apalileo : 1993 Accord DX

[apalileo]

I had a Thermal R&D muffler back in the day... I remember it wasn't much in the way of noise reduction but it flowed really well.

[apalileo]

June 2017 - Visors!

I've had a set of Honda Access visors waiting for installation for a while now. I never put them on because I wanted to swap out some of the weather stripping so that would have required removing and reinstalling some of them. I also wanted to deal with the old window tint first.



All clips accounted for (with two that broke off in transit)


Sanded down and JB Clear Welded


3M double sided with makeshift "tabs" for pulling back the backing during installation


Done


The hardest part was installing the rears. The little slide in clips for the rear glass (not the sliding rear windows) would not make their way into the track without possibly breaking them off the visors. Instead I peeled up the door rubber, removed the two Phillips screws holding the rear track in place and slid the rear glass forward just enough to insert the clip. Once all of the clips were holding I nudged the track back in place and reinstalled the screws. They're super secure with the 3M and clips all working together.

Additionally, I ended up having the windows re-tinted. I couldn't bare the California sun beating down on me. I went with SunTek Carbon 55 which is actually 60% visible light transmission. I know it's super light, but the 99% UV and 32% solar energy rejection definitely helps. I already get enough looks from LAPD, Sheriffs and HP so I kept it as incognito as possible. My old tint was probably 35% dyed tint that faded to 40-50%. This plus the fact that I can keep my windows open slightly under the visors is a Godsend for the summer.

I've ordered modern beam style Accord wipers and have removed the arms from the car for the summer. Finally going to clean up and respray the arms back to black!

[apalileo]

Front Lower Ball Joints

Thursday night I noticed some light clunking in the suspension. The "wiggle" test revealed that my passenger lower ball joint was deteriorating. Yesterday after work I picked up a pair of ball joints from my local dealer and got up bright and early today to do the swap.

Old ball joints (passenger side on the right)


New ball joints in. Realized these are the newer revision without the snap ring


Rubber boots off (look at how generous they are with the grease!)


Old Energy boots on new ball joints


Ball joints lasted 5 years. I installed them when I did my ROH conversion. These were part of the suspension refresh kit sold by TASauto. I do not recall if they were OEM parts, but they have definitely been through a lot and have some miles on them! The Energy boots have about 2 years on them and they were absolutely fine. Once all of the road grime was cleaned off from the outside and the old grease cleaned out from inside, they were ready for more!

[dhill_cb7]

I just read through your whole thread and WOW! Your thread has given me so much needed inspiration to keep going with my CB. Thanks for sharing everything. I am super impressed with all the work you have done.
I wish I had a fraction of the courage and knowledge you have with regard to the repairs and upgrades.

The suspension work was very informative. I learned a lot from reading through. I can't wait to see what you have in store next.
Too bad i'm still in philly. I really need to get out of here and meet up with some members, like you, that care so much about the CB.

First things first I need a big boy job and now I have the degree so its only a matter of time.
I will be keeping an eye on your progress and if I ever travel to Cali I will surely have to check this beauty out in person! Keep up the amazing work!

[wagonkid]

have done a great job building your cb. looks great

[apalileo]

@dhill I'm glad I could pay the inspiration forward! Most of my knowledge comes from these forums and the rest comes from experience with a CD5 I had back in the day. As for "courage" I prefer to call it "calculated luck". I spend more time researching my repairs and modifications than I do performing them. I've accepted that there will always be a hiccup (stuck/stripped bolts, missing/incorrect parts, forgotten steps in the process, etc.), so all I can do is give myself time to make corrections. That's why I try to avoid starting any work on a Sunday!

Again, good luck with the job hunt. My best advice is to make sure your resume is organized and straight to the point. A degree and work experience are important, but how you present it to potential employers is huge.

If you're ever in the SoCal area, let me know! I'm always down for "car talk"!

@wagonkid Thank you kindly! I couldn't have gotten this far without these forums. Seriously, they've been a huge factor in all of this.

[HenRoc]

My impulse buy: Spoon Sports Rigid Collars

Not much to show in terms of install. Had to use a pry bar to get them in since the rear engine mount prevented the front cross member from descending. Once in they just look like new washers.

Are the Mugen Rigid collars model specific? I'm searching for a complete set for my wagon. Slowly I'm starting to dive into it. It has a rather pronounced 'knock' coming from the rear when I take left turns.

[apalileo]

Yes, they are application specific and they are sold in front or rear sets (not combined). Mine are Spoon Sports branded. I didn't happen to find any rears for the CB chassis though. I was thinking the front set might work in the rear, but they are way too expensive to experiment with.

I don't think movement of the rear sub frame would create a significant knock unless one of the bolts has walked out. The amount of shift is really quite small (no more than 1/8" at most). Check your trailing arm bushings. Maybe a bushing has separated and the trailing arm is shifting under lateral load. Also check your rear bearings and even that the lug nuts are properly torqued down.

[apalileo]

July 9, 2017 - RSX Seats

I finally found a set of seats to swap in! Black 2006 RSX cloth seats with the side airbags in tact.


Separated the mounts with a drill and an angle grinder. I also disabled the auto-slide feature on the passenger seat by removing the spring and pull cable.


Found a welder to attach the mounts


Decided to paint the the upper covers. The pewter silver color is nice, but it doesn't go with my interior. 400 grit dry sanded, cleaned with alcohol and 3 coats of Dupli-Color black Trim & Bumper spray.






New vs old


Done


Additionally, I gutted the side airbags and cut off the reclining foot pedal from behind the passenger seat.

These were a fantastic upgrade. I love the double locking sliders and the lumbar adjustment. These sit higher than my stock seats so I have the driver side adjusted all the way down. I'm 5'6" and it's fine for me. These are definitely a great OEM seat!

[Corweena]

That's probably the cleanest set of cloth RSX seats I've seen. Most of the time they are trashed lol.

I always hated the fact they sat so high, because being 6'4" there is no way in hell I could ever use them lol. They'd be a great DD seat.

[apalileo]

I was really stoked about their condition. I've been on the lookout for some seats and have seen literally hundreds of options that were in need of some level of reupholstery. These were literally "right place, right time".

At your height I imagine you'd have to recline way back and still have your knees hitting the dash with these. The average male height in Japan was 5'2" in 2013 so these cars are definitely not built with you in mind! You'd probably end up looking into fixed buckets with low profile sliders if you wanted to upgrade. I had a Sparco Sprint in my AE86 back in the day and I remember feeling like I was sitting directly on the floor pan with it.

[Raf99]

wow those looks great !

I know with the 93 prelude seats (prelude rails) they sit lower than OEM. Which is fine, but it's funny when you have people in the back and they sit higher than you. It's weird, they can see over my head. I guess these would be the opposite.


Super nice seats though!

[apalileo]

Yeah, I didn't take into account the added thickness of the lower seat framework so the height came as a surprise to me when I installed them. Fortunately for me it's not a disadvantage. It's taking some getting used to, I'll say that much! I've never seen so much of my hood when driving. I'll play with the height adjustment for kicks, though I know for fact I will never use the adjustment beyond the lowest setting.

[Corweena]

I actually have Euro R Recaro seats. Got Planted Technology seat bases, sliders, and they sit about an inch lower than the stock ones. Perfect for me.

[apalileo]

I actually have Euro R Recaro seats. Got Planted Technology seat bases, sliders, and they sit about an inch lower than the stock ones. Perfect for me.

That's right... I forget who has what with so many awesome builds to admire on these forums!