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Sir S-Spec's 4th gen

4K views 13 replies 2 participants last post by  BB4rank 
#1 ·
Since my '99 Prelude is undergoing an extensive restoration at the moment, I went out and picked up another car to get around in. I was looking at Civics and Integras originally since they were cheap and plentiful, and because of the commonality of parts between those and the girlfriends car. I had intended to buy one, drive it till spring and then scrap it.

With old Civics and Integras, come old Civic and Integra people...


Ad: "Runs and drives great!"

Seller: "uuh yeah just to be up front, 3rd gear is completely gone.."


Ad: "99 Civic. manual. Contact via email for details."

Me: Hi, couple questions about the civic: 1) kms? 2) What does it need to certify? 3) Where is it located?

Seller: "Brantford"


Ooookay then... thanks for skipping the other questions..



Preludes were (in my opinion) over priced. Rusted out 4th gens that have been hacked to death, and they are asking $2500+. No thanks.

I spotted an ad for a 96 SR ("Si" in American-speak), which had an interior pic as the main thumbnail...never a good sign. It means the exterior is trashed. It was $1500, certified and e-tested. That was more than I wanted to spend, but the rest of the pics looked good, and certified? Can't beat that.


The car:
Year: 1996
Make: Honda
Model: Prelude
Sub-model: SR (Si)
Build date: 08/95
Colour: R-81
Engine: H23A1 DOHC Non-VTEC
Transmission: M2S4
Owners: 4
Purchased: August 2013
Purchase KMs: 245000

Wishlist:

- Leather interior (Found!)
- Fog lights (Found!)
- Chrome one piece headlights.
- Rear seat subwoofer. (Found!)
- A radio (Found! Found! and Found another!)
- Antenna. (Found!)
- A new hood.
- A new passenger door.








BurbleBurbleBurbleBurbleBurbleBurbleBurbleBurble VRRRRROOOOMMMMM BurbleBurbleBurbleBurble
(Yes, I hate the exhaust, and I have a new one to put on)

TickTickTickTickTickTickTickTickTickTickTickTickTickTick






I'm not sure why this came with it.. 95 and 96 is only one model year, but they're a million miles apart.


Type-R radio delete!



I bought this car to get me through the winter, and then possibly scrap it. I am now thoroughly in love with the car and plan on keeping it as my next project.
 
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#2 ·
The certification on the carwas only good for 36 days. I bought it outside of that time period so I had to have it redone.

The biggest problem was the hole in the quarter panel.



No sweat! Bodyman-in-a-can!

It actually passed like this. I will fix it properly eventually.


I fixed the lack of a radio by upgrading to this: In-dash integrated nav, and communications rig.




Okay now for some serious stuff..


First I gave the carpets and seats a quick shampoo:



Meguiars ultimate protector/protectant. This stuff makes the interior panels glow.






I replaced the valve cover gasket and all four of the spark plug tube gromets. While I was at it, I did a valve adjustment. What a pain in the ass (and the back) that was. I hate doing those, especially on a low car like this.




After the valve adjustment I started to polish the tail lights... one thing led to another and soon I had compounded (by hand) the right rear quarter. Then the bumper.. then the trunk lid...and so on...











My favourite of the bunch.


^^^Just compound, no polish, no wax.
 
#3 ·
I picked up:

- Heated leather seats
- Door panels
- Mud flaps
- OEM 6 disc CD changer and OEM deck with tape player.

All for $400.






I also picked up a mint climate control shroud to replace the cracked one that is in the car now.




A few more goodies:





:) Yes, it's complete. $199!


Oh and, this was in the box too:




I picked these beauties up from n0rmal:




All I need are brakcets, or to fab up some brackets.


 
#4 ·
Some of my interior plastics were looking really poor. They were blotchy and had a chalky looking build up on them. Cleaning the parts seemed to make them worse. Putting Meguiars ultimate protectant didn't help either. I faced my options:

1) Replace the console (94-96, hard to find around here, plus I'm cheap...er thrifty)
2) Refinish the console with SEM landau black paint.
3) Use what I have on hand and go for broke.

Before:





The problem:

The plastic is textured and is supposed to have a satin finish. How do you refinish that surface without losing the texture and the appearance?

I had a bottle of Mothers plastic polish laying around so I set to work with a bit of that on the tip of my finger. I didn't want to use a cloth as this would heat the plastic too much and eventually buff it to a high gloss shine. After a couple of minutes, the white stuff started to fade out but I found that even without a cloth, the raised bits were becoming too shiny, while the indents were staying white and chalky. To fix this, I decided to try a toothbrush with some plastic polish on it. After working the plastic polish in a circluar pattern, I wiped off the residue, and found a perfectly restored surface. The toothbrush allowed me to get the plastic polish into all of the grooves, but without applying a lot of pressure to the surface and polishing the surface too much.

After:
Bare plastic (restored)/Meguiars ultimate protectant



[imghttp://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy243/SilverFox81/BB2/DSCN0383_zps95fa3952.jpg[/img]





As you can see from the pictures, the plastic came up great. I'm happy with it.

I picked up the ultra rare heated seat switches from a local TPC member. After studying the wiring diagram in the service manual, I think I'll have a go at making my own harness, so I can use the switches and the heated leathers I have installed.

I also picked up a fog light switch. It fits the 94-96 switch blank perfectly! Rather than fork out a bundle for an overpriced, used 94-96 switch, I bought a brand new 97-01 USDM fog light switch. It is a perfect fit, and the socket on the back is identical to the plug in the 94-96. The only difference is the orientation of the icon on the button, but for %35 and brand new, who cares?

The empty switch hole between the seat and antenna switches is for a rear fog light switch. I am not installing a rear fog light in the bumper (I think they are HIDEOUS), I will be hooking it up to this:



It came with the usual JDM part damage. What do they do with these things?


Post restoration photos: Wet sanded the lens, and cleaned up the housing.







So what makes it so rare? It's the illuminated version!






To avoid any speculation about this part:

1) Yes it does light up. Only when the brake is pressed.

2) The lens inside is identical to the standard red lens, except it is clear.

3) The "Prelude" filter is translucent, green.

4) It is plug and play.

5) The "non lit" units look similar, but the red lens can be seen at the top of the "Prelude" card. The emblem card is solid, and no light will penetrate. If you want to buy one (please don't, or you'll totally screw up my "ha-ha, I have a rare part and you don't" status), read the fine print carefully and look at all of the pictures.

I don't like the fact that it comes on with the brake light, so I will be hooking this up to a rear foglight switch so I can turn it on and off at will.
 
#5 ·
I pulled the VTEC rear sub enclosure out of the car and decided to get the speaker grille recovered. While I had it in the house I decided to smooth out some of the gouges that were on it.

Before:



The plastic looks as though it was hacked with a blade of some sort.

I set to work trimming away with a razor blade, the loose and overhanging flap of plastic so that I would have a flat and even surface to work with. Once all the clutter was removed I had a smooth area of plastic, which is a problem, considering it's supposed to be textured. Next came a small flat screwdriver, a rag and a Bic lighter. I heated up the tip of the screwdriver and gently inscribed a random pattern of lines similar to the surrounding area. The trick is not to press too hard and go to deep. If you do, the lines will look too dark. This part of the job is where your artistic side can come out to play.



Once the lines are done, the area that was worked on needs a polish because the plastic will be dull.




It still needs to be buffed up to match the rest of the piece, but it is a lot better than it was before.



I'm impressed at how nicely the fabric matches. Not bad for $2. Forgive the state of the interior. The seats were just placed in there, nothing was bolted down.

 
#6 ·
Last winter, the roads where I worked were pretty bad. Bad enough to do this:




I ended up buying an ST sway bar, new end links, four new tires, and having an alignment done. Well two alignments actually. What a scam those are. They know they have you by the short and curlies when you have four new tires. They tack on everything and the kitchen sink in order to complete the alignment.

Brand new swaybar, end links, tie rod ends, and toe arms. The first place tried to tell me I needed new tie rod ends. Clearly they were brand new. I took it to another shop and had better results.



The old H23 intake was a disgrace. The ghetto goofball who owned it before me hacked the end of the intake tube off and stuck some nondescript cone filter on the end. It probably come off the end of of one of his ghetto buddies Civic cold air intake.



I originally thought I would be clever and harvest some 5th gen parts to save the day. I was going to use the top of the 5th gen air box and mate it to the h23 hose. No dice. I learned that the USDM 5th gen stock intake tube is bigger than the 4th gen stock H23A1 intake. So the H22 box top wouldn't fit in the end of the H23 hose. Fack!

I started looking at cheap short ram intakes, and K&N cone filters. I wasn't going to start looking around for a stock H23 intake set up.

Then, this happened:



I spotted a Type-S intake with a K&N filter for sale for $160 locally.

I installed it at night, totally in the dark (you know you spend too much time with one particular type of car when you can install things blind). Here is what I found with the installation:

Type-S intake installation:

Type-S to 5th gen (H22/23) it should bolt up right out of the box. If you H23 comes with the Air boost valve, that wont plug in, because the intake doesn't have a hole for it. It works on my H23 without air boost so don't worry.

Type-S intake into a 4th gen (H22/23): It will fit. it is a tighter fit, but once you get it in there, it will fit. IMPORTANT! You will need the BOTTOM half of the stock 4th gen air box assembly. The bottom half of the 5th gen air box will NOT fit properly. If you hold a 4th and 5th gen bottom half of the air box up to one another, you will find the 4th gen is shallower. The 5th will fit in there, but won't sit low enough, and your hood will not close. So, if you want to put a Type-S intake into a 4th gen, you will need the bottom half of the air box for it to work properly.

The Type-S intake makes nice a difference, even on the H23A1. It just flies along, and it seems to be a bit more responsive.
 
#7 ·
It seems, while the toe arms were being installed, something went awry with my exhaust. I knew it had a bad leak, the flexpipe was virtually non-existent, and the exhaust manifold was fractured across two ports, but still, it was kinda sorta decent. Driving home from the shop, it sounded like a ferocious beast. The sound of an exhaust system that is completely opened wide...

No big deal. It still has gobs of power, the exhaust smell isn't as bad, and no CEL...yet.

I decided since the exhaust that is on it looks terrible, I would pick up what I have on the '99.

Here it is:

OBX twin loop.


It sounds good, and the quality is fantastic. I'll probably do the same set up on this car as I have on the '99. Hytech/PLM manifold, 2.5", mandrel bends, high flow cat, and a vibrant resonator...or two.

None of that would bolt up very well to the H23A1 that is currently residing under the hood, so [surprise plot twist] [dun][dun][dun] I picked this up:



=D


=D=D



For $800, I got a '00 H23A VTEC, complete, with a set of Type-S/Euro-R cams + gears, complete Type-S valvetrain (brand new LMAs), harnesses, F20B dizzy, head bolts, valves, ECU, and, exhaust manifold. The guy was moving, so whatever he could find in his garage, he threw in my truck.




I set to work cleaning it up. This is how I would like the engine to look in my 5th gen:





Yes, there was some unpleasantness when one of the bolts for the front motor mount snapped off. I drilled and drilled and drilled, and couldn't make a dent in it. I even went out and bought one of those specialty easy out kits. With the way those chintzy drill bits folded, I would have had more success politely asking the bolt to come out. I'm on the fence, as to what to do now. Do I want to invest in more hardware to remove it? Or say **** it, and let the shop doing the swap deal with it. One thing is for certain though; when it is removed, I am having it set in a ring for my g/f, cause its apparently made of diamond.
 
#8 ·
I was hearing a lot of "brake" noise. It was the worst I have ever heard to be honest. It wasn't just when the brakes were applied either! It was constant. I figured it was time to change out the brakes.

As usual, nothing is ever straight forward in my life. I had to do the brakes in the driveway, which is like a ski slope, because the 5th gen is in the garage. I start in on the job and find that everything is pretty much seized solid, and of course, Honda decides to put the fasteners in areas an impact gun will never reach. It took almost an hour to get the right rear caliper free of the car. Bolt remover socket, long wrench + manually hammering on it. I find that both rear calipers are seized, and the piston doesn't look too healthy. The right rear caliper wasn't releasing the rotor at all, so the pads had worn do the rivets. It was so bad, in fact, that with the parking brake released, I had to hammer and pry the caliper off of the rotor.

Looking at the calipers, it was obvious they had seen better days, and being older and more cantankerous than I was the last time I did brakes, I said **** this crap! I marched over to partsource and bought four new calipers. The old parking brake linkages were completely...solid.. I couldn't discern one part from another, there was so much corrosion. I soaked them down with WD40, and started to work, removing the cotter and clevis pin. The former came out pretty easy, but the clevis was corroded solid. I was worried about damaging the end that belongs to the car, because new cables are not only expensive, but one side is discontinued. For over a hour (each side) I worked those little pins back and forth, trying to break them free. By the end, they were pretty badly chewed up, and couldn't be used again. I took a sanding disc to the clevis and all the mating surfaces to get rid of any corrosion.

Here is what I was left with at the end of the first day:



I had ordered all new hardware from Honda, which was an absolute treat to work with. Everything went back together like butter. The parking brake linkage looks like brand new now, and has been slathered with tons of anti-seize.

The rear rotors are Honda OEM. $110 a piece, and they had to be specially ordered from Quebec. The front rotors are Brembo (not bought for any particular reason, other than they were cheaper than OEM, and they were available). Seriously, WTF is going on with these cars? I want to order four rotors, but Brembo only makes the fronts (puzzling, since cars have had 4 wheel brakes since 1915), and no one else but Honda seems to have the rears. Even the fronts, they said, they would have to specially order.

Day two: The caliper mounting hardware arrived I got the rear calipers and the parking brake linkage installed (sorry, no pics of that.) The pads went in all nice as they should. Here are the fronts:




Notice anything missing?

Right! The pads! It seems that when I bought the pads, last year, they gave me VTEC front pads, instead of ones for an SR.




Okay, it was really friggin hot that day, and I had done the rears, and jacked up the front, expecting everything to go together nicely. Brand new calipers an hardware... plus its front brakes.. easy as pie right? I thought I was having a stroke when I tried to get those pads into the bracket. Of course, it was around 4 in the afternoon. So I was going to have to do without pads till the next morning.


The conclusion of the worlds longest brake job is as such:

I got the correct front pads, and installed them. Bled out the system (PITA with 2 jack stands on a hill). I accidentally ripped the ground wire free of my half mast antenna switch while adjusting the parking brake, so that was acting a bit funny till I figured out what was wrong. Now my brakes are nice and quiet. The calipers are new, and pretty, and, I should be set for another decade or so.


In my normal fashion, I scoped out, and pounced on some super ultra mega rare items for the car.

This is one of a couple in North America:







I had to have this because it is so retro and pretty rare:

Dirrrrrty.




I took off the face plate and cleaned it up, and restored the lens. No more scratch!



Installed!



It is locked, so numbers don't display on the screen. It won;t work on any network, so it doesn't really matter anyways.

Here is a video of it installed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ0M_VA1rCI


I also picked these up for an absolute song:


 
#9 ·
Last week we had a snow storm (surprise surprise), and although I bought this car for a daily/winter beater... it sucks balls in the snow. My 5th gen was great in the snow, which is why I was happy to buy another lude for winter. I don't know if it is because the 4th gen is a bit lighter or what, but this car spins like a record when the roads are slippery. I found this was a problem last wither as well. I chalked it up to the alignment being bad.

On the way to work, only 100 yards from my house, still in first gear, not even registering on the speedo, the back end comes around...180... curb! BANG. My alignment? Poof.. gone. Everything looked okay underneath. Nothing was broken or obviously bent. The steering wheel was no longer straight though, so I knew something wasn't right.

Get it up on the hoist... seems it's just the alignment. Take it to the alignment shop and prepare for them to do the hard sell.. surprise surprise... they can't do an alignment. (Can they ever do one without installing parts?) It turns out that the rear sub frame is bent ever so slightly. ****.

A new one from Honda is $320. Not bad. BUT, now it has me thinking... why not do a 4 wheel steering swap? If I can find a complete donor car, I'd love to do it.
 
#11 ·
Thank you! I was beginning to wonder if this was a dead forum. I wasn't going to bother updating, but now I know someone is watching, I'll keep them coming.


The car is still off the road right now. I find it is absolute garbage in the snow, so I have been driving something RWD and equally as garbage in the snow, a Mazda pick up truck. The truck is light in the tail, but predictable. It'll get me to where I want to go, even if it is sideways. This lude in snow doesn't handle like any FWD or RWD car I have ever driven. I wonder if any other 4th genners have had this experience?

I'm still scouting for 4ws parts, but the majority of what I am finding is for 3rd gens, or RHD 4th gens. I found a part out thread, locally, where a guy was parting a 4ws car, but it's old, and he hasn't replied to my message yet.

The search continues!
 
#12 ·
Best bet would be to scour the local wrecking yards for parts. Surprisingly my first 4th gen drove fairly well in the snow. You just have to be very careful about losing traction and your steering input. When you start losing traction, its much worse than it was in my D21 Nissan pickup, like you said it'll go where you need it to even sideways.
 
#13 ·
My 5th gen was always planted in the snow, I could tell get that thing to slip for the life of me. This 4th gen on the other hand... creeping along, straight road... All of a sudden the back comes around as though it's being pushed. Last winter was the same, but I pinned that on a bad alignment.

I was in first gear idling along. There was a car right on my ass, I wonder if perhaps he nudged me. I didn't see any marks on my bumper though.
 
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