Friday 30th September 2016

Shed of the Week: Honda Prelude

There may be a new Civic Type R at Paris, but Shed has a far cheaper way to get your VTEC fix

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We all have our favourite smells, noises, and sensations. For Shed, these include the pungent leathery whiff of a Jag cabin, the hinge-loosening crash of the front door as Mrs Shed leaves for her mother's for two weeks, and the sphincter-twinkling fizz of a Honda VTEC engine climbing onto its power step.

Must be a rare sight in 2016!

This week's SOTW, a very nice looking fourth-gen Prelude, doesn't have leather, but it does have the 185hp 2.2 VTEC motor, which makes it quite rare. Better yet, with appropriately skilful driving by Shed, the 5,200rpm rasp could certainly be used to drown out at least some of the baleful mooing from the passenger seat.

Departed doyen of motoring writers LJK Setright included the Gen 4 Prelude VTEC in his £540,000 dream garage (£100K being far too niggardly an amount to accommodate his selection of Bristols and Honda NSXs) on the simple grounds that 'no other car was as nice to drive'.

Part of that was undoubtedly down to the engine, but Setright was a big fan of the Prelude's advanced electronic four-wheel steering too. He also approved of the independently-front-suspended Honda's feeling of solidity when he was overtaking other vehicles on the approach to blind corners, a gung-ho/suicidal driving style that, along with his penchant for foul-smelling Sobranie Black Russian tabs, gave LJKS a high degree of exclusivity on shared-car press launches.

There is a lot to like about a Gen 4 Prelude even now, a full 20 years after this one was built. Younger PHers may disagree, but for someone of Shed's age at least, the 2+a not very big 2 styling has matured remarkably well. The boot pic in the ad shows why there's not much room for humans in the back: it's all been given over to luggage.

Revs beyond 7K and should be good for a while yet

Cheap interior materials (like in the roof lining) betray the car's age, but the semi-hidden electro-luminescent instruments are well snazzy.

What's not so good? The engine is from a golden age when Honda was really trying to cement its reputation for engineering reliability. You can reasonably expect it to do 200,000 miles and then some while delivering up to 40mpg, all very much depending on usage of course.

It would be wrong to suggest there were no mechanical problems, however. Distributor/rotor arm shaft bearings wear, eventually giving rise to a blood curdling shriek that will strongly incline you to pull over quietly to the side of the road in order to consider your options. Radiators are a bit flimsy and the clutch master cylinders can be short-lived. A sticky pedal or heavy gear selection are your pointers for that.

Coils, ICMs (Ignition Control Modules) and sensors for TDC (top dead centre) and crankshaft position all blow, and Gen 4 Prelude ignition switches were famously dodgy. These switches were the subject of a recall, but even mended cars can suffer from ongoing problems in this area.

Uneven idling could be nothing more scary than failure of the idle control valve under the throttle body. Gaskets and seals on things like the sump and valve covers need regular checking, and the rear brake calipers are known to seize. The sunshine roof which we assume this car has will most likely rattle unless it's been treated to a few squirts of silicon-based lube.

Cheap, reliable and pretty? Top Shed!

Of course any old Japanese car is going to be prone to rust, and the Prelude tends to get it at the rear end. The pics of our SOTW are a bit murky, but what we can see looks clean enough, and with a full service history plus a full MOT there's nothing here that should put you off.

As we speak, Honda is launching a sportmungous concept at the Paris motor show. Shed's lipsmacking reminder of 20th century performance coopery is a practical choice for those fortunate pre- and post-family users who still have time and money left over for lifestyle activities, like golf.

Shed plays. He scored a 69 yesterday, but don't tell Mrs Shed.

Here's the ad.

Honda Prelude 2.2 VTEC 1996 Manual Dark Blue

116000miles, 12 Months MOT, FSH, excellent condition
Recent cambelt change, brake fluid, gear box fluid, front and rear discs and pads
Owned for the last 8 years

[2smoke]

Always liked these back in the 90's when they were well out of reach for a teenager, before the days everything was financed. Can anyone comment on what they're actually like to drive?

[rtz62]

Sublime.
And if you're old enough to have read him in-period, then the word of the late, great LJKS should be enough.
If you're not old enough to remember him, then read a couple of articles that he scribed on this car and you'll understand why he held it in such high esteem.
I see one regularly around Chesterfield, driven by a younish guy, who obviously has impeccable taste...

[Soupr]

I quite fancied a prelude when I was looking for my second car, but the insurance prices on these for young men are astronomical - An easy £1750py. Which is such a shame, as these cars look fantastic and by the sounds of it are a good steer too.

[Dafuq]

It's got veeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-tec yo!

Buy it, buy it now. Winner.

[forzaminardi]

Great cars. Best shed for ages.

[Barchettaman]

Does anyone have a link to the Setright article on the Honda Prelude?

[FN2TypeR]

That'll do shed, that'll do.

I have always liked these but never had the space for one in my life, sadly that won't be changing any time soon, but this could be a great bit of fun to own and work on - top marks Shed!

[parabolica]

This is the 3rd or 4th time a Prelude has been SOTW and I say the same thing every time: massive soft spot for these purely due to it being the first car in the original Gran Turismo that you could buy with a decent amount of power. Deep Forest Raceway FTW.

[LordGrover]

I had one of these at the time, but the 2.3 non-VTEC auto. Loved it.
It cornered on rails (for the time) and you could take ridiculous liberties with it.
J590PAD - where are you now?

Excellent SOT

[X5TUU]

Very near bought one in red but seem to recall struggling to find a manual and gave up looking and bought something else.

Look very dated to me though I have to admit.

[Morningside]

KimJongHealthy said:

Where are you now, my dear Japanese friend..

Last MOTed in 2009 so I think we can say ...

[GranCab]

@Shed ... Did your round of 69 include a hole in one ?

[V8 FOU]

They are very prone to the 4WS going off. Big expense visit to a Honda dealer.
Oh, headlight bulb change involves front bumper removal too.
otherwise, a sublime car. The 4WS will amaze when parking!

[Usget]

£995 seems like an absolute steal for what appears to be a very clean, well-looked-after example.

I've got no need for it but I quite want it...

[Lotusgone]

A looker back then and still pretty trim now. A mate had one in the late 90s and reckoned it was a great drive and really comfy too. Another good shed, some very good finds recently.

[Marc H]

I had one in '95 for 18 months as a company car, but the basic non-VTEC 2.0. I still loved it.... But it's a Mk3 not 4. The car that Setright had until his end was a Mk4 surely?

[LordGrover]

Gen 4 click.
I had 3, 4 & 5, my 5 being a 2.2 VTEC. Auto.

[Zippee]

I had one in dark green about 13 years ago. Not a V-Tec but the 2.3i. It’s the one car out of all I’ve owned that I do truly miss and it’s one of the cheapest as well.
4WS was great, a little odd at first though. Manual box, sooo comfy to drive, handled well for the time, cruise control, fairly roomy up front, lovely dash and driving position.
Main weakness on them is rust, especially around the rear arches.
L868 BTN was the reg, think it’s off the road now though.

[Loplop]

A friend has two of these, both 2.2 VTECs.

One is a ratty thing that's been lowered, loud exhaust and a smokey engine.

The other he bought for <£500 with an engine running on three. Wasn't sure what to do until he took the skirts off to reveal the sills, the car is 100% spotless. So he dropped a H22a7 from an Accord Type R with matching gearbox into it. Quite the sleeper!

[KPB1973]

I've had 2 x bb4 versions (slippy different, lighter weight, 200bhp and 2ws). Fantastic cars both of them. One was £625, the other £750.

Both of them were better screwed together than the new ep3 I had around the same time.

Criminally underrated cars. The h22 is a peach.