Well I've got a new set of wheels now, and while it's not going to win any awards for 0-60 time or look like it's going fast while standing still, this 1982 Accord sedan couldn't be in better shape.


Check this baby out - all I've done for these pictures is spray wash and rinse (from those self-serve car wash places), a no-touch tire spray, and some Mother's Back to Black on the back bumper (ran out of light before I could get to the front). I haven't even touched the interior.



















Ready for the kicker? Check this out:




How's she look under the hood you ask?









It's not clean, but she starts easy and purrs like new. Honda mechanics couldn't find anything wrong with her (they've got a free 40-point inspection for every Honda on the road this month.) There's decently well-cared for cars a year old in worse shape than this one.

Looks nice, hope you like it, I bet you could stuff a H22A or B18C in there......

Hehe, I'm going to keep it pretty much bone stock - maybe something that improves mileage.

Depending on the source I look at, the car has anywhere from about 75-86 horsepower stock. Sure, there's all kinds of things that could be done to up that number considerably, but even a small degree of patience is enough to make the car run perfectly well. It's like driving a stock 4cyl automatic Fiero - if you're in a hurry to get somewhere you've got the wrong car. But it'll get you there and go plenty fast in the meantime if you just let it wind itself up.

This car is a 12v four cylinder with a double-barrel carburetor that will start enthusiastically on the coldest morning and idle as smooth and quiet as any brand-new '07 on the road. I'm not about to put my foot in it any more than absolutely necessary. Think about it - the car was old enough to buy alcohol four years ago - the last thing it needs is some throttle-jockey behind the wheel. I'm not even planning to touch a single bolt under the hood until that car gives me reason to believe it is about to have something wrong with it. The odometer has a digit for the hundred thousands... if I treat it right I can reasonably expect that number to hit 3 or 4 before the car is too far gone to bring back to life again.

Now I think that this car definitely is going to need a Fiero sibling. That car will be the one being tweaked and refined for the go-fast fun. And my little Honda will be happy to be the reliable parts-getter when the more hot-blooded sister isn't feeling well.

When do you put the gigantic wing on the back? Believe you me it's not a cool import with out the gigantic wing. Just kidding nothing wrong with a small clean gas miser of a daily driver I'd be after one myself if I could get over my FWDaphobia. I do like the looks of a clean boxy car with some nice sporty 15s or 16s. I bet a wheel upgrade would make a good difference in handling too my friends Ford Tempo has got the skinnys on it and it's all leany and wobbly kind of scary compared to my Fiero. Enjoy

Daniel

December 19th, 2000 - That was my birthday more than six years ago.

I hope you're going to at least change the oil.

The point of that picture was that the mileage at the time was 77,710 and it's 80,752 now, almost seven years later.

The oil's been changed religiously every 3-4 months. It comes out looking brand-new. Probably has something to do with there being an average of 266 miles a month over the last 25 years (so less than 800 miles between oil changes).


My grandfather took obsessive care of the car. There's even a Honda service manual in the trunk (the kind Honda dealerships used in their service departments - but even they don't have the book anymore.)

Looks like a great find. Well cared for cars are all but imposible to find these days, especially anything that old. As far as not touching anything under the hood, I'd at least give it a good tune-up, maybe clean it up a bit.

------------------

1984 Fiero SE

does your grandpa live around KC?

I'm planning to clean up the engine, but I'm not going to adjust a single thing. It runs perfectly.

Absolutely perfectly. I'm not exaggerating.


My grandfather lives in Wichita. Right now I'm in Ohio (with the car) finishing up the last bits of my move back to Kansas.

I Sold a 1983 with 217,000 miles on it that still ran perfectly. One of the best cars I've ever owned, in terms of economy, relibility, and practicality. It carried an 18' canoe on the roof from one end of Florida to the other without a problem.
Not much in the way of excitement, but a fine ride nonetheless.

------------------
..articulate and bright and clean,
and a nice looking guy.

I just finished trying to bring the black plastic trim (bumpers and such) back to life. On one end of the car I'm testing Mother's Back to Black. On the other end I'm using liquid black shoe polish.

Honestly, both ends look about the same from a normal viewing distance of about 5 feet.

Up close the shoe polish has better coverage but looks a tad streakish after the the first coat. Second coat improves this somewhat.
Up close the Mother's makes the plastic look much newer, but looks like it's going to take multiple applications to get the job done. More work-intensive.

My main concern is whether the shoe polish is simply coating the plastic or if it's actually soaking in to stain the graying plastic back to the original black.


If it's just coating I'm going to have to do it over with the Mother's. I've got one part of the trim set up with shoe polish that I'm going to test an application of Mother's on top of once it's had plenty of time to dry out. If the Mother's strips off the polish I'll just have to do the shoe polished parts over again.


Any thoughts/feedback?

If anyone else out there is thinking along these lines, I strongly recommend using the Mother's at this point. It may take more work but if my early results are any indication you'll be happier in the long run.

Whoo, now THAT is a major chick magnet!

For the right kind of chicks, sure. Not so much for the vapid ones who chase sticker price, but those chicks aren't worth much anyway.


Not that it matters much for me: I'm happily married.