front end damage (working thread)
 

So I have no idea where I should post this, but I assume this is a good place to start...

I recently bought a 96 honda accord 5speed 2.2L off of a girl who wrecked it in a 3 car pile up...she was the last one. So I am going to post picture of what it looked like when I got it and through the entire build until it is complete. This is what I had a week ago.
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I took out the entire interior and drug it down to the car wash for a power washing...It was in dire need of it too! but when I got it home I noticed that everything else looked terrible after putting near perfect carpet in so I had to take nearly everything out and clean that too! So after cleaning all of that up I finally have a near perfect interior.
before
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after
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I did all the seats and all the plastic too, but will spare all of you all those pictures (found in a link below to see the entire album)

So now comes the engine and body work...should be pretty easy because it is a motor mount replacement and I have to drill a bolt out of the block. (which I now think has a chunk taken out of it...might be very bad news for my future car...) Will take and post pictures as I go along this step. It should be nearly completed this weekend...okay, maybe that is over optimistic. There is a lot of work to be done.

Here is a direct link to the entire album on photobucket, if you want to go and look through that, I'll just post a few pictures per page to help people with lower internet speeds...

Good to see you here. Yes, IMO this is the best place to get all of your answers.

posted pictures in the first post, before/after photos mainly. I still have the engine work to do obviously, but the exterior and interior are finished (minus the radio!) will likely get it running this weekend if things go well. Needs a battery first though... have you seen how expensive these batteries are??? I went to Pepboys and their batteries were like $150! I think I'll have to go with the walmart brand for now... :(

Nice pics! That carpet looks fantastic now. You may have inspired me to do the same thing. Was it hard to get it back into place one you had cleaned it?

Good luck on the rest (a.k.a the hard part)

The only hard part was putting it back in with one person. It just takes some finagling under the center console. Besides that, fitting it back into place only requires a little stretching (lifting it up and using your palm to move it over an inch here or there, nothing major). After I cleaned it I used a wet/dry vac on both sides and then let it sit in the sun until it was completely dry. (took three hours all together, but I live in Tucson and at the time it was close to 110 outside!)

Okay, so what I want to do with the car is eventually paint it...I was thinking Camaro green and gun metal. Gun metal would go on the raised part on the hood and the spoiler. I got inspiration from the pedal I found at pepboys a few weeks ago.
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I was also thinking about making my own grille seeing as the one I have is broken...for obvious reasons. lol

Was driving by a Buick dealership and noticed this really cool looking Kia grille and had to take a picture...would be pretty cool to make something similar to this.
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did a little work today. installed a radio (hopefully) the right way. i will likely buy a new mount...the one i bought doesn't fit perfect and it looks bad. wouldn't recommend scosche (or whatever it is called) for 5th gen accords.
it does not fit flush and is not sturdy at all.completely plastic and doesn't connect properly to the stabilizer that was originally with the car...they replaced it with plastic and it just feels really cheap. My honest opinion on it...I've installed their brand dash kits into a 98 camry and it was perfect. This one...less so. lol
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I love how the entire from of your car has to be dismantled in order to get to the stereo! makes for a fun install.
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okay, so now that the easy stuff is out of the way, I disconnected the majority of the electronics and vacuum lines and other things that I could easily get to.

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and this is what the car looks like now.

Driver side. Keep in mind that the lines are not what they will be once finished. the fenders/hood are mostly there right now to keep my neighbors from getting pissed at me for having a "junk" car in the carport.
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Tomorrow morning I'm heading out to get the engine out and the rogue broken bolt in the motor mount area and then it is off to the wrecking yard to find another few parts. I called ahead and the guys I know down there found a brand new 94 accord aluminum radiator and they'll sell it to me really cheap...then off to another yard to find the air bags (hopefully!) and the plastic shield that goes under the steering wheel. If all goes well I'll also find an A/C knob, drivers seat, center console arm rest, and possibly a 'new' ash tray too. I think I also need some other things but they are even more cosmetic than the other stuff! Will post more pictures of the bolt removal and the donation cars and the installation process as well as any questions that come up!

Pulled the motor today after much effort...didn't find what I was wanting to though. Rear motor mount was bent, and the driver side motor mount broke off part of the block, more than I realized at first. Here are the pictures I took.

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The bolts that broke off and stuck in the motor.
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Bent rear motor mount.
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Got it out
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leverage was not the key...
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It still runs, I just couldn't get the crank shaft pulley and bolt off with the Honda specific tool (pulley holder attachment). Used A LOT of leverage both ways, used a torch, and everything else. Was not coming off no matter what. Dad helped me on this and he said that he's never seen one that wouldn't come off with that much leverage. I'm not sure I can reliably use the motor the way it is. Is there an easier way to get that crankshaft pulley off of the block? Is it safe to have the block broken to that degree where the motor mount is located? I think it is an accident waiting to happen, but if there are ways of fixing this I would rather fix it than have to buy a new/refurbished motor. If I do end up having to buy a motor, which accord years can I reliably buy? just 94-97 or are they essentially the same up until 2000?

Any help would be appreciated.

It is amazing at how tight those crank bolts get.

Mine required a very high end Snap-On impact wrench along with the Honda Pulley holder.

I would drill out the old bolt and retap the threads on that motor mount.

BTW - you are doing a very good job.