1995 Honda Prelude VTEC with Accord Type R running gear...
Discussion
Thought I'd post this here, the build began early last year when I was preparing to convert my old Prelude to ATR running gear. I had gathered all the parts by July and the engine and gearbox were a few days from being installed into the car when this one popped up on eBay. It was in much better condition (my old one really is pretty poor, it's lived a hard life and you can tell, whereas this one is almost mint) and had a knackered engine. It also coincided with a 2 week shutdown at work, won it on eBay during the last shift before the shutdown!
I'll condense the progress so far into one post, copied from the Prelude forum.
Alrightyyyyyyy!
Some of you may be aware I was converting my old BB1 to ATR running gear...
http://www.ludegeneration.co.uk/profiles/jack-1995...
Now, my car was never really in great condition and I just wanted a fast 4th gen that I could use for summer as well as winter, without worrying too much about ruining it, so when the cambelt tensioner failed I bought a very rusty ATR for it's guts.
I've been doing the conversion in a half-arsed way for the last few months (I'm more interested in planes than cars at the minute, so been going to airshows rather than motivating myself to go up the yard etc
)
I've recently got to the point where I'm nearly ready to put the engine in my car.
Just over a week ago, a mint 4th gen in a good colour came up on eBay and I tried to talk myself out of it. I get sentimental about cars so don't like getting rid...
So the story starts last Thursday, 20 minutes into a night shift, when I won the car on eBay. I'd asked the seller a few things and he couldn't be more helpful, probably the best seller I've ever bought anything from!
Happy days!
So the next day (last Friday) we set off at 2pm expecting to arrive around 6.
Have I mentioned yet that it was running on 3 cylinders and a compression test had shown low compression on a cylinder? Well, it's quite a long drive when you're worried about the imminent failure to proceed....
Mate's S2000, which proved to be a sturdy old chariot for the day. Nearly 1000 miles on Friday as he drove from his Navy submarine base in Plymouth to me in Cheshire, then to Norwich for the Lude and back. Nice one Tom.
We turned up a couple of hours later than planned due to the Friday afternoon traffic (Sorry about that if you're reading, Sonnie...)
I swear it was blue on the pictures :lol:
Nothing like a new car collection trip!
Obligatory fuel station shot...
And another one, closer to home...
Due to a stupid diversion that took us 20 minutes back the way we came, and a few much needed coffee stops, we turned in at about 4:30 Saturday morning.
Proving popular with the local pussy immediately...
It drives absolutely stunningly apart from the misfire. Most of the way home I sat at 80mph on cruise control, hardly any wind or tyre noise, no vibrations, no knocks or bangs from the suspension (I don't think I've ever had a car with completely noise-free suspension) and once it was up to speed and cruising, the lack of cylinders/power couldn't be heard or felt. Seriously impressed with it.
Spent Sunday and yesterday (Monday) giving it a bit of a spruce up with Mer polish and Soft99 Fusso wax. I've never been into detailing but I've now started with a fairly mint car and it feels worthwhile!
Today I took it out to a local forest and down some of the back lanes to get some pictures while it's still 100% original.
Very glad to be back behind one of these dashes! So cool!
So yeah, I've bought a minter. It's gotta be up there with some of the cleanest, most original 4th gen VTECs in the country. There's a few pin dents and the odd minor bumper scuff but it really does look showroom condition from a few paces back. Considering it's 21 years old and ticked over to 138,000 miles a few hours ago, its in similar condition to most 3-4 year old cars. The interior is perfect. The only thing is the lack of mats although I've found a full set of JDM mats for £20. I'll be putting my custom home made headliner and pillar trims in it but will store the original stuff for if I ever want to change it back.
Plans:
H22A7 and U2Q7 conversion
5th gen 5 stud hub conversion
High quality coilovers (somebody sell me some. Not £150 ebay specials)
R32 GTR wheels
Dents removed
Custom headliner and pillar trims
And parts from my old Prelude:
Pre facelift headlights, amber corner and bumper lights, nostril grills.
3.6kg Fidanza flywheel
Skunk2 Megapower exhaust
AEM V2 intake
I do feel a bit bad about modifying such a mint, original (it even has the Honda tape player in the dash!) 4th gen, but I've always wanted a mint 4th gen with all the options and the best engine/gearbox setup ever since I got my old one. Therefore I'll be unlikely to ever sell it so I figure I might as well build it to my ideal spec. Either way, it's better than a breaker getting hold of it, or someone that was after a track slag to strip out and abuse. At the price I paid for it, either of these were entirely possible!
Although because it's so mint, I think I'll have to look for a cheap 306/Golf TDI for winter instead of a Prelude :?
Time to (carefully!) rip it apart!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Started work on it over the last couple of nights.
Took it back to the forest in better weather to really show off the colour, looks mental in the sun!
Doing the work at home as I've been off work all week, and have another week off yet! Brought the engine home from my storage the other night.
Last journey on the A2 engine, from the verge to the garage!
Had a right nightmare getting the front end off, turns out you have to get the headlights out to get the bumper off, and have to get the bumper off to get the headlights out :roll: Ended up taking the bumper support off with the bumper still attached, now there's a fiddly job...
Took the rocker cover off, pretty dirty in there! It's had loads of services so I assume it's been run on the wrong oil and maybe done lots of short journeys. Turned it over with the rocker cover off and none of the valves appeared to be stuck, although wether they're opening fully and at the right time is unknown, cambelt may have jumped. Will strip it down properly once its out and I have time.
Started undoing the side skirts to get the wings off, fearing the worst but hoping for the best.... :?
Are you ready?
Happy days! Looks to have had a bit of underseal thrown at it at some point too
Current state:
Engine is nearly out, just gotta disconnect the driveshafts, exhaust and a couple of hoses.
Had to cut one of the A/C lines as they wouldn't undo, not happy about that but I have the lines from my other 4th gen to use, so should still be able to have working A/C at a later date.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Finished pulling the engine and box today. It's a lot easier when you remember to undo the exhaust support bolts that attach just above the sump :lol:
21 years of being in there and now it's free...
Got it back to a rolling state and took it outside to start cleaning up the bay
So many things to hook back up...
Poor girl looking sorry!
The bay with 21 years worth of grot - hardly any rust but plenty of dirt and crap buildup!
Sprayed with Autosmart G101 and left to soak in for a bit, then hosed the whole bay down a few times. Came up pretty good, although some of the paint on the drivers side shock tower seems to have reacted with the G101 as I left it on too long! (I went to the shop for some Jack Daniels and ended up going for a bit of a hoon in my Civic)
Gave the rest of the car a hose down to get rid of the grinding dust (had to cut the exhaust as the bolts were just blobs of rust). Still beads rather nicely!
After pushing it back into the garage for the night, I realised I'd had an idiot moment...
I believe it's for the A/C pump. Annoying.
Plan for tomorrow:
Pick up my loom and VSS from VTECDirect
Modify 5th gen sunroof to fit this car
Fit sunroof
Fit my custom headliner and pillar trims (pics in my other thread)
Replace rusty but brand new cambelt tensioner pulley for a new one I picked up yesterday
Pick up some more degreaser and give the engine bay a proper going over and hosing down
Pick all the loose mud and crap off the front inner wheelarches in preparation for underseal
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Some more progress over the last few days.
Decided to give some bits of the engine bay a lick of paint, Honda's efforts were pretty crap to be honest! Primer showing all over the place and not lacquered. I decided to paint the chassis legs, engine mount cradles and some sections of the strut towers.
Rubbed down ready for primer:
Etch primed:
As you can see I've used a gun attachment, they're about a fiver from Halfords and just clip on to any spray can, really simple and make spraying so easy!
And with the colour on:
It looks glossy here but was matt by the time it had dried this morning
And today with the lacquer drying in the sun!
Overall I'm really happy with how the bay paint has turned out, I just wish I'd gone to the extent of doing the whole bay as it's really obvious where I've left the OEM paint (the stuff I've done is actually much glossier and nicer, it seems Honda don't lacquer the engine bays. I've not got time to do it properly now as I got back to work in 3 days, so I'm just gonna concentrate on getting it back on the road and worry about the engine bay at a later date (possibly over winter).
Didn't fancy putting the engine in today as the lacquer is still soft and I don't wanna damage it too much! So I got on with modifying and fitting my 5th gen glass moonroof.
Cut a section from the rear to fit the smaller 4th gen roof as per the guide on there (vtecmec I think). It's a bit rough but nobody's ever gonna see it!
I didn't cut the section out of the sunroof panel that it says in the guide, instead I modified the light itself. Maybe this isn't possible with imports; both the 4th gen project car and 5th gen VTi donor car are UKDM models. I f
ked it up a bit; cut a bit too much off and didn't end up using this one, if anyone wants to see how to do it ask me and I'll post pics. It's pretty easy to work out though.
As you can see I've redrilled the holes a bit further up, this enabled the light to fit perfectly in the aperture in the headliner.
Sunroof all built back up with the blind in place! Headliner placed over the top to see how it looks.
Dead happy with this, it took some thinking when I trimmed it all, but the images all line up to create a seamless version of the original image
Time to get rid of the old sunroof. It's in perfect condition, but I hate metal ones so it had to go!
Prelude Del Sol!
5th gen roof panel installed:
I'm surprised how easy it was - a few people on the how to thread said it was a complete nightmare to get it lined up properly; it took us about 5 minutes! It sits a little high but a couple more washers and maybe some slightly longer bolts should see it right. It's mega awkward though, took a bit of swearing from 2 of us to get the first couple of bolts in. They're a heavy old thing when you're trying to get them in position! Easy once the first 2 bolts are in though.
Crap pictures but the finished-ish article:
Also I picked my loom up from VTECDirect the other day so it should be pretty much plug and play. There's a couple of wires that need extending but it'll run without them supposedly - better to extend them once on the car so they're the right length. They also modified my Prelude VSS by fitting the ATR gear, so this SHOULD work now. It goes into the gearbox and seems to mesh with the VSS drive gear, so hopefully there won't be any problems there...
Intend on getting the engine in later today, if it goes really well it might even end up running within 24 hours. We'll see eh. :lol:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grandad likes it! There used to be a red 3rd gen at the bottom of his road, he always used to say he wanted one.
In my natural habitat....
Rats nest of wiring, pipes and vac lines - not looking forward to sorting the vac lines...
Dropped the loom onto the A7, drained the old oil and replaced the filter. There's a few wires that need extending/need the sensors changing still, but it should run without these for now. Better to do this once it's in the car as then the wires will be the correct length.
Finally in. Took quite a bit of wiggling and poking to get it in, but I don't think I've broke anything...
Haven't fitted the mounts properly yet - something came up. Really not looking forward to the rear mount, so hard to access!
Had to notch the front subframe to clear the ATR manifold, took quite a bit of trial and error and the subframe has been on and off about 4 times now!
So that's where we're at now. Shafts are fitted. Engine is in. Mounts need tightening up, rear mount needs fitting. Front subframe needs to go back on. Engine loom needs plugging into the interior loom. Need to swap ECUs. Fuel line needs fitting. Mostly just simple stuff! Coolant hoses. Power steering lines. Fill engine and box with oil. Connect battery. Send car to VTECDirect when it doesn't start :lol:
I have a Skunk2 Megapower on the blue one which I'll be fitting to this - just need to get an exhaust shop to join the ATR flexi (it was cut at the flexi due to knackered bolts) to the Skunk2.
Also, seeing this had tempted me to keep the Pacific Blue one too:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Been incredibly lax on updates I'm afraid chaps! In truth, not that much has happened, I got it running something like properly, and did a hub swap so I could run my GTR wheels, lowered it and have just been enjoying it. Pics:
Couple of days before JAE:
Robbing the suspension off my old one :?
Fair bit to do, although it looked simple enough:
Old hub vs new hub removed from a 5th gen VTi I broke a while ago:
There were a few headaches which required the 'creative' use of washers to space things here and there, but eventially it was all turning freely.
Onto the fronts the next day, 24 hours to go until JAE:
Finished the front and cleaned it, realised it looks as good as I imagined it would all that time ago when I bought the wheels to put on my old Prelude (which is still sat in my yard looking sorry)
Just after arriving at JAE:
Was great to meet a few of you as well! See you this year!
Finally managed to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time, on the last day of JAE. Park under a Vulcan and get some photos!
Yep, they really are that big...
Not something you often get to see in your mirror!
Made another addition to the family just after JAE, 27k mile EG5 ESi manual with the D16Z6 engine! Really nice condition, will probably get it MOT'd and use it for a bit before selling it to free up some funds for a Skyline:
The observant amongst you will be starting to notice a theme around now!
Early Autumn hoon:
It sat from mid-November until February to keep away from the salt and other winter related nasties, in the meantime I got a Bora TDI to save a few quid and have something nice and comfy with heated leather seats for the winter! Just before the Prelude was put away for winter, the speedo drive cog dropped off the VSS so I had no speedo or VTEC. So since February I've been driving it very occasionally and it's currently in at VTECDirect having that issue sorted amongst others.
First drive of the year in Feb, just before it broke down and I had to call the AA (had no tools in the car). Turned out to be condensation in the dizzy thankfully.
It was around this time that I said goodbye to my AE111 Levin BZ-G, sold to a close friend though so I still see (and hear 8-) ) it a lot!
Recently was involved in a TV shoot and I was interviewed, so hopefully me and the Lude will make a short appearance on a popular car show (Can't say what for now!)
Looks half decent when clean. (Photo credit to my mate who bought the Levin, as are some of the following images!
We recently went for a trip to the museum at the airfield where every Vulcan was made, most of it is now torn up ready to be turned into housing. Don't get me started on that
Although it did make for some pretty cool photos, and it's a pretty special place to me so I'm glad I've got these images before it's all gone...
The anti-flash white Vulcan and the museum are here to stay though thankfully:
And that brings us up to date. You may have noticed I've got a JDM rear plate recess which I think makes a massive difference to the rear end. It's currently at VTECDirect having the VSS issue sorted, vacuum leaks, a driveshaft, and a few other minor things sorted. Baffled sump will be going on as well as an alloy rad. I've booked onto the track weekend at RAF Marham on the 22/23 April, cannot wait!
The VSS cog fell into the gearbox when I removed it to investigate, and stupidly I drove it to VTECDirect (5 minutes away) and it made some horrid noises. To prepare for the worst, I started stripping another ATR...
Dropped the gearbox off at VTECDirect today so they have a spare if mine's goosed. I'll also use the 300mm calipers from this ATR.
Around 11:45 last Sunday night!
I'll condense the progress so far into one post, copied from the Prelude forum.
Alrightyyyyyyy!
Some of you may be aware I was converting my old BB1 to ATR running gear...
http://www.ludegeneration.co.uk/profiles/jack-1995...
Now, my car was never really in great condition and I just wanted a fast 4th gen that I could use for summer as well as winter, without worrying too much about ruining it, so when the cambelt tensioner failed I bought a very rusty ATR for it's guts.
I've been doing the conversion in a half-arsed way for the last few months (I'm more interested in planes than cars at the minute, so been going to airshows rather than motivating myself to go up the yard etc
)I've recently got to the point where I'm nearly ready to put the engine in my car.
Just over a week ago, a mint 4th gen in a good colour came up on eBay and I tried to talk myself out of it. I get sentimental about cars so don't like getting rid...
So the story starts last Thursday, 20 minutes into a night shift, when I won the car on eBay. I'd asked the seller a few things and he couldn't be more helpful, probably the best seller I've ever bought anything from!
Happy days!
So the next day (last Friday) we set off at 2pm expecting to arrive around 6.
Have I mentioned yet that it was running on 3 cylinders and a compression test had shown low compression on a cylinder? Well, it's quite a long drive when you're worried about the imminent failure to proceed....
Mate's S2000, which proved to be a sturdy old chariot for the day. Nearly 1000 miles on Friday as he drove from his Navy submarine base in Plymouth to me in Cheshire, then to Norwich for the Lude and back. Nice one Tom.
We turned up a couple of hours later than planned due to the Friday afternoon traffic (Sorry about that if you're reading, Sonnie...)
I swear it was blue on the pictures :lol:
Nothing like a new car collection trip!
Obligatory fuel station shot...
And another one, closer to home...
Due to a stupid diversion that took us 20 minutes back the way we came, and a few much needed coffee stops, we turned in at about 4:30 Saturday morning.
Proving popular with the local pussy immediately...
It drives absolutely stunningly apart from the misfire. Most of the way home I sat at 80mph on cruise control, hardly any wind or tyre noise, no vibrations, no knocks or bangs from the suspension (I don't think I've ever had a car with completely noise-free suspension) and once it was up to speed and cruising, the lack of cylinders/power couldn't be heard or felt. Seriously impressed with it.
Spent Sunday and yesterday (Monday) giving it a bit of a spruce up with Mer polish and Soft99 Fusso wax. I've never been into detailing but I've now started with a fairly mint car and it feels worthwhile!
Today I took it out to a local forest and down some of the back lanes to get some pictures while it's still 100% original.
Very glad to be back behind one of these dashes! So cool!
So yeah, I've bought a minter. It's gotta be up there with some of the cleanest, most original 4th gen VTECs in the country. There's a few pin dents and the odd minor bumper scuff but it really does look showroom condition from a few paces back. Considering it's 21 years old and ticked over to 138,000 miles a few hours ago, its in similar condition to most 3-4 year old cars. The interior is perfect. The only thing is the lack of mats although I've found a full set of JDM mats for £20. I'll be putting my custom home made headliner and pillar trims in it but will store the original stuff for if I ever want to change it back.
Plans:
H22A7 and U2Q7 conversion
5th gen 5 stud hub conversion
High quality coilovers (somebody sell me some. Not £150 ebay specials)
R32 GTR wheels
Dents removed
Custom headliner and pillar trims
And parts from my old Prelude:
Pre facelift headlights, amber corner and bumper lights, nostril grills.
3.6kg Fidanza flywheel
Skunk2 Megapower exhaust
AEM V2 intake
I do feel a bit bad about modifying such a mint, original (it even has the Honda tape player in the dash!) 4th gen, but I've always wanted a mint 4th gen with all the options and the best engine/gearbox setup ever since I got my old one. Therefore I'll be unlikely to ever sell it so I figure I might as well build it to my ideal spec. Either way, it's better than a breaker getting hold of it, or someone that was after a track slag to strip out and abuse. At the price I paid for it, either of these were entirely possible!
Although because it's so mint, I think I'll have to look for a cheap 306/Golf TDI for winter instead of a Prelude :?
Time to (carefully!) rip it apart!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Started work on it over the last couple of nights.
Took it back to the forest in better weather to really show off the colour, looks mental in the sun!
Doing the work at home as I've been off work all week, and have another week off yet! Brought the engine home from my storage the other night.
Last journey on the A2 engine, from the verge to the garage!
Had a right nightmare getting the front end off, turns out you have to get the headlights out to get the bumper off, and have to get the bumper off to get the headlights out :roll: Ended up taking the bumper support off with the bumper still attached, now there's a fiddly job...
Took the rocker cover off, pretty dirty in there! It's had loads of services so I assume it's been run on the wrong oil and maybe done lots of short journeys. Turned it over with the rocker cover off and none of the valves appeared to be stuck, although wether they're opening fully and at the right time is unknown, cambelt may have jumped. Will strip it down properly once its out and I have time.
Started undoing the side skirts to get the wings off, fearing the worst but hoping for the best.... :?
Are you ready?
Happy days!
Looks to have had a bit of underseal thrown at it at some point too
Current state:
Engine is nearly out, just gotta disconnect the driveshafts, exhaust and a couple of hoses.
Had to cut one of the A/C lines as they wouldn't undo, not happy about that but I have the lines from my other 4th gen to use, so should still be able to have working A/C at a later date.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Finished pulling the engine and box today. It's a lot easier when you remember to undo the exhaust support bolts that attach just above the sump :lol:
21 years of being in there and now it's free...
Got it back to a rolling state and took it outside to start cleaning up the bay
So many things to hook back up...
Poor girl looking sorry!
The bay with 21 years worth of grot - hardly any rust but plenty of dirt and crap buildup!
Sprayed with Autosmart G101 and left to soak in for a bit, then hosed the whole bay down a few times. Came up pretty good, although some of the paint on the drivers side shock tower seems to have reacted with the G101 as I left it on too long! (I went to the shop for some Jack Daniels and ended up going for a bit of a hoon in my Civic)
Gave the rest of the car a hose down to get rid of the grinding dust (had to cut the exhaust as the bolts were just blobs of rust). Still beads rather nicely!
After pushing it back into the garage for the night, I realised I'd had an idiot moment...
I believe it's for the A/C pump. Annoying.
Plan for tomorrow:
Pick up my loom and VSS from VTECDirect
Modify 5th gen sunroof to fit this car
Fit sunroof
Fit my custom headliner and pillar trims (pics in my other thread)
Replace rusty but brand new cambelt tensioner pulley for a new one I picked up yesterday
Pick up some more degreaser and give the engine bay a proper going over and hosing down
Pick all the loose mud and crap off the front inner wheelarches in preparation for underseal
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Some more progress over the last few days.
Decided to give some bits of the engine bay a lick of paint, Honda's efforts were pretty crap to be honest! Primer showing all over the place and not lacquered. I decided to paint the chassis legs, engine mount cradles and some sections of the strut towers.
Rubbed down ready for primer:
Etch primed:
As you can see I've used a gun attachment, they're about a fiver from Halfords and just clip on to any spray can, really simple and make spraying so easy!
And with the colour on:
It looks glossy here but was matt by the time it had dried this morning
And today with the lacquer drying in the sun!
Overall I'm really happy with how the bay paint has turned out, I just wish I'd gone to the extent of doing the whole bay as it's really obvious where I've left the OEM paint (the stuff I've done is actually much glossier and nicer, it seems Honda don't lacquer the engine bays. I've not got time to do it properly now as I got back to work in 3 days, so I'm just gonna concentrate on getting it back on the road and worry about the engine bay at a later date (possibly over winter).
Didn't fancy putting the engine in today as the lacquer is still soft and I don't wanna damage it too much! So I got on with modifying and fitting my 5th gen glass moonroof.
Cut a section from the rear to fit the smaller 4th gen roof as per the guide on there (vtecmec I think). It's a bit rough but nobody's ever gonna see it!
I didn't cut the section out of the sunroof panel that it says in the guide, instead I modified the light itself. Maybe this isn't possible with imports; both the 4th gen project car and 5th gen VTi donor car are UKDM models. I f
ked it up a bit; cut a bit too much off and didn't end up using this one, if anyone wants to see how to do it ask me and I'll post pics. It's pretty easy to work out though. 
As you can see I've redrilled the holes a bit further up, this enabled the light to fit perfectly in the aperture in the headliner.
Sunroof all built back up with the blind in place! Headliner placed over the top to see how it looks.
Dead happy with this, it took some thinking when I trimmed it all, but the images all line up to create a seamless version of the original image
Time to get rid of the old sunroof. It's in perfect condition, but I hate metal ones so it had to go!
Prelude Del Sol!
5th gen roof panel installed:
I'm surprised how easy it was - a few people on the how to thread said it was a complete nightmare to get it lined up properly; it took us about 5 minutes! It sits a little high but a couple more washers and maybe some slightly longer bolts should see it right. It's mega awkward though, took a bit of swearing from 2 of us to get the first couple of bolts in. They're a heavy old thing when you're trying to get them in position! Easy once the first 2 bolts are in though.
Crap pictures but the finished-ish article:
Also I picked my loom up from VTECDirect the other day so it should be pretty much plug and play. There's a couple of wires that need extending but it'll run without them supposedly - better to extend them once on the car so they're the right length. They also modified my Prelude VSS by fitting the ATR gear, so this SHOULD work now. It goes into the gearbox and seems to mesh with the VSS drive gear, so hopefully there won't be any problems there...
Intend on getting the engine in later today, if it goes really well it might even end up running within 24 hours. We'll see eh. :lol:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grandad likes it! There used to be a red 3rd gen at the bottom of his road, he always used to say he wanted one.
In my natural habitat....
Rats nest of wiring, pipes and vac lines - not looking forward to sorting the vac lines...
Dropped the loom onto the A7, drained the old oil and replaced the filter. There's a few wires that need extending/need the sensors changing still, but it should run without these for now. Better to do this once it's in the car as then the wires will be the correct length.
Finally in. Took quite a bit of wiggling and poking to get it in, but I don't think I've broke anything...
Haven't fitted the mounts properly yet - something came up. Really not looking forward to the rear mount, so hard to access!
Had to notch the front subframe to clear the ATR manifold, took quite a bit of trial and error and the subframe has been on and off about 4 times now!
So that's where we're at now. Shafts are fitted. Engine is in. Mounts need tightening up, rear mount needs fitting. Front subframe needs to go back on. Engine loom needs plugging into the interior loom. Need to swap ECUs. Fuel line needs fitting. Mostly just simple stuff! Coolant hoses. Power steering lines. Fill engine and box with oil. Connect battery. Send car to VTECDirect when it doesn't start :lol:
I have a Skunk2 Megapower on the blue one which I'll be fitting to this - just need to get an exhaust shop to join the ATR flexi (it was cut at the flexi due to knackered bolts) to the Skunk2.
Also, seeing this had tempted me to keep the Pacific Blue one too:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Been incredibly lax on updates I'm afraid chaps! In truth, not that much has happened, I got it running something like properly, and did a hub swap so I could run my GTR wheels, lowered it and have just been enjoying it. Pics:
Couple of days before JAE:
Robbing the suspension off my old one :?
Fair bit to do, although it looked simple enough:
Old hub vs new hub removed from a 5th gen VTi I broke a while ago:
There were a few headaches which required the 'creative' use of washers to space things here and there, but eventially it was all turning freely.
Onto the fronts the next day, 24 hours to go until JAE:
Finished the front and cleaned it, realised it looks as good as I imagined it would all that time ago when I bought the wheels to put on my old Prelude (which is still sat in my yard looking sorry)
Just after arriving at JAE:
Was great to meet a few of you as well! See you this year!
Finally managed to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time, on the last day of JAE. Park under a Vulcan and get some photos!
Yep, they really are that big...
Not something you often get to see in your mirror!
Made another addition to the family just after JAE, 27k mile EG5 ESi manual with the D16Z6 engine! Really nice condition, will probably get it MOT'd and use it for a bit before selling it to free up some funds for a Skyline:
The observant amongst you will be starting to notice a theme around now!
Early Autumn hoon:
It sat from mid-November until February to keep away from the salt and other winter related nasties, in the meantime I got a Bora TDI to save a few quid and have something nice and comfy with heated leather seats for the winter! Just before the Prelude was put away for winter, the speedo drive cog dropped off the VSS so I had no speedo or VTEC. So since February I've been driving it very occasionally and it's currently in at VTECDirect having that issue sorted amongst others.
First drive of the year in Feb, just before it broke down and I had to call the AA (had no tools in the car). Turned out to be condensation in the dizzy thankfully.
It was around this time that I said goodbye to my AE111 Levin BZ-G, sold to a close friend though so I still see (and hear 8-) ) it a lot!
Recently was involved in a TV shoot and I was interviewed, so hopefully me and the Lude will make a short appearance on a popular car show (Can't say what for now!)
Looks half decent when clean. (Photo credit to my mate who bought the Levin, as are some of the following images!
We recently went for a trip to the museum at the airfield where every Vulcan was made, most of it is now torn up ready to be turned into housing. Don't get me started on that
Although it did make for some pretty cool photos, and it's a pretty special place to me so I'm glad I've got these images before it's all gone... 
The anti-flash white Vulcan and the museum are here to stay though thankfully:
And that brings us up to date. You may have noticed I've got a JDM rear plate recess which I think makes a massive difference to the rear end. It's currently at VTECDirect having the VSS issue sorted, vacuum leaks, a driveshaft, and a few other minor things sorted. Baffled sump will be going on as well as an alloy rad. I've booked onto the track weekend at RAF Marham on the 22/23 April, cannot wait!
The VSS cog fell into the gearbox when I removed it to investigate, and stupidly I drove it to VTECDirect (5 minutes away) and it made some horrid noises. To prepare for the worst, I started stripping another ATR...
Dropped the gearbox off at VTECDirect today so they have a spare if mine's goosed. I'll also use the 300mm calipers from this ATR.
Around 11:45 last Sunday night!
Great looking Prelude!
Thought about picking up a cheap one here in AU, but they all have done intergalactic mileage (300km) and with a longish commute, I thought it wouldn't be the best proposition! Always loved the dashboard...
In terms of the wiring between the Accord and the Prelude - is there much which needs to be done?
Thought about picking up a cheap one here in AU, but they all have done intergalactic mileage (300km) and with a longish commute, I thought it wouldn't be the best proposition! Always loved the dashboard...
In terms of the wiring between the Accord and the Prelude - is there much which needs to be done?
Way back when, I was a serial Prelude owner; gen 3, 4 and 5 back-to-back. They were great at the time - felt like the future was here early with the gen 4 dash. My gen 4 was the 2.3 but my fifth generation was the 2.2 VTEC. Never set the world alight but was quick enough for its time.
Nice read - best of luck OP.
Nice read - best of luck OP.
Crikey, it's been a while. Life very much got in the way of this brilliant car. Bought a house and spent the entirety of 2019 renovating that, so no real money to spend on cars. Just after the last update of this thread, I ended up buying a pretty good example of an Accord Type-R, then a year later, a crap example of an Aerodeck VTi-S. Can be found here if interested: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
The original post was a direct copy>paste of my progress thread on a Prelude forum, so Photobucket has ruined all of the images, I still have all the originals on my laptop so I may renew them with fresh uploads if I find the time.
The TV shoot I mentioned in the last post? It was a small section of a CarSOS episode where they restore an Impreza. I made the cut, and the Prelude is now immortalised doing a burnout on National Geographic
Just after the last update, it went to VTECDirect to have the ATR brakes fitted, along with Bremtech grooved discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads. It also had a wheel alignment done, including the rear steering set up. My memory is a little hazy over what else was done as it was over 3 years ago, but it was all in preparation for a track weekend at RAF Marham. I got a fresh set of tyres on the GTR wheels, went for a set of Toyo R1-Rs as IIRC they were slightly cheaper than AD08s and I wanted to try them. (Not to be confused with the rubbish T1-Rs)
Mentioned in the last update that the VSS cog had dropped off and gone into the gearbox and then I'd stupidly tried to limp it to VTECDirect, only a couple of miles away but it should've been obvious what'd happen.
You saw me removing the gearbox from another silver ATR in the last update, so that went in. Annoyingly, whist it works fine, it just doesn't feel quite as sweet as the now-ruined one did.
No point trying to salvage that.
You will have noticed in my previous post my obsession with Cold War RAF jets, so when an opportunity came up to do a trackday at RAF Marham, the final home of the incredible Victor fleet, I absolutely jumped at the chance. I'd read so much about this place and it really was a bit of an ambition to do something like this, combining my 2 favourite hobbies.
Setting off for Marham on a Friday evening in April 2017, my Prelude, my mate Ant's JDM Prelude, and my mate Twigg's K20 Type-R converted EP2.
Me and my passenger, Kieran, waiting for the others to wake up outside the hotel on the Saturday morning.
Both the Preludes made it the 20 minute drive to RAF Marham, but Twigg's EP had developed a very sudden water pump failure, he told us to carry on as there wasn't really much we could do to help. Sadly him and his passenger Jacob had to sit around in a bus stop for most of the day while trying to source a water pump locally. IIRC it was the pulley itself that was the issue, luckily the pump on a K20 is external and driven by the alternator belt, not buried down the side of the engine requiring the removal of timing gear. I took a bit of time out of the trackday in the afternoon to run him to Euro car parts, obviously it was the wrong part
So back to Marham while Twigg started searching Facebook and Ebay for someone local breaking an EP3, eventually we found someone and drove to get the pump, and all was good. The Civic had missed the whole first day by now though.
I wasn't without my own issues to be fair, and the power steering cooler had decided now was the time to finally start leaking! The RAF were very clear in the briefing that fluid spills were to be avoided at all costs, so I was quite worried that I'd lose the chance to thrash my car around this amazing place. Ended up getting a microfibre towel and tightly wrapping it around the cooler, and while it didn't completely stop the leak, it slowed it down and because it was so absorbant, it stopped it dripping, so I could continue!
Something I really wanted to see - Victor XH673 which is still at Marham, although it looks like it's probably going to be scrapped soon
Tornado, which has now been removed, and I believe it's been replaced with a newer version. They were still in service when we did the trackday, was pretty cool knowing they were hidden in the hangars we were driving between while on track!
Twigg's Civic in its unfortunate resting place where they spent about 8hrs!
Second day, finally with all 3 cars in working condition and in the pits! Still had my power steering leak to worry about, but it didn't get any worse and I grabbed a bottle to top up with when we went to Euros to try and sort Twigg's car the day before.
The 'pits' were situated on the apron that the mighty Victors once called home. I reckon our pit spot was where I've put this arrow, very very cool to be able to use this place!
The track layout is actually really good fun, very very long straight sections into sweeping bends which you're hitting at seriously high speeds with way more runoff than you'd ever need. Tighter sections with cones, which I thought wasn't going to be very good but it honestly didn't detract from the experience at all.
Sighting lap:
There was one straight which was a taxiway, most of the length of the runway so pretty damn long, I was hitting 150mph nearly every lap without much of a struggle. At either end, a big sweeping bend (track was reversed in the afternoons) and the car was so stable, I was hitting them at over 100mph whilst on the brakes just to get a good feel for the car and see how it handled, expecting the rear to break free (my old Prelude was absolutely hilarious in this respect, used to get it hugely sideways on track and carry on like nothing happened) but it didn't do anything at all. The quality tyres, alignment and working 4WS system combined together to make one hell of a stable chassis.
You can see my rag stopping the PS leak in the above photo
Being on old shocks with equally old lowering springs, it liked to get a lean on, but didn't feel too bad from inside the car.
Near the end of the second day the exhaust snapped while well into 3 figures down the main straight, luckily the rubbers kept it held quite tight against the car. It lost a bit of power as it'd only do 140mph after it snapped The lambda sensor couldn't get a proper reading after this, so it wouldn't idle, just revved itself constantly between 1000rpm and about 4-5000. Pretty embarassing when in the pits etc Still carried on for the rest of the day, wouldn't have got away with it at any other location! You can imagine how loud a VTEC engine is with the throttle wide open and no exhaust beyond the manifold. Especially on very open ground like an airfield! Luckily the RAF didn't seem bothered, I suspect that it wasn't as loud as a Tornado takeoff so they didn't even mention that I might have to pull in
Would've been rude not to take a few photos of it in a place that means so much to me!
Final shot of the Victor on the way out on the last day. I did ask if we could stop and take some photos but I hadn't given them enough notice, we had to be escorted on and off the base (it's still an active RAF base don't forget) and I suspect the lads who'd given up their weekend to put the event on wanted to get in the pub! Don't blame them one bit, and it was an absolutely brilliant event, genuinely one of the best weekends of my life and one I'll remember forever. There hasn't been another trackday there since, as the base is undergoing a lot of construction work as the F-35 comes into service. If they ever do another, my name will be on the list immediately!
Couple more shots from the CarSOS shoot:
My old AE111 which my mate bought off me and took along:
I also got hold of a JDM rear plate recess and had it painted, minor mod but makes the back end look so much nicer.
After the trackday at Marham, I continued to just enjoy the car for a few months, driving it all over the country. Really enjoyable car, nice and comfy, very cool looking in my opinion, nice but retro interior, quick etc.
As you can see, the rocker cover that came on the Accord engine was a right mess. I'd picked up another H22A7 for free with a knocking bottom end, happily it had a very nicely painted rocker cover in a finish pretty close to the OEM wrinkle red. Was worth the 2 hour drive each way just for the free rocker cover! I ended up getting a pretty severe bking off the RAF for getting a bit too nosey on the way back, which resulted in plod turning up at my front door a few hours later. But that's another story for another time
Massive improvement.
More poking around V-bombers.
Had a short track session at Oulton Park during Tunerfest in 2017, scared the Mrs a bit when I had to go down the escape road at Knickerbrook as it locked up the fronts. Probably just as well as an EP3 was busy spinning out as I was sliding down the escape road!
Picked up a JDM Prelude Si (non-VTEC, F22B DOHC engine) as it had some desirable parts on. Plastic one-piece headlights which give a tidier look to the front end, bronze factory tint glass, graphic equaliser, 3rd brake light, fog lights etc.
It also came with the very cool digital climate control, whereas mine only has hot/cold and fan sliders, and an AC button. It would've been really nice to get this in my car but you need the whole system, not just the control panel so I left that in.
The main reason for buying it was for the bronze glass, as I thought it looked really cool. The more I thought about it, the more this seemed a bad idea, as the green UK spec glass goes quite well with my green car, and the interior seems a fresher looking environment with the subtle green tint. Plus it seemed a hell of a lot of effort for not much reward. So I ended up leaving the glass in, only removing the graphic equaliser, one piece headlights, third brake light, fog light switch and a few other bits of trim. I had it for ages, over 2 years, just sat around, but a friend offered to buy it recently to help with restoring another Prelude, so it's gone now.
[url]
Sat it on some ATR wheels temporarily, think the tyres were dead on the GTR wheels.
|https://thumbsnap.com/sVdF2pev[/url]
Headlight swap:
Back on the correct wheels and with the new lights fitted:
Fitted a set of Nighteye LED headlight bulbs, the originals were pretty much yellow and they don't fit in well with the car and it's high-tech digital dash etc.
Being plastic, the JDM headlights had yellowed and started flaking, so had to do something about that.
All done!
Not sure whether I prefer the clear light infills in the bumper or the amber.
Picked up some clear rear lights (not the awful Lexus style, proper 90s with the light diffusing pattern)
Ended up putting the originals back in as they illuminated a warning on the dash for a brake light failure due to the LED bulbs in them not providing enough resistance. undecided on them, but I've kept them and may fit them again. They were very cheap off a banger racer in Birmingham, they sell for hundreds of dollars in America.
At a Prelude meet at the Ponderosa cafe on the Horseshoe Pass:
I'd had a few issues with a wobbly crank pulley, it got so bad that it stranded me and Chloe on a mountain car park in Wales once, got it recovered and fitted another pulley which wasn't much better, then it eventually snapped the alternator belt 20ish miles from home. Managed to get it home using minimal electrics, lucky I'd fitted the LED headlights as they provided plenty of brightness while using almost no power. They were starting to get dim when I got it home though!
This kind of marked the end of me using it, I'd had an offer accepted on a house which needed renovating, and I had 3 other cars to drive, so repairing this was out of the question.
Not long after getting the keys to the house, I moved it into the garden and forgot about it for 18 months.
The original post was a direct copy>paste of my progress thread on a Prelude forum, so Photobucket has ruined all of the images, I still have all the originals on my laptop so I may renew them with fresh uploads if I find the time.
The TV shoot I mentioned in the last post? It was a small section of a CarSOS episode where they restore an Impreza. I made the cut, and the Prelude is now immortalised doing a burnout on National Geographic
Just after the last update, it went to VTECDirect to have the ATR brakes fitted, along with Bremtech grooved discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads. It also had a wheel alignment done, including the rear steering set up. My memory is a little hazy over what else was done as it was over 3 years ago, but it was all in preparation for a track weekend at RAF Marham. I got a fresh set of tyres on the GTR wheels, went for a set of Toyo R1-Rs as IIRC they were slightly cheaper than AD08s and I wanted to try them. (Not to be confused with the rubbish T1-Rs)
Mentioned in the last update that the VSS cog had dropped off and gone into the gearbox and then I'd stupidly tried to limp it to VTECDirect, only a couple of miles away but it should've been obvious what'd happen.
You saw me removing the gearbox from another silver ATR in the last update, so that went in. Annoyingly, whist it works fine, it just doesn't feel quite as sweet as the now-ruined one did.
No point trying to salvage that.
You will have noticed in my previous post my obsession with Cold War RAF jets, so when an opportunity came up to do a trackday at RAF Marham, the final home of the incredible Victor fleet, I absolutely jumped at the chance. I'd read so much about this place and it really was a bit of an ambition to do something like this, combining my 2 favourite hobbies.
Setting off for Marham on a Friday evening in April 2017, my Prelude, my mate Ant's JDM Prelude, and my mate Twigg's K20 Type-R converted EP2.
Me and my passenger, Kieran, waiting for the others to wake up outside the hotel on the Saturday morning.
Both the Preludes made it the 20 minute drive to RAF Marham, but Twigg's EP had developed a very sudden water pump failure, he told us to carry on as there wasn't really much we could do to help. Sadly him and his passenger Jacob had to sit around in a bus stop for most of the day while trying to source a water pump locally. IIRC it was the pulley itself that was the issue, luckily the pump on a K20 is external and driven by the alternator belt, not buried down the side of the engine requiring the removal of timing gear. I took a bit of time out of the trackday in the afternoon to run him to Euro car parts, obviously it was the wrong part
So back to Marham while Twigg started searching Facebook and Ebay for someone local breaking an EP3, eventually we found someone and drove to get the pump, and all was good. The Civic had missed the whole first day by now though. I wasn't without my own issues to be fair, and the power steering cooler had decided now was the time to finally start leaking! The RAF were very clear in the briefing that fluid spills were to be avoided at all costs, so I was quite worried that I'd lose the chance to thrash my car around this amazing place. Ended up getting a microfibre towel and tightly wrapping it around the cooler, and while it didn't completely stop the leak, it slowed it down and because it was so absorbant, it stopped it dripping, so I could continue!
Something I really wanted to see - Victor XH673 which is still at Marham, although it looks like it's probably going to be scrapped soon
Tornado, which has now been removed, and I believe it's been replaced with a newer version. They were still in service when we did the trackday, was pretty cool knowing they were hidden in the hangars we were driving between while on track!
Twigg's Civic in its unfortunate resting place where they spent about 8hrs!
Second day, finally with all 3 cars in working condition and in the pits! Still had my power steering leak to worry about, but it didn't get any worse and I grabbed a bottle to top up with when we went to Euros to try and sort Twigg's car the day before.
The 'pits' were situated on the apron that the mighty Victors once called home. I reckon our pit spot was where I've put this arrow, very very cool to be able to use this place!
The track layout is actually really good fun, very very long straight sections into sweeping bends which you're hitting at seriously high speeds with way more runoff than you'd ever need. Tighter sections with cones, which I thought wasn't going to be very good but it honestly didn't detract from the experience at all.
Sighting lap:
There was one straight which was a taxiway, most of the length of the runway so pretty damn long, I was hitting 150mph nearly every lap without much of a struggle. At either end, a big sweeping bend (track was reversed in the afternoons) and the car was so stable, I was hitting them at over 100mph whilst on the brakes just to get a good feel for the car and see how it handled, expecting the rear to break free (my old Prelude was absolutely hilarious in this respect, used to get it hugely sideways on track and carry on like nothing happened) but it didn't do anything at all. The quality tyres, alignment and working 4WS system combined together to make one hell of a stable chassis.
You can see my rag stopping the PS leak in the above photo
Being on old shocks with equally old lowering springs, it liked to get a lean on, but didn't feel too bad from inside the car.
Near the end of the second day the exhaust snapped while well into 3 figures down the main straight, luckily the rubbers kept it held quite tight against the car. It lost a bit of power as it'd only do 140mph after it snapped
The lambda sensor couldn't get a proper reading after this, so it wouldn't idle, just revved itself constantly between 1000rpm and about 4-5000. Pretty embarassing when in the pits etc Still carried on for the rest of the day, wouldn't have got away with it at any other location! You can imagine how loud a VTEC engine is with the throttle wide open and no exhaust beyond the manifold. Especially on very open ground like an airfield! Luckily the RAF didn't seem bothered, I suspect that it wasn't as loud as a Tornado takeoff so they didn't even mention that I might have to pull in Would've been rude not to take a few photos of it in a place that means so much to me!
Final shot of the Victor on the way out on the last day. I did ask if we could stop and take some photos but I hadn't given them enough notice, we had to be escorted on and off the base (it's still an active RAF base don't forget) and I suspect the lads who'd given up their weekend to put the event on wanted to get in the pub! Don't blame them one bit, and it was an absolutely brilliant event, genuinely one of the best weekends of my life and one I'll remember forever. There hasn't been another trackday there since, as the base is undergoing a lot of construction work as the F-35 comes into service. If they ever do another, my name will be on the list immediately!
Couple more shots from the CarSOS shoot:
My old AE111 which my mate bought off me and took along:
I also got hold of a JDM rear plate recess and had it painted, minor mod but makes the back end look so much nicer.
After the trackday at Marham, I continued to just enjoy the car for a few months, driving it all over the country. Really enjoyable car, nice and comfy, very cool looking in my opinion, nice but retro interior, quick etc.
As you can see, the rocker cover that came on the Accord engine was a right mess. I'd picked up another H22A7 for free with a knocking bottom end, happily it had a very nicely painted rocker cover in a finish pretty close to the OEM wrinkle red. Was worth the 2 hour drive each way just for the free rocker cover! I ended up getting a pretty severe b
king off the RAF for getting a bit too nosey on the way back, which resulted in plod turning up at my front door a few hours later. But that's another story for another time Massive improvement.
More poking around V-bombers.
Had a short track session at Oulton Park during Tunerfest in 2017, scared the Mrs a bit when I had to go down the escape road at Knickerbrook as it locked up the fronts. Probably just as well as an EP3 was busy spinning out as I was sliding down the escape road!
Picked up a JDM Prelude Si (non-VTEC, F22B DOHC engine) as it had some desirable parts on. Plastic one-piece headlights which give a tidier look to the front end, bronze factory tint glass, graphic equaliser, 3rd brake light, fog lights etc.
It also came with the very cool digital climate control, whereas mine only has hot/cold and fan sliders, and an AC button. It would've been really nice to get this in my car but you need the whole system, not just the control panel so I left that in.
The main reason for buying it was for the bronze glass, as I thought it looked really cool. The more I thought about it, the more this seemed a bad idea, as the green UK spec glass goes quite well with my green car, and the interior seems a fresher looking environment with the subtle green tint. Plus it seemed a hell of a lot of effort for not much reward. So I ended up leaving the glass in, only removing the graphic equaliser, one piece headlights, third brake light, fog light switch and a few other bits of trim. I had it for ages, over 2 years, just sat around, but a friend offered to buy it recently to help with restoring another Prelude, so it's gone now.
[url]Sat it on some ATR wheels temporarily, think the tyres were dead on the GTR wheels.
|https://thumbsnap.com/sVdF2pev[/url]Headlight swap:
Back on the correct wheels and with the new lights fitted:
Fitted a set of Nighteye LED headlight bulbs, the originals were pretty much yellow and they don't fit in well with the car and it's high-tech digital dash etc.
Being plastic, the JDM headlights had yellowed and started flaking, so had to do something about that.
All done!
Not sure whether I prefer the clear light infills in the bumper or the amber.
Picked up some clear rear lights (not the awful Lexus style, proper 90s with the light diffusing pattern)
Ended up putting the originals back in as they illuminated a warning on the dash for a brake light failure due to the LED bulbs in them not providing enough resistance. undecided on them, but I've kept them and may fit them again. They were very cheap off a banger racer in Birmingham, they sell for hundreds of dollars in America.
At a Prelude meet at the Ponderosa cafe on the Horseshoe Pass:
I'd had a few issues with a wobbly crank pulley, it got so bad that it stranded me and Chloe on a mountain car park in Wales once, got it recovered and fitted another pulley which wasn't much better, then it eventually snapped the alternator belt 20ish miles from home. Managed to get it home using minimal electrics, lucky I'd fitted the LED headlights as they provided plenty of brightness while using almost no power. They were starting to get dim when I got it home though!
This kind of marked the end of me using it, I'd had an offer accepted on a house which needed renovating, and I had 3 other cars to drive, so repairing this was out of the question.
Not long after getting the keys to the house, I moved it into the garden and forgot about it for 18 months.
Moved into the house at Christmas, and every day I've been greeted with this sight. Nice to look at but a bit depressing.
Decided that it had been neglected for far too long, so towards the end of March I borrowed the battery off the ATR, and had a go at firing it up. It was reluctant, but coughed into life (had to keep my foot slightly on the throttle, cold starts aren't in the ECU map currently.)
Having had a look round it, it still looked pretty good and the paint is an amazing colour in the sun.
Arty Instagram shot with a film-style filter on:
That brilliant interior, which somehow still smells exactly how I'd expect it to smell if it was new! Doesn't seem to have ever been smoked in, and I've never eaten in it.
Full of enthusiasm after looking around it and falling back in love with it, I decided to look at getting the crank pulley fixed and an MOT booked.
The next day, the world changed.
UK went into lockdown, I got furloughed and ended up off work for around 2 months. The Prelude got forgotten about again, I sat around for a few weeks and when the weather got really good, started doing a bit of work on my other cars. Then I realised the tax hadn't auto-renewed on my Aerodeck (it usually does) and I don't have the logbook so can't tax it until that turns up, so I dumped that at my parents, freeing up a space on the drive. Now it really was time to drag the Prelude out.
During the couple of months since I'd last ran it, it had got seriously overgrown and blocked in by stuff growing around (and through!) it.
Some kind of climbing weed was growing up the right hand side of the engine emerging next to the power steering pump, emerging out of the front grille, going along the inner wing and into the bonnet lining. Ripped it all out, put a battery on it and drove it out. Was a nightmare to get out, the gap between the house and next door's fence is barely enough to get the car through, let alone when not starting from the straight ahead.
Anyway, got it out and onto the road for the first time in 18 months.
Discs may need replacing
Gave it a damn good clean, starting with all the door/boot shuts etc, as they'd accumulated all kinds of crap. Found a dead mouse in the boot sadly, I can only hope it hasn't chewed any wiring. The 4WS light is on and the 4WS ECU and associated wiring (which is a massive box, would be a microchip nowadays) is in the boot so I'm hoping it's just a dirty sensor.
All washed up!
Think it got quite toasty inside over summer! These were on the back seat and look what the heat has done to the packaging. Was going to use them as the JDM recess on the UK boot doesn't allow for number plate lights, but ended up binning them.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/jV2sffQA[/url
So it does still clean up quite nicely, it does have some lacquer peel where a rear quarter and the spoiler have been painted in the past. The spoiler has some pretty nasty cracks in the plastic actually, so i'm thinking of getting rid of that and running it spoilerless.
It needs the crank pulley sorting, I think it'll have damaged the end of the crank tbh as I ran it with a wobbly pulley for a long time, but a lightweight pulley without the rubber balancer supposedly masks it enough to not cause issues, so this is the route I'll be taking. The rear suspension needs some attention with bushes and ball joints etc, and I need to figure out the 4WS issue. Don't think sitting on the wet grass will have helped the underside too much, and I know the arches need welding anyway, so I'm semi-prepared for some rust.
Interior has stayed in incredibly good condition for how long it sat outside, very minimal mould and still smells great. Electronic dash still all working, which is probably the coolest thing about the car so that's a relief!
Not doing much with it just yet, got a bit to spend on my ATR and I'm trying to save for a garage, but I'll at least try and get a few miles done before summer is over. At least it's out of its grassy grave and on the driveway now!
Decided that it had been neglected for far too long, so towards the end of March I borrowed the battery off the ATR, and had a go at firing it up. It was reluctant, but coughed into life (had to keep my foot slightly on the throttle, cold starts aren't in the ECU map currently.)
Having had a look round it, it still looked pretty good and the paint is an amazing colour in the sun.
Arty Instagram shot with a film-style filter on:
That brilliant interior, which somehow still smells exactly how I'd expect it to smell if it was new! Doesn't seem to have ever been smoked in, and I've never eaten in it.
Full of enthusiasm after looking around it and falling back in love with it, I decided to look at getting the crank pulley fixed and an MOT booked.
The next day, the world changed.
UK went into lockdown, I got furloughed and ended up off work for around 2 months. The Prelude got forgotten about again, I sat around for a few weeks and when the weather got really good, started doing a bit of work on my other cars. Then I realised the tax hadn't auto-renewed on my Aerodeck (it usually does) and I don't have the logbook so can't tax it until that turns up, so I dumped that at my parents, freeing up a space on the drive. Now it really was time to drag the Prelude out.
During the couple of months since I'd last ran it, it had got seriously overgrown and blocked in by stuff growing around (and through!) it.
Some kind of climbing weed was growing up the right hand side of the engine emerging next to the power steering pump, emerging out of the front grille, going along the inner wing and into the bonnet lining. Ripped it all out, put a battery on it and drove it out. Was a nightmare to get out, the gap between the house and next door's fence is barely enough to get the car through, let alone when not starting from the straight ahead.
Anyway, got it out and onto the road for the first time in 18 months.
Discs may need replacing
Gave it a damn good clean, starting with all the door/boot shuts etc, as they'd accumulated all kinds of crap. Found a dead mouse in the boot sadly, I can only hope it hasn't chewed any wiring. The 4WS light is on and the 4WS ECU and associated wiring (which is a massive box, would be a microchip nowadays) is in the boot so I'm hoping it's just a dirty sensor.
All washed up!
Think it got quite toasty inside over summer! These were on the back seat and look what the heat has done to the packaging. Was going to use them as the JDM recess on the UK boot doesn't allow for number plate lights, but ended up binning them.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/jV2sffQA[/urlSo it does still clean up quite nicely, it does have some lacquer peel where a rear quarter and the spoiler have been painted in the past. The spoiler has some pretty nasty cracks in the plastic actually, so i'm thinking of getting rid of that and running it spoilerless.
It needs the crank pulley sorting, I think it'll have damaged the end of the crank tbh as I ran it with a wobbly pulley for a long time, but a lightweight pulley without the rubber balancer supposedly masks it enough to not cause issues, so this is the route I'll be taking. The rear suspension needs some attention with bushes and ball joints etc, and I need to figure out the 4WS issue. Don't think sitting on the wet grass will have helped the underside too much, and I know the arches need welding anyway, so I'm semi-prepared for some rust.
Interior has stayed in incredibly good condition for how long it sat outside, very minimal mould and still smells great. Electronic dash still all working, which is probably the coolest thing about the car so that's a relief!
Not doing much with it just yet, got a bit to spend on my ATR and I'm trying to save for a garage, but I'll at least try and get a few miles done before summer is over. At least it's out of its grassy grave and on the driveway now!
Great car and thread. Reading through I realised that I've actually read it before, and replied in April 2017! It's really nice to see the Prelude somewhat recommissioned, cleaned up and on the road again. The R32 wheels look the part on this.
They are certainly getting rarer now. Just had a look on How Many Left, its a bit hard to tell how many fourth gens are left from the figures there but it doesn't look like that many. I can't remember the last time I saw one on the road.
The paint colour looks very similar to what I've got on my old MX6, a sort of blue/green flip, very 90s. My car seems to look blue in most light conditions but is actually called Noble Green, you sometimes see it on other period Mazda's like RX7's.
They are certainly getting rarer now. Just had a look on How Many Left, its a bit hard to tell how many fourth gens are left from the figures there but it doesn't look like that many. I can't remember the last time I saw one on the road.
The paint colour looks very similar to what I've got on my old MX6, a sort of blue/green flip, very 90s. My car seems to look blue in most light conditions but is actually called Noble Green, you sometimes see it on other period Mazda's like RX7's.
MX6 said:
Great car and thread. Reading through I realised that I've actually read it before, and replied in April 2017! It's really nice to see the Prelude somewhat recommissioned, cleaned up and on the road again. The R32 wheels look the part on this.
They are certainly getting rarer now. Just had a look on How Many Left, its a bit hard to tell how many fourth gens are left from the figures there but it doesn't look like that many. I can't remember the last time I saw one on the road.
The paint colour looks very similar to what I've got on my old MX6, a sort of blue/green flip, very 90s. My car seems to look blue in most light conditions but is actually called Noble Green, you sometimes see it on other period Mazda's like RX7's.
Yeah, I left the thread for quite a while as not much happened other than driving it! I actually bought the R32 wheels months before this shell, I always thought they would look great on it and they do - they're the perfect size and offset. It's not on the road as such, I just got it out of the garden, made sure it still ran etc. It's suffering the same fatal flaw as my ATR, the crank has worn so any crank pulley I try on it, wobbles. Eventually it'll kill the bottom end, so both engines need rebuilding. They'll get done when time, and especially funds, allow.They are certainly getting rarer now. Just had a look on How Many Left, its a bit hard to tell how many fourth gens are left from the figures there but it doesn't look like that many. I can't remember the last time I saw one on the road.
The paint colour looks very similar to what I've got on my old MX6, a sort of blue/green flip, very 90s. My car seems to look blue in most light conditions but is actually called Noble Green, you sometimes see it on other period Mazda's like RX7's.
Rarity wise, it's a UK spec VTEC which were registered as "Prelude I-VTEC". These peaked at 1,452 examples in 1996 (when production switched to the 5th gen VTi) although they kept climbing to a peak of 1,955 in 2000, suggesting around 500 Japanese imports (4th and 5th gen probably) were registered under the same model title. There were 105 on the road when I got mine according to HML, that's now virtually halved - and some of them will be imports of various specs and years. Of course, neither of my two are included as they're not taxed. Scary, and sad, to see how many have died, and are still dying!
Yes the paint is pretty similar to yours, it's called Malachite Green Pearl, or sometimes Malachite Bluegreen Pearl - the colour code reflects this - BG31-P (BlueGreen 31 Pearl) In the ebay ad it looked a really nice bright turquoise (I think there's a screenshot of me winning the auction near the start of the thread) but when we turned up at dusk it looked a dark green! It's kind of a dreary and murky colour on a dull day or at dusk, but in normal daylight and especially bright sunlight, the pearl effect really shines through and it looks brilliant.
The Rotrex Kid said:
Great to see it still lives. I'd love a nice clean 4th Gen!
So would I, do you know where I can get one? It's not that bad, but it could easily swallow £5k or more to take care of every little issue and make it properly right!
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