Thank you! They've all been excellent vehicles. I'll share my little Prelude tale, but it's a bit long!
In 2005, a new friend and I were meeting up to go cruise on a Friday evening. He had just purchased a 1994 Si (the one pictured above with 5-lug swap, except it was stock at the time). I was a fan of Honda, but didn't know much of Preludes. He picked me up for my first ride in a Prelude. I got in and settled...but the second he turned over the ignition and the dash lit up, I absolutely fell in love with the car. Over the next year, we become close friends and spent a lot of time working on his Prelude.
The next year, I was looking to purchase my own Prelude. I bumped into a younger guy at a video rental store who was the owner of the silver 1993 Si. He had just graduated and was looking to get a new vehicle. We exchanged information and a few weeks later, I picked up the Prelude from him! The car served me well while I finished school. I did the typical JDM mods: blackhouse headlamps, yellow fogs, etc. After three years, I started experiencing overheating issues with it. I had some mechanical knowledge. Paired up with my father, who had lots of American muscle car experience, we tinkered with it a bit. But ultimately discovered it had a failed headgasket. Despite my love for the car, I parted ways for an NB Miata so I could finish school with a newer vehicle.
In 2012, while working my new job at a local Honda dealership, my old friend sent me a link to a very clean, single owner, 96 Prelude SiVTEC. It had high miles (174,000) and was located 12 hours away in Maryland. But the service records were complete and the physical condition spoke for itself. I made the drive up with another friend over a long weekend and brought the Prelude home! This one head JDM blackhouse headlmaps, but was otherwise stock. I kept it this way and just worked on maintenance as it came up. It served as a daily driver for three years until I bought a 2007 Subaru STi (a mistake I should have seen coming). The STi suffered ringland failure within a month. The Prelude was as reliable as the sunrise, with double the age and mileage of the Subaru. Half a year later, the Subaru was rebuilt and on the road. My sister was coming to live with me to finish school and parking was limited. I made the sad choice to sell the Prelude other than the Subaru. The buyer was a Honda technician from about 3 hours away. All these years later, we've kept in close contact. He still has the Prelude and it is getting an extensive restoration at the moment. I've offered ridiculous amounts to buy it back, but he says he'll never sell. Good on him!
The friend who originally introduced me to Preludes was the same person that got me hooked on the Subaru. He purchased an identical car a week before I bought mine. His suffered the same fate as mine and needed an engine. His Prelude had seen extensive modification at this point. Every JDM part you could think of, 5-lug conversion, Legend big brakes, Cusco parts, the works! He was in the process of swapping an NA built H22A when the Subaru died. The Prelude got pushed to the side while he worked on the Subaru. He eventually lost his interest in the Prelude and we struck a deal for me to take on ownership.
We lived 12 hours apart at this point. I made the long journey with a truck and trailer to retrieve his Prelude and all of the parts. After a very long 36 hours without sleep, the Prelude and I were home! I spent the next year working to finish the H22A swap and get the Prelude back on the road. After a lot of frustration, stress from work, and planning a wedding, I gave up on the Prelude. My friend agreed to let me sell the vehicle. I found a local enthusiast who needed a good shell for his Prelude that was rusting away. So he picked up the car and the motor went to a different home. I sadly found out just this year that the car was involved in a major collision and the rear was destroyed. I was able to salvage just a few parts from it: the gauge cluster, VIN tag, the Prelude emblem, the license plate, and a key. What was left of the car after a part out was sent to the crusher.
All these years later, I'm still working for the Honda dealer and in love with Preludes all the same. While searching Facebook marketplace just 6 months ago, I found a Japan import Prelude just an hour away from me. It was in bit of rough condition, but I went to see it. It had been imported in 2017. The vehicle had been run off the road at some point, as some of the lower suspension was bent and scraped up. The bumper was out of alignment. It had clearly spent many years outside without a bath. The interior was dirty. The odometer was low (111,000 KM) and the price was right. So we towed it home!
I've spent my free time fixing and cleaning the Prelude to get it back to a presentable state. The car has cleaned up quite nice. It's a BA8, F22B automatic. Already I have acquired an H23A VTEC and manual swap parts for this winter. I also converted the interior to US facelift seats, door cars, and center console.
I feel a bit of guilt for letting my friend's 94 Si go and the fate it suffered. I have no plans to let this new one go - my children love it, too! Next summer, I am aiming to take it back home to Arkansas and spend a week at my friend's house. He'll love the Prelude!
