1987 accord hatchback
 

hi!
i have a 1987 accord hatchback. it has an almost new motor in it. only 30k miles on it.
is it a good car?
how can i make it go faster and perform better?
how much would air conditioning cost for it, since it broke.

RE: 1987 accord hatchback
 

you cannot get factory a/c for it any longer

call the local a/c shops and compare prices but be ready to spend from ( 750-1000 ) if not more ..including labor ..

for being a nice car.. it depends how well it was maintained ..

As to make it faster .. some other members can help you on that 1

Oh and last thing..

WELCOME to HAF. .:)

RE: 1987 accord hatchback
 

Hello Raj...
Name sounds familiar..do you ever sell C.D.s on e-bay by any chance??

Welcome to the HAF and Thank You for joining...

WheelBrokerAng [sm=americanasmiley.gif]

RE: 1987 accord hatchback
 

how fast do you want it to go? I'm sure you could swap in an H22 or something or maybe even a newer F series and turbo it. It just depends how much you want to spend and how far you want to go. You can always do a drop in K&N filter and a cat back exhaust if you just want a little more punch.

I'm not sure how you would tune a carburated car for turbo. It is carburated, right?

RE: 1987 accord hatchback
 

ummm
i wish i knew what all those things were.
but i just want to get it as fast and well-performing as possible.
but what are some cheap things i can do to it to make it better?

RE: 1987 accord hatchback
 

H22 is the motor from a Honda prelude. It is common to switch them out into accords since they bolt up fairly easily. I'm not sure how one would bolt into an 87, but I'm sure it would be possible. If 200 Hp and an 8000 RPM redline sound like fun, you may want to go that way.

Turbo'ing a motor is always an option. A turbo is basically an air pump driven by the exhaust gases. It forces more air into the motor and thus makes the engine make more power. It is a common thing to do to honda motors, at least Fuel Injected models. I think your 87' may be carburated. A carburator mixes the fuel and air inside of it using metered jets and a venturi. Fuel injection uses an intake manifold and throttle body to meter air and then the appropriate amount of fuel is injected into the motor via fuel injectors.

For now, I would recommend a cold air intake and a headers back type exhaust. You will make some noticable gains with these simple and inexpensive mods.

RE: 1987 accord hatchback
 

sweet
my car im almost sure is fuel injected.
if ido those things you reccommended to me, then i switch motors, will the previous mods still work?

oh, its front wheel drive too..
im not sure if its good, but i always liked the idea of back wheel drive, should/can i change it?

RE: 1987 accord hatchback
 

If you switch to the same motor, then yes. If you get a different motor then things may not be compatible. So you may only want to get a short ram intake, which costs less then a cold air intake, or maybe just a K&N drop in filter for now untill you get the motor in the car that you want to mod. Some mods may still work, others though just won't bolt up right.

RE: 1987 accord hatchback
 

Since it appears that the car already has air installed and it's broke

You will at a min need to replace the following to get it functional

both rubber A/C lines since they are most likely non barrier types
Receiver/ Dryer
All O-rings

Dealer may or may not have access to parts, but my guess is that they will be able to get them or at the least recommend the A/C shop they use when they do not have parts.

They will have to pressure test the system once repairs/upgrades are made and to do that they will have to place system on a vaccum for at least 4 and I would recommend 8 hours.

You have 2 choices:

1. you can recharge with R12 and if they did the repairs right it should last at least 5-8 years or so years before it needs to be recharged. R12 was what came in the car and it will do a better job than it's replacement r143a sice the A/C unit in the car is not that large to begin with.

2. You can retrofit to r134a which is cheaper than R12 but there will be a few compromises as listed below:

a. you can only charge to 90% capacity since R134a operates at higher pressure
b. typically with older honda's the A/C system is not very large (thankfully this has been corrected since 1996) so this may cause problems when it is really hot out (car not getting cool even though A/C is blowing cold)
c. R134a does not have the reserve capacity that R12 does. What this means is that when your charge decreases even by a little, you will notice a reduction in cooling capacity.

Good luck and make sure that you talk to your A/C expert and don't let them sell you something without firs explaining the benifits and the drawbacks.