Pioneerisloud's 87 Prelude Worklog - CarForum.net - Car Forums, Automotive News and Community

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 11:33 AM

1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI

Alright guys, some of you may remember my old Celica build log. Well that poor car never had a chance

. This one runs however, and is now a work in progress. I'm going to keep this OP updated with everything I do to the car.

So, to start the story.....
I started out with a beat up 1991 Buick Regal. I've had that poor thing for almost 5 years, and my grandma bought it brand new in 1990. Well this year for Christmas, I got $500. I said, I'm buying a new car with that money!

So, I looked around on craigslist, and I found tons of hits in the sub $500 range. But nothing that ran decent....then I found this beauty. A 1987 Honda Prelude SI. The body is in good shape, the car runs great, it just needs a speedometer. So I paid $400 cash for it! So now, I've got some plans.

The plans:
I'm going to buy a used passenger side door. Also going to replace the windshield. Any dings will be filled in with bondo. Then I'm going to paint the car black. The chrome trim on the bottom is going to be black (with the rest of the car) with the "Prelude SI" that is written in it...it will be in the same shade of orange as my blinker lights. I will then put a "nice" set of rims on it (probably 15" or so). And a system. I'm not going to "rice it out" or anything like that. I hate Honda's just for that reason. I was also thinking of painting my brake calipers the same shade of orange and MAYBE adding a descrete spoiler to it (like in the picture below). Honestly, the picture below in my opinion is a very well done car. I would love for mine to look similar to that one day.

So stay tuned!

Here is what it could POSSIBLY look like one day....

Update list to what I have personally done so far to my car can be found on the 2nd post

.

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 11:34 AM

Updates:

01-05-2010: Bought the car, opening pictures.
02-01-2010: Some good things, and some bad.
02-06-2010: The results of testing that TesteCull and BlackOmega had me do.
02-07-2010: Shifting problems are over, and the start of a VERY high end audio system .
02-11-2010: Speaker / Stereo Pron!
02-14-2010: Speedo and rear speakers
03-23-2010: Start of big electrical update (before pictures)
03-23-2010: "The Big 3"
03-23-2010: Some better cable management
03-24-2010: Electrical testing after the big 3
04-20-2010: Found myself a new mechanic for stuff that I can't handle (such as a busted wheel bearing).
05-02-2010: I REALLY hate local police....updated lights.
05-05-2010: New insurance coverage (not really part of the car, but applicable from last update).
05-07-2010: Windshield and wipers
05-31-2010: New fuel pump FINALLY.
06-01-2010: Better front stage .
06-03-2010: Interior Lighting fixed up.
06-18-2010: Serpentine belt replaced.
06-29-2010: Frankenwoofer is dead.
06-30-2010: New Tires
07-01-2010: Passenger door and two new subwoofers
07-06-2010: BJ!
08-02-2010: Alignment finally
08-24-2010: Completely new brake system!
10-06-2010: Planned update, some issues with moderators.
10-11-2010: Teaser for the next planned big update. 15 minutes estimated, 4 hours actual time.
10-12-2010: Subwoofers reinstalled in the car with the 30Hz box!

The table of contents is now fully up to date, and links here to this thread. Click the updates without worry. Stay tuned for more.

~pio

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 11:35 AM

Table of Contents is fully up to date. Please stay tuned....as I am nowhere NEAR done with this car yet.

~pio

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 11:42 AM

So today is the day I bought the car. Yes I know, I'm posting a little late. Here's the pictures right off the craigslist post that I bought the car from. It needs a passenger door replacement, glovebox (its screwed...no latch), and a windshield to get the car started. More will of course follow....without ricing it out of course.

Here's some pics...enjoy! More updates to come.

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 11:44 AM

Unfortunately my build plans have come to a slow down. I was going to use the money from selling my old car, to fix this one up. Get a new windsheild, a new door, paint it, etc....

Well somebody thought it would be a GREAT idea to slash all FOUR of my tires on my old car. This happened while it was parked in a parking lot for sale. Go figure!

So I had to junkyard that poor old thing (it was about due anyway). Got $50 out of it, lol.

Well, update to the Honda a little:
I was generously gifted a Sony deck. I will not name names, but he is pretty well known around these parts

. So, I also decided today to buy some speakers. I bought some Kicker DS5250's for my front doors. I also got my two channel amp out of the pawn shop finally to power them!!!

So I've got the start to a great system!

The only downside......
After buying all this stuff, something's wrong with the car. It won't shift into any gear without force. It doesn't grind (except reverse)...its just a royal PITA to get it into gear. Can take up to a couple green lights while sitting through them to finally get it into gear.

So stay tuned, we should have some transmission or clutch shots coming up this weekend

. I'll take some pics of the new equipment when I'm ready to install it.

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 11:45 AM

Well I don't know what this means guys, but TesteCull told me to try this. With the car in the air, I turned the car on. Put clutch in, put in gear, and the front tires just freaking took off! I mean they were REALLY spinning.

I also found out this is a cable driven clutch, not hydrolic. So it looks like HOPEFULLY the cable is just stretched. I'm having a shop look at it on Monday for free.

Also, transmission fluid is DEFINITELY full. We pulled the plug on the transmission, and fluid just started spewing out! So we're good there

. And I'm not leaking a drop of ANY fluid at all for sure.

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 11:47 AM

Alright, another update time! I'm sorry guys, I do not have pictures. I REALLY wish I did for this one, but I won't have my camera back till next month

. I'll take pictures then for sure!

Transmission Problems:
100% fixed! The clutch cable was just stretched because it was a new cable. A very simple 2 second tightening of it with my HANDS, fixed my troubles shifting. And the tires don't spin when the car is in the air anymore either

. So since I just saved a whole bunch of money by not having to go to a shop....

I also went down to Autozone and bought a speedometer cable. I pulled the old one out, and it was DESTROYED at the transmission. Its REALLY easy to put back in...so that should be done roughly Wednesday.

Car Audio Update:
Since I had some spare money leftover, I decided to buy a stereo

. I ended up with a super el cheapo "Dual" head unit from Wal Mart. The thing cost me $40. It doesn't have a tape deck OR a CD player. But it does have USB and a 3.5mm input.

I also recieved as a gift today, some Pioneer Premier REV series 6.5" speakers (for those that don't know, those are by FAR the BEST sounding car audio speaker money can buy....or VERY close to it). Another gift I recieved was an Alpine 250w 2Ch. amplifier

. So pair those up in the rear deck, I installed my Kicker 5.25" speakers in the doors (which will be powered by the amplifier), and I've got my 600w monoblock and Premier 2000SPL subwoofer.

The stereo should be done tomorrow if I can find another 8ga power kit

.

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 11:48 AM

Alright, so the car stereo is fully installed. Obviously I'm going to be upgrading it a little bit at a time. But its a GREAT start. It sounds REALLY clean. I pick up literally EVERYTHING from roughly 35Hz-20,000Hz. There is little to no dead frequencies at all. The sub picks up to roughly 100Hz in this car, and the speakers start to pick up around 80Hz.

The Gear:
Dual XR4110 Head Unit
Kicker DS5250 5.25" Door Speakers
Pioneer Premier TS-D601P REV Series 6.5" Rear Speakers
Alpine MRP-T220 250w 2 Channel Speaker Amplifier
Alpine MRP-M650 650w Monoblock Subwoofer Amplifier
Pioneer Premier TS-W2000SPL 12" Subwoofer

The Install:
So, to start off, I had to run two sets of 8ga wire through the firewall. That was a pain. I also had to run new power wires to the head unit as well.

The front speakers were a pain too. Evidentally my car came stock with 4" speakers in the door. So fitting 5.25" speakers was kind of a pain. But it worked out alright

.

The head unit was somewhat easy. I already had a single DIN spot. It was just the wiring that was hard because I had to run all new wiring. This unit is okay at best, only being $40 at Wal Mart. I just hooked up my mp3 player to the USB spot, and it works pretty well.

The rear speakers are still a work in progress. There's only 3 screw holes in the rear deck to install speakers to. And these speakers need 4 screw holes to mount them properly, with the grilles. They sound REALLY clean though. I love REV series speakers.

Now here's where things get tricky. The amplifiers. I started out just running the 2 channel to the front speakers, and the rears and the sub were wired together. Well, this resulted in me not being able to hear the rears at all!! So I wired all four speakers up to the 2 channel amplifier.

The 2 channel amp is at 3/4 gain (yes, it takes THAT much to even hear the speakers over the subwoofer). I have the high pass filter on (80Hz). So they pick up the high bass and every thing else REALLY well.

The subwoofer amplifier is set to 1/4 gain. Yeah....you read that right. 1/4 gain. Anything more than that, and I honestly cannot stand it inside the car. I'm not even pushing this subwoofer at all.

And the subwoofer! This poor thing has been through hell and back. Its the ONLY thing left (other than the REV speakers) from my Celica build. If you're curious, please see my photo albums here on OCN. There's a tribute to my Celica build in there. Again, I'm not pushing this subwoofer even half as hard as it can take.

And last but not least, a nice video of my subwoofer in action before the dustcap blew off. This was in my old Buick, running off the same amplifier (for reference).

The subwoofer DOES still sound very clean. I know it doesn't look like much, since its missing the dustcap, but you cannot tell that its blown from inside the car.

YouTube- Premier TS-W2000SPL Excursion

YouTube- Premier TS-W2000SPL Excursion Pt. 2

*Kenny McCormick* · 09-22-2010, 12:15 PM

You still need to get that timing belt changed.

pioneerisloud · 09-22-2010, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenny McCormick

You still need to get that timing belt changed.

Yes, I know that

. I'm still not comfortable ripping apart my entire engine though to do it. I'm hoping my current one will last until Christmas time roughly (I think it will). I'll get it changed then

.

09-22-2010, 11:33 AM	#1
pioneerisloud Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Yakima, WA Posts: 123 Rep: 17	Pioneerisloud's 87 Prelude Worklog 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Alright guys, some of you may remember my old Celica build log. Well that poor car never had a chance . This one runs however, and is now a work in progress. I'm going to keep this OP updated with everything I do to the car. So, to start the story..... I started out with a beat up 1991 Buick Regal. I've had that poor thing for almost 5 years, and my grandma bought it brand new in 1990. Well this year for Christmas, I got $500. I said, I'm buying a new car with that money! So, I looked around on craigslist, and I found tons of hits in the sub $500 range. But nothing that ran decent....then I found this beauty. A 1987 Honda Prelude SI. The body is in good shape, the car runs great, it just needs a speedometer. So I paid $400 cash for it! So now, I've got some plans. The plans: I'm going to buy a used passenger side door. Also going to replace the windshield. Any dings will be filled in with bondo. Then I'm going to paint the car black. The chrome trim on the bottom is going to be black (with the rest of the car) with the "Prelude SI" that is written in it...it will be in the same shade of orange as my blinker lights. I will then put a "nice" set of rims on it (probably 15" or so). And a system. I'm not going to "rice it out" or anything like that. I hate Honda's just for that reason. I was also thinking of painting my brake calipers the same shade of orange and MAYBE adding a descrete spoiler to it (like in the picture below). Honestly, the picture below in my opinion is a very well done car. I would love for mine to look similar to that one day. So stay tuned! Here is what it could POSSIBLY look like one day.... Update list to what I have personally done so far to my car can be found on the 2nd post . __________________ My current project: 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Dual Mechless Head Unit (yeah, its Dual ) Kicker KS5250 Door Speakers Pioneer 1" Dome Tweeters (Door) Pioneer Premier REV 6.5" Rear Speakers Alpine 2x MRP-M650 (one per sub)/ MRP-T220 Big 3 with 2 Gauge Last edited by pioneerisloud; 09-22-2010 at 11:38 AM.

09-22-2010, 11:34 AM	#2
pioneerisloud Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Yakima, WA Posts: 123 Rep: 17	Updates: 01-05-2010: Bought the car, opening pictures. 02-01-2010: Some good things, and some bad. 02-06-2010: The results of testing that TesteCull and BlackOmega had me do. 02-07-2010: Shifting problems are over, and the start of a VERY high end audio system . 02-11-2010: Speaker / Stereo Pron! 02-14-2010: Speedo and rear speakers 03-23-2010: Start of big electrical update (before pictures) 03-23-2010: "The Big 3" 03-23-2010: Some better cable management 03-24-2010: Electrical testing after the big 3 04-20-2010: Found myself a new mechanic for stuff that I can't handle (such as a busted wheel bearing). 05-02-2010: I REALLY hate local police....updated lights. 05-05-2010: New insurance coverage (not really part of the car, but applicable from last update). 05-07-2010: Windshield and wipers 05-31-2010: New fuel pump FINALLY. 06-01-2010: Better front stage . 06-03-2010: Interior Lighting fixed up. 06-18-2010: Serpentine belt replaced. 06-29-2010: Frankenwoofer is dead. 06-30-2010: New Tires 07-01-2010: Passenger door and two new subwoofers 07-06-2010: BJ! 08-02-2010: Alignment finally 08-24-2010: Completely new brake system! 10-06-2010: Planned update, some issues with moderators. 10-11-2010: Teaser for the next planned big update. 15 minutes estimated, 4 hours actual time. 10-12-2010: Subwoofers reinstalled in the car with the 30Hz box! The table of contents is now fully up to date, and links here to this thread. Click the updates without worry. Stay tuned for more. ~pio __________________ My current project: 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Dual Mechless Head Unit (yeah, its Dual ) Kicker KS5250 Door Speakers Pioneer 1" Dome Tweeters (Door) Pioneer Premier REV 6.5" Rear Speakers Alpine 2x MRP-M650 (one per sub)/ MRP-T220 Big 3 with 2 Gauge Last edited by pioneerisloud; 10-12-2010 at 07:12 PM.

09-22-2010, 11:35 AM	#3
pioneerisloud Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Yakima, WA Posts: 123 Rep: 17	Table of Contents is fully up to date. Please stay tuned....as I am nowhere NEAR done with this car yet. ~pio __________________ My current project: 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Dual Mechless Head Unit (yeah, its Dual ) Kicker KS5250 Door Speakers Pioneer 1" Dome Tweeters (Door) Pioneer Premier REV 6.5" Rear Speakers Alpine 2x MRP-M650 (one per sub)/ MRP-T220 Big 3 with 2 Gauge Last edited by pioneerisloud; 09-29-2010 at 08:27 PM.

09-22-2010, 11:42 AM	#4
pioneerisloud Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Yakima, WA Posts: 123 Rep: 17	01-05-2010 Update! So today is the day I bought the car. Yes I know, I'm posting a little late. Here's the pictures right off the craigslist post that I bought the car from. It needs a passenger door replacement, glovebox (its screwed...no latch), and a windshield to get the car started. More will of course follow....without ricing it out of course. Here's some pics...enjoy! More updates to come. __________________ My current project: 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Dual Mechless Head Unit (yeah, its Dual ) Kicker KS5250 Door Speakers Pioneer 1" Dome Tweeters (Door) Pioneer Premier REV 6.5" Rear Speakers Alpine 2x MRP-M650 (one per sub)/ MRP-T220 Big 3 with 2 Gauge Last edited by pioneerisloud; 09-25-2010 at 12:27 PM.

09-22-2010, 11:44 AM	#5
pioneerisloud Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Yakima, WA Posts: 123 Rep: 17	02-01-2010 Update! Unfortunately my build plans have come to a slow down. I was going to use the money from selling my old car, to fix this one up. Get a new windsheild, a new door, paint it, etc.... Well somebody thought it would be a GREAT idea to slash all FOUR of my tires on my old car. This happened while it was parked in a parking lot for sale. Go figure! So I had to junkyard that poor old thing (it was about due anyway). Got $50 out of it, lol. Well, update to the Honda a little: I was generously gifted a Sony deck. I will not name names, but he is pretty well known around these parts . So, I also decided today to buy some speakers. I bought some Kicker DS5250's for my front doors. I also got my two channel amp out of the pawn shop finally to power them!!! So I've got the start to a great system! The only downside...... After buying all this stuff, something's wrong with the car. It won't shift into any gear without force. It doesn't grind (except reverse)...its just a royal PITA to get it into gear. Can take up to a couple green lights while sitting through them to finally get it into gear. So stay tuned, we should have some transmission or clutch shots coming up this weekend . I'll take some pics of the new equipment when I'm ready to install it. __________________ My current project: 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Dual Mechless Head Unit (yeah, its Dual ) Kicker KS5250 Door Speakers Pioneer 1" Dome Tweeters (Door) Pioneer Premier REV 6.5" Rear Speakers Alpine 2x MRP-M650 (one per sub)/ MRP-T220 Big 3 with 2 Gauge

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Pioneerisloud's 87 Prelude Worklog

09-22-2010, 11:45 AM	#6
pioneerisloud Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Yakima, WA Posts: 123 Rep: 17	02-06-2010 Update! Well I don't know what this means guys, but TesteCull told me to try this. With the car in the air, I turned the car on. Put clutch in, put in gear, and the front tires just freaking took off! I mean they were REALLY spinning. I also found out this is a cable driven clutch, not hydrolic. So it looks like HOPEFULLY the cable is just stretched. I'm having a shop look at it on Monday for free. Also, transmission fluid is DEFINITELY full. We pulled the plug on the transmission, and fluid just started spewing out! So we're good there . And I'm not leaking a drop of ANY fluid at all for sure. __________________ My current project: 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Dual Mechless Head Unit (yeah, its Dual ) Kicker KS5250 Door Speakers Pioneer 1" Dome Tweeters (Door) Pioneer Premier REV 6.5" Rear Speakers Alpine 2x MRP-M650 (one per sub)/ MRP-T220 Big 3 with 2 Gauge

09-22-2010, 11:47 AM	#7
pioneerisloud Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Yakima, WA Posts: 123 Rep: 17	02-07-2010 Update! Alright, another update time! I'm sorry guys, I do not have pictures. I REALLY wish I did for this one, but I won't have my camera back till next month . I'll take pictures then for sure! Transmission Problems: 100% fixed! The clutch cable was just stretched because it was a new cable. A very simple 2 second tightening of it with my HANDS, fixed my troubles shifting. And the tires don't spin when the car is in the air anymore either . So since I just saved a whole bunch of money by not having to go to a shop.... I also went down to Autozone and bought a speedometer cable. I pulled the old one out, and it was DESTROYED at the transmission. Its REALLY easy to put back in...so that should be done roughly Wednesday. Car Audio Update: Since I had some spare money leftover, I decided to buy a stereo . I ended up with a super el cheapo "Dual" head unit from Wal Mart. The thing cost me $40. It doesn't have a tape deck OR a CD player. But it does have USB and a 3.5mm input. I also recieved as a gift today, some Pioneer Premier REV series 6.5" speakers (for those that don't know, those are by FAR the BEST sounding car audio speaker money can buy....or VERY close to it). Another gift I recieved was an Alpine 250w 2Ch. amplifier . So pair those up in the rear deck, I installed my Kicker 5.25" speakers in the doors (which will be powered by the amplifier), and I've got my 600w monoblock and Premier 2000SPL subwoofer. The stereo should be done tomorrow if I can find another 8ga power kit . __________________ My current project: 1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Dual Mechless Head Unit (yeah, its Dual ) Kicker KS5250 Door Speakers Pioneer 1" Dome Tweeters (Door) Pioneer Premier REV 6.5" Rear Speakers Alpine 2x MRP-M650 (one per sub)/ MRP-T220 Big 3 with 2 Gauge

09-22-2010, 12:15 PM	#9
Kenny McCormick Spah sappin' mah susp! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Earth...I think Posts: 3,271 Rep: 96	You still need to get that timing belt changed. __________________ Tired Iron ain't got no time to wear out... My rigs: 1985 Ford F150 \| 4x2 \| 300ci OHV inline six \| 4-speed OD manual \| 310K \| No power brakes \| Running 100% - It hasn't driven this good in 15 years! 1984 Ford F150 \| 4x2 \| 300ci six \| granny four \| 3.55 rear end \| 210K \| Brakes shot. Rear drums are doing most of the work. Not fit to drive due to that. 1997 Ford Explorer XLT \| 4.0L Vulcan V6 \| 5-speed automatic \| shift-on-the-fly 4WD \| 210,000 miles \| Running 95% - Needs brakes on all four corners + bald tires 1989 Ford F150 \| 300cid six...again \| 5-speed \| 4x4 \| 160K \| Needs brakes done as well. Oi!