1st gen Accord swap
- Thread starter berkough
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i would look into a early prelude motor if you want better performance... might be an easier swap
also look into going custom turbo, prob a hell of a lot easier and far cheaper...
as to your question, no i have never heard of anyone doing it but if you look long enough you will probably find someone
first stop: google
also look into going custom turbo, prob a hell of a lot easier and far cheaper...
as to your question, no i have never heard of anyone doing it but if you look long enough you will probably find someone
first stop: google
Haha, yeah I've been researching this topic for the past month with little success. And I'm not a novice, I can find pretty much anything I'm looking for on the internet. But the most I've seen is little tricks to squeeze out a little bit more power. Hotter Ignition coil, using an american carbuerator like a holley 2 barrell, etc.
I thought about custom parts, such as custom headers... but I've never heard of someone doing a custom turbo, how exactly would that work?
But the car also happens to be automatic, I figured with an engine swap I could kill two bird with one stone since most of the JDM swaps I see advertised online come with everything.
a JDM swap isn;t gonna come with everything you will need to do a auto to manual conversion...
is this car in mint condition? if not they you are seriously going after the wrong thing here...
if you want an increase in performance and a 5 speed conversion i would look for an early model prelude and get the motor swap along with the trans conversion parts all from that chassis...
well, apparently the prelude had basically the same motor as the accord so that option is out...
the first thing to do would be to get a 5 speed, that should satisfy your performance urges for a little while, then do some research on the turbo
custom turbo is rather simple, you just need to learn
start at homemadeturbo.com to get a general idea of whats involved with a turbo setup...
read and read some more...
but like i said above, if this car is not in showroom condition or you have some off love for the 79 accord then i would FIRMLY suggest you upgrade to a newer chassis before starting any project such as a motor swap, the swap will be a pain in the ass, and you're gonna have one hell of a time finding any aftermarket support for a car that old...
i think you could probably still find headers for the stock motor on ebay though... try pacesetter...
is this car in mint condition? if not they you are seriously going after the wrong thing here...
if you want an increase in performance and a 5 speed conversion i would look for an early model prelude and get the motor swap along with the trans conversion parts all from that chassis...
well, apparently the prelude had basically the same motor as the accord so that option is out...
the first thing to do would be to get a 5 speed, that should satisfy your performance urges for a little while, then do some research on the turbo
custom turbo is rather simple, you just need to learn
start at homemadeturbo.com to get a general idea of whats involved with a turbo setup...
read and read some more...
but like i said above, if this car is not in showroom condition or you have some off love for the 79 accord then i would FIRMLY suggest you upgrade to a newer chassis before starting any project such as a motor swap, the swap will be a pain in the ass, and you're gonna have one hell of a time finding any aftermarket support for a car that old...
i think you could probably still find headers for the stock motor on ebay though... try pacesetter...
Well I realize a JDM swap won't come with everything, but it'd be easier than going to a salvage yard and trying to find a 5pd 79 accord and going from there. In fact I was able to find one... But it was in terrible shape. And I couldn't see myself rebuilding a tranny that old and in that condition. My car is damn near mint. Right now it doesn't look so hot because we just ripped the badges off and did the bondo work (but nothing a paint job won't fix). Interior needs a little bit of work. But structurally it's absolutely solid, it's been a California car all it's life, and I'm the second owner.
I did look into just picking up a CRX for dirt cheap and fixing it up, but I really like this 79. Everything is made of steel, I just feel safer going at higher speeds in something like that, rather than aluminum and fiber glass. Plus I checked out the engine compartment and it's real close to late 80's, early 90s Civics. Since it's holding a 1751cc engine right now, I don't see as there would be too much of a problem fitting a 1600cc engine in there. The main thing I'm really worried about is the electrical stuff.
I did think about a Prelude swap, but yeah.. found out the same thing you did, that it's basically the same motor.
Thanks for the info on the turbo, I'll definately read up on it.
There aren't any aftermarket performance parts for a car this old... I've looked. That's why I wanted to upgrade the engine, but keep the car. I think Pacesetter only makes stuff as far back as 3rd gen Accords. Some company named Panther makes headers, but I believe they are just OEM. Which, it's probably just as restrictive as the stock headers.
Thanks for all your help though. If you have any other sugguestions or ideas I more than open to them. I'll start researching the turbo.
I did look into just picking up a CRX for dirt cheap and fixing it up, but I really like this 79. Everything is made of steel, I just feel safer going at higher speeds in something like that, rather than aluminum and fiber glass. Plus I checked out the engine compartment and it's real close to late 80's, early 90s Civics. Since it's holding a 1751cc engine right now, I don't see as there would be too much of a problem fitting a 1600cc engine in there. The main thing I'm really worried about is the electrical stuff.
I did think about a Prelude swap, but yeah.. found out the same thing you did, that it's basically the same motor.
Thanks for the info on the turbo, I'll definately read up on it.
There aren't any aftermarket performance parts for a car this old... I've looked. That's why I wanted to upgrade the engine, but keep the car. I think Pacesetter only makes stuff as far back as 3rd gen Accords. Some company named Panther makes headers, but I believe they are just OEM. Which, it's probably just as restrictive as the stock headers.
Thanks for all your help though. If you have any other sugguestions or ideas I more than open to them. I'll start researching the turbo.
bondo work?
this is a strong signal to me... and not a good one...
you're putting bondo into a car thats suspossed to be mint to cover the badge holes???
the car does look clean, and i'm sure you will get "props" for doing a swap, but i hope you plan on keeping it forever cause you will never get anywhere close to the money you invest back out of it...
yea, i know, everyone says they don't care about the money but sooner or later you will want to pay for tuition, buy a house, start your own business, have a child and you'll be kicking yourself in the ass...
but if you insist on modding this car then lets begin...
you are goin to need the hardware from a manual accord, regardless if you use the actual transmission or not you will need the clutch pedal and brake pedal assemblies, the shifter and i assume shifter rods, etc etc
this could possibly be scored from a junk yard but it will probably be cheaper to just pick up a whole car for 100 bucks and take what you need...
now lets look into the motor mounts...
where are the mounts on your car at present? perhaps you have an engine bay shot you could post up?
i think the easiest way to do this swap would be to fab up the mounts, then try and retrofit a complete wireharness from a newer car into your car...
you'll need to customize pretty much evertything from the console to the heater controls, signal controls, wipers, defrost, headlights, tailights, etc etc
you'll need fuel lines or you'll have to make your own, you will need to make a gas tank, customize yours, or use a newer one
i would start by measuring your clearances between firewall and rad support and the clearance between the shock towers... just to see if the motor will physically fit in there...
if you're going to do all this work i would advise you attempt to go with the H22 swap...
or H23 if you want to go even cheaper
H series are pretty damn cheap, lots of power, you'll have to custom make everything anyway, the shifter cables will make the install easier, you can use a cable to hydro conversion, or retrofit the hydro lines if you're felling real creative...
just so many things you're going to need to custom build to make this swap work...
hit me with some more questions and i'll throw you whatever advise i can
*sigh, tear in corner of eye*
It's identical to my first Honda. I loved that car.
I'd probably B series it myself. Space wouldn't be limited too much, and the dimensions would probably be about right.
You'd either need custom axles or different suspension. You could mount the ECU somewhere safe and use it as a standalone unit. You'd want to salvage as much wiring from the donor car as possible. In fact, since you need pretty much everything, and maybe even the suspension, I'd probably buy a front clip. At least you would have everything.
Electrically and mechanically, you could make it go. The little details are what would be a bitch. Where to mount shit, what about the check engine light and the speedometer, etc.
Good luck. You'll need a lot of skill and patience, not to mention some coin.
It's identical to my first Honda. I loved that car.
I'd probably B series it myself. Space wouldn't be limited too much, and the dimensions would probably be about right.
You'd either need custom axles or different suspension. You could mount the ECU somewhere safe and use it as a standalone unit. You'd want to salvage as much wiring from the donor car as possible. In fact, since you need pretty much everything, and maybe even the suspension, I'd probably buy a front clip. At least you would have everything.
Electrically and mechanically, you could make it go. The little details are what would be a bitch. Where to mount shit, what about the check engine light and the speedometer, etc.
Good luck. You'll need a lot of skill and patience, not to mention some coin.
Well, a lot of people think I'm crazy for even going as far as I have. The general consenceus is that I should just buy another car.
In response to your cringing at my bondo remark. That's about the only thing that was aesthetically wrong with the car, the badges were made of plastic and after 25years, they weren't holding up so well. So instead of replacing them I just decided to get rid of them (I've never seen 79 honda badges anywhere... why even have them on the car?) And I have a guy that's a 3rd generation body man who's been doing that type of work for over 30 years. It looks nice, trust me.
I don't know if an H22 would fit. Just based on the cc alone. I mean right now there's a 1751cc engine in it. I don't know about 2157cc, that just seems way too big. I'll go ahead and post engine bay pics soon.
As far as the speedometer and tack and all of that... I was just going to buy an aftermartket guage cluster, or get one from a honda that has the same motor as the one I want to swap in. I honestly don't think it's going to cost all that much to complete the car... $12,000USD at the most. And shit, that's a hell of a lot less than a new car. So far I only have around 4,000 invested. That includes the original price of the car and all of the work I've done on it.
I'm still reading up on basic car science (with the help of homemadeturbo, thanks for the link)... If there is any way I can custom augment this engine to make it run faster I want to at least try it. And I'm also going to attempt auto to manual conversion first, before I attempt an entire engine swap. But ultimately that's what I think that's what I want to do. That or within the next year I'll just buy a CRX to work on.
In response to your cringing at my bondo remark. That's about the only thing that was aesthetically wrong with the car, the badges were made of plastic and after 25years, they weren't holding up so well. So instead of replacing them I just decided to get rid of them (I've never seen 79 honda badges anywhere... why even have them on the car?) And I have a guy that's a 3rd generation body man who's been doing that type of work for over 30 years. It looks nice, trust me.
I don't know if an H22 would fit. Just based on the cc alone. I mean right now there's a 1751cc engine in it. I don't know about 2157cc, that just seems way too big. I'll go ahead and post engine bay pics soon.
As far as the speedometer and tack and all of that... I was just going to buy an aftermartket guage cluster, or get one from a honda that has the same motor as the one I want to swap in. I honestly don't think it's going to cost all that much to complete the car... $12,000USD at the most. And shit, that's a hell of a lot less than a new car. So far I only have around 4,000 invested. That includes the original price of the car and all of the work I've done on it.
I'm still reading up on basic car science (with the help of homemadeturbo, thanks for the link)... If there is any way I can custom augment this engine to make it run faster I want to at least try it. And I'm also going to attempt auto to manual conversion first, before I attempt an entire engine swap. But ultimately that's what I think that's what I want to do. That or within the next year I'll just buy a CRX to work on.
skater123654
New Member
I have a 79 accord too and i just figured out that a 2.0si carbed prelude will fit in(88) , and will give 110 horses at the fly wheel, im adding a lightweight flywheel to add acceleration, and yeah 88 prelude si motor will fit and best of all no ecu reprogram
I would yell at you for resurrecting a five year old thread, but the information you gave might actually be useful to someone...