Thrilled to be here!

Hey all,
I just bought a 1991 honda accord dx. It was pretty rusted around the wheel wells. Right now, it's in the shop. What they are doing is cutting out the rust, welding on new sheet metal, coating it with fiberglass?, and giving it a new paint job. It's going to cost me about $1,000.

I've been searching the forums the past couple of days and I'm getting pretty excited about working on my car. I'd like to know what you guys think. Do you think this car is doomed to rust again? I think for a grand they should be able to stop the rust.

I love driving this car! It was a steal at $1,300. I was thinking it would be a good car to practice with. Do you guys have some suggestions on mods I could make that wouldn't cost me a fortune? It seems like the first thing everyone does is I/H/E. Is that expensive? Can you do that in stages? Where do I start? I'm very much a beginner, but I'm really motivated to learn. Thanks.

[ebpda9]

WELCOME TO HONDASTYLE

I see you are a 4th generation accord driver too. As far the body work will go i think 1000 is kind of cheap and it will be done like an ass, but who knows. i have the same problem on my 92 lx, and i'm gonna cut it in the summer and weld new pieces and give it a new paint job. The only problem with welding is that in about 5-6 years it will rust on the line where it was welded, but i don't think you will keep the car so much longer. How many miles do u have on it ? i would do some i/h/e mods but they are still gonna be like 1 grand for brand name ones. also i would get the car lowered with kyb agx and eibach springs. Do u have an auto or a manual ? For the auto there are some dope motor mounts insert kits that will keep the engine in place, so the torque will be directed to the wheels and it will eliminate wheel hop. that's for only 15 bucks. come and visit us in the accord forum.

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Welcome to HS! Its great to have another Accord around here. Sound like you'll have a good car when the body work is finished (though that is dirt cheap), so you can probably jump right into the performance stuff.

You'll learn so much if you read through the various forums. Also, at the top of your screen, you'll find a search button that will allow you to find answers to specific questions without asking them again.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask if you can't find the answer to something.

[Accord Man]

Welcome aboard Raoul!

Your car is manual or auto??


Let us know what you want out of your car, and we'll help you get their..

[Racing Rice]

Let me be the first Non-Accord owner to Welcome you to HS.. Welcome!!

Sounds like you are off to a good start. What is you ultimate goal with the car? Lots of speed? A little speed? If you just want a little I/H/E will be a good start. Or you may want to save your money and later if you have high miles on your previous motor. Just an idea for you anyway.

I've got an automatic. The car has 150,00 miles but it's going strong. Basically what I want to get out of the car is style. I'm not very flashy, I am more interested in dark, sleek, and smooth.
I'll probably have the windows tinted on the way home from the autobody shop.

I am thinking of re-doing the interior. The outside is being painted a sort of metallic blue. I thought I would paint the inside gray. Does the plastic come out pretty easily? As for the carpet I'd probably leave that to the pros. I'd love to throw in some plush leather seats. Then I'd like to change the looks of all of the gages and get a different color interior lights. Does anyone know somewhere in chicagoland to buy that kind of stuff? Or should I just buy online?

As far as performance goes, I'm not thinking about a new engine, but I am prepared to add performance parts piece by piece. I'm more interested in quality than brand name. I'd love to know some "beginner" things I can do to help myself learn my way around the engine.

In regards to the bodywork, they told me it would be ready last friday(four days), but it's now tuesday, and it's still not ready. The guy who did the estimate was telling me that it was a lot more work than he had anticipated. I told him to take his time, I'd rather have it done right than fast. I tried to get in good with the guy so that he trys his best for me. I've got my fingers crossed.

how much money are you planning on spending on that accord???
so far i gather 1,500 for car, 1,000 for body work... new paint job. custom interior...
dont even start thinkin about performance parts on a engine with that many miles. sure you can put performance parts on there but if you run it at race stress often its going to wear out very quickly. instead of performance parts i would suggest swapping to a new(er) better engine because you will get more life and almost definately more power.
my $.02

>>Later>>

if you insist on using that engine at least have a compression test performed on it. if its not up to snuff toss it.