Lude Generation

Stumbled across this car on carsales.com.au, was advertised as an Si (H23 non VTEC here in Australia) was the cheapest Prelude on there and I was pretty surprised to see the red interior, H22A engine, rear wiper etc..
spoke to the owner, he seemed pretty honest and the car sounded good for its age so I arranged to go pick it up..
Was pretty much what I expected when I got there so the deal was done..









Took the car home where it sat on the driveway for a week before I could get time to properly give it a clean..

The credentials…
Can anyone tell me what year model it is from this?
The date on the yellow plaque is the compliance date that it was imported into Australia but I don’t know what year it was built..

Managed to cut the paint back this weekend and knock the dust off the engine bay..















The bonnet still needs a good clean underneath, I’ve removed the insulation as it was tatty and rubbing the engine..

Looking good!

Given the low Vin number - it's probably an early one?

It looks great. I can't quite make out the first few characters of the VIN, what is all before the U?

Nice

Merlin post_ wrote:

Mon Feb 06, 2023 12:14 pm

It looks great. I can't quite make out the first few characters of the VIN, what is all before the U?

I think it’s a 6.. I read that JDM cars don’t have a VIN just a frame number that’s why the one on bulk head is so short.. I believe it was given a VIN when it came int Australia and that number on the yellow compliance plate is crudely stamped into the RH shock tower (looks awful paints cracking from them just punching numbers into the paint with a hammer by looks…) also read it’s the 10th character from left which turns out to be the 6 after BB which Isn’t right as they would all be same age.. did a quick free search on a ja car check site but said year unknown

nitin_s1 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 06, 2023 1:10 pm

Nice

My JDM 4th is similar. No real VIN except chassis and some following numbers that denote the sequence.

Possibly it is one of the first made, number 291.

If you look at either the block or head on the front, you should be able to determine the month and year of manufacture, which will help you pin it down fairly close.

Have a look for a date on the white label on the seatbelt bottom mount. My UK car says 1998 (although the car was registered in 1999)

Looking tidy