57 replies to this topic

[CSPCRX]

Have had my 1986 since 1992 and was the second owner of that car.  Been on the lookout for a stock, clean (as clean as a 30 plus year old car can be) example of a CRX or Prelude that the Mrs and I could use to take short trips to the store or take to our church car shows.

 

Found a 1985 CRX that has 74,500 original miles on it.  Car was in CA where the original owner lived.  He pulled it behind his RV for most of its life and he and his wife would drive it to bingo and what not.  He drove it up until he passed at 95 years of age.  It then sat for a year before his daughters boyfriend purchased it from the family.  He intended to fix her up and drive her around but learned quickly parts are hard to find and didn’t know the ins and outs of these cars.  So lucky for me he put her up for sale.

 

Car is completely stock, with some nice factory options.  It has AC, not working right now but that will be fixed shortly, CRX OEM floor mats, OEM mud flaps and Honda louvers.  Only options left back then was the alloy wheels, fog lights and the reflective garnish.  Interior is dirty but amazingly in great shape.  Seats were covered with seat covers that protected them over the years.  Factory cassette deck still works, speakers are shot but it works.

 

Like any 30 plus year old car she has some scars to show for it.  Owner cut the front lip and bumper to attach his tow bar system.  Found a new lip and am working on a replacement bumper.  Nose panel was cracked and guy that bought it took it off to try and fix it only to find it broke even more.  New header panel has been ordered from HeelToe.  Drivers side turn signal tabs are broken and lens was cracked, was able to find a replacement.  Rear garnish with the CRX logo was damaged.  Appears someone or something hit it and dented the hatch right on the edge and damaged the body a bit behind the garnish.  I got a replacement garnish and found it wont fitting correctly as a result.  Going to get that fixed and straightened out.

 

Ordered new shocks since the originals, that are on the car, are a bit tired and bounce more than I like.  Spent a lot of time cleaning right now, new hatch shocks and wiper blades are all I’ve done thus far.  Here are a few pics and I will update as she progresses.  My wife has named her “Penny” as she has always said these cars look like the old Penny Racers, for those that remember those toys.  Couple of pics to get things started.

 

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr
Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr

 

Some goodies I found in the car.  Original Honda fuses and a set of brand new pads.

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr
 

best looking garage in the neighborhood!

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr

[greasemonkeyreborne 5x1g's]

congratulations! glad you were able to find a good one!

[CSPCRX]

Thanks, it’s getting more and more difficult.

[CSPCRX]

After buying the car we realized we didn’t get the collection of documents the owner had.   Met up today and got them, some cool stuff.

 

Owners manual, tag/manual that hung on radio, tag/manual that hung on AC, all warranty docs and 1985 Honda sales brochure.

 

window sticker and every sales document including the negotiation/deal document. Amazing original purchase price was just over $10 which included add ons of AC, radio, louvers, mud flaps and floor mats.

 

all vehicle registrations from 10/84 until it was brought to AZ in 2021.

 

all maintenance records

 

1985 Honda sales brochure for every model offered.

 

so cool to have this stuff.  This was the first new car the owner had ever purchased.

[CSPCRX]

Spent over 8 hours in the garage yesterday working on her.  New KYB struts up front and shocks in the rear and deep clean on the interior.

 

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr

 

You would never know these seats are 37 years old.  The sheep skin covers, all though they mess of things, did a great job of protecting them.

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr

 

Original CRX floor mats got hit with the carpet cleaner and look great.  A rare part that you just don’t see any longer.

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr

 

37 years of grime removed and dozens of spiders and webs removed.  She looks so much better inside now!  Next is the exterior!

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr
 

[CSPCRX]

Gave her a real bath today.  Cleaned all the jams and chemical guys foam cannon the car with a good scrubbing.  Then it was time to try and bring back the paint a little. Taking it on in sections as it is going to take a while for sure to fix 37 year old paint.  No way to get it perfect but looking to improve it.

 

Our process was as follows.  Two passes with 4in DA with Meguiar’s compound,  one pass with Meguiar’s polish and finally their synthetic sealer.  Overall very happy.

 

here are some before and after pictures of the results.

Before #1

Hood Before 1 by Victor M, on Flickr
 

After #1

Hood After 1 by Victor M, on Flickr
 

Before #2

Hood Before 2 by Victor M, on Flickr

After #2

Hood After 2 by Victor M, on Flickr

 

no professional but so much better the details in the reflections are so telling.  Also painted the wiper arms and detailed and cleaned the squirters.  Now the rest of the car to do! 

[CSPCRX]

Did the roof today, same process as the hood.  Thing that struck me was how the overhead lights look yellow in the before picture.

 

Before

Roof Before by Victor M, on Flickr

 

After

Roof After by Victor M, on Flickr

 

next weekend will start working on the sides.

[Screech]

Very nice find.

[CSPCRX]

Thanks.  Could pass it up.  She’s coming around.

[CSPCRX]

Spent the weekend doing the remainder of the cars red painted sections.  Fenders probably were the most dramatic improvement as you can see but all of the panels have responded very well.

 

fender before, no shine real shine!  Fenders are going to get replaced but had to help them a little.

Passenger front fender before by Victor M, on Flickr

 

well look at that there is some hope.

Passenger front fender after by Victor M, on Flickr
 

rear fenders came out nicely as well.  here’s a before shot
Rear passenger fender before by Victor M, on Flickr
 

and after

Rear passenger fender after by Victor M, on Flickr
 

overall she looks a million times better.  Hoping to see if AC will hold a charge this week.  Then put the header panel on and working on a new bumper.  
 

I sourced a new cassette drive belt, waiting on that to arrive then I will try and replace that so the cassette player works.

[CSPCRX]

Worked on the AC.

 

Pulled the system down and what little R12 was in it.  It held a vacuum which was a good sign.  Changed the fittings to the R134 and charged the system.  Let it sit overnight and the next day she was still blowing cold.  Evacuated the system again to make sure there wasn’t any R12 oil and make sure the proper amount of oil was added back in.  Charged the system again and put the correct amount of oil in the system and let her sit 24 hours.

 

still blowing nice and cold!  No idea the last time the AC was charged but so glad to see it all works still.  Now I can put the header panel and headlight bezels on.  Had them off so it would be easier to spot any leaks if there were any.

[CSPCRX]

Making some more progress!  She has a complete nose now! No more giant hole!

Untitled by Victor M, on Flickr

 

found the bracket on the drivers side that mounts to the fender then the header panel bolts to it as well as the headlight bucket is bent in badly.  As a result I can’t get the bucket in the right place which means the side marker light is not seating fully.  Trying to find one from a junk yard is a fun scavenger hunt now days.  If anyone has one let me know.

 

she’s coming together nicely though.  Working on a new bumper and that’s the last largely damaged item.

[CSPCRX]

Replacement bumper arrived, aftermarket unpainted oem old stock.  Could not believe I found them, yes them.  I found three of them, one has small damage on it.

 

I also did some repair work on the original radio.  It works great except for the cassette player, it will not load the cassette.  I found the specs, 16 in square belt, and found a company that sells belts.  After completing disassembling the radio and removing the cassette assembly I was able to replace the belt.  Now we have a working cassette player as well!

 

my wife and I really like the Beastie Boys and I was able to find an original cassette from 1986.  Very period correct for the car and enjoyable to listen to.

[CSPCRX]

The Mrs and I took our little grocery getter for a drive.  Went to the Honda dealership, property greater with an offer to buy her, to get some MTF, drain plug washers and oil filter.  Lady at the counter said they were right next to me in a box, which had the part number for a K series filer.  I explained it wasn’t the right part and she responded with they are all the same.  Nope they are not and they didn’t have them in stock.  Amazon to the rescue!

 

Also picked up some brake fluid.  Plan is to flush and bleed brakes and flush the trans.  No idea if that’s ever been done or if 1980s fluids are still in her.  I know the oil was changed but I am going to do it again since the drain plug is leaking.

 

she ran great, AC still blows cold.

[greasemonkeyreborne 5x1g's]

she polishes up real good. great job