[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.