Cheap '86 Honda Accord racing parts.?

Question

I want to soup up my old 1986 Accord, considering that I haven't the money for a new car. This car has a 5 speed manual tansmission, and a old school Carburetor. If anyone has suggestions on where to find CHEAP parts, or any ideas of a "do it yourself" preformance mod, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE!!

Answer 1

I have a 1991 accord. I am going to do an H22a with LSD 5-speed tranny swap, but that's not very cheap.

First of all, don't do nothing except chip your ecu, as one of two things will happen:
1. You will buy a chip from a non-reputable company, and it will do nothing
2. It will work amazingly, but significantly decrease the life of your motor.

The cheap stuff:
-You could get new headers for around 60 bucks (just get some off ebay because most headers are close enough to being the same that it won't matter what you get- that is, unless you buy 4 into 1 headers from DC Sports or something, but i don't believe they make them for accords)
-buy a catback exhaust for anywhere between $150-$400
-get rid of the crappy stock intake and put a cold air intake in its place, those are around $50 on ebay and then i would just buy a K&N filter for it rather than using the cheap filter that comes with cheap air intakes
-if you have the black lining (that keeps people from door slamming your car) around the outside of your car you could paint it the same color as your car (i have not done this, but i hear that it looks better like that)
-replace the bumper lights with OEM clear ones (literally like $5 on ebay), and since you already have blinkers in your cornerlights, you can turn the bumperlights into fog lights (with some easy modification, i have already done this and it took around $50 for all the parts to do it but thats because the replacement fog light bulbs i bought were 10 bucks each)
-window tint may be an option (i don't know how much it costs to have it "professionally done", but a roll of tint costs like $10 at walmart or autozone or wherever you wanna go, and they have tinting kits that you can buy for around the same price. I would not recommend tinting your own windows if you currently have no idea how to do it, because you will probably mess up and it will look like crap)
-I am personally thinking about getting a front/rear bumper from a 1993 accord, because i think they look better than the 1991's bumpers
-Get a braided steel brake line - should be around $150
-spark plugs and wires abour $75 all together for nice ones, but there are cheaper ones that will work well also
-AEM fuel rail $150
-new brake pads (around $50 for two)
-drilled and slotted rotors about $200
-strut tower bar set, about $150
-adjustable fuel pump $100

Things that cost a little more:
-New rims/tires (go with powder black or flat black or something like that on the rims, as I and many other people believe that they look the best). It depends on what tires and what rims you get, but you could find some nice ones for around $800
-engine swap (everything you need for a H22a swap should be around $2000-$2500, B series are nice also and cost a little less.
-new camshafts $600
-racing seats (reclinable with sliders) no-name brand should be under $300
-buy a body kit - if you are going to put it on yourself, don't buy a $400 fiberglass kit, because they are a pain in the @** to put on. You'll find it worth it to buy one for around $700-$800, because they don't break or warp during shipping nearly as easily as fiberglass kits do
-if you're not into body kits, buy a front and rear lip kit, and buy 2 sideskirts. that's what I'll be doing to mine. I'm not sure of the price, but it will be cheaper than a body kit.
-coilover suspension anywhere from $300-$700
-fuel injectors $300

you could also upgrade engine internals. maybe put some iron sleeves, upgrades pistons, valves and springs, etc. and then put a turbo with an intercooler on it, or if you want to go straight motor then replace the internals and overbore it. Also for straight motor you want the highest compression ratio as you can get, but for turbo you want lower compression.

Answer 2

First, buy the Haynes and the Chiltons manuals for the Honda. You'll find that these two books will be excellent tools as long as you own it. No keep in mind you vehicle needs 3 things to run properly: Spark, Air and Fuel. If any of these are lacking, you'll experience poor performance. Just on your description, I'd start with fuel. Pull and clean the injectors, and replace the fuel filter. Then move on to the air. Replace the air filter and ensure that the PCV valve is replaced. Then, do a complete electrical tune up. You shouldn't have any further problems. If you do, consider tracing and replacing your vacuum lines, one by one, according to the diagrams in your manuals. If all you've done doesn't work, it's probably a vacuum leak that only appears during acceleration.

Answer 3

Beyond doing a basic tune up; NGK factory type plugs, ignition cap, rotor, and plug wires there are a few mods you can do.

I would look at making a well balanced good package.

First and foremost i must reiterate take car of all maintenance before you mod the car!

OK. I would look at getting a custom carb spacer can be made with aluminum($35 if you machine it yourself) . A fresh air pipe ducted to the carb ($25 form home depot) , and a 2.25in exhaust ($100) with a cheap chambered turbo muffler ($30). Maybe get a new performance clutch form Gripforce.com ($150)
Plus you may be able to get some urethane and fill up the motor mounts to fix cracks and make them more solid.

ANd look at getting drop springs and newer struts ($250). Maybe a cheaper suspension mod would be installing new swaybar endlinks polyurethane($25). If you car does not have front and rear swaybars ,( Not strutbars ) look for them at junk yards of of LXi models, or preludes might fit with some basic engineering.

Hope it helps have fun with your project,

Ask more questions I 'll be here.
KC

Answer 4

Well since each sticker adds what 5 to 10 horsepower see if you can get a bunch of cheap or free stickers. It's a Honda why waste your time or money.