I can second those are fun, even in 99hp carbed form. I still miss my '88.
I can second those are fun, even in 99hp carbed form. I still miss my '88.
That body style rocks. I had an '87 Acura Integra as my first car, it was a lot of fun with just a DOHC 1.6l. I almost bought an Accord just like the one you're looking at prior to the Acura, but it had hail damage and I decided to walk away. My love for hatchbacks remain.
slow texting seller wrote: [SIC] Wouldnt recomend driving runs smokes and is blowing oil
Sounds like it needs to be flogged. 
Hmm....
Offer 400 and drive it home anyway. You got this.
The thing that worries me is that it's sort of an oddball Honda engine, and I don't really feel like rebuilding one in the garage just now. If its needs are great, it could quickly get expensive.
Engine rebuild kits are around $300 on ebay. That's a good sign.
It could also be a guy who forgot to put in spark plug #3.
I guess I have to go look at this thing.
Can't you engine swap these like legos if the engine is dead?
In reply to bgkast:
Apparently not these, so sayeth the internet
You've got a welder. It ain't rocket science.
Haven't seen one of those hatches in years. A good number of them rusted back to the earth already. If its in good shape dooo eeeiitt.
Yeah, these have a hard to come by B20 counterpart in Europe and Japan (not to be confused with the prelude/crv/something else maybe B20 model) but little in the american market that will work with out a lot of custom stuff.
What he said ^
This is to be a DD, so I am not into custom stuff. If I can get Oldskewltoy to redo my head and fix it, I'd be down for the extra 10 HP he'd get with his magical die grinder, but otherwise the stock engine is probably the ticket, albeit working properly.
I had a LX (carbed) sedan with a weber carb. It was slow but really wasn't that bad. They are light.
The nice thing about the Accord B20 engines is that they still sometimes get imported as CRV engines. Sometimes you can get the B18 engines that were thought to be the same as the rest of the B series motors.
Mosselman Turbo Systems out of the Netherlands has a few turbo manifolds sitting on the shelf from a turbo system they made for the cars back in the day. I imported 13 of them as a group buy and sold every one of them.
There's a lot more activity on the 3geez FB page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2520356414/?fref=nf
There isn't a lot of stuff out there, but a few guys hand build things for these cars.
Oh, and there are B series swap mounts, and axles are a simple fix.
I've always thought these were the almost perfect car and the one that really made Honda.
And you have a decent machine shop close by.
tuna55 wrote: What he said ^ This is to be a DD, so I am not into custom stuff. If I can get Oldskewltoy to redo my head and fix it, I'd be down for the extra 10 HP he'd get with his magical die grinder, but otherwise the stock engine is probably the ticket, albeit working properly.
If the car is destined as a DD, the original HP should be more than enough to keep up with traffic. An '88 Lxi has essentially the same engine as in my '86 Prelude Si, albeit with an extra 10bhp to help pull the extra hundred pounds or so.
The smoking and knocking may be head-related; the bottom ends are pretty robust. FWIW, my 'Lude has over 260K miles on the original block and there are no issues. I did put a re-man head on it but the original wasn't having issues and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway, I still have the oe head and it's always good to have spares.
A trusted mechanic used to roundy-round a 4th gen Accord with an A20 and he swears by them. As a former dealer tech (and now an independent wrench) and as a guy who raced them, I feel I can trust him when he says the engines are good for at least 300K before they need any real attention.
Tunawife is scared of money-pit potential. I still want to go look at it. I spoke to the guy on the phone and he's not a winner. Anyone want to go with me?
She'd rather spend more (though we don't really have much more) and get something like this.
http://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/4938159843.html
Since it is my thread, I reserve the right to hijack it.
tuna55 wrote: Tunawife is scared of money-pit potential. I still want to go look at it. I spoke to the guy on the phone and he's not a winner. Anyone want to go with me? She'd rather spend more (though we don't really have much more) and get something like this. http://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/4938159843.html Since it is my thread, I reserve the right to hijack it.
The Celica is probably a safer bet, but not as cool or interesting.
Indeed!
The seller was... odd.
Me: I'm calling about the Accord on Craigslist.
Her: yeah?
Me: Do you think it would make the drive home?
Her: uhh. [long pause] hang on
Him: yeah?
Me: Hey, I'm calling about the Accord on Craiglist? I'm the one who's been texting you.
Him: yeah?
Me: Do you think it would make the drive home?
Him: Ain't gonna say it will, ain't gonna say it ain't.
Me: OK, that's fair. What was it doing when it blew up on you?
Him: Didn't blow up, started smoking and using oil
Me: Are you available anytime tomorrow so I can look at it?
Him: yeah
Me: What time is best, nights? Days? Lunchtime?
Him: Yeah. We're here.
I am pretty sure this guy never leaves his house.
I'm surprised you didn't just hear a series of grunts in the affirmative or negative. With that type of owner I have to wonder what has been neglected on the Accord. Celica isn't a bad choice.
If you decide to check it out in person, check the oil. A friend of mine bought a 89 from an auction awhile back, I went with her to drive it home for her. Somebody topped off the oil before we left, but neglected to check the oil level. On the drive home it started smoking and using oil, and generally acting like it was blown up. Pulled over and checked the oil, after wiping down the dipstick the level was almost at the top of the dipstick tube, they had at least 7 or 8 quarts in it, it's a wonder we didn't hydrolock the thing. Had it towed to her house and did an oil and filter change, ran just fine after that.
clutchsmoke wrote: I'm surprised you didn't just hear a series of grunts in the affirmative or negative. With that type of owner I have to wonder what has been neglected on the Accord. Celica isn't a bad choice.
The owners "style" is what spooked Tunawife.
06HHR wrote: If you decide to check it out in person, check the oil. A friend of mine bought a 89 from an auction awhile back, I went with her to drive it home for her. Somebody topped off the oil before we left, but neglected to check the oil level. On the drive home it started smoking and using oil, and generally acting like it was blown up. Pulled over and checked the oil, after wiping down the dipstick the level was almost at the top of the dipstick tube, they had at least 7 or 8 quarts in it, it's a wonder we didn't hydrolock the thing. Had it towed to her house and did an oil and filter change, ran just fine after that.
My hope is that the dude is a terrible mechanic. I was hoping for a missing spark plug, but way too much oil is also possible. I know secondhand of quick lube places which have done that, and it would certainly be an easy fix and cause all of the symptoms.
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