Saving an Old Honda

'Searching for Parts'

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Once the car was purchased, I began the hunt for parts. As many of you know...parts are hard to find for these cars.

Parts Find Number 1: A buddy and I found a parts car, same year/color/model as my car, in Washington State (USA) about a 6 hour drive from my home in Portland Oregon. The car had a little more wear than expected. It's been affectionately named the 'Sh@t Box'. We pulled every usable piece from the SBox.
Parts Find Number 2: Trip to Canada
Parts Find Number 3: Another Parts Car
Parts Find Number 4: Friends on the Internet
Parts Find Number 5: All About (Honda) Junkyard
Parts Find Number 6: 1985 Hatch Sport Seats
Parts Find Number 7: Dash from a donor car
Parts Find Number 8: More friends on the Internet
Parts Find Number 9: Airport Auto Salvage
Parts Find Number 10: EL Head from the UK

Parts Find Number 1:

June 9th, 2018: Drove 6 hours to get the 'Parts Car'. Hopes were high....A little disappointed in the condition but should have expected for the selling price of $300.

Moving the SBox to a friends house and Dismantling. Poor old Honda has had a hard life.

June 20th, 2018: A buddy and I spent the day taking the heart of the SBox. At the end of the day, I am not sure who had more grease and dirt on them...Me or the car.

June 22nd: The last day of 'picking'. Tuesday the Sbox gets hauled away. Maybe it will be reincarnated as a new Honda :)

June 26th: Saying Goodbye to the Sbox...

Parts Find Number 2:

On August 24th 2018 at 3:30 AM I started my long drive (there and back) to Vancouver BC...Arrived back home at 7:30pm

In my never ending search for parts...I found a gentleman in Vancouver BC that was selling parts:

Double sets of rear quarter panel moldings , 2x nippon denso regulators that sell@ Lordco for $168. CDN. mind U these are factory that I had salvaged and tested back in the day. 3 sets of spark plugs (1 used lightly), new distributor cap speed cable from automatic I believe, back panel w/molding, front side marker light assemblies,both sides + 1 extra, rear tailite assemblies(both) complete(little scuffing, can be polished out easily, no cracks)... 4 wheel well Chrome/stainless moldings (for sedan, I believe) in good condition...2 electric fans (factory) 1 single fan and 1 dual fan for A/C . All this for $50. (U.S.) if these meet your approval. Talk w/U soon...Cheers! Jim

Parts Find Number 3:

I sold the auto transmission from the Sh@t Box on Craigslist. Fast forward from June to late October 2018...

I saw an add on Craigslist for a running 1983 Honda Accord 4 door with an extra transmission. You guessed it...the sell was the same person that bought the Sh@t Box transmission from me back in June. It turns out the seller never installed the transmission. I ended up buying the car and stripping it for parts. We called this car the 'Giver'

Let the Stripping Begin

I hurt my back and tapped out! Shawn stripped the car on his own over Thanksgiving and the following weekend. Thanks Shawn!

Video: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1p0xP7e-XdzXZEZGzuQYx1HkC-I1bgH7t

Parts Find Number 4:

Steering wheel from a Euro Civic, US Prelude, and CRX

Right and Left Front fender molding. Both ends caps are intact which is rare.

NOS valve cover. Another very rare part.

December 15th: Through a couple FB connections/Vintage Honda, I found an 82 Honda Prelude 1.6 EL head in the UK. This is a very rare head and almost impossible to find. The EL head does not have the US CVCC emissions. A 'local' shop in the UK is redoing the head. Hope to have be the middle of January.

My front window cracked when it was being removed for the rust repair. I knew there was a high probability of this happening. However...I thought finding a new window wouldn't be too difficult or expensive. I was wrong! Working with Mt. Hood Glass in Gresham, I found a window supplier in Salt Lake. They cut me a 'deal' and I ordered three windshield. The total cost was $925 which included the cost of a crate and shipping. Here is to hoping they are not broken or damaged during shipping.

You may ask why I purchased 3....It was that difficult to find a supplier. I am future proofing another broken windshield.

Parts Find Number 4:

December 21, 2018: Drove 4 hours to get a set of Konig Rewinds and stopped by All About (Honda). This yard was mentioned on the Facebook group

Purchased 5 (yes five) Koenig rewind wheels and tires. Purchased new from Les schwab late last year. Tires have less than 10k on them. They are ET20 and match a set of ET40s that I already have. The 20's will go in the back and the 40's in the front. Should be a nice look.

Parts Find Number 5:

Trip to All About (Honda). Scored plastic door handle trim, side molding, and a mint trunk rack.

Parts Find Number 6:

February 8th, 2019

I found a set of 1985 hatch sport seats in Tacoma. Long drive but worth it! These will be a nice addition. It will be awhile before I am ready to have the interior redone.

Parts Find Number 7:

February 18th, 2019

I decided to look for a replacement dash. I found another donor car in Vancouver Washington. The car looked nice but the motor was shot and had rust issues. Too far gone for us to save. This said, the interior was near perfect!