CyborgGT : 1993 Accord EX wagon

[Raf99]

Looking good. Love the headlights, classic properly done.
I would of just taken that whole back door off and outside somewhere to shake / vacuum, etc. I had a car window broken once, hated the idea of finding glass everywhere. I once knew a guy who broke his window and just drove around with the glass rattling in the door.

[CyborgGT]

Yeah, I saw that in your thread but from what you said I wasn't sure if you were keeping them since they sit higher. That's a proper deal for RSX seats, though. In good shape, I see them go for $5-600 all the time on the RSX forum. Are they '02-'04s, or '05-'06s with the thicker padding?

The '05-'06s in my '02 RSX:

[HenRoc]

Very nice man! I am hoping I can snag a set of one peice lamps for mine. I just recently picked up a set of RSX seats for $100. I also have some work ahead of me as well.

[CyborgGT]

It warmed up a bit finally, so I got a couple things done...

This '05-'10 Odyssey rear wiper arm assembly was actually installed the day I posted that parts haul, since it was so simple. I love when little details make such a big change!




Last weekend I picked up the rear glass from a junkyard, as well as the regulator+motor in case I needed them. For those wondering, yes a sedan rear window does fit a wagon. Also, in an earlier photo you may have noticed some trim surrounding one of the side cargo area windows had come loose in a couple corners. That simply wedged back into place.




At least they did a thorough job of patching it...




God I hate thieves. I suppose at least they took out the more easily replaced of the windows, though.




Swapped and cleaned up... I do have plans to remove as much black trim as I can to re-spray it, by the way.




With the turn signals resurfaced, I worked up the courage and went after the headlights. Got one done tonight before my toes started freezing. Here are some before shots of the one side. Not too bad, really, but there was room for improvement. You'll see here I also threw on the eBay grille for test fitting. The fitment's crap, it sags a bit in the middle under the hood line. I'm not sure if I'll put the stock one back on, or keep it until the stock grille has been customized into a similar style with OEM fitment.






No going back now...




Still not perfect, but better than before. A couple scratches were deeper than 600 grit was wanting to take out without risking me grinding dips into the plastic, and at the end there's still some very slight swirl marks that the polish wasn't wanting to flatten out.








I got the 3M clear protective film on the three lenses that are done so far. The headlight was a massive pain to cover. I'm really hoping a heat gun or sunlight over time will take care of the crease marks left from repeated peeling back to flatten out air pockets. The film is flat now, it's just the adhesive underneath that got all ugly. And of course, thinking back now, I could have dug out my finer body work polish before putting the film on to take care of those swirl marks. Hopefully the driver's side will end up cleaner when I get to it.

[CyborgGT]

The buttons themselves are broken, that's my issue. I'm sure the batteries are dead, too, but I wouldn't even be able to find out. I was hoping it would be as simple as finding a good fob and programming it like you would with any modern car that has a fob separate from the key, since the key itself isn't coded to the ignition. As it is, I just picked up a couple standard Honda blanks that I need to get cut.

[HenRoc]

Can't wait to see what you do with this one man. Unfortunately you it's a pain to replace the batteries in the keys.

The parts car I picked up had all the original keys with it but to mate it with my car I would have had to switch the locks, including the ignition and the computer that controls it (it's that black box underneath the driver seat).

Hindsight...I should have done it since I only have one transmitter key left for mine but I didn't want to go through the hassle at the time.

[CyborgGT]

My brother-in-law has a 2007 Accord 4-cylinder. He's getting the dreaded P0420 code on his car and basically needs a new cat. The aftermarket cats he's tried (at large expense via a mechanic) wouldn't clear the code, so the only option is for him to go OEM. Two summers ago it was a $900 part from Honda. It's now a $1,900 part.

The bizarro thing, a 2006 Accord part is still just under $1,000. The 2007 specific cat is different :facepalm:

Damn. I actually went aftermarket when I replaced the cat on the RSX this past October, with a Walker direct-fit. OEM wasn't worth it in that case, but the Walker cleared that same code for me. I did replace both oxygen sensors with OEM Densos at the same time just to be safe, though. Walker's donut gasket squeaks like hell, too (or could re-used spring bolts squeak?); I need to get back under there with an OEM to see if that helps. But my only real worry is that I hear aftermarket cats of any brand tend not to last more than a couple years.

[AccordWarrior]

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.

My brother-in-law has a 2007 Accord 4-cylinder. He's getting the dreaded P0420 code on his car and basically needs a new cat. The aftermarket cats he's tried (at large expense via a mechanic) wouldn't clear the code, so the only option is for him to go OEM. Two summers ago it was a $900 part from Honda. It's now a $1,900 part.

The bizarro thing, a 2006 Accord part is still just under $1,000. The 2007 specific cat is different :facepalm:

[CyborgGT]

Yeah, there were some big orders in there!

Which kit did you go with? For restoration?

For the lights? Rain-X, because it came with sanding discs for a drill (1500g, 3200g, & 4000g) and I'm lazy, haha. It was $20 or something like that. I had my own set of discs from another project that allowed me to get down to 600, though; got a couple multi-packs off eBay that had 600/800/1000/1200/1500.


And of course it's snowing again, delaying my going to Denver for the head work further. I checked the weather just last night and it said we were supposed to be clear, but now it's snowing and the forecasts are suddenly all saying snow today and tomorrow. I smacked a curb the other night going to work because of the ice pack, so I'm not risking something worse that far away from home. I should move to AZ, and be done with this weather.

[Raf99]

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

[Grumpys93]

Which kit did you go with? For restoration?

[CyborgGT]

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]

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]

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.

[CyborgGT]

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.