1979 Accord, Prelude, Integra, Z, Civics & CR-X ! & CBR

Yes!! Integra now legally on the road to use & enjoy.
Seems nice enough, flexible elastic 16v engine, (wonder if I can get more induction noise if I remove the resonance tuning plumbing preceding the airbox, or metal intake pipe after it). Torsion bar sprung frt struts, & Beam rear axle not as supple as Accords struts (all round) of course, perhaps even a little more harsh (or loud) than 2g CRX though. Have to love the theatrics of pop-up lights, & as I found while vacuuming it they put more effort towards a flat floor when the seats are folded (with space-saver spare as I have added), so its comfortable & large enough to lie stretched out diagonally in the back. Will it win me over enough to save its naked sibling as well?

White, '77 Accord provided more entertainment this week though. Its intermittent ignition system problem managing to leave me stranded for a few hours to re-access the problem. Early in the week it had re-occurred with ignition dropping out intermittently while driving, before stopping completely, & fiddling with the wires to the condenser & subsequently tightening the screws seemed to fix it, until it occurred again! I considered heat effects since it usually seemed to occur when hot, & the possibly loose distributor shaft bearings, but went back to the condenser wire mounting screw on the distributor. Undoing this screw completely (& accidentally dropping the nut on its other end into the distributor), revealed that it passed through the distributor body to connect to the points, isolated by a perished rubber 'grommet'. So I think that grommet was no longer isolating things properly & allowing the screw/bolt to earth against the distributor body. Pulling the points/condenser wires out of the distributor & connecting them externally finally allowed it to restart & get me home.

I never mentioned this, but after getting the 2nd gen Integra as a future organ donor I unexpectedly got another B18a engine complete with intake/exhaust, starter, alternator, ECU, driveshafts & unwanted automatic for $5! via Ebay, though eagerly gave $50 when delivered! Owner having removed it for a K20 2l conversion.
I still wanted a 3rd gen Integra transaxle for its hydraulic clutch, stronger bearings/syncros(?), & to keep my option open given it also had revised mounting from earlier models. I had spotted one at a self-serve wrecker & this week they advertised 50% off transmissions, so I dragged a friend there to help me remove it, along with associated clutch & flywheel.


So here's the B18A1 engine mated to B18A2 hydraulic transaxle, as viewed from behind. If you look carefully you might notice that the intermediate driveshaft can't properly bolt up to the engine block, it seems the Automatics forced their final drive & driveshafts further rearwards & Honda gave them a unique intermediate shaft mounting rather than simply adding a spacer. Similarly although the earlier Auto starter happily bolts onto the newer transmission its pinion is too short to reach the flywheels ring-gear. So I shall continue to gather parts for this puzzle.

Time for an update I guess.
Bought B18a1 LS 2g integra manual trans LH driveshaft & intermediate driveshaft since they differed from the auto in distance from mounting to block (Wrecker considered them 1 unit) $20, B18a2 3g integra Manual trans Rear mount $15, & Starter $45. Mount is probably stuffed, but I really wanted the Mounting bracket attached to it.

Advertised the B18a1 LS 2g integra Auto transmission for sale (15,000km since rebuilt/replacement by prior owner).


Pondered Retro restyle for the old CT90; not the usual bobbing & chopping about, but relocated tank (probably redo to blend in properly & smooth top) with '30's/40's style floating seat, lower handle bars of course. Though it's pretty rusty.


Gave up trying to properly bleed all the air from the Integra's cooling system causing all the problems with the cold idle controls, & blocked off the latter's air bleed, which stopped my annoying idle problems & proved that that was my problem, though means I no longer have a raised cold idle...

Other foolishness. I pulled out the old '70's-'80's dished SAAS steering wheel again.

Black spokes covered with the '3D' textured dry Carbon effect vinyl wrap for a more sophisticated look, though that looked a bit silly next to the g/stick knob I had bought, so bought some better high gloss clearcoated 'carbon' vinyl that was used upon my Nescafe coffee jar lid horn button (really beautiful & made by maxplus though unfortunately having a blue tint). The button centre was then covered with some more black leather-grained vinyl wrap (someone was importing from Germany & selling on Ebay au.), with Honda's early style "H" cut from it. The rest of the button painted satin black since I didn't fancy my chances covering the whole thing without massive wrinkles & joins. Even as it is one wrinkle keeps re-appearing even after heating & flattening it down. Any ideas for sticking it down properly?
Would have liked to add a thin silver, or perhaps red to match wheels stitching, border around my 'H', but didn't trust my accuracy cutting by hand. Might try painting it afterwards though.
Not liking the '3D' dry vinyl wrap, but not wanting the slight blue tint of the maxplus product, I just bought 3x1.5m of 'gloss' '4D' carbon vinyl wrap advertised cheaply on Ebay to try. Under the wheel in the above picture, it is nice, & better looking than the '3D' textured carbon, though turned out to be more of a satin gloss with much finer fiber weave texture than the '3d' dry stuff textured with tiny curves to give a look of more depth. It certainly doesn't have the near holographic depth of the high gloss Maxplus stuff though which was a little disappointing, so I'm not sure it would withstand the close scrutiny the wheel spokes might get without looking false. Guess it will get a go though.
The new stuff is still well suited for my other ideas though, which is to cover some 2mm Polycarbonate sheet I grabbed from scrap at one workplace. I'm thinking of using it to replace the flat cloth & vinyl covered portions of the door trims, with the normal window-sill, grab handle/armrest & map pocket trims installed over the top to give a lightweight, hi-tech look well matched to the Integra's '80's wedge styling. Extra door trims have already been bought towards this end even if they are suffering from some sun damage. Was also thinking of covering the backs of some black fiberglass race seats as well.

I've also bought some spare Integra front corner lights to play with, the 'reflector' backing piece being of a less UV resistant plastic than the Acrylic lens to such an extent that the lens which had been heat welded to it conveniently broke free without much effort. Though it must be admitted the Acrylic is also starting to display crazing cracks from the UV over the last 25-29 years. These corner lamps functioned only as white park/position light Though in America & Japan had also incorporated side turn indicators under an orange lens. I thought it sensible to add that function to them using orange LED strips and also add in an orange high intensity  ('9w') forward facing LED along side a new LED replacing the old park light bulb. They do generate a bit of heat to disperse through their mountings though so I'll make up a new backing/housing from black painted aluminium sheet. Hopefully they might even be bright enough for me to consider eliminating the front indicator lamps in the bumper.

{yes Integra's roof really is that faded.

I may be about to do something far sillier though... as I've been talking to a lady who had advertised her white Accord hatchback for sale but wanted it to go to an appreciative home. She's had it since new & has done 100,000km in that time but hasn't driven it for a few years now....  I don't think I have a bigger weakness.

Well Integra has had a boost to its likely-hood of survival.
I'd mentioned it's woes amongst the local Honda club & another member offered up a dismantled '88 2g CR-X (4g Civic) ZC/D16A8 he had been intending to rebuild before he had switched to B16A for its bigger aftermarket support. So I snapped it up handing over $100, (hope I didn't step on someone else's toes who had just bought a $300 non-running CRX).
This included the later intake & 'OBD0' computers (one chipped!) for the electronic advance distributor where our Integra only came equipped with Vacuum advance, supposedly good for another 2hp ? Though this engine didn't come with the appropriate distributor.. rather scarce here since it was only offered here in the CRX...
Then I spotted a '93 5g Civic at the local wreckers with the yet newer variant of the engine series 'OBD1' so grabbed its distributor & engine computer in hopes all the bits could fit together, though wiring will be interesting.
Not sure yet what might be the best combination of bits & whether I should be getting more from that '93 engine.

Various silly purchases I was tempted by recently:
Adjustable cam pulleys for the ZC/D16A1/3 of early CR-X & Integra @ $30
'86 Accord A20 injected 2l sohc 12v & transmission for $80... at the very least might provide a cruisier 5-gear for Integra
'77 Civic wood steering wheel

This being quite a rare find here having never been offered locally, this one having been bought from the USA by a Civic fan. I couldn't resist.
Does need refinishing though.

Obviously I wouldn't have handed over much money unless I thought it was fundamentally sound, though am taking a leap of faith since it isn't running and after 35 years, with the last few unused I am not even going to try until all fluids, tyres & engine timing belt are changed.
So far I have given the Accord an oil & filter change & turned the engine over by hand; battery dead flat & dating from 2005. I also replaced the engine coolant that was still encouragingly green, and brake fluid. Odometer suggests it has done 105,512km, though service sticker dated feb 2002 indicated it would next need service at 9,755. Assuming 10,000km intervals it has done 5757km since 2002!
Would have done the transmission as well but found both front driveshafts need re-newing so should wait until they could be done at the same time. I think I already have some spare ones I can swap in.
Will have to swap over the wheels as well since tyres are flat & cracking with age. I took a photo of the tyre markings that did not come out well but suggested they might date from 1986? must recheck.
No jack or factory toolkit in the car so will have to keep a lookout for those, and the rear portion of the luggage cover that is normally mounted to the rear hatch (but often breaks its mounting tab).

I measured the front discs which seemed nearly new with 12mm thickness despite surface rust. (minimum thickness is 10.5mm).
Rubber bump stops for the rear hatch & doors are missing so I will have to look for some old ones. Hatch must have rattled quite annoyingly without them, support struts also inoperative.

Car is still at original owners place since she is still mostly working interstate in Sydney, hoping to get it home under its own power once appropriate, & hoping a housemate will find a new home for his old '83 Sigma. He doesn't want to let go of it but it doesn't have a straight panel & he doesn't even change his own engine oil.

That old Civic steering wheel looks ace. Which one's it going in?

Ok, here's one reason things were about to go out of control:


The dangers of Ebay; its owner having listed it with no reserve. I had to make sure it didn't go to someone only wanting scrap metal didn't I ?!
Didn't even go & see it despite being fairly local.
Here was the full description:

Though I know well enough to spot it's a '78 with a '79 grille (different frt guards, recessed headlights, black seat adjuster trim).
Went to see it afterwards & could see the 'recent' effort that had gone towards it, with fresh driveshafts, brake hoses, newer electric fuel pump fitted. But also the older work such as reupholstered seats that were coming apart again. Repainted body that had deteriorated badly since it's obvious PLENTY of body filler had been used and was starting to fall out with rust beneath. Bonnet looks a disaster with a very bent frame & filler used to reshape it before it was dented a few more times. Left door also has a substantial amount of filler, and rear panel also looks to have been replaced & filler used either side where Honda left a simple exposed overlap joint. All bubbling with rust.
Checking the basics there was NO oil in the sump & little coolant, but cheapest option was to try & drive it home. Seller wasn't too urgent about it going so they were replaced there another day, throttle cable had been loosely connected to the carburetors choke & fuel pump had to be run for a while to get fuel into the carb. But it started albeit waay off tune & with a seized waterpump, another job for another day...

Then I was suddenly offered another '78 I had heard about several months ago & expressed interest despite it's having serious engine problems. Also a 5-speed hatch in very nice original looking gold paint. Possibly just as well its owner changed his mind, though frustrating that he did so at the last minute as I had a friends tow vehicle & rental trailer planned to collect both Accord in one morning.

Next chaos was Dad being offered a pair of unloved, long stored & needy Italians; '74 Lancia Beta Saloon & '80 Alfa Giulietta (might have to give them another thread once I have photos). So we have had to transport them as well.

I've still been attending to white '79 though.
Removed rear muffler & welded up a number of hole. I know it's a bodge that probably won't last long but it's the original muffler with "HONDA" stamped into the metal of its rear face.


Removed the rear bumper & straightened its bent mounting and warped rubber trims. Not quite as easy as it seems, since coach bolts are used from bumper to mount that happily turned in their holes, so bumper & mounts were removed together. On one I was able to cut a slot in the bottom so a screw driver could hold it from turning. I had to cut the nut from another though. Once the mounting was bashed straight, painted & refitted the bumper looked much straighter. Its warped rubber trims also removed & straightened enough to look respectable with the aid of a hot air gun.


Frt bumper trim support is going to need attention.