CyborgGT : 1993 Accord EX wagon

[CyborgGT]

So the trans conversion is finally driving. At first, there was an issue with the clutch pedal/master cylinder travel not allowing the clutch to disengage. The car could still be driven like that, but you basically had to work around not having a clutch pedal. The hole that the MC rod pins into was a bit elongated in the first pedal I had picked up, so today I swapped in a different one and I think it's solved the issue...




But is it normal for these cars to have to completely floor the clutch for full disengagement? My experience with manual cars is pretty limited, but a friend who's owned several manual cars of different makes said he's not used to having to press the pedal flat to the floor. Compared to the other manual cars I've driven, it does feel a bit odd to me as well. Adjustment for the master cylinder rod is maxed out, and bleeding the system further (he has a vacuum bleeder) isn't changing anything.

[CyborgGT]

I ran into some tedious mini-jobs getting it done, but the swap was actually easier than I thought it would be before I started.

[SSMAccord]

The carpet looks great. And it seems like the manual swap was a breeze also.

[CyborgGT]

I've been thinking about it for the RSX, since it's been so long since I've detailed that car's interior and it really needs it. Maybe it's something to do to both cars at once this summer.

[Straight Success]

Have you considered steam cleaning the carpet just for that extra freshness?

[CyborgGT]

It was actually really nice out today while the sun was still up, so I took the opportunity to clean the new carpet in case it's a while before I get another day like this. Here it is just after a thorough vacuuming. Luckily a lot of that brown was just looser dust and dirt. I took a carpet cleaner to it and lifted more of it out, but it got dark by that point and the photo I took turned out all washed out from the garage light. Super excited to put this thing in, though.




ABS bracket, with its elongated holes. They needed a bit more stretching than this, but it's all fitted to the traction bar now.




Replaced the coolant line under the throttle body, and reinstalled the important parts of the intake and the battery tray.




The car seems to have a parasitic draw that killed the battery I bought right after purchasing the car. It would die just while the car was parked and turned off, but the headlights would also dim sometimes when I applied the brakes while the engine was running - I can't remember if it did that with the stock lights in, but I noticed it with the HIDs installed. I'm hoping it's just the alternator, so I'm swapping in the known good one from the H22 for now. This one's showing definite signs of age.

[Grumpys93]

I couldn't agree more on the fun times of old wire harness. I actually picked up a fire extinguisher as well when I brought back a 5th gen with a h22 in it. I wanted to engine only but didn't trust the shady electrical work that was done to the harness. I still have that extinguisher and hope I never have to use it before it expires.

[Straight Success]

Oh, the funs times of wiring correctly.

[CyborgGT]

Adventures in old car wiring...








What a fire hazard. All the plastic is hardened, and snaps when you try to move it around. I just patched it up, and swapped on some plugs I grabbed off a fifth-gen. This harness only needs to last for some test drives, and won't be reused with the H. One thing I didn't have that this job inspired me to pick up tonight was a fire extinguisher for the garage.

The distributor was then put back on, but I left the reverse switch not wired up. I saved the harness from my old H-swapped automatic sedan, and since I want to remove the auto-related circuits from the engine harness to clean it up, I'll wire in the reverse lights at that time. Looking at the FSM, it should be a simple matter of connecting that reverse switch to the matching wires that plug into the old auto shifter.


A fresh RyWire harness is definitely on the wishlist now...

[CyborgGT]

A wagon appeared at one of the junkyards, so I went to see if it had anything I wanted. I'm really needing a cargo privacy cover, but no luck yet. Turns out the car's interior was in beautiful condition, though. Too bad I don't care for the blue or I might have grabbed it all. It's always sad to see perfectly fine, un-wrecked cars in the junkyards.






I took the carpet, though. It has minor staining, but looks like it will clean up really well. I figured it was worth the $25 it cost to use as a temporary replacement for that awful rug that came with mine. This blue one would probably be a great candidate to keep and dye black later on as well. For now, I think the blue is dark enough that it won't be painfully obvious, especially once I put the black floor mats on top of it.




My third brake light was missing the little rubber piece that (mostly) closes the gap between the plastic and the glass, and I remember being able to see the reflection of the light in the rear-view mirror while driving it home that first night, so I grabbed this one. I need to find an unbroken clip for the bulb door, so for now this little bolt is holding it in place.




The wagon also had rear mud flaps, so I had to have those. I'm hoping that they're real wagon flaps and not just '90/'91s that were crammed in there - they have the Honda logo. But they seemed like they fit fine on the 'yard car...

[CyborgGT]

Brought the back half of the center console home for cleaning. There was an unopened Starburst with a brown wrapper in there, if that hints at all toward how the seller left the car.




Some generic black floor mats are on order to help break up the monotony of the interior a bit... and cover up those stains.


*ED. - took the console back for a final install, and this decent shot for the front page:

[SSMAccord]

This looks like a holiday well spent!!! I’m glad this went so smoothly.

[CyborgGT]

Took care of the shifter wiring. Proper neutral safety set-up can wait for warmer days.




I could't very well let those ABS brackets go back in caked with dirt.




Hate to say it, but I was waiting for fitment issues with the ESP parts. The plate on the traction bar is trying to hold the ABS pump just a tiny bit too close to the frame rail, so the bolts connecting the two factory plates aren't lining up. Fortunately this one isn't a big problem. I should be able to simply elongate the holes in the lower factory plate to slide the whole assembly sideways.




The interior's all buttoned up again. I was afraid the shift extender was going to feel awkward, but I'm actually really liking it.




I don't even smoke, I just like the period-correctness of the cigarette lighter ^ ""Oh, that town, that's like 20 years behind the times, that fucking place." Book me there. I had fun 20 years ago. What, I can still smoke indoors? Ecstasy is still pure, uncut and readily available? Oh, shit, what cavemen they must be." - Doug Stanhope



Off to put the snow tires back on the daily, though. The temperature dropped and the forecast suddenly changed...

[CyborgGT]

Trans conversion is just about done. I'm pretty much down to fluids, taking care of those broken connectors, and wiring in the new manual-specific circuits.






I had just enough clear film left over from my failed attempt at covering the headlights to protect the fogs, so they got the treatment. I also found some yellow bulbs on eBay; hopefully they're not cheap crap. I got a couple pairs just in case. I'm really trying to not give in to temptation and grab the next Seattle Silver sedan bumper I see at the junkyard... stay focused on the engine, stay focused on the engine...

[CyborgGT]

Screwed up my sleep schedule and ended up with a bit of free time today...


Installed the main beam on the traction bar, along with the torque strut:




Went to install the Valex line, wondering why it was so damn long, then why it wouldn't screw into the second soft line in the system. Turns out it goes all the way to the slave! From reading the conversion DIY, I got the impression that this wasn't the case; did they change the design? (*ED. - Just double-checked that; yeesh, I need to slow down when I read. Coulda saved myself from buying that P2M line!). Hopefully skipping the damper doesn't make it annoying to drive. I'll have to put in better effort in routing and securing the line when I clean up the bay for the H.




That, of course, cleaned up the top of the trans a bit. Not bad.




And finally, I bolted up the starter, and the little bracket to hold the rad hose: