fun, probably already is fun considering that it's one of the oldest, rarer 1g Accords, and it runs and drives!

Also, looks like somebody stole the H. That's how you know it's a Honda! What's the point in having a Honda if you can't show it off?

[Hirst]

Now all you need is a Hyundai Excel/Pony to steal a "H" badge off, they're quite ungainly and unremarkable so I'm surprised I don't have one.

Anyway nice find, looks superb in white! What does the sticker say next to the window winder?

[Civic Accord Honda]

thats fresh bro

[79cord]

Anyway nice find, looks superb in white! What does the sticker say next to the window winder?

Up untill '80 Honda was printing the recomended tire inflation chart on the drivers door trim!

So I have some '81 door trims I'll be putting in my '79 eventually.
Note the passenger door of '77 doesn't have an ashtray in it either -also standard by '78!

No doubt I'll have a bonnet trim somewhere.. since normally It would be one piece of trim I'd remove..

Probably better to keep the '77 original though.

Not really a fan of white myself... surprised it has beige interior. Blue was Far more common with white.... at least after '78.

[redr2]

That is an Accord roof console, the Civics was much shorter

[79cord]

Yes I held the roof console up to the Accords roof & it looks about right to mount from the mirror & interior light mountings & wiring.. & it has all the mounting hardware required so I guess I've no excuse but to fit it up & see how I like it (black might contrast a bit against white headlining & beige interior). I guess that deserves its own thread.

Already discovered rearlights/wiring/earths need some attention since they're all out.
Frt indicator/park lamp globe mounting plastic has dissolved from the sun...

Surprisingly engine noise much louder than mine (less sound deadening on firewall?)
G/shift linkage much crisper/notchier so I guess it hasn't been abused/worn quite as much as mine.
Should have said A/C was actually fitted locally by Honda Australia when new from the nippondenso kit provided by Honda, as opposed to more common dealer fittment.
Oh and the windscreen is the original Asahi glass too!

[tomatofiasco]

yeah a 77! mines a 77 and it is kinda loud compared to other old cars i've been in. it also had the blanked clock and the AC on the ashtray, but no actual AC. and the window winders are pimp arent they?

hey man, if you really find you dont have room or the time for it, i will seriously honestly 100% buy it from you for a substantial markup, and ship it / drive it down here to tassie. i have garage space and every time i think of what car i might have next, i always come around to "another accord of course"

[79cord]

Investigating the new toy.

Here's a comparison picture between my '79 (beige) and the '77 (white) to give an indication on their differences.

Most people think they will be just the same since the '79 models didn't have the longer bumper-end caps, thicker trim moldings, horizontally striped tail-lights & simpler badging of the '80 & '81 models. But the truth is the '79s have more in common with them than the '77-8 models.

Note:

The recessed headlights and curved grille of the '77, without the horizontal central grille bar & painted rather than die-cast & chromed central grille surround.

The protruding lip around the lower grille opening of the 1979 front valance, it should also have a small 1" plastic air-dam beneath broken from my car. 1978 model valances incorporated a pressed-in air-dam shape while earlier models were smooth.

The smoothly blended lower front edge of the wheel-arch of the '77, where '79 & later models wheel-arch continued to protrude from the surrounding metal all the way down. & note how much higher and rounder the upper middle peak of the '79 wheel-arch is compared to that of the '77. ( I hadn't noticed that last bit before!)

Ignore my '79's custom wheels & removed badges, side-trim & side indicators which originally were exactly the same.

Underneath the changes were even more extensive with a new engine, gearbox, electronic ignition, wiring, longer rear suspension A-arms, new rear struts with revised mountings & angled spring mountings, new hand-brake cable arrangements & revised evaporative emissions. Not even the fuel door is interchangeable.

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After a few tries the speedo cable is now properly connected into the gearbox.

The body looks pretty good though it's nowhere near pristine, there's evidence of previously repaired rust re-appearing on the top & bottom rear edges of the front fenders & the lower rear of the doors. & the rubber roof ditch moldings had been removed to attack rust in those areas, so the car hadn't been neglected & problem areas had never gotten out of control.


Unfortunately the plastic backing of one of my bumper indicators has disintegrated from exposure to sunlight - crumbling to dust. I thought I had a spare but found it was from an '81 Accord. Naturally Honda had revised their plug connectors by then!

Guess I better paint all these parts before I refit them to protect them from the sun!
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The windscreen wiper pivots were also badly worn leaving the wiper arms wobbling about loudly, especially the middle one, a common problem. By '81 Honda was using metal rather than plastic pivot bushes, though even they aren't immune if not lubricated. So I removed the wiper assemblies & dis-assembled the pivots (21mm socket good for pushing the plastic retaining clips in evenly). Filling the worn plastic pivot bushes with a metal-filled epoxy before re-drilling their holes oversize to allow for a thin sheet of polyethylene as a bearing surface against the wiper pivot shaft -which was also surface rusted & required some clean-up before everything was thoroughly greased & re-assembled.

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With the wiper motor out I also had a good prod around the metal of the plenum area. Honda placed a bituminous pad over this area as a sound-deadener which sometimes doesn't adhere closely to every bump in the surface.. trapping water beneath for rust to develop. Unfortunately I found some rust so chipped the pad away to reveal a few holes...

Bigger once I'd removed the more perforated metal in preparation for a patch to be welded in. Though I don't want to remove the heater if I can avoid it! Glad I caught it early!


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I already knew the front fenders would need some attention -a common problem since Honda never fitted full plastic wheel-house liners to protect the area until '81. & the bonnet needed re-aligning.

So strip time!


Which thankfully didn't reveal any big surprises, some heavy rust pitting of the small weld-ledges of the cowl panel under the top-rear of the fenders had been filled previously -which could potentially crack & allow more rust so this was removed for welding smoothing & the use of a more flexible filler.

Some minor dents in the lower front valance were easily tapped out, and the small panel between the bumper & grille was also found to be quite rusty beneath it's covering trim & has been replaced before... guess I'll be using some filler & lots of paint there.

[Hazwan]

Holy crap I didn't know the fenders are different! And all that minor changes thats barely noticeable to most person. Nice work there, as always!

[79cord]

Makes my '79 look like a 4WD by comparison doesn't it!
Don't think the front ride height is much different!
Also makes my front overhang look smaller.
80-81 had the same panels as '79 except for the bumper end-cap mounting holes.

Funny how many early models you will see with a later fender fitted on one side once you know what to look for... & two of my '79's came with the recessed headlight mountings fitted on one side from careless repairers!

[lostforawhile]

somewhere around here i have a set of those window winders let me know if you ever need them i'm sure they are off of that accord,look identical too

[2ndGenGuy]

Nice compare and contrast write up! I never did notice the larger wheel arch on the later models. That's pretty interesting, I wonder what the thought was behind doing that? Did they fit wider tires from the factory later on?

I do love the recessed headlights too. Pretty rare to see a 76 or 77 model around here. Funny how many 81s you see though.

[SZfiftyfour]

To me the 1g looks better with recessed rather than flush headlights. Its kind of like a baby 69 challenger lol. Wonder if they changed it just for styling or more for aerodynamics/fuel savings.

[Ichiban]

Very cool. Im sure that most people would have missed the front fender changes, but now that you mention it, you should throw a transfer case and locking hubs into your '79!

I parked my '81 next to my buddys '71 challenger, and we both drank beer and discussed the similarities in the front ends.

[SZfiftyfour]

^ yup, your right, thats the model/yrs i was thinking of. Did they even make a 69 callenger? lol

[Hazwan]

Chargers :drool:

And yeah I love the recessed grill better.

[79cord]

Must admit I've thought about recessing a '79 grille with my excess recessed headlight buckets (which could go back even further with custom mounting plates), if I ever get around to doing a 'proper' custom Accord. Since I always thought the tunneled '77 headlights looked a little bizarre. Clearing the bonnet hinges & remounting it the biggest obstacles.
And I now want to see a metallic blue hatch done with a colour-matched metallic blue interior (or contrasting white) for true '60's-70's American fashion.
& must get around to making a deeper replacement chin air-dam for my '79.

[Ichiban]

I've been tossing around the idea of concocting a recessed aluminum beehive grille for my '82. As well as aluminum strut tower bars, body brace bars, and all sorts of other shit.

[2ndGenGuy]

I've been tossing around the idea of concocting a recessed aluminum beehive grille for my '82. As well as aluminum strut tower bars, body brace bars, and all sorts of other shit.

Do it!!!