19 years of sitting- prep for start question

[Skip Newsom]

Looking for input from the Pelican brain trust...

Long sad story, my Brother's health has degraded to where he's on O2 full time and easily fatigued. I've become caregiver and now prepping to move him into a small apartment.

In his garage buried under nearly 2 decades of "stuff" is his 1990 Honda Prelude SI 4WS with a 2.1 4 cylinder MFI motor, 125k on the odo.
It was stolen back in 2001, the ignition has the wrong key hammered into it, it turns and works but won't come out thus far... the ********* that stole it also scratched up every panel on it. My brother was so frustrated that when he got it back he parked it and has not moved it since- tabs show April 2001.

With his OK I've made multiple trips to the dump and un-buried the car.
The engine compartment looks pretty good- considering. No rats, cats, bats or other species living in it. The dip stick shows it has oil in it, albeit low.
Tires were all flat of course, filled them up and they hold air.

My question is what all should I do before trying to start it?

My plan is to siphon out as much old fuel as possible, put in 5 gallons of fresh pure gas.
Top up the oil (it's dirty but still slippery).
I'll either pull the plugs and spray some oil down the cylinders, or pull the coil wire and crank it long enough to get oil circulated.
Then attempt to start it.

Any suggestions or modifications to my plan?

The goal is to get it running and fixed up enough to sell it for more than scrap value... NADA guides say it's only worth maybe $1200.

Pics.

[Seahawk]

You seem like the exact person your Brother needs now...a great and difficult endeavor.

Concerning the car, I know EXACTLY what I would do, stay with me, this could get technical. First thing I would do: cut and paste the below.

Originally Posted by Skip Newsom

Looking for input from the Pelican brain trust...

Second step? Wait for someone to reply that knows what they are talking about

Good luck, Skip. My best to you and your brother.

[flatbutt]

Skip you are what a brother ought to be, well done sir. Like Seahawk I can't offer any wrenching advice but I do admire your devotion to your brother.

[beepbeep]

You will need to suck out old fuel and replace fuel filter to begin with. Drain and replace oil, flush the coolant. Brakes will be stuck, but that can be taken care of later.

[KNS]

I can't offer a whole lot on getting the car running other than check out the 911 tech section on bringing an old car back to life. You probably ought to try and get all the old gas out at a minimum along with fresh oil. Will the engine turn over by hand?

I had the 2.0 liter two valve version of that car - one of my all time favorite cars. Fun to drive and Honda reliable. Good luck!

[Skip Newsom]

Thanks gents.
Absolutely a labor of love. My brother is a decade older than I am and took me under his wing in my early teens, took me hiking, backpacking, canoeing, white water rafting, motorcycling and so on.
Pop's was adventurous too but battled physical and mental issues that made it impossible to do the things my brother and I did- I still love these activities to this day.

I can never repay the kindness and time big brother spent on me when I needed it most.

[billybek]

Those were cool little cars back in the day!

Think one of the mechanics will chip in for a more complete list but make sure there is coolant in it that is still liquid.

Good luck with it and I know you will post more photos!

[stevej37]

Engine compartment looks real clean. I think you will have no problem getting it going again.

I am the original owner and still drive my 98 Prelude. Some years, it's sat without starting it at all. It always takes right off and still doesn't use any oil at 120K miles.

How is the interior? Stick or auto? Clean it up, fix the scratches...you'll get more than $1200 easily. Their values have been going up, I wouldn't sell mine for any less than $5K

[Skip Newsom]

Me?
Post photos?
Well OK

After a couple 4 hour stints of clearing the evil empire still smiles at me and the obvious love he's had of cheap Gin is apparent.



After a couple more clean out endeavors the car begins to emerge



The canoe (17' Hawthorn fiberglass) hanging from the ceiling brings back great memories, here's my brother out on lake Wenatchee in April of 1976- I remember paddling across the lake and camping overnight. First time I ever woke up with ice on the inside of the tent... good times!
We also took it on multiple white water runs even though it's a lake boat.

[id10t]

If possible I'd make sure the engine turns by hand.

Bypass the fuel system as much as possible. Feed from a can on the roof if you have to, or one of those big primer bulbs you see for boat use, etc. Once it runs from a can like that, keep re-attaching further back into the fuel system, replacing lines and filters as much as possible as you go.

I'd also use no-alcohol fuel - the gaskets, etc. may have a bad reaction to any in the gas since they are right on the edge of when alco fuel really got common.

Once it is running from the tank, brake lines, etc. all probably need replacing as will other belts, hoses, etc. Tires will need definitely need replacing before it is road safe, and so on. And if *poof* it ran magically all of those things would still need to be replaced by a buyer to make it road safe and reliable so they're gonna want 500+ off the $1200 KBB value....

You'll end up upside down compared to just calling the junk yard. List it on c-list for a week as "mechanics special", ask 800 and take 500. Local to me junk place takes cars for $400.

[Skip Newsom]

Interior is OK, driver's seat has some normal wear, 5 speed manual transmission.

It was/is a pretty cool car- the 4 wheel steering thing did not stick around long, although the new Taycan has brought it back.

It is a slippery slope expense wise to get it running and road safe, he nor I want to put too much in it.
There's a history of his cars breaking, sitting and being towed away for scrap.
I hope to avoid that and not end up upside down. Good thing is I'm a cheap mechanic!

For some odd reason I do enjoy projects like this.

[masraum]

Assuming it's in nice shape visually (paint, interior, etc...) if you can get it running decently, I would expect nostalgia and cult status to make that fairly desirable, especially with the 4ws and manual trans.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Skip Newsom

Interior is OK, driver's seat has some normal wear, 5 speed manual transmission.

It was/is a pretty cool car- the 4 wheel steering thing did not stick around long, although the new Taycan has brought it back.

It is a slippery slope expense wise to get it running and road safe, he nor I want to put too much in it.
There's a history of his cars breaking, sitting and being towed away for scrap.
I hope to avoid that and not end up upside down. Good thing is I'm a cheap mechanic!

For some odd reason I do enjoy projects like this.

Good that it's not an auto...they were not very reliable. The 4 w/steering made the car a super nice driving car. I drove one for a day..took some time getting used to it..especially in parking situations. The back end doesn't follow the front as a normal car would. My prelude is my 3rd one...incredible cars!

[MRM]

Preludes have always been highly desirable cars. That's why it was almost stolen originally. They are so tuneable and robust that they were the favorites of racer gangs back in the day. Preludes were frequent of organized car thief rings because there was such a demand to chop them and turn them into street racers. Whoever tried to steal the car originally was an amateur trying to get it for the same reason. The technique on Japanese cars of that era was simple. It was impossible to pick the lock or use a key blank, but the lock cylinder was weak and there was no interlock device. So thieves just pounded a number four screwdriver directly into the lock and forced rotated the cylinder. At that point the screwdriver was as good as a key. A pro would have gotten away with the car. The would-be thief apparently didn't know how to drive the screwdriver in far enough to break the lock. The fix for it now is simply to install a new cylinder.

Anyway, don't sell it for KBB value. Once cleaned up it might be a BAT candidate.

[VincentVega]

I'd pop off the timing belt cover and make sure the engine spins before getting into it too far. Assuming its free replace the timing belt then continue with new fuel, good plugs and a battery.

I love those cars, good luck

[stevej37]

Not sure if current 4 wheel steering cars do the same...but the Preludes pointed all 4 wheels the same way at speeds over 25 mph. At lower speeds, the fronts would steer the opposite of the backs. Made parking super easy...if you knew what was happening.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Not sure if current 4 wheel steering cars do the same...but the Preludes pointed all 4 wheels the same way at speeds over 25 mph. At lower speeds, the fronts would steer the opposite of the backs. Made parking super easy...if you knew what was happening.

I think just about every 4ws car that I've ever heard of (since the Prelude) will either do one or the other depending upon the speed at the time.

[javadog]

If you want to do it right, this is what I'd do, as a minimum...

Pull the plugs and fog the cylinders with oil. (I'd scope it with a borescope, too, but you may not have one)
Drain the oil. Pop the valve cover off. Add new oil by dumping it on the cam, to lube it. Turn the engine over to TDC on number 1. Add more oil to the cam and put the valve cover back on.
Change the timing belt. It's so old it might pop when you start it, which will turn your $1200 car into junk. New accessory belts, while you have them off.

Drain the fuel tank. Flush it with a few gallons of new fuel. Drain again. Put 5 gallons of new fuel in the tank. Pull the fuel return line, feed it into a bucket and jumper the fuel pump. Flush the lines until clean gas comes out. If you can stand to do it, flush the fuel rail and test the injectors, cleaning them if needed. Button up the fuel system.

Top off the oil, spin the engine over to build fuel pressure, put the plugs back in and change the air filter.

Start it and run it at 1500-2000 rooms for a couple minutes. Warm it up to operating temp and make sure the thermostat opens. Drain the coolant, flush the cooling system, drain again. Flush out the remnants of the radiator flush with distilled water. Add the required amount of coolant, then fill the system the rest of the way up with distilled water. Run and check for leaks.

Clear a path in front of the thing, stick it in first gear, depress the clutch and start it again. If the clutch is stuck, be prepared to kill it immediately. If not, then progress to the brakes. Flush all of the old fluid out at a minimum, rebuild the calipers and master cylinder if you intend to drive it.

If it's a runner, change the trans fluid, too.

This is a general list, doesn't include any specific details pertaining to a Prelude, or any of the obvious crap like replacing the battery.

Good luck,
JR

[javadog]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Not sure if current 4 wheel steering cars do the same...but the Preludes pointed all 4 wheels the same way at speeds over 25 mph. At lower speeds, the fronts would steer the opposite of the backs. Made parking super easy...if you knew what was happening.

It wasn't speed dependent, it was steering wheel angle dependent...

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by javadog

It wasn't speed dependent, it was steering wheel angle dependent...

nope