Can you do a pop up headlight conversion for 91 accord?

[Cb7babe]

Hey guys so I'm new to the site. I hope I'm posting in the right spot.

I'm the proud owner of a 1991 Honda Accord Lx

I was trying to find a tutorial or how to guide on swapping my stock headlights to pop ups like the 3rd gen Hondas. However I couldn't find anything there's a lot of pop up to the stocks I have but I want it the other way around lol.

I feel like there will be more involved in what I want to do or it's more complicated for some reason.

Does anyone know of someone doing this before?? Or have any idea where to begin with this. I'm pretty new to the cb7s this is my first car and I started learning about them a few weeks ago. I want something really unique like one never seen before. I was also wanting to sometime down the line maybe put an old Chevy motor in here and I saw two other that have done it so far but that's it. Bigs plans for my baby and I hope you guys can help me along the way

Any helps greatly appreciated.

[Bunta]

So you are saying you have seen people converting 3rd gen accords from pop-up headlights to static headlights? Are they using our headlights?

It would seem to me that there would be a clearance needed below the pop-ups so that they could fully close without hitting any brackets. Your best bet is to try and get an in person look at a 3rd gen and see how things sit, where your brackets would have to be and how the motors are located and secured. There's also the smaller but necessary task of wiring them to open and turn on when you need. You would need either one switch or two, depending on if you wanted them to automatically open when turned on or if you wanted to open them and the light not be on.

Honestly I think converting to a non popup would be easier since you can lay the headlight across the gap that would normally be needed, just need a bracket to hold it in place. Also wiring would simply be a matter of powering the lights and not an additional motor aswell.

Another set of considerations is the bumper, fenders and hood would all have to fit different shaped lights, not just when they were open but closed also.

As for putting a chevy engine in an Accord unless it's an inline 4 chevy engine the only place worth taking the time to put a chevy engine in an accord is in the trunk ( if it'll fit)


*edit* it being your first car I'd suggest making sure it is up to par maintenance wise and reliability wise before attempting headlight and engine swaps.

[Cb7babe]

Ok I was figuring i would have to change the hood and fenders and bumper and all. There is actually a 3rd gen Honda at my local junkyard with al those parts I could use to make the swap. Maybe I can go this week and get a better look at it and idea of how it would all fit.

I was thinking is I swap over the front ends it won't be all too hard unless I have to alter things in some way.

[lbus9168]

Okay so,

3rd gen accords came with pop ups and static headlights.

The swap they are doing is not particularly useful to you.

To swap to pop ups you'll need to do a lot of fab work.

I doubt anything would bolt in so you'd need to do this:

Custom front rad support to support headlights
Custom mount front bar.
Custom bonnet, front end of 3rd gen grafted to 4th gen.
Custom front fenders, again 3g front on 4g rear
Custom wiring.
Aftermarket pop up switch.
Etc.

There's a shit load of work in it for not much gain.

If it were me, I'd buy a 3rd gen personally.

I contemplated doing this to my wagon but its too much work.

I bought an mx5 instead for my pop up needs.

[Cb7babe]

Thanks man

My boyfriend is thinking he can do it he said it's not that hard 😂 We will see what he says when we go back to that yard and check out that 3rd gen that's there. He said they probably would want $450 for it. I think he's wanting to accept this challenge now lol he keeps saying I can do it it's easy.

I'm going to measure everything this week and then go back to the junkyard and do some comparisons to see how much fab work really needs to be done. If the hood doesn't match up there's a junk 91 there with a hood I can try n cut up to fit the lights so if it doesn't work out I'll still have the old one.

With my boyfriends confidence it's starting to look like a possibility.

[chi]

wouldn't you be able to swap a 89ish prelude front clip onto a cb7 without too much problem? They're about the same size IIRC,i could be way off though lol

[lbus9168]

Way different size. 3gp motors are slanted specifically to accommodate the low bonnet line. 0 chance of installing, having it look like a prelude and also looking good.

[chi]

damn,there went my theory lol..if you could pull it off to work though,i bet it'd look pretty slick

[deevergote]

There will be considerable cutting and welding involved. If your boyfriend is an experienced fabricator and has some skill at doing custom body work, then he could likely pull it off. Otherwise, the end result is unlikely to be attractive, if it ever even reaches completion. Just make sure he understands the scope of the project before he starts hacking up your car.
That being said, I'd be curious to see this done!

[Grumpys93]

This would be interesting to see. On a side note: you are a very trusting person to allow your boyfriend to hack up your car. I wouldn't even let my wife install a sticker on my cb7

[steelbluesleepR]

A good rule of thumb is if you have to ask "how hard is it", for you, it will be basically impossible. Those with the skills never ask, they just try it and see if it works. Stuff like this rarely works, though, and will end up totaling your car.

[Bunta]

A good rule of thumb is if you have to ask "how hard is it", for you, it will be basically impossible. Those with the skills never ask, they just try it and see if it works. Stuff like this rarely works, though, and will end up totaling your car.

to be fair she's asking since her BF is gonna try it and he seems confident./

[deevergote]

to be fair she's asking since her BF is gonna try it and he seems confident./

Since she didn't begin with "my bf is a bodywork professional who has built many award winning custom show cars", methinks that confidence is likely misplaced.

[AccordWarrior]

As someone who has a car with popups, I highly advocate against them, even if you have the skill to make it work.

They're cool and all, but they are a PITA when they go wrong. I've torn my apart multiple times to get them to work correctly and line up, and they're still not working correctly or lined up.

[Carbonaccord]

did't you ask this on CB7 Accords on Facebook already? lol as far as i know there is no official conversion or guide on doing it. it'll all involve custom fabrication of brackets, possibly the radiator support, hood, bumper etc. I have a pretty large background in Automotive Refinishing and custom Exterior design (Widebody blending, Custom on off pieces like diffusers and wings, painting, body work, showroom like paint correction, and evencomposites, hence my Username) so i can imagine the work that your goal would take. It wont be cheap or easy if you want it to look good.. honestly i would just buy a 3rd gen Accord and do an engine swap like a B series to it.