1981 Hatch Hunting Vac and Oil Leaks throw in a little paint...

[Dslattz]

So here I go, I picked this 81 up a few months ago. I know have started to tear it down. So far I have removed just about everything I can without cracking open the motor. My findings so far.. Distributor O-rings leak like hell, thermostat was??? Well, check out the picture for the misuse of silicone. Oh and the Snapped head bolt head that plugged up the oil drain... Pulled and replaced. Oh, while waiting for parts to arrive I got bored and painted some of it up. I will post some pics of when I got it and how it has been improved. Also, please forgive me, all I had laying around was some Mopar engine paint from my last project... Close match to the body, hope I haven't sinned too much.. Enjoy, let me know if you need any info or more pics... Constructive criticism is welcome of course..

[carotman]

Yeah, show us some pictures!

[Nafs Asdf]

I think he tried but doesn't have 5 posts yet.

[2ndGenGuy]

So here I go, I picked this 81 up a few months ago. I know have started to tear it down. So far I have removed just about everything I can without cracking open the motor. My findings so far.. Distributor O-rings leak like hell, thermostat was??? Well, check out the picture for the misuse of silicone. Oh and the Snapped head bolt head that plugged up the oil drain... Pulled and replaced. Oh, while waiting for parts to arrive I got bored and painted some of it up. I will post some pics of when I got it and how it has been improved. Also, please forgive me, all I had laying around was some Mopar engine paint from my last project... Close match to the body, hope I haven't sinned too much.. Enjoy, let me know if you need any info or more pics... Constructive criticism is welcome of course..

Can't wait to see pics! Don't worry about the Mopar paint. I just painted the engine in my '81 "Hemi Orange."

We really need to do something about this 5 post thing. Maybe make it 1 post or something, I dunno... Spammers gonna spam.

[Dslattz]

OKay... I posted enough... Here comes the pics.. Sorry for the delay.

[Dslattz]

Here is the thermostat... And it's old Gasket??

I can see now where all that oil came from. I have a lot of good pics from this, let me know if you need a step by step on any of this.

Here is my Mopar blue.. It's a close match I think..

Found a brand new exhaust online, came with the manual.. Score! Had a choice between the stock and a direct fit Manza..

Head of the Head bolt was found clogging up the oil drain. Stud puller and new bolt seemed to do the trick. God bless the Easyout!

This one is to make up for waiting on the photos..

[2ndGenGuy]

Oh wow. Man that is a very nice, clean car you have! The Mopar blue looks great too! Nice score on the exhaust too!

Say that thermostat looks awfully murky. Have you done a compression test yet to be sure you don't have a blown head gasket? Also with the broken head bolt, I would be curious to see if everything held up...

More pics! And can't wait to see it on the road! You'll have to get some videos.

[1GCustomAccord]

The Mopar color fits amazingly well. Great project, we hope to see more pics of this Accord soon!

[Dslattz]

Oh wow. Man that is a very nice, clean car you have! The Mopar blue looks great too! Nice score on the exhaust too!

Say that thermostat looks awfully murky. Have you done a compression test yet to be sure you don't have a blown head gasket? Also with the broken head bolt, I would be curious to see if everything held up...

More pics! And can't wait to see it on the road! You'll have to get some videos.

Compression is really good and even across all four.. Thermostat was a replacement by the previous owner. Installed backwards, and with no gasket. what you see in the picture was his attempt to stop the thermostat housing from leaking. Head Bolt seemed like a freak occurrence. Time will tell but given the compression, lack of leaking, no smoke and just overall "pep" the motor still has; I think opening it up at this time would be unnecessary. Maybe when I feel like doing a full tear-down and rebuild. Maybe a Weber carb will make an appearance at that time..

[Dslattz]

The Mopar color fits amazingly well. Great project, we hope to see more pics of this Accord soon!

Thank you, the car has some cosmetic probs going on. But now that the under the hood stuff is all buttoned up. (pics coming soon) I'm going to start on the wiring and electrical and interior. Then have my friend tap on the the body a bit. I can do body work... however, you can ride the waves in mine. best leave it to someone more capable. Thanks again everyone for the support. And if anyone has any suggestions or tips, please let me know. I'll be posting some more Before and After pictures here in a bit.

[Dslattz]

Okay, here you go. new o-rings installed, painted most everything, new vac lines, anything with a bad diaphram has been replaced, no more pool hose for the air intake.. Oh, I gotta find a pic of that for ya's, pretty funny. And some more photo's of the car in general. Interior is out, carpet was crap. put some patches in the floor. Going to Sand and seal before installing new carpet. Dash is getting a cap. and all the other trim has been removed for access to wires and for paint. Rear seat is fine. Going to just cover the two fronts for now. Question? Where is the wiper relay? Feel stupid asking but it was a stolen vehicle and most of the under dah wires have been cut and re run. I dont even have an key ignition... Two switches..lol. Let me know what ya's think.

[1ajs]

use rust paint then paint ur floor with that rubber coating they paint truck box's with

[79cord]

Nice looking project.
Might be worth noting that I think '81 had significantly revised wiring compared to earlier models which might complicate replacing the wiring. Honda didn't rest on its laurels even for the bodies final year!
On my '79 the relays were in a holder screwed waay up high beneath the dash on the drivers side, looking like old alloy cylindrical flasher cans.