CB7 1993 Accord LX or SE

[BLACK'98DSM]

Installed two more 195's yesterday in preparation of today's snow storm (first one this severe since 2014). They were cheap but got the job done. We were only predicted to get 1.5" of accumulation but in some areas it were deep enough to scrub the front bumper and mudflaps, so at least 6 inches. I put 30 miles on it, some on roads that were deemed impassable. Just for fun. I didn't see many people out today besides lifted trucks and Teslas. The gas station clerk got a kick out of it when I went inside for beer. On the highway I saw a few cars that were wither slid off the shoulder into a ditch, collided with concrete barriers, or simply stuck on a hill. It's like people don't know how to drive in the snow and ice. Which is fair since we don't see it often, but I consider a lot of it common knowledge. And while I wouldn't consider these Accords as winter machines, the heat blows hot and I mostly chugged along in 2nd gear without a hiccup.

I will be thoroughly rinsing the undercarriage in the next couple of days when the temp is fairly above freezing. Very few areas were salted but I want to be sure.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Damn, man. We didn’t get anything but rain and idiots deciding to all drive at once. And of course they act as if they’ve never seen rain while driving before.


We need like passports for interstate travel. Lol.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I was able to remove the duct tape from both rear windows today. I installed that a few days after purchasing because both of the rear windows were down about a half inch. Wanted to keep rain, bugs etc out of the car. Here I was thinking both motors were fried or something, but today while digging through the fuse box I found the rear power window fuse completely missing. Installed a spare 15A fuse and bumped both switches - there is movement! All I can figure is that my neighbor removed it years ago because he had small kids that were playing with the windows annoyingly. Why he didn't fully roll them up first I'm not sure, but they're working now and my car looks a little less junkyard ready without tape on it.

More parts are on the way, but seeing delay after delay. I had multiple delays from both California fires and winter weather, but shiny stuff will be here one of these days.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

This morning I installed the A6 camshaft, figured it was now time for an exhaust clip. This cam doesn't feel much different on startup, but loves to hang at rev limiter. Not healthy, but it loves it. What a nasty sound. I didn't expect it to be this loud since the cabin deadens most of the noise and drone. But there it is. Look at how the body and exhaust twists up. Must be making decent torque for a quarter million mile F series. Sounds like it wants revenge over the K series .

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Installing some light control arms. We save every pound we can on these 4 cylinders!

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Installed some clear turn signal housings. Never was a fan of the amber/orange housings. I'm liking the undercarriage view of the control arms though.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I never checked, but I don't really think the old ones were working

I did check the new ones though. A night look would be better but they do illuminate even in the daylight.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Started having a problem with the lower radiator hose boiling coolant while the upper hose stayed cool-ish. Decided to get a new thermostat and gasket. Looks like Corey put some stop leak in the system at some point and it accumulated in the thermostat causing it to stick closed. Seems to stay nice and cool all around now.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

To finish off my lighting upgrades I went with some new tail lights. I originally planned to only replace the housing filled with water, but after seeing these JDM housing I had to do it. Not the cheapest thing ever but f*** it. I'm turning a $100 car into a $2000 car a little too quickly but it's my daily and I want to ride in style and enjoy wrenching on it. I also removed the LX badge since I'm running a few SE parts and it will look smoother once painted.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Been working on a facelift.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

The engine may be hurt, but I need some investigating and diagnosis before knowing. Suddenly it blows the dipstick out and oily residue is under the hood. I can see vapors blow from the dipstick tube while revving, but none at idle. Of course the first thing I replaced was the PCV valve, and to no avail. I still need to compression and leakdown test, as well as combustion leak test the coolant. It could be a number of things but I'm worried with the age and mileage catching up.

Interestingly enough, it runs great. Excellent power and very quiet. I've just noticed the dipstick getting pushed out after heavy throttle/load. Whatever it is, I'll get it sorted out. I'm far from the days of being scared of Honda blocks.

 

[DarkKnight86]

Man seeing this makes me miss my cb7. Hopefully I will be getting a coupe I found for 500. I got both of my son's 92 and 93 cb7 sedans. The good about the 90-93 accords, is that you can run a turbo setup from the dsm and surprise people

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Just installed all new interior door handles. I decided that black was the better option. And I bought all four of them for around 55 bucks on RockAuto. Definitely worth it.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Painted the hood and tinted the rear windows to 5%. It's starting to look like a nice car.

It's been years since I installed tint, so it took multiple attempts to get all four windows correct. They are damn close to perfection now, and I may do the front windows as well. 5% is illegal for those but 35% is legal and will make enough of a difference. I've enjoyed my reintroduction to tinting though.

I sprayed the paint in my driveway on a windy day. With that considered, I had an exceptional result. Plenty of the sparkle and very few imperfections are visible. This was really an experiment for the product and I didn't want to set up the ventilation system just for that. I believe that I will paint the entire car this way, and in the proper setting.

 

[DarkKnight86]

Very nice. Are you going to go back with oem headlights? From what I remember back in the day on cb7 the light output was bad on those headlights.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

For now I'm going to stick with these lights. One of the stock headlights had a big hole in it, aside from the fact that all OE lights have become very brittle and you're lucky to to remove and reinstall a set with all of the mounts still in tact. It's possible but I wanted something completely new.

I also like how much lighter they are. Not light enough to feel like total junk while handling them, but definitely shedding a couple pounds compared to the glass housings.

The light output is not something I have a problem with. I read mixed reviews for it, but I ran LED bulbs in the stock housings which sucked. These are brighter. Not to mention that these have halogens in the projector housings, so can still be improved with LED's.

It's all preference but I also like the naturally darkened look from the exterior of the lights. If you can't tell, dark has been the theme here

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Tried my very best to kill the engine harshly tonight, but it wouldn't self destruct. I held it at 6500rpm for quite some time after the headgasket fully failed but it was hanging there without overheating or having any other problem. Soon I'll be going through the engine. It started drinking a little coolant and misfiring. Now there is constant steam from the tail pipe. I was hoping to have a grand failure but it's holding on for dear life. I'll just stop running it and should be able to use the crank and block. I was prepared to go all out on a fresh H series but the bottom end seems like it wants to be recommissioned.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Tried my very best to kill the engine harshly tonight, but it wouldn't self destruct. I held it at 6500rpm for quite some time after the headgasket fully failed but it was hanging there without overheating or having any other problem. Soon I'll be going through the engine. It started drinking a little coolant and misfiring. Now there is constant steam from the tail pipe. I was hoping to have a grand failure but it's holding on for dear life. I'll just stop running it and should be able to use the crank and block. I was prepared to go all out on a fresh H series but the bottom end seems like it wants to be recommissioned.

Don't lose heart now. Kill the hell out of that engine and H swap this! This thing would rip with even a stock H22 or H23 in it. Do it!

 

[DarkKnight86]

Boost the F22, or build a g22 or g23.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Whatever I do, it will be be bad to the bone. Although funds are tight at the moment, I just made things even tighter by ordering an Insta360 X2 with extendable mount. I can't mount that to a meak car.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

So the bottom end is not only recommissionable, but is actually quite healthy it would seem. I'm getting 160psi compression in cylinders 1 and 4. With a very slow and slight leakdown. That's great since my Prelude, which has more than 100k less miles on it, is only getting 140psi across the board. Now obviously cylinders 2 and 3 are down around 90 psi. Which still amazes me that they were so high with the broken gasket.

Point is, the F22 is going back together. I will be shaving the head down significantly, and while I'm in there the balance shafts are coming out. Also an A/C delete. I've been riding without it for so many years that I literally forget to turn it on. I don't complain, I just ride.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I did something so stupid, that I've never done. I bent all 8 exhaust valves during camshaft installation. The head was fully rebuilt and ready to go. So I bolted it on with a fresh MLS gasket and studs. When I bolted on the rocker shafts, I didn't fully pay attention to the rocker arm positions. They were wedged behind the valve springs and bent the valves as I torqued it down. A late night f*** up for sure. I'm coming to be alright with it though. It's just another excuse to upsize the valves and go further with the build.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Got so sick and tired of this greasy engine, and the poor work of machine shops. I'm just setting this engine to the side for now and dropping a damn H series in it. Let's see if I can blow up the transmission or something.

 

[DarkKnight86]

I miss those days. 2 years ago I sold my H23a that I was saving for a few years and my low mile f22a6. Now I'm kicking myself in the butt since both of my sons want cb7's, now that I have my cb7 coupe.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Fairly long day today. Not only did I actually work, but I managed to pull 2 engines between. Pulled the F series by noon and the H series by 7. The H series also came out with transmission, so a bit more labor. The transmission is being saved for later though. Got a couple bloody knuckles doing this whole day alone. Totally worth it though. Over 200 ft/lbs of torque in a 2400 lb car will be nice.