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• Beth

1985 Honda Prelude DX #2

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We bought this car with 137K miles on it. What a great car. It needed some work when we got it, but it looked and ran much better when we sold it! For its age, it was in great shape.

Some specs:

• 1.8L dual 3bbl carb, 4 cylinder 12 valve SOHC engine
• 98 HP, 5 speed manual trans, 13" rims and BSW tires
• Rated 26MPG city, 31MPG highway
• Air conditioning, variable rate steering, adjustable intermittent wipers, digital clock
• Power sunroof
• Full gauges and rear defroster
• Red with black pinstriping and black interior

Things added:

• Bosch distributor cap and rotor
• Front splash guards
• Rear 6.5" Pioneer speakers
• High performance spark plug wires
• Bosch Platinum spark plugs, advanced timing
• Seat covers
• 2" exhaust from the headers back
• 2.5" chrome exhaust tip
• 30" red PRELUDE decal on front window
• Small "TWIN CARB" decal on trunk

Here are the specs for the '83-'87 carbeurated Prelude:

• Base price: $9,645 (1983)
• Engine: SOHC I4, 12 valve
• Displacement: 1829cc (1.8L)
• Horsepower: 100 @ 5500 rpm
• Torque: 104 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
• Transmission: 5 speed manual standard
• Brakes: 4 wheel disc (except '83, with rear drums)
• Tires: P185/70R13
• Wheelbase: 97.7 inches
• Overall Length: 169.1 inches
• Height: 51.0 inches
• Curb Weight: 2,240 lbs
• Acceleration:
  0-30mph....3.3 sec
  0-40mph....5.4 sec
  0-50mph....7.8 sec
  0-60mph....11.2 sec
  0-70mph....15.4 sec
  0-80mph....21.1 sec
  quarter mile time: 18.1 sec @ 75.0 mph
• Braking: 60-0 mph in 151 ft

If you've got one of these cars, or are looking at one, here are things to look for. Some you can fix yourself, some you might not want to:

Mechanical (you probably won't fix yourself):

• Emergency brake. If it doesn't work right, you have to replace two $75 cables, plus rear calipers, rotors, and pads if it's broken any length of time. EXPENSIVE!
• Squeaky front end. Lots of rubber boots means lots of problems. If one cracks, you'll get either a bad CV joint, bad axle, or ball joint replacement.
• Vacuum lines missing. If they've been moved, re-routed, or removed, you may be in for a real hassle. LOTS of vacuum lines on this car!
• Automatic transmission. They just didn't last. Usually 100K. 5 speeds last forever.
• Excessive rust around the gas tank door will prohibit it from opening eventually!
• Timing belt. Every 60K in this car, and they mean it. High compression engine. If the belt goes, so do the valves.
• Carbs. If the carbs seem out of whack, steer clear. It's about $800 to replace them. Ouch!

Other (you can do this):

• The back speakers suffer sun damage and start to short the stereo. Replace them - it's real easy!
• The door panels fall apart. 3 screws on the front of each panel fall out - use larger screws!
• Glove box is always hard to close. Adjust it out a ways and add rubber bumpers to kill the vibration.
• The plastic around the gauges rattles. Apply thin rubber strips between plastic and vinyl dash. Kills vibration noise.
• Grease sunroof track. After a while, it sticks on closing.
• Sunroof and hazard pushbuttons go bad. Clean frequently with an electrical cleaner.
• Hubcaps loosen up. Must be replaced.
• Hoods open backwards. If the person working on your car doesn't know this, leave!