[XIRONFENIXX]

Stand by for some updates guys! Lots of part coming in the next week!!!

 

[XIRONFENIXX]

ok I’m back and ready with more progress! The engine has been torn apart. Everything but the crank is left which I’ll take out tomorrow. Once that’s out I’ll begin the cleaning of the block itself and resurface it for the new gaskets. And if for any reason I can’t find a decently priced machine shop to polish the crank I’ll be doing it myself. I’m also waiting for a clutch kit to come to have the tranny completely done. More pictures to come.
Stay classy y’all

 

[XIRONFENIXX]

More work today. I’ll be polishing the crank tomorrow and cleaning the block. I’ve already ordered the bearing set for the crank too so those will be coming in.

 

[XIRONFENIXX]

Said fuck it and painted the engine.

 

[tjcross]

Looks good! I'm gonna paint mine too! I dunno if I'll stick with a neutral color like silver or grey or black....Might go all crazy on it, just because. LOL Imagine having, like, a yellow engine or something.....Although a bright color like that would show dirt, grime and any little oil leak super easy.....and as much as these engines leak, it would no doubt look terrible in practically no time at all. LOL I dunno...It's still under debate. I'm building two cars, and they're both red, but having a red engine in a red car just seems like overkill on red to me. We'll see what I come up with in the next few months when it warms up enough to do work and actually apply paint. XD

 

[XIRONFENIXX]

Definitely post pictures bro I wanna see what you go with! And the only real reason I always end up painting the block honestly IS because it’s easier to spot leaks lol. Cause like you said these engines are temperamental 😅 I’m not gonna paint the tranny but it is already pretty clean. That purple power stuff is crazy good.

 

[tjcross]

That is the cleanest 3g transmission I've ever seen. The '89 in my profile pic has an automatic in it...which is sure to come out eventually, but like you say, the goal is to make them running and drivable first. As far as I can tell, the '89 needs a timing kit, prolly some valves, etc. I don't think there's anything wrong with the block (guy said it ran and drove before the timing belt broke). We'll be doing work at my friend's place to make that one a driving chassis - it doesn't seem to need much else, other than some welding work in the trunk - the trunk floor has separated from where it attaches to the rear quarter panels on both sides due to corrosion and crappy spot welds. I'm a terrible welder, but I figure it's more than possible to fix this.

 

[tjcross]

Your cylinder walls look pretty clean like mine. Any evidence of piston slap or anything?
You might have a tiny ridge at the top like I do....I'm honestly not entirely sure how to remove that safely (boring this stuff is dangerous) or even if I have to or should. The rest of my block looks similar to yours so far. Mine's not as clean because I haven't yet sent it in for a dip in the tank - the local Arnold machinist recently retired, and as far as I know, they haven't replaced him....which means I either have to take it to Ames to have it done, or let the local shop ship it somewhere, which I'm wary about.

 

[XIRONFENIXX]

There is a ridge but I’m not too worried about it mainly because the cross hatching on my cylinder walls is still pretty good. I’m honestly thinking that it’s more of a stain than an actual ridge because I can’t feel anything by hand. The guy I bought the car from had had the block rebuilt not too long before he garaged it. I just used purple power bro and pressure washed it and made sure it dried out for a day after wiping it down really good. Turned out great. And yeah I was gonna hone the cylinder walls but.... I chickened out lol the risks with the frm sleeves just ain’t worth it. Plus like I said the cross hatching is still pretty good

 

[tjcross]

Mine has no cross-hatching. It's a light grey color with a really satiny finish; looks like the surface has been lapped. I checked in the shop manual, and it says that's how that FRM stuff is supposed to be. Says no honing is necessary nor is it advised. It says you can lightly sand the interior of the cylinder walls with 600grit aluminum oxide sandpaper for ring seating purposes, but otherwise not to hone them. Based on how well the old rings are still seated, I'd have to go along with that. Boring is highly discouraged because the material apparently has a tendency to flake and chip due to directional stress it wasn't designed to withstand, which is why I'm still up in the air about taking care of that ridge at the top or not. In the end, it's probably not important to take it off.
Still missing parts to my head - It's warmed up a bit since I last posted, but it's still below freezing cold, and I haven't had time to go tear apart my garage looking for them. After further examination, it also looks like that head is going to require new valve guides - there's a bit of play....but I should probably have an automotive machinist check them out - I'm unsure what the tolerance is. I figure for best results, replace them anyway....but I know that isn't cheap to do. We'll have to see.

 

[XIRONFENIXX]

Wow that is good to know about the frm sleeves. I’ve always had the B20 blocks so I have no experience with these. And Ike missing a crap ton of parts for the cooling system 😅 and I’m pretty sure I don’t have them period. Might hav to hit you up for some pics for a reference and a reminder lol. I’ve always been super lucky when it came to the valve guides. The valve stem seals not so much.

 

[tjcross]

Yeah, all of my seals were bad in that head, which isn't a surprise with the mileage on it - It looked like no one ever changed a single gasket, seal or hose before I got it. I'll be happy to help you out with pictures and as much reference as I can get you for the cooling system - I didn't have an easy time figuring all that out on my own either. I remember swapping that motor out in favor of a B20A5....and all the little hoses on the back side of the block that go from the intake to the water neck, oil filter sandwich plate and such weren't easy to figure out without looking at pictures for orientation and location, so I'm totally with you. As for the FRM material....it seems to have properties of a ceramic as well as metal, which is odd....wonder if it's like those SAPI armor plates for the vests we used to have in the Army? LOL

 

[XIRONFENIXX]

Now I really have my hands full..... I finally got my new pistons and rings put on! But
when I went to compress the rings the #2 ring went all cock eyed and snapped during compression. So now I gotta wait for a new set of rings to come in 😩 aside from that the crank has been polished and I got the new bearings in. Those will be going in while I wait for the rings.

 

[tjcross]

Shit.....that sucks, man. I'm sorry to hear that. I'm hoping the same thing doesn't happen to me - Things like that have been known to rear their ugly heads around me often enough....Think things are going fine, takes other people X-amount of time to do this....but for me it's like 4 times as long because other shit like that keeps coming up, delaying the project even further. I'm with you, brother. It's warming up and the snow is finally starting to disappear here in Iowa. I should be able to make some good progress on my own sometime soon. We'll be taking the head off the '89, doing gaskets, valves, timing kit. Probably a weekend worth of work. That should achieve drivability for that one....unless something else rears its ugly head. The '90 is going to be a bit more in-depth. LOL Good luck!

 

[XIRONFENIXX]

OKAY!!!! And I’m back!!! Lmfao! My son is now the proud owner of an auto to manual swapped 5th gen Honda Prelude. He even managed to pay off his loan to me for the car in the last few months. 😎 he is definitely in love with the ludes!!! Now that his car is done the focus is back to my baby. The head will be prepped and resurfaced so I can install it. Tranny is done I just need to buy a clutch kit. Once this is done the engine is going in. Suspension is all done and brakes have been completely redone and rebuilt. Just need to finish some undercoating protection on the passenger side wheel well and she should be purring down my drive way. I’ll keep y’all posted

 

[CyborgGT]

I love that shot of the two gens of Prelude in the garage. You can see in the styling details how well Honda modernized the 3rd when they sculpted the 5th.