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**CyborgGT** · 01-20-2020, 03:18 PM

But First, A Bit of History
Since I never made a thread for my old CB

My first-ever car was a '92 LX automatic in Cobalt Blue Pearl with grey interior.

In the four years I had with the sedan, it was crashed and repaired

I met some of you in person and enjoyed a few cruises

thanks to the information in this place, and of course a formal education in automotive tech before even owning a car, I was able to H-swap it myself over a weekend

and I did a few things to personalize the car

After the engine swap, the car ran without a hitch for about a year before, in the Fall of 2012, it began to suffer an intermittent electrical problem - which in hindsight was probably down to my noob attempt at tucking the wiring in the engine bay. I could never get the problem to repeat itself in the driveway, so I set my sights on the future by pulling the engine, sending a beautifully rust-free body to the junkyard (yes, I'm still kicking myself over that, even after wanting a wagon instead), and began collecting parts for a power build, knowing that one day I'd get back into the CB chassis that I had grown to love.

In the meantime, I got an RSX to serve as the reliable daily driver.

I was hoping to keep it stock to focus funds on the H build, but we all know how that goes - the DC5 is such a great chassis!

Needless to say, this affected my H22's progress in a big way. Just over seven years after the sedan's engine was finally pulled and torn down, it's only just now nearing a return to life.

During those off-years, there were a couple people that helped me out with parts I am proud and thankful to own.

First, our own KeeleDesign made me this absolutely badass "stealth" valve cover. I attempted it myself and it came out a bit rough. I only bothered shaving the "DOHC VTEC" lettering, but Brandon took it to that next level by not only fixing my screw-ups but removing the cam gear cover (I do love watching mechanical things at work), shaving the ridge that runs along the back half, filling in the RHD throttle cable bracket holes, and laying down a proper satin black. I wanted the H left on the spark plug cover because I'm a big fan of Hondas heritage. This valve cover probably won't see much street use just so I can protect that timing belt, but you can be sure I'll be swapping it on for special occasions and when I start taking the wagon to shows. Thanks again for the time and effort you put into this, Brandon! A little part of the CB7Tuner community is the centerpiece of my engine bay.

The piece I am most proud of is a design of my own imagination. It's something I thought up not long after getting rid of the sedan and only more recently, by chance, came across someone who could help make it happen. As heavily modified as the wagon will be, I wanted to give it my own one-off name. Inspired by the Accord Type R and Euro R, and the badging of the CB wagon as "Aero Deck" in other parts of the world, I came up with a new trim level I call the "Aero R," sing the design and font of the CL7 badge as a base. We went back and forth over e-mail, critiquing the concept in 2D, and then in 3D, before a pair of physical emblems was finally created through the brilliant innovation of 3D printing. I still need to get it chromed and painted to match the look of the Euro R badge, but with my eye for detail I'm glad to be overseeing that myself. Thanks and credit go to Cody Casale at ClubRSX and of Casale Design (his Instagram) for pulling this out of my head and making it real. As a cool sidebar, this guy made the fenders on Big Mike's Prelude in its third, Martini-liveried iteration; as well as the body work for that wide-body RyWire/Mugen S2000 that was at SEMA 2017. Seriously talented guy. Maybe one day I'll be able to have these remade in metal. Teamed up with the '98-'02 Accord emblem and DC2R red H (thanks, tommi!):

I decided that the completion of the engine parts collection was the right time to go shopping for a wagon. At this point, I still have to get the block and head machined (hopefully this step doesn't take too long), and then assemble & install the engine before putting the car on a dyno for a tune.

Apologies for the cheesiness, but as long as I've been on this forum a lot of you guys here have helped and inspired me in different ways as well. Too many to remember, let alone list - sadly, many have moved on - but know that I do appreciate you all. Seven years is a long time to stay interested in something you don't own and so can't personally enjoy, but there was honestly never a point where I wasn't excited to see things through to my ultimate vision for this build.

**CyborgGT** · 01-20-2020, 03:19 PM

Day One / “0 miles”

The Canvas…

- 1993 EX wagon, automatic
- Purchased on 1.18.20 in Florence, Colorado
- 286,808.8 miles as I was leaving the town of purchase
- YR-94M-3 Seattle Silver Metallic / Type D burgundy interior

I don’t believe I “settled” for this car, as it’s still very much what I was looking for despite the obvious issues you'll see below, but I will admit to getting impatient waiting for a more exact ‘right car’ to pop up for sale. The clear coat is gone on most of the car, and it's not a manual, but it met my three big requirements: it has a D-pillar, has no quarter panel rust, and the chassis is straight (the hood/lights/grille line up, etc). This is the ad I responded to, from a small town three hours south of where I live.

Character Flaws…

There are several small issues with the car, but nothing the junkyard or plans that were already made won’t fix.

Peep the power steering leak ^

Unfortunately, the seller had already warmed the car up before I got there, so I couldn’t see or hear the effects of a cold start before buying, but he was confident it would make the drive back north just fine, which it did. Although I will say that with as much as I’ve gotten used to my base auto RSX, I had a hard time believing a car could be even more gutless. Here’s a cold start, with some light revs, the next day. It just shat all over the brand new concrete. Of course, the engine it came with hardly matters, considering what's replacing it.

The obvious problems here being the missing window, the misalignment of the corner light & bumper, and the mismatched mirror. The window motor is still whirring away, but I’ll grab the glass and track from a junkyard - is everything related to the doors the same, sedan vs wagon? Peeking through the gaps around the corner light, it looks like every tab on it is broken and it was poorly glued in place, which explains the spacing. I’ve already got one-piece lights anyway. The bumper clips are a common wear item, and this corner wasn’t even sitting on the bolt head in there. The seller sounded unsure about the mirror; he’s flipped a lot of CBs, this one had been sitting for months, and he couldn’t remember whether this car came with a mirror delete plate on that side. Being a ’93 and an EX, I’m going to guess there was originally a mirror on this side. Either way, I’ve got power folding mirrors in storage.

Less obvious is the front window. On both sides, it stops at that exact position, when I seem to remember my sedan’s windows going all the way down. Both make a metallic ‘clack’ when they bottom out. The trim piece in the middle of the door is also crushed in a bit, but the door panel itself feels straight. The paint is definitely faded on the hood and roof, and a few small dings are scattered around the car. The faded wheels will be dedicated to winter duty and probably powder coated white.

I think the rear bumper might have been hit, as there’s a slight upward bulge on the passenger side where that black spot is under the taillight, but it doesn’t seem to have affected anything else. The red and white mess on the back window was from the stickers I scraped off; the previous owner to the seller was a pastor.

The car does seem to have come with the original, OEM keyless entry fob, but the buttons are broken. Is that exact key fob replaceable and programmable? Anyone know the part number? Keyless entry for 1993 is cool to me, so I’d love to restore it. I suppose I could go aftermarket and do the rear door handle swap for the fronts, since I can still mechanically get in the car through the tailgate. Any ‘90s Honda needs the security of those lock cylinders being gone.

The interior is slightly disgusting, but appears to be in great shape and it does look like a good cleaning is all it needs. The maroon is not as bad as I’d always thought it would be, even if it’s a bit monotonous. The long-term plan is full custom reupholstery anyway. I’m debating an SE dash, but since there’s no way of actually testing whether that airbag will deploy properly, maybe not. Rust under the spare tire was something I thought to check before buying; there is none, just some oil from an old container that was in a bag back there. Is the sunroof glass interchangeable with the sedan? Mine's cracked.

A very nice discovery on day two was a stack of maintenance records and a couple dealership items (the tag with the blue string is about cruise control operation) stashed in one of the side compartments. The car was originally bought at Honda World in Peoria, Illinois, and it’s still got the cool little dealer emblem from the period. The work reports are all ten-plus years old, but there was a lot done. The engine's probably on its way out, but the important part (to me), the chassis, feels great in town and on the freeway.

*Edit: I had a couple freezing, snowy days, and went through it all. It's boring stuff, but as long as I'm using this thread to document the car's history...

8/11/1997 @ 83,925 miles
- new tires & alignment check [one wheel was slightly off on toe, but it doesn't say if alignment was corrected]

7/15/1998 @ 97,638 miles
"90,000 mile service checklist" was done at Honda dealership:
- oil & filter checked okay
- transmission fluid changed
- brake fluid changed
- fluid levels [randoms topped off? repair was checked as completed]
- tire pressure check & rotation
- exhaust system checked okay
- a couple light bulbs were replaced
- washers & wipers checked okay
- front pads & rotors declared to have 7-10k miles left on them
- rear brake caliper pins were lubed, pads & rotors were replaced
- parking brake checked okay
- brake lines & fittings checked okay
- valves adjusted
- suspension checked okay
- steering checked okay
- timing & accessory belts replaced
- coolant replaced
- air filter replaced
- fuel filter replaced
- fuel lines & connections checked okay
- PCV valve checked okay
- spark plugs
- distributor replaced
- timing set
- water pump replaced
- idle speed checked okay
- EGR valve checked okay

5/30/1999 @ 113,612 miles
- looks like the car was taken in for a flat tire but it was unrepairable and replaced.

9/11/1999 @ 118,000 miles
- new tires & alignment check

7/6/2006
- new timing belt
- new cam & crank seal
- spark plugs
- axles
- water pump
- fuel pump
- change trans fluid
- change oil

10/5/2006
- "new rear brakes & rotors turned"

1/23/2007
- oil pan gasket
- valve cover gasket
- oil filter o-ring
- front struts
- front springs
- oil filter
- alignment check

4/9/2007
- "R&R bushings"

10/29/2008 @ 201,227 miles
- two oxygen sensors
- brake pads
- motor mount

8/1/2009
Checker Auto Parts receipt
- water pump

8/25/2009
- radiator cap

11/6/2009
- MRB 86-2148D boot kit

11/6/2009
- New front strut assemblies, 171875ST Quick-Strut

11/7/2009
- GSP front passenger CV axle, NCV36502

12/20/2009
Checker Auto Parts receipt
- distributor cap
- distributor rotor
- spark plugs
- spark plug wires
- air filter
- fuel filter

12/27/2009
Advance Auto Parts receipt
- pair of light bulbs

12/30/2009
- starter

1/25/10
- Fel-Pro water outlet gasket, 35062
- Gates timing belt, T186

4/2/2010 @ 212,653 miles
- "Customer comment: 1) Get vehicle running. Someone else has been working on vehicle, not sure what is wrong. 2) Check cruise control.
- "Checked vehicle, found front crankshaft pulley falling off. Had to clean up keyway for crank pulley. Also had burrs on crankshaft, filed down. Re-installed crank pulley and installed bolt wth Locktite. Re-installed front engine belts. Charged battery and got vehicle running. Engine does have internal noises or external acc. bearing noises.
- "Perform functional tests on cruise control. Checked powers and grounds, okay.
- "Test drove vehicle and cruise is working fine."

4/23/2010 @ 212,851 miles
- "Remove and replaced valve cover gasket and plug tube seals."
- "Removed and replaced spark plugs, wires, ignition cap, and rotor."
- "Checked vehicle for vibration. Re-center engine mounts. Checked mechanical rear mount, it is working but loose. Seems like most of the vibration is from the balance shaft belt."

10/7/2010 @ 216,741 miles
- [winter tires were swapped onto rims?]

10/12/2010
Not sure what this one is:
- APS 6609
- APSCO PUMP/RACK

10/14/2010 @ 216,997 miles
- "multi point inspection," looks like an oil & filter change was done. There's a full inspection checklist - it's signed but isn't filled out.

Progress should be very good this year. Depending on backup at the machine shops, since the head and block are both getting work done, very soon this car will be receiving an all-motor H22 that should be pushing about 240 whp, a manual transmission swap, upgraded suspension, wheels, and several parts I kept from my old sedan & have collected since. All of this to put the wagon at a ‘solid resting point’ as soon as possible so I can take my time improving it in little ways while saving up to go back to school. A bunch of parts are already on order…

**djcaz_aom** · 01-20-2020, 03:36 PM

Very nice.

**Grumpys93** · 01-20-2020, 10:20 PM

Looking forward to the progress. Congrats on getting back in the game!

**SSMAccord** · 01-20-2020, 10:41 PM

This is the content we deserve. I look forward to seeing this take shape.

**CyborgGT** · 01-21-2020, 12:01 AM

Originally posted by Grumpys93 View Post

Congrats on getting back in the game!

I was smiling literally all day that day. I'm probably more excited about this than should be normal. Too bad my work schedule sucks; I won't be able to take my head and block in for machine work until hopefully next Monday.

Also, Honda has discontinued the half shaft inner seal (pt# 91262-SH3-000). I ordered all those pieces associated with that bearing for the manual conversion so it's all fresh, and now I don't know what I'm going to do there. Maybe the old one can be reused...

**af_1132** · 01-21-2020, 12:13 AM

There we go! You have your chassis now! I am glad you were able to make it happen so relatively soon! You are back in the game, not that you ever left IMO.

**CyborgGT** · 02-02-2020, 05:03 AM

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

A ton of stuff came in this week, tools and parts for the engine and trans swap, as well as some small cosmetic pieces. Notables:

- Exedy Stage 1 clutch
- Competition 11.56 lb flywheel
- MTEC shift springs
- block heater, so I can not worry about starting this thing up in winter
- '05-'10 Ody rear wiper arm (thanks, excalibur02, for the idea!)
- Valex clutch line
- newer spring-style lost motion assemblies
- balance shaft seal retainer, since my H22 didn't come with one
- S2000 oil filters
- EM1 VTEC-yo qp decals... I had to, haha

I didn't end up taking my head in to the machine shop last Monday because I started a full brake job on the RSX Sunday and of course that didn't go as smoothly as planned. Tomorrow, though (*edit - failed attempt #2, due to weather and the shop being an hour away; not worth the accident risk). I still need to find someone local to re-sleeve the block and make sure the crank is still straight; hopefully I can find a local business to support rather than shipping it out. One nice surprise is that at the junkyard I found the "Type R style" black mesh grille I'd been planning on ordering, for just $5. Not even so much as a crack in it, either. The grille in the shots of my old sedan was a DIY using the stock grille; I'll probably do that again to retain the H, but later. Otherwise I've just been working on fixing the little cosmetic issues with the car, installing the parts from/since my sedan so they're not taking up space in my storage unit, and in the morning I'll be headed back to the junkyard for that missing window. Hopefully I can score some other OEM 'upgrades' there as well. I'll get photos once it's all done. The manual transmission itself might be awhile. I'm trying to hold out for at least a Prelude H23 trans, since those and the H22 models do appear every once in a long while. Interestingly, I did spot a fifth-gen Prelude at the 'yard with an F23 block and P13 head... unfortunately it had an Accord transmission in it.

I think my plan with this is to do the trans swap on the F22 first, make sure that's running smoothly, and then swap in the H. That way if I hit an electrical problem or something it'll be easier to narrow down.

**CyborgGT** · 02-08-2020, 07:00 PM

Working on refinishing the turn signals today. The bottom one was only attacked with a headlight restoration kit, with 1500/3200/4000 grit sanding discs and polish. For the one on top I went even rougher, starting with 600 grit and stepping it up toward 4000 and polish. There's still some pitting, but it's looking pretty damn good if I do say so myself. Now that that's boosted my confidence in this kind of job, the headlights will be refinished as well. I've got some 3M clear protective film on the way to prevent future damage from rock chips and other dulling.

**CyborgGT** · 02-09-2020, 06:56 AM

Here's something annoying. I've kept a running list, with dates and prices, of pretty much everything I've bought for the CB since I had the sedan, everything I bought for the H22 when I originally swapped it, and up until now. I figured that since my belts have been sitting for seven years, even though they only got a year and a half of use from new when I still had that car, it's probably a good idea to replace them...

OEM H22 timing belt, part number 14400-P13-014: $50.53 in October of 2010, $67.98 today.
OEM H/F balancer belt, part number 13405-PT0004: $32.57 in October of 2010, $55.31 today.

Granted, these are Majestic prices, not Honda's list prices (which probably increased, too), but they're still coming in well under list. Purely adjusting for inflation, the difference should only be $9 and $6, respectively. Geez, if you haven't already, start investing in what OEM wear items you can still get before they're gone, be they mechanical wear or things in the car you touch frequently. The biggest reason it's a shame that these aren't popular enthusiast cars is the fact that we'll never see something like Nissan's heritage program where they started making old GT-R parts again.

**Grumpys93** · 02-09-2020, 09:54 AM

Yep I have noticed this as well. That is why with rockauto, anything I feel comfortable not using oem, I am stocking up on general maintenance items. But will for sure get more OEM parts that don't dry out.

**CyborgGT** · 02-09-2020, 10:47 AM

Yeah, I've just been hooked on OEM parts thanks to my RSX. I've really tried to avoid aftermarket parts with that car unless it's been an "upgrade," and that's already started to carry over to the wagon. For the cost of that headlight repair kit, for example, I could have just about paid for new aftermarket turn signals off eBay (I'm still considering clears with a light smoke tint)... but they wouldn't have been Stanley originals.

I see true classics at shows and it's cool when they have original parts on them. One day this car will be old, so I'll preserve what I can.

**Grumpys93** · 02-09-2020, 10:52 AM

Which kit did you go with? For restoration?

**Raf99** · 02-09-2020, 11:15 AM

reading through that maintenance records you found all I could think was the break downs the previous owner had on those days....

Announcement

CyborgGT : 1993 Accord EX wagon

CyborgGT : 1993 Accord EX wagon

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