lost love found!

[LXi88Dave]

hi there,

happy to find the 3geez community!!

last friday, just bought a 1-owner 1988 LXi 4D in maroon/burgundy from an 84 yo little old lady in mint condition with 88,000 miles... it's a GEM to find the rare garage-kept proverbial grandma's grocery getter... i have all records, even her original purchase contract. no dents (couple door dings), interior like new, original paint in excellent condition... engine fires up like new... time warp!!

but, it needs about $1800 in basic work to refresh since she only drove it 5000 miles in the last 3 years... suspension work (control arms, tie rods, etc), a/c recharge, new rotors/brakes, minor service, power steering flush, transmission flush, new tires, 4 wheel balance/rotation, etc.

this car is an unrequited love thing for me... i bought one brand new in 1988 (i'm an old fart), which was a black lxi 4d with add-ons of 15" momo 5 stars and a bossani dual tip muffler from jackson racing... after a year of great times in her and even surviving the great san francisco earthquake of '89 in it, i let my younger brother borrow one day... AND that was the last i ever saw of her... he wrecked it on the freeway when some racers cut him off... i'm so happy to relive 1989!! i love it more than my 09 328ias and my 05 cayenne turbo... i enjoy it more than 05 carrera c4s cabriolet (which i sold)...

i want to keep it bone stock old school original... but i'm sure i will be lightly modding/upgrading it soon with only parts that can be unbolted. things i want to do:

- 15" rims (maybe 16 or 17) in bbs lm style
- lowering springs (or fully threaded coil-overs)
- full or partial bra
- dual tip 3" round muffler (megan racing or magna flow, or ??)
- ventashades
- new radio with pop-out 6-7" touchscreen lcd (original cassette honda radio still there!)
- kill switch

engine will remain stock.. hope it lasts 300,000-500,000 miles..

ok, have a great day!!

dave

[2oodoor]

wow! welcome
it sounds like you have good taste in class cars.
15 inch wheels are a must for sure.

[87roach]

Welcome!

That sounds like a great plan you have for the can, it's great you enjoy it so much.

[Tomisimo]

Wow, nice find indeed.

Welcome on here.

One thing though, I'm not so sure about touch screen if you want to keep it as stock as possible, rather modify what you cant see, like coilovers, internals stuff like that.

[LXi88Dave]

thanks for the advice and voting!! will keep u guyz updated... but first, gotta spend the $$ to get to like a safe and road worthy condition before the goodies go on..

[Hash_man_Se_i]

Haha thats awesome. I love hearing stories like these, it helps me in thinking that I am not utterly crazy for dropping on of the time and money I have into my Accord too.

Congrats on the find, I'd say go for it and throw some mods on it. How many miles are on the car right now?

As for suspension, how low do you want the car? If getting it really low isn't a concern, I would have some bilsteins revalved and go with some H&R springs or something similar. If you want to go really low, then go with coils. Then get some Suspension Techniques sway bars, do a 4 wheel disc conversion, and have some fun.

[MessyHonda]

another bay area member? my mom bought a 1988dx accord and it also survived the earthquake. sounds like your got a nice car and reminds me of when i first got my car i was 18 now im 24 and i still own it. I want to keep the car running for as long as i can. these were sweet machines back in the day. with the correct suspension these cars can handle the twisties.

[LXi88Dave]

@messy, maybe i was racing ur mom on the i-5 back in the day.. anyway, my buddies n i were flying back to bay area when a green dx 2d w/3 girls started to chase us.. we let them catch up, then we took off pegging 130mph.. i was shocked to see the dx still on my tail!! everyone in both cars were laughing our heads off.. now that i think about, we were pretty stupid when we were young...

@all, ive seen lowering springs available with a 2.25" drop and i think that would be about perfect. currently, top of tire to fender well is 2.75". so, i should get revalved bilsteins? what valve setting? how about tokico or konis? i hate to be all bouncy.. im good with a firm ride (porsche n bmw guy here)..

[ghettogeddy]

well as soon as the site will let you post up some pics we would love to see them.. also glad to see another bay area member

[charliekuney]

rather modify what you cant see, like coilovers, internals stuff like that.

You can't see a car being lowered?

[obdriver6]

Welcome form Las Vegas! Love the story too. If you ask me, I think every 3g accord should be lowered at least 1.5" lol but if you want to lower it by 2.25" I would recommend revalved bisteins, tokicos aren't stiff enough for a that drop and konis are no longer made. You can also buy full body coilovers (Ksport or D2). As for the wheels, 15" are good but 16" would look better IMO.

[LXi88Dave]

U guys are awesome! Love reading ur builds n seeing ur cars! And really appreciate ur suggestions! Hope to post before n after pix soon.

Going for BILSTEINS!!!
Model no.?
Vendor?
REVALVE setting?

[obdriver6]

I don't know the specific model # but if you look around the suspension sec. you'll find it. Once you buy them, you have to send them to bilstein to get them revalved depending on the springs you choose.

[LXi88Dave]

@obd - I went w h&r set up n tokicos. $$ is an issue n the bilsteins are too much for me now.. Hoping the lighter spring rate of the h&r will work good w toks..

@ghetto - Tried to upload pix last week, but cudnt figure it out... :/ nice to see another 3G in the bay area

Update:
15" rims n tires (drag dr44 + ziex912) -installed 2 weeks ago
Kill switch - installed
Se-i center armrest console - recvd but not installed yet
Magnaflow 14816 - installed today
Le Bra - in transit
H&R lowering springs + Tokicos - in transit

Basic service:
Motor mounts - to be done
Valve adjustment - to be done

Seeking:
Se-i cup holders

Debating:
Limo Tint
Top Hat mod - depends if I don't like the ride after lowering
ST sway bars
Se-i rear disc conversion

[LXi88Dave]

Pix to share... so far..

Week 1 Side Shot


Week 1 Interior


Week 1 Engine Shot


Week 2 New Rims + Tires (Drag DR44 15x7 +40 & Falken Ziex912 195/50 - should of got 195/55s)


Week 3 Cutting Out Old Single Pipe


Week 3 Magnaflow 14816

[LXi88Dave]

for some reason, the pix of the recent LXi didn't upload.. here it is, BEFORE, it gets dropped 1.5"



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[derolph]

That car is gorgeous! And, you seem to have a good plan for it. Personally, I don't care much for the lowered look but I'm probably a bit old fashioned on that point. Also, my perspective is based on Ohio winters. We do sometimes have snow deep enough that a lowered vehicle is more prone to dragging over the snow.

[HelenKellerrr]

Welcome! How cold is the air when the ac runs? Cause I have a 89 lxi that runs ice cold after running for a little, but it is due for a recharge, but I don't feel like spending 50 bucks a can to recharge it.

Moar interior pics please!


Also, your lxi could use some rear oem mud flaps

[LXi88Dave]

@derolph - thanks! we don't get any snow here in the sf bay area, but we have deep pot holes everywhere tho.. the gap is about 2.75".. a 1.5" drop would be bring the gap to about 1.25".. that's similar to my BMW with the sport suspension package... i'm not going to drop it too much.. i want to make all the mods seem factory...

@helenkellerrr - thanks! hmm.. i didn't even notice the missing mud flaps.. cool.. i'm going to hunt ebay, cl, etc now.. the a/c runs very cold.. brrr cold. oh, i found out that the past owner changed to a newer Sanden compressor, which uses the newer and less expensive refrigerant.. ok, i will work on more interior pix... actually, planning to detail and shampoo the interior tomorrow morning... the think about the a/c is that it needs to be run as often as possible, otherwise the seals will become brittle and leaks and not hold a charge for very long... at least, that's what the mech said..

[A18A]

awesome, car looks really good with those wheels. and yay for going for a decent drop instead of completely dropping the car on its ass

[LXi88Dave]

Awesome ride too a18a!! Love the 5 stars, the front lip, amber fog lamps!! I wanted to recreate my old lxi, but old school momo 5 stars are just so hard to fond...

[HelenKellerrr]

I have a set if your interested.

[LXi88Dave]

yes, i'm interested

[HelenKellerrr]

pm me an offer

[defiance]

This is a great thread ! Keep up the good work ! Hold on to the A20 for as long as you can. It may not have tons of High end horsepower but it does have some low end torque !
Gas mileage may not be the best for a Honda 4 cylinder but its strong and reliable !