1980 Honda Prelude Mark One (oldest style) from UK and Ireland - Comments

Off-side brake caliper seized due to perished rubber seal.

Bulb in tail light blew.

How cool was this car! If only I'd kept it. I bought it as an "Emergency Run-around" as my piece of crap Nissan 200SX kept breaking down and was back at the dealers for over 2 months.

Some features of the car which really impressed me: Aluminium engine, electric sun roof, in car electrical fault display, wicked old style radio built into the dash, bonnet vents.

The car was not very powerful (80 mph max comfortably) and the handling was crap. It would under-steer everywhere, I had to drive it so slowly that people behind used to get up my back-side a bit.

All in all, a brilliant little motor. I was sad to see it go and still wish I'd never sold it. I paid £180 for it and sold it 2 months later for £450.

Dude!

The reason it didn't have any power is because you didn't let the choke open when you started it..

Hondas are quirky that way..

I have my second one because I felt the same way you do about the first..

Next time you get one, this is how you start it: You pump the gas pedal three times, take your foot off and turn the key..

It doesn't usually start the first time and now that I think of it, I knew someone who pumped it five times and it started on the first turn..

But anyhow..

You pump it again and take your foot off, turn the key and DON'T GIVE IT GAS..

You let it idle until the choke opens (drops down suddenly to 1k), usually around 2.5-3k rpm's and it's got PLENTY of power.. and somehow the steering is fine also..

I'd let my sister borrow my car and I could always tell that she didn't start it the way that I told her to because it came back with less power and the steering felt loose..

We've been looking all OVER for another one and your story is the closest we've come to hearing about one..

And BOTH of mine had the same problem with the "CV boot" that you mentioned.. :)

dudess.

I have a 1980 Honda Prelude and it is the best little car that I have ever had. It handles like a dream never has failed me I took a road trip of 2000 miles and it did great . The car has 88,000 miles on it no known rollover and I am the 2nd owner. I really regret it, but I am going to sell her soon. I just had the interior redone and the engine has been gone though new timing belt and valves she is an awesome car to own.

HI everyone, happy new year. Yes, we're in january 2005. I was just gifted a Honda Prelude SN 1980. It reads 116'000 kilometers (72'500 miles), looks clean, no rust, engine with no oil leaks, maintenance book shows all services done properly, some parts have been replaced (thermostat, belt, etc.) It slept for ages until the owner passed away. I am familiar with old cars (Volskwagen van 1978 currently) so it wasn't too difficult to start it gently, and to drive it back home. I was amazed how clean it is after 25 years. Well I think as a second car it will do perfectly... Now we will put it over the lift and check the whole baby.

Take care!

I too am the proud owner of a 1980 Honda Prelude. I've had the car for about 4 Years and put about 50,000 Miles on it (My Dad helped when he took it to Las Vegas from Oregon and back.) It is my second car, the one before it was a 1979 Buick Le Sabre, the difference between the two was staggering. But that should be obvious...

Anyway, I got it for $600 because the girl who owned it before burned out the Clutch and Slid it into a Telephone Pole. So for another $300 I had a new clutch put in and luckily the telephone pole only did a little damage to the passenger side door without hurting the car too much.

I've put a new Stereo into the thing; Pioneer DEHP4600MP (MP3 CD Player), 800Watt Amp, a pair of 10" Woofers in a bandpass box in the trunk (Thankfully the trunk is pretty big for the size of the car), and a couple of 6x9s in the back seat because there's no place to put them. And let us not forget about the pair of 4" speakers in the dash.

The Clutch has been acting up lately. Because it is Hydraulic and there is a leak in the system, occasionally I lose the use of the clutch, but that is fixed with some Dot3 Brake Fluid and clever use of a Tool Box and an Ice Scraper to Bleed the clutch by myself. But that is the only problem I've noticed on the thing since day one.

This is by far the coolest, most fun little car I've ever seen. There's just so much character in the thing.

Hi I am elly from the netherlands, and I will tell something about my honda prelude 1980

we bought the car in 1985 2e owner!! and we have it still now for more than 22 years! it is a great car and I am very pride of her. 10 years ago we had it restorated by ourselves and in a few years it will again restorated! we tryed to find a club in holland, but there isn't one! I love my car and I will never sold it. she is the best!!!

Greetings.

Hi my name is Leo. I just bought a 1980 Prelude 1.8L 1750cc, speed manual, 71,000+ miles. Its color red and it came from Okinawa Japan so the stering wheel is in the right side of the car. Yes the passenger side driver is the driver, LOL!!! most of the little emblames are in Japanese, not all. It's an awesome little car even though I've only had it about a week. I purchased it 4/9/07 and I've only driven it a hand full of times. I'm writing this comment on 4/13/07. The car has a few things I am going to fix or to say it better restore the ride. It needs new paint, some surface rust, the back seat is torn up from the top, that's the only thing wrong with the interior. I wish it had the original radio. It also has the rear view mirrors way in the front of the front quarter panels. Have many things to say, but don't know how to put them into smaller comments, so this will be it and thanks for reading this.

Hi.

I Absolutely love the generation 1 Honda Prelude. I don't know why, but its one car that has just stuck in my mind since childhood. I have found one which is very very rare and hope that it runs OK, but I have not had the chance to check it out properly yet. I intend to restore it back to its former glory and problems just keep it or depending on my circumstances I might just sell before restoring, but will get it through an MOT (UK thing).

Keep these cars alive as well as the old Celicas, these cars are awesome!!!