Accord, A Long-Term Project
Welcome to my fourth-generation Honda Accord! It was given to me as a first car and initially I had planned to scrap it once I could afford a 'real' car, but it has really grown on me. I probably owe that to the community over at CB7Tuner.com, and what those guys were making of what I at first glance took to be a boring commuter car. I now have great plans for mine as a long-term member of my garage. Its combination of practicality and performance potential - at least for my own desires - make it an ideal daily driver and weekend toy.
PAST...
I no longer own the sedan, but the gist of the car by the time I got rid of it in the fall of 2012 was a '92 LX model with a Prelude H22A swap and a handful of other minor modifications:
Engine: 1997 H22A (JDM) / AEM short ram intake / Bisimoto thermal intake manifold gasket / Spoon header / resonator delete + Magnaflow muffler.
Suspension: Tein S-tech springs (~2" drop) / Energy Suspension polyurethane sway bar end links
Chassis: Explicit Speed Performance 70A polyurethane engine mounts.
Brakes: Brembo slotted rotors & Hawk HPS pads in front (stock rear drums)
Exterior: mild engine bay tuck with PS+AC+Cruise deletes / Acura Legend hood struts / JDM one-piece headlights with Acura TSX projector retrofit and Morimoto 35W/5000K HID / DIY blacked-out grille / Spoon style front lip / EK Civic EX style red-clear taillights / JDM CD6 Accord "SiR" trunk emblem / USDM EM1 Civic Si "DOHC VTEC" quarter panel decals.
Interior: Kenwood KDC-MP342U head unit / Inifinity Reference 6022i speakers / DIY check engine light switch
As I got more into the CB chassis I began to want a wagon variant. After all, for a car to have any sort of staying power if times were to get tough, it has to be practical. I've read too many stories about people having to get rid of their project car because they started a family or otherwise couldn't accommodate such excess in their life. To avoid that possibility, I'm making my project out of a car that's family friendly and has room to haul... "life stuff." So when my sedan started experiencing an intermittent electrical short that would kill engine power, rather than put too much effort into diagnosing the problem, I took it as an excuse to pull the engine for a real build, ditched the chassis, and pick up a reliable daily driver so I could more seriously plan out where I want to go with my project car.
Engine: 1997 H22A (JDM) / AEM short ram intake / Bisimoto thermal intake manifold gasket / Spoon header / resonator delete + Magnaflow muffler.
Suspension: Tein S-tech springs (~2" drop) / Energy Suspension polyurethane sway bar end links
Chassis: Explicit Speed Performance 70A polyurethane engine mounts.
Brakes: Brembo slotted rotors & Hawk HPS pads in front (stock rear drums)
Exterior: mild engine bay tuck with PS+AC+Cruise deletes / Acura Legend hood struts / JDM one-piece headlights with Acura TSX projector retrofit and Morimoto 35W/5000K HID / DIY blacked-out grille / Spoon style front lip / EK Civic EX style red-clear taillights / JDM CD6 Accord "SiR" trunk emblem / USDM EM1 Civic Si "DOHC VTEC" quarter panel decals.
Interior: Kenwood KDC-MP342U head unit / Inifinity Reference 6022i speakers / DIY check engine light switch
As I got more into the CB chassis I began to want a wagon variant. After all, for a car to have any sort of staying power if times were to get tough, it has to be practical. I've read too many stories about people having to get rid of their project car because they started a family or otherwise couldn't accommodate such excess in their life. To avoid that possibility, I'm making my project out of a car that's family friendly and has room to haul... "life stuff." So when my sedan started experiencing an intermittent electrical short that would kill engine power, rather than put too much effort into diagnosing the problem, I took it as an excuse to pull the engine for a real build, ditched the chassis, and pick up a reliable daily driver so I could more seriously plan out where I want to go with my project car.
PRESENT...
A bit backward from typical project cars, I'm building the engine before purchasing the chassis it's going into. The end goal for the car is something I can drive every day if I wanted to, while being built tough enough to take a beating at the occasional road course and still drive home. I've looked at countless H22 builds online and in magazines, from mild to extreme, and have decided on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (VIII through X) and Subaru WRX STi (GD and GR) as my power-to-weight benchmarks. I at least want to be able to match the acceleration of those cars... without boost. Even an Accord wagon of my vintage is lighter than an Evo or STi, so I don't think my hopes are unrealistic.
Here's a quick run-down of my planned power plant. If these parts don't get me where I want to be (even after I later install a 4.6 final drive), I'll adjust until I get there. At some point after the car is driving, I want to experiment with the RBC intake manifold from the Honda K20Z3 ('06-'11 Civic Si) engine as well.
1997 H22A (closed deck)
Power: Goal of 245whp / 200 lb-ft
Electronics: Hondata or Neptune, depending on whether my tuner can work with Neptune / AEM gauges
Intake: K&N Apollo enclosed filter / custom 70mm pipe / 68mm throttle / Euro-R manifold / Bisimoto thermal gasket
Fuel: AEM pressure regulator / Rosko Racing rail / Acura RDX injectors / Walbro 255lph pump
Head: Skunk2 Pro 2 cams + adjustable gears / Supertech complete valve train with dished valves
Block: Wiseco 11.5:1 pistons with re-sleeve / Eagle H-beam rods / ATI crank damper / ESP urethane mounts & traction bar
Exhaust: All stainless: Spoon & PLM tri-Y 2.5"-collector headers, for comparison / 2.5" cat + resonator / 3" tank-back mandrel piping + muffler
Cooling: Undecided; post-tune.
Progress has been slow, no small thanks to having another car that I can't resist modifying, but as I do power through the wagon, these links will eventually lead you to very thorough documentation of each aspect of the car:
- Powertrain
- Exterior
- Chassis
- Interior
FUTURE...
Beyond the H22 build, the plan for the project is to continue in large, focused chunks: suspension, transmission, interior, etc. Speed, style, comfort, and reliability, I want it all. I'll be trying to pick up as many skills as possible to minimize outsourcing of labor. Once the engine is built and the car is drivable, I'm going back to school for a proper education in welding and auto body/paint to develop those skills, so maybe I can settle into a career I actually enjoy and beef up my budget. This entire car is thought out top-to-bottom pretty specifically in my mind. I could go on and on about my plans, but I'll try to hold back to keep the updates interesting. I just need time...
