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3rd Gen Honda Prelude - Australia

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  • 3rd Gen Honda Prelude - Australia

    Hiya chaps and chapettes

    Melbourne based build thread here - Not much happening around the forum these days but i didn't wan't to setup my own website just to blog the progress.. These cars need way more attention than they get!

    Now, let me start from the moment i picked it up.

    November 2019

    I was originally searching for an EF Civic hatch (or sedan) for a daily driver.. something really simple to do my own maintenance on, and cheap to run.. wasn't expecting much from it.
    Then this 1991 Honda prelude popped up on carsales. I had no idea they made preludes before the 4th gen, so it was a total shock to me - i loved the styling, loved how unique it was compared to anything i've ever owned before (Fiesta XR4, VR6 Bora, '08 wrx STI, mini cooper S, etc) and i just had to have it.

    So i jumped on a train and headed south of Melbourne on a 3 hour journey. Test drove it, and took it right then and there.

    I was a little skeptical at first, buying it off a teenager whom after some internet stalking didn't care too much for it, but i stuck with my gut feeling and took it home anyway.
    First stop? Petrol station. I was over 100km from home, and needed fuel.. The previous owner did mention the battery was a bit old before i left.. anywho, i went to start her up and the cranking slowed drastically. "f**k sakes" i thought to myself. 2% phone battery, car battery is dead.. what in the world do i do?

    I scrambled to sent the previous owner a message to give me a jump - i sent the message out before my phone died. I patiently waited about 15 minutes in worry not exactly knowing whether he would show. Finally he rocked up, we had a little laugh at the matter and we then went our separate ways.

    Driving it home was amazing. It gave me instant 90s JDM vibes, the leather seats, the known honda exhaust tone (doesn't sound as terrible inside the car as it does, so i understand why people enjoy it). It was perfect for what i was looking for. My whole plan for a cheap, easily daily was straight out the window.. but do these plans ever work for us car enthusiasts? I genuinely don't think so.

    Here are some photos of when i picked it up.





    Factory leather interior




    Engine Bay




    For the first 2 months i wanted to see how the car went as is and to do some required/compulsory servicing before i go deep in to the realm of modifications.

    Overall, it ran great. General servicing including sparks, oils, filters and tyres were replaced. It had some initial starting issues (old distributor, cap, and battery fixed this quick smart). Other than that.. not a single issue!

    DECEMBER 2019


    Half way through December, it began to develop a grinding noise. It wasn't an easy problem to isolate so i began the process of elimination - Driveshafts were original and leaking. Replaced these, problem persisted. Saw a broken engine mount, replaced all of them.. still there. Zero signs of wheel bearing issues. And the grind only happened on a certain angle, and while the engine was over 1.5k revs.. i was puzzled! "Could it be the carrier bearing?" i thought to myself.. so i went ahead and ordered a new one.

    Then summer hit.. oh man, was she a blistering summer! The car could not take the heat - old coolant or was topped up with water at some point, and caused it to overheat.
    Thankfully i caught it really early, and only lost 500ml of coolant. Wasn't happy!

    Left it there to "cool down" (ended up coming back for it 8 hours later when it wasn't over 45'c) and took it home to prop her up and take a look at what, if any damage has been caused.

    "ahh.. shit." I go.. Oil and coolant leaks! Who know's where they were coming from, but it was clear the water pump and head gasket were 2 of the major leaks (no coolant in the oil though.. i was happy!)

    So i began to collect what servicing parts i needed for the strip down. Hard parts to find.. even harder for companies to differentiate the 2 models of the same generation! What a headache.
    This took many weeks, but i eventually got enough to begin the rebuild.

    MARCH 2020

    Then COVID-19 came along, which was a blessing and a curse for me. I lost both of my jobs but now i have 24 hours of the day to get the bay up to scratch!
    I got home from my last day at work, and went shopping. I had the "while i'm there" thought process and went ham on replacing what i could, or what was needed to be done.. "within budget" LOL that went out the window real quick.

    I took the first week off, to order whatever i could source.. and then i got started on the tear down!


    I pulled apart the entire front end - if i was going to fix the head gasket and do a wire tuck, not only is it easier to have all of the panel off, it's a perfect time to do a deep clean - 30 years of dirt has been built up!


    It's smart to label whatever you can, even if you know what it's for.


    How i dispose of my old coolant and oils.. 20L vinegar drums from work!


    I originally stored everything down the side, it has changed since.. too many spiders. lol
    Last edited by hdlmgargae; 02-21-2021, 05:10 AM. Reason: spelling errors
    Cars, Food & Coffee


    Instagram: @carsfoodandcoffee | Youtube: Cars, Food & Coffee

  • #2
    double post
    Last edited by hdlmgargae; 06-24-2020, 08:31 AM.
    Cars, Food & Coffee


    Instagram: @carsfoodandcoffee | Youtube: Cars, Food & Coffee

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    • #3
      I love this gen Prelude. Excited to see what's up for April, May and June
      "You could roll an E30 in a BMW showroom today and people would think:
      Well, they finally got the 1 series right!"

      3.0 L e30 ground up build

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      • #4
        Originally posted by gnmzl View Post
        I love this gen Prelude. Excited to see what's up for April, May and June
        Great car, honestly. People give it a lot of crap in Australia (mainly because it's a honda) but i love it to bit. I now have an emotional attachment to it.. haha

        Let's see why...

        prepare yourself for a picture heavy post.




        April - June 2020

        I began my ALB delete - It's in fine condition, but man... it's huge. It takes up way too much space. I plan on bigger brakes in the near future aswell as much better tyres, so i'm not stressed with removing it.

        Before




        under the battery tray



        fuse box removed the get full access



        Whole system is out.
        Not a difficult thing to remove, it's super heavy though!!





        After



        So much more room for activities!!

        I grabbed a non-ABS proportioning valve from an EK Honda Civic, and ordered a new non-ABS brake master cylinder along with some copper plated steel lines.
        Drained the system, countless hours of bending later, here is the final result!



        I went for something a bit different, and decided to mount the proportioning valve in a more visible spot.. because why not?


        I wanted to clean up the bay. And one of the best ways to do so, is to remove the power steering..... "well i've dealt with no power steering in the mini cooper before, and would like to avoid that for a daily driver..." i thought to myself. So i took the route of doing an electric power steering conversion.

        Holden Astra Electric Power Steering Pump



        I decided to mount it where the old airbox would sit. This way it can be a little bit hidden without too much sacrifice.





        I was pretty happy with this - I am currently waiting on many fittings from Aeroflow and America (avoiding welding because.. well i don't have one lol). So I have only mounted the holden astra bracket to the old airbox bracket. Very sturdy!

        Next was to dismantle the head and to clean anything i could touch. MAN. THIS WAS A TIME CONSUMING JOB. NEVER UNDER ESTIMATE A DEEP CLEAN.

        Old head gasket



        a variety of before and afters

        Engine Block



        With the new headers ( hurricane headers)













        Apologies for the blurry after photo. I deleted the cruise control and the old power steering reservoir from this area.



        Here is a before and during photo of the area - to show the difference.















        Intake all put back together - Naming the car 91.ivy - A name my missus came up with when i bought it, and it's stuck!





        New terminals - I needed to connect a couple extra wires to the battery and didn't want it to look too messy (sound system and power steering pump)



        Fixing dodgey old wiring from previous owners



        New aluminium radiator with 12" thermo fans



        new intake - short ram pipe from a 1994 honda integra







        FINALLY - after well over 100 hours of work into the bay, changing many parts.. i've began putting it back together.

        I grabbed a spare valve cover as it was much cleaner than mine and slapped it on. Not the biggest fan of the red, but it's growing on me.



        Here is how it will roughly look with everything back together



        Sooo much better!!


        And today, my new coolant overflow reservoir rocked up so i slapped it on quick smart.





        I love it. Cannot complain.

        This is where it stands at the minute. I am mainly waiting on some new bolts to arrive.. hopefully the end of this week, so i am able to finally turn the key again!

        All i have left to do is finish the power steering conversion (waiting on fittings), some new bolts and the oil sump gasket.

        Looking forward to seeing it all done, and not in my garage. haha!
        Last edited by hdlmgargae; 06-24-2020, 08:30 AM.
        Cars, Food & Coffee


        Instagram: @carsfoodandcoffee | Youtube: Cars, Food & Coffee

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        • #5
          I love these cars. I daily'd one for a few years and sold in at the end of 2018. Still miss it.

          Looks like you dove right in, look forward to seeing updates! Prelude Power was a pretty decent forum when I had mine, if you haven't checked it out yet.



          @projects_always

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          • #6
            Looks like you are doing it right! It's so time consuming to do all that sort of cleaning work, but so worth it to clarify the look of the engine bay

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            • #7
              Nice, always have'd soft spot for these, and the pop-up lights this car still in my bucket list, following to see how this will turn out.


              W201 LOW STATIC DAILY

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              • #8
                Originally posted by cblock406 View Post
                I love these cars. I daily'd one for a few years and sold in at the end of 2018. Still miss it.

                Looks like you dove right in, look forward to seeing updates! Prelude Power was a pretty decent forum when I had mine, if you haven't checked it out yet.
                ]
                Wow, your old ride looked so clean! I love how it is all white, it looks great!
                Awesome cars, they really are. The 4WS is a rad feature too, much better than the 4WS in my old MX-6 haha!

                I'm constantly stalking the old forums and facebook groups for all of the resources. Super helpful!


                Originally posted by Buick40 View Post
                Looks like you are doing it right! It's so time consuming to do all that sort of cleaning work, but so worth it to clarify the look of the engine bay
                Thank you It's soooo time consuming, something that is super under-estimated until you're in there doing it!


                Originally posted by Povke View Post
                Nice, always have'd soft spot for these, and the pop-up lights this car still in my bucket list, following to see how this will turn out.
                The pop up's were definitely the biggest selling point for me. haha! I have plenty planned. Cannot wait to get it back on the road.
                Cars, Food & Coffee


                Instagram: @carsfoodandcoffee | Youtube: Cars, Food & Coffee

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                • #9
                  This thread is cool, many great photos and real story behind. It give me some 2008/2009 vibes.
                  Keep up man!

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by DawsonLiri View Post
                    This thread is cool, many great photos and real story behind. It give me some 2008/2009 vibes.
                    Keep up man!
                    Thanks man!



                    The other day i finally pieced it all back together!

                    Filling her up with fluids for the first time in 4 months.




                    Nervous as hell! Like we all are post long build. Especially the first time.. always gets you!

                    Had the missus standing and observing, just incase something happened that i couldn't see.

                    Andd what do you know.. fuel leak. From injectors #3 and #4.. typical!!

                    The seals have most likely dried out from no use so it's sitting like this until the new seals arrive next week (along with the last fittings for my power steering conversion - might be able to drive it next week




                    Also, here is the rough setup for my new power steering high pressure line. Not sure if this is exactly where i'll be running it, but it's a good guesstimate - considering looping it around the other way so theres less risk of it catching on anything. No idea.

                    Oh! The fittings i am waiting on is a Tee joint and a 45° coupler so i am able to run the power steering pressure sensor.





                    4 months of effort is almost paid off. Going to celebrate with a new manifold back stainless exhaust with a high flow cat and most likely a variable muffler....
                    Last edited by hdlmgargae; 07-03-2020, 10:52 AM.
                    Cars, Food & Coffee


                    Instagram: @carsfoodandcoffee | Youtube: Cars, Food & Coffee

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                    • #11
                      Today i finally had the chance to fire her up for the first time in 4 months!



                      So stoked! Cannot believe i am now one of those people who have pulled apart their engine and gave it much needed love and attention.

                      Was running open headers as i have an issue with the flex joint Which i'll be attending to next!

                      Tomorrow i'll be checking the timing, coolant bleed, wire up the power steering and she's ready to go!

                      Got excited, took her off jack stands finally (forgot how small the car was!)
                      Put the bonnet on, removed the screws so i could have mad 90° bonnet stance.



                      Until next time
                      Cars, Food & Coffee


                      Instagram: @carsfoodandcoffee | Youtube: Cars, Food & Coffee

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                      • #12
                        Engine bay is finally done!!

                        I have driven it around 200km now, no leaks in sight, runs perfectly, have a bearing in the gearbox to replace still but that'll come when i replace the clutch probably early next year.. i really want wheels! haha

                        Still have power steering and aircon - currently no windshield reservoir (wanting to get a new reservoir to fit somewhere other than the engine bay, but that'll come with time) and i currently don't have cruise control, looking into electric conversion options!

                        Here's some pics.











                        until next time!
                        Cars, Food & Coffee


                        Instagram: @carsfoodandcoffee | Youtube: Cars, Food & Coffee

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                        • #13
                          Late update - I got news wheels!

                          Nothing fancy, but enough to fulfill my satisfaction of form and function.

                          15x8 +20 Dynamic Drift D Steel Wheels.
                          195/55R15 Michelin Pilot Sport 3 Tyres.

                          When Melbourne is out of lockdown i will take better photos, but in the meantime.. enjoy this one!


                          received-998660073900398


                          Until next time
                          Cars, Food & Coffee


                          Instagram: @carsfoodandcoffee | Youtube: Cars, Food & Coffee

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                          • #14
                            So awesome
                            My BMW E36 318ti Steel Blue Compact build thread -
                            http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=88271

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                            • #15
                              Engine bay turned out sweet!


                              @projects_always

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