A few questions/problems

[JPrelude88si]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and have a couple questions regarding my 3rd generation 88 prelude 4ws si. I bought the car for a great deal and it seems to run just fine, however I have noticed a couple of small problems/areas of concern that I would like to resolve before I drive the car consistently.

#1 As you can see in the photo one of the previous owners decided to weld on the lugs. I need to know what tool would be best to use to remove the lugs, or if I should just take it to a shop. Also what parts will I need to replace?

#2 I seem to have a set of DC sport Ceramic Coated headers. This may be a total noob question, but what are those things that look like spark plugs coming out of the header? and what is that part welded to the top part of the header, it almost looks like a ghetto manifold. I'm confused is there a problem with this setup?

#3 I just realized today that the car appears to have no intake or air filter intake. Is this correct? Any cheap fixes?

#4 The speedo isn't working. The guy I bought the car from said it just needed a new fuse for the speedo to work, and he was pretty honest about everything else. Was he telling the truth, where does the speedomoter fuse go?

Also any advice? I am considering parting out, selling the car, or fix and keep. I have already put in $560 to buy the car and $130 to get title, reg, and plates from the DMV.

The car has tokico adjustable shocks, 4ws, struts, aftermarket wheels, short shifter, stage 2 clutch, rebuilt b20a, and dc headers

HMM Im trying to attach the photos, but they aren't coming through... I will try on my next post

[spiffyguido]

Can you try again to upload the photos? I think pictures would really help us with your questions.

[JPrelude88si]

Still trying to get photos in from iPhoto. It keeps saying invalid image. Anyways. I went to pick and pull today and found a relatively unmolested 90 lude. I quickly spotted and in-tact intake and grabbed it. I also got a Pioneer cassette deck, some 5 1/4' infiniti reference for the front and some 6' sony for the rear all for $50... Now I have more problems than before. Installing the intake was pretty easy, but the deck is another story. There was no deck previously so I have a bunch of wires laying around that I have no Idea where they go. Im debating whether to buy a wiring harness or rewire the deck. What do you guys think?

[JPrelude88si]

the headers dc

the rims problem

Also I really liked the rear tail light lenses on the 90 Lude, but I couldn't get them off. Any tips/ideas there.

[JPrelude88si]

Ok got the photos up here are some more...

[spiffyguido]

Hello again.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you.

Thank you for the pictures. You have a pretty interesting car. I'll go through your questions one by one.

#1 - Regarding the welded lugs....I can't fathom why someone would weld a lug, but it's happened, so let's try and get everything sorted out. Have a close look at each lug. If you think you can cut the welded portion off and then thread what is left of the nut off, do that. Otherwise you're going to have to drill them off, which is not going to be easy. If you need more help with this, let me know. Either way, the wheel studs that are on there are going to have to be replaced. Unfortunate, but needed.

#2 - Those are oxygen sensors coming out of your header, and they're supposed to be there. You are VERY lucky to have a DC Sports header. Lots of Prelude owners would die to have one of those. Take good care of it.

#3 -Glad you got your intake fixed.

#4 - I'm not sure where the speedometer fuse is, or if there is one. Check in the 'manuals' section at the top of every page and review the section in one of the 3rd generation manuals on the speed sensor system. You may also need to look in the wiring diagrams. If there is a fuse, that's an easy fix. Otherwise there may be a problem with the speed sensor itself, which is housed in a small metal box bolted to the top of your transmission housing.

Regarding your stereo - Those wires can be pretty hard to work through. Generally you'll have an antenna cable, positive wire, ground wire, and then speaker cables. THe wiring diagrams in the manuals will tell you what color these wires are. The antenna is easy, because the wire is huge. If these are missing, you may want to just go back to the wrecker and pull a harness from a car there.

You've got a lot of rare parts on your car. Your engine is a good one, as are your struts. Take care of it!

[JPrelude88si]

Hey thanks a bunch for your help. I know this car is going to be a lot of work, but I hope it is all worth it. The tokico shocks aren't just shocks, I found out they are adjustable coilovers. Awesome! Once I get those wheels off, replace 2 of the tires, and get it aligned this thing should be awesome. Combine a 2500lb car, 4ws, adjustable suspension, struts, and wide low profile tires... Watch out this thing is gonna be a beast through the twisties.

I will keep you updated, but so far I've spent...

$560 - car
$130 - title plates and registration
$60 - intake, 4 speakers, tape deck

BTW the car was a lien sale, so a tow company had it for a while. What a bunch of retards they must have been... Welding on lugs like that and ripping out all the stereo components, while leaving valuable parts like the DC headers and adjustable coilovers on the car

[JPrelude88si]

Oh BTW I really like the 90 lights and the lude in the junkyard had em in tact. Next time I go back there I want to pick em up. I am aware that you did the conversion. How did you get the lights off, what tools are needed?

[spiffyguido]

My tailights are stock since my 'lude is a 91.

Making the change isn't that hard though, as I understand.

You'll need both tailights and the center light for it to work. If you open the trunk, there are small (10mm?) nuts on the inside of the trunk that hold the lights on. THere are about 6-8 nuts per light set. They may also be under a plastic cover, but I don't think so.

It's an easy job to get them off.

[JPrelude88si]

A quick update: I finally got those damn welded lugs off and was able to save the wheels! Still need to grab a few parts, but soon i will be running really strong. It's going to be hard to find a car that handles better. I got

4 new z rated tires on those 17's
tokico adjustable coilovers (aboit 2 in off the ground right now)
front and rear sway bars
car is pretty much gutted
4ws of course!!

I've decided to keep the car for now. It has too many nice parts to get rid of it, even though I could sell it now for a nice profit. I only paid $560 and I think I could sell the 17s the DC headers and the tokico adjustable shocks for over $600 pretty easily, but the car has grown on me. It's not as fast as my acura cl type s, but its way more fun to drive.

[spiffyguido]

Preludes are abundantly fun to drive. Glad you decided to keep it.

Keep posting pics of your project. I'm sure everyone has been enjoying those.