Jeff's new beater project

[jeff]

Why am I posting this on the Fiesta forum? Because the Prelude forums are mostly dead/slightly alive and/or locked and only serve as a resource for a car from a bygone time...

So I thought I'd post it here since I have many friends here who love cars.

*****
Long story short, I've been looking for a cheap cash beater car to be my next project. I was looking in the $3-$5k range and looked at all sorts of things in the last 6 months such as Del Sol, Fiesta sFe, 6th gen Civic Si, a CRX, a Toyota pickup 5spd/22R-E, and a Prelude.

After looking at a few hundred cars (ads) and driving a dozen of them, I found a 5th gen Prelude about 3 hours away that I fell in love with. The car has a zillion miles (210k) but they are mostly highway from a work commute, and the car shows it. It's a one owner/family car with a clean Carfax and no rust. Interior is like new, you could eat off the engine bay. The car runs like a new car, has cold A/C. In the last 2 years it's gotten a new alternator, timing belt/water pump, new tires, head unit, radiator, battery, new tires, and some other minor stuff. Truly a high-mileage cream puff!!! When I looked at it I was not serious about buying it but after driving it I was convinced. The car needs a few things, some paint correction which I am working on (spent 3 hours today on the hood alone), need to go through it and do some minor repairs but once I'm done it's gonna be real sweet.

These are great cars. A bit heavy but very balanced. Honda used the Prelude to feature it's newest tech. It's a very simple car but very smooth. Quick but quiet, precise but non-dramatic. Feels very mature especially compared to a Civic or Del sol. Super composed, revs to redline without straining at all. Very different from my Fiesta, a great compliment to my collection!!!

2001 Prelude SH 5speed manual, $2950. I named the car Icabod. Not planning much in terms of mods, just want to restore it as much as possible and treat it like a time capsule.

I'll post more pics and some youTube videos at some point. Thanks for reading!!!
*****

 

[Mikey456]

I like the Hondas too. My Odyssey has 150k miles. Great family hauler.


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[Spork1569]

Man that interior is looking pretty clean for a 2001.my last car was a civic of the same year with 150k miles and let's just say there were plenty of odd stains everywhere.

 

[SrsBsns]

Nice pickup! I've always had a soft spot for those Preludes and seeing a clean one these days makes me happy.

 

[Ford ST]

That's a great car. Very clean nice.

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[jeff]

Thanks for the love guys.

About 8 hours so far on paint correction, about half of it is done. Here's a vlog I made:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc3-GzfvX40&feature=youtu.be

 

[Rico]

Great car. I suspect you saw this: https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g27404683/1999-honda-prelude-type-sh-by-the-numbers-gallery/

An early CRX has always been on my wishlist. Wish I had bought one back in the day, but didn't, and have continued regret. Didn't make that mistake with the FiST, thankfully.

 

[jeff]

Great car. I suspect you saw this: https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g27404683/1999-honda-prelude-type-sh-by-the-numbers-gallery/

An early CRX has always been on my wishlist. Wish I had bought one back in the day, but didn't, and have continued regret. Didn't make that mistake with the FiST, thankfully.

Thanks. Yeah I saw that article but I'd been looking for a Prelude before that, it only intensified my love for these cars.

CRXs are so old now that there are few left that are any good, most are overmodded or beat to death. Great car though!

 

[Mikey456]

Thanks. Yeah I saw that article but I'd been looking for a Prelude before that, it only intensified my love for these cars.

CRXs are so old now that there are few left that are any good, most are overmodded or beat to death. Great car though!

I would add a S2k to that list also. Wouldn’t mind adding a convertible to my garage . I think they are still at the 20k mark though for a decent one...

 

[jeff]

Yeah the S2K is out of my price range but surely a great car! My buddy has one, I told him when he sells it call me first but he says he'll never be doing that.

Just finished paint correction, about 12 hours in so far. Here's a video and pics:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeKxyyNhvMc&feature=youtu.be

 

[jeff]

Here's a before/after from about the same angle:

 

[KnockOff]

Here's a before/after from about the same angle:

Damn your good bro!

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[Booster]

Hardly a beater. Nice find. I always wanted a prelude or at least the H22 engine, but at 6'4" I didn't quite fit. The closest I got was swapping the Prelude Si transmission into my 99 Accord.

 

[danbfree]

Wow, what an awesome find at that price point, looks to be worth absolutely EVERY penny... So did you actually settle on exactly $2950? I know that's just begging to be offered $2800 cash for! LOL

 

[jeff]

Damn your good bro!

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Thanks man my back hurts but it looks good.

Hardly a beater. Nice find. I always wanted a prelude or at least the H22 engine, but at 6'4" I didn't quite fit. The closest I got was swapping the Prelude Si transmission into my 99 Accord.

Wow, what an awesome find at that price point, looks to be worth absolutely EVERY penny... So did you actually settle on exactly $2950? I know that's just begging to be offered $2800 cash for! LOL

Thanks guys. I guess the term "beater" is subjective. Yeah it's a nice car for $2950 - nice looking, clean, rare, kind of retro and cool, and decent performance. But the truth is it's leaking oil and several lights on the dash are lit up. The more tech, the more tech to break. Currently I've got ATTS light and ABS light - both are pricey to fix. I've had plenty of older Hondas before and ABS comes on around 150k and is more money to fix that it's worth. I'm gonna pull the codes and try a few simple things but if the ABS unit is out I'm not spending the money to fix it, I'll just pull the bulb. Same with the ATTS (torque transfer system). It's actually a little transmission down there, I'm gonna do a few simple things (fluid change - has its own ATF drain/fill) but if I can't fix it for cheap I'm just gonna pull the bulb. That stuff is a lot of money and it's not worth it. And funny thing I've been poking around and reading a lot and the ATTS system has always been trouble. Guys are reporting the light coming just a few years after purchase when new! And, in the article referenced above, the car was brand new and being test driven and the ATTS system failed! So it's not a surprise, and if I can't fix it cheap I'm just gonna pull the bulb and forget about it, the car still runs fine just no torque transfer. Besides the SH model has more than the ATTS system - it also features a better suspension and some cosmetic upgrades. So I'm not losing out. And if I want to take corners fast I'll drive the Fiesta.

I should be able to fix the oil leaks so I'm not too worried concerned about that.

Anyhow in the end it's a old car with a lot of miles that looks good and is classy but is far from perfect. I think the $2950 price point is fair for buyer and seller. On one hand, the seller is dumping a car with excessive mileage that is leaking oil, has paint damage (well, HAD...), and has some lights on in the dashboard. On the other hand, the buyer (me) is getting quite a nice car for the money...not perfect, but nice. For the price I could do a lot worse, that's for sure.

Dan, you asked about price...the these are going for $5-$6k all over the country. I think people ask high and end up coming down though. In the case of this car, he started at $6000 but because of the paint damage and high miles we negotiated. It was on the market for a few weeks and he didn't get many bites, and needed to sell it soon. I came along and whereas others were scared away by the high mileage I wasn't, I saw that it was taken care of but pretty much told him "no disrespect but I can't give you more than $3000 for it, that's what I think it's worth." He thought about it for a day and I think he realized that was a more realistic price. He dropped it by $50 dollars because he lost the title and I ended up having to make 2 trips to Atlanta (3 hours one way) to get the car so he knocked $50 off to compensate for my trouble. Nice guy.

*****
Today I changed the MT fluid, inspected my oil leaks, devised a plan, attached a new rear view mirror, and re-cleaned the engine bay. Heck I even cleaned and waxed the inside of the hood. It looks pretty good!!!

 

[jeff]

Did some more in the last few days...

+ got up under the car and inspected my oil leaks and devised a plan, bought some OEM parts...
+ cleaned the engine bay further and loomed some wire, fixed some connections
+ swapped out a 9.5/10 (one blemish that's it!!!) steering wheel I picked up at the junkyard...mine was about an 8.5/10 (some imperfections, lots of wear around the stitching) but this one was better so for $11 why not?

 

[danbfree]

Did some more in the last few days...

+ got up under the car and inspected my oil leaks and devised a plan, bought some OEM parts...
+ cleaned the engine bay further and loomed some wire, fixed some connections
+ swapped out a 9.5/10 steering wheel I picked up at the junkyard...mine was about an 8.5/10 but this one was better so for $11 why not?

So that ATTS system, if it doesn't fix easily can you remove part of it for weight savings or does the power have to pass through there anyway and either way are you are stuck taping over the light for it regardless? I'm assuming that the ATTS is for 4 wheel steering and so unless you modify other stuff it's gonna have to stay?

 

[jeff]

So that ATTS system, if it doesn't fix easily can you remove part of it for weight savings or does the power have to pass through there anyway and either way are you are stuck taping over the light for it regardless? I'm assuming that the ATTS is for 4 wheel steering and so unless you modify other stuff it's gonna have to stay?

I've read up on it, they can be removed but it's a PITA. 4 wheel steering was the earlier Preludes, the 5th gen has the "SH" tech which is still happening on other new Acuras. It's a torque transfer system that works via a little transmission attached to the engine.

I'm convinced that the issue with the lights is the circuit board on the gauge cluster. My Honda mechanic said when they get to this age the solder joints crack and cause random lights to pop on and off. I pulled the two wires coming off the brake fluid reservoir (at his recommendation, old Honda trick) and the ABS nor ATTS light hasn't come on in 2 days.

*****
A few updates...since my last post I've:
- changed ATTS fluid
- fixed a number of small things
- removed outer balance weights/had tires rebalanced with inside weights
- clay barred the car 3 times

It's looking really great!

Also while at my Honda mechanic's shop I got a good look underneath...the oil cooler O-ring isn't leaking, nor is the VTEC solenoid gasket, nor is the distributor O-ring (all common leaks on this car)....but the valve cover is certainly leaking in the back side so it will be replaced. Hopefully that will take care of my leaks....if not, the car is getting a new timing belt and all associated parts due to the only other possible leak which would be the seals. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Next up:
- getting it aligned tomorrow
- getting a new windshield Friday
- replacing the valve cover gasket and spark plug seals next week

Beyond that I have a few more things I'm looking into...a possible intake, a bra for the front (paint at the front H is horrible), a few other little ideas I have.
I wish there was a short shifter for this car, the throws are so long and ropey it's killing me, but I can't find much aftermarket support for these...if anyone knows of anything please holler at me.

With all the above done so far I'm $2900 + $70 service manual + ~$500 parts/windshield/fluids/alignment so that's about $3500 invested.

Hoping the clutch and A/C and ATTS system remain strong, aside from those needing repair I don't see much on this car that could give me trouble going forward.

Thanks for looking! This is a fun car to own for sure, gets lots of comments too I've noticed!

 

[GeorgiaFiesta]

I've read up on it, they can be removed but it's a PITA. 4 wheel steering was the earlier Preludes, the 5th gen has the "SH" tech which is still happening on other new Acuras. It's a torque transfer system that works via a little transmission attached to the engine.

I'm convinced that the issue with the lights is the circuit board on the gauge cluster. My Honda mechanic said when they get to this age the solder joints crack and cause random lights to pop on and off. I pulled the two wires coming off the brake fluid reservoir (at his recommendation, old Honda trick) and the ABS nor ATTS light hasn't come on in 2 days.

*****
A few updates...since my last post I've:
- changed ATTS fluid
- fixed a number of small things
- removed outer balance weights/had tires rebalanced with inside weights
- clay barred the car 3 times

It's looking really great!

Also while at my Honda mechanic's shop I got a good look underneath...the oil cooler O-ring isn't leaking, nor is the VTEC solenoid gasket, nor is the distributor O-ring (all common leaks on this car)....but the valve cover is certainly leaking in the back side so it will be replaced. Hopefully that will take care of my leaks....if not, the car is getting a new timing belt and all associated parts due to the only other possible leak which would be the seals. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Next up:
- getting it aligned tomorrow
- getting a new windshield Friday
- replacing the valve cover gasket and spark plug seals next week

Beyond that I have a few more things I'm looking into...a possible intake, a bra for the front (paint at the front H is horrible), a few other little ideas I have.
I wish there was a short shifter for this car, the throws are so long and ropey it's killing me, but I can't find much aftermarket support for these...if anyone knows of anything please holler at me.

With all the above done so far I'm $2900 + $70 service manual + ~$500 parts/windshield/fluids/alignment so that's about $3500 invested.

Hoping the clutch and A/C and ATTS system remain strong, aside from those needing repair I don't see much on this car that could give me trouble going forward.

Thanks for looking! This is a fun car to own for sure, gets lots of comments too I've noticed!

Hey Jeff! As always, love watching your progression with your cars. This one looks like a great pickup.

Question, if you don't mind... I've been contemplating buying a $3-4k "beater" to daily instead of my ST, since I've put 16k miles on it in the last 9 months just driving to work every day. I was really interested in a fiesta sfe for the 3cyl turbo manual combo, but I like the idea of branching out and getting a non-fiesta. Since you did so much research before you found this, and you have a civic... would you recommend any particular year(s) of civic for me to be scrounging craigslist for? Or any other suggestions that you considered before buying this?

Thanks!

 

[MRX330]

Great car. I suspect you saw this: https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g27404683/1999-honda-prelude-type-sh-by-the-numbers-gallery/

An early CRX has always been on my wishlist. Wish I had bought one back in the day, but didn't, and have continued regret. Didn't make that mistake with the FiST, thankfully.

Hard to find now due to rusting into oblivion but they were fun