Howdy, I'm new to the forums and don't have enough posts to put up pictures right now, I think. But they will come in a bit.
I picked up a '79 hatchback with beige exterior and beige/brown interior that needs a decent bit of work done to it after its 160k miles on the road. It's the base model, so no power steering or A/C, exactly what I want. I retrieved it in a city 500 miles away - I drove out there in a Subaru and planned on driving it back because it was advertised as being in running condition. When I got there I learned it had a few problems but nothing terribly serious for its age - the hinge pins in the lower door hinges were completely ovalled and you had to lift the doors to shut them, the hood latch seized up so they pulled it off and stuck locks/latches like you would see on a farm shed to hold the hood down, the radiator had a small leak, the carb ran pretty lean when warm, and on and on. The top seam of the radiator was entirely packed with JB weld - the previous owner's response to a 2 foot long crack.
It was an interesting 500 mile trip back home. I have to say this car is the smoothest I have ever been in on the interstate - even if you tried to focus on them you couldn't detect any shakes, rattles, pulls, etc. After about 400 miles the carb of smooth sailing started running leaner and leaner, making the engine run hotter and the radiator leak grow bigger. It was going to blow at any moment, and the temperature was approaching the high side of the dashboard gauge. I live at 7,300ft altitude, and this car still had another 2,000ft to climb, to make things worse.
After hours of stopping to let it cool down every so often, I stopped for gas and the lean condition combined with a huge exhaust leak on the manifold caused the loudest backfire I've ever heard. Luckily I have AAA, so I pushed it into a parking space and waited to get towed the remaining 60 miles to home. I also found the engine to be liberally soaked in antifreeze.
It was a fun trip.
So now it's back home and properly registered, and I've been working on it the past few weeks. I found out the engine only gets about 90psi in each cylinder because the exhaust valves are shot, so I'm in the middle of rebuilding it with parts from RockAuto. The parts are so cheap for this car, I ordered about 40 different things easily - piston rings, valve seats, plug wires, pipes, filters, etc. . Man, I haven't been excited about a package coming in the mail since I was a little kid.
I have a small list of parts I need for the car that I can't find because there is only one 1g accord in a junkyard for at least 600 miles around, and it's been completely picked over. Let me know if you have any of these things lying around, because I'm not sure where else I can get them.
- Chrome headlight bezels and the little chrome strip that goes underneath the grille
- Rear washer nozzle
- Left side rocker panel (the only rust patch on the car!)
- Left side door panel (beige)
- The door panel-type analog that goes on the side of the backseat
- Rear carpet (beige)
- Hatchback interior light cover
- Right side front turn signal lens
- Wheel trim rings
There's definitely more, that's just on the top of my head right now.
Thanks for reading, I'll show off the car's current condition tomorrow. I keep meaning to take "before" pictures ! :P
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