Honda is now on the eleventh era of Accord for the reason that first ones hit our shores as 1976 fashions. These introductory vehicles have been all hatchbacks, however the first-generation Accord sedan appeared right here for the 1978 mannequin 12 months. When the larger second-generation Accord confirmed up as a 1982 mannequin, a four-door sedan model remained a part of the lineup. Manufacturing of the second-gen Accord continued by way of 1985; these dependable however rust-prone vehicles have all however disappeared by now, however I’ve discovered a fairly strong instance in a self-service yard close to Denver.
Honda started constructing Accords at its plant in Ohio beginning in 1982 and is now as much as 30 million autos in-built the USA (together with bikes), however as we speak’s Junkyard Gem was assembled in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
The one engine obtainable within the U.S.-market 1984 Accord was this 1.8-liter ES2 SOHC 12-valve, rated at 86 horsepower and 98.6 pound-feet. Sure, body-temperature torque!
The 12-valve head design wasn’t about making screaming horsepower; 4 of these valves have been tiny ones that fed a wealthy combination into preliminary combustion chambers as a part of Honda’s revolutionary CVCC system.
The Compound Vortex Managed Combustion system was a stratified-charge design that concerned what amounted to 2 carburetors in a single unit, with one feeding a lean combination to the principle combustion chambers and the opposite sending a richer, easier-to-ignite fuel-air combine to little combustion chambers separated from the principle ones by a mesh grate. The spark plugs ignited the wealthy combine, which then unfold the hearth to the lean combine subsequent door. The outcome was extraordinarily clear combustion (by the requirements of the Nineteen Seventies) that did not require a catalytic converter or different advanced and/or expensive {hardware} to satisfy the more and more stringent emissions requirements of the USA.
The primary CVCC-equipped Civics confirmed up in the USA as 1975 fashions, passing the necessities of the Clear Air Act with ease whereas different producers struggled with varied kludges that killed efficiency and gasoline financial system. Nonetheless, as federal after which California emissions requirement obtained stricter, the CVCC system itself was the one to be burdened with kludgy workarounds. By the center Eighties, the vacuum hose diagrams for U.S.-market CVCC engines resembled a map of the universe, surpassed in complexity solely 15 years later by Basic Stanley McChrystal’s infamous Afghanistan Stability/COIN Dynamics PowerPoint slide.
The issue was extra associated to carburetion slightly than the CVCC system, as a result of it is a nightmare to get a know-how invented in 1887 to maintain ranges of internal-combustion hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides at very low ranges beneath each conceivable mixture of environmental circumstances and driving scenario, particularly when you could have separate wealthy/lean circuits in your carbs. What do you do when a automotive hits a sudden downhill grade at 6,000 toes elevation when it is 100°F exterior and the carburetor butterflies out of the blue slam shut? With computerized digital gasoline injection working a closed-loop system, no drawback! With a carburetor, you want a bunch of sensors, solenoids, and many others., only for that one scenario … and there are dozens of extra particular conditions like that one.
Honda purchased time by including pc management to some CVCC parts; the mid-Eighties system labored very nicely when each certainly one of its bewildering tangle of parts functioned appropriately, however may very well be maddening to diagnose and restore when one thing went fallacious. Honda started promoting vehicles with its PGM-FI fuel-injection system right here within the 1985 mannequin 12 months; the ultimate U.S.-market CVCC vehicles have been 1987 fashions (non-CVCC carbureted Accords and Preludes have been bought right here by way of 1989). Automotive historical past is what we search for within the junkyard!
For 1984, there have been two grades of the Accord in the USA: base and LX. This one is a top-of-the-range LX with computerized, so its MSRP would have been $10,299 (about $31,365 in 2024 {dollars}). Honda nonetheless makes use of the LX designation, nevertheless it goes on the most affordable Accord; the swankier 2024 Accord EX begins at $29,910 and is much larger, quicker, safer and extra comfy than its predecessor of 4 many years again. You see, the previous days weren’t all the time higher; the 2024 Accord even will get a lot better gasoline financial system than the 1984 Accord, regardless of the ’24 weighing a half-ton greater than the ’84 and regardless of the ’24 being quite a bit cheaper in adjusted {dollars}.
Amazingly, the LX Accord got here with what would have been thought of a superb audio system by mid-Eighties requirements. AM, FM and cassette with monitor sensing, Dolby and metallic functionality, plus a three-band equalizer and digital tuning.
The second-generation Accord was an excellent worth for its period and it maintained a powerful resale worth for many years (it was solely when smog-testing regimens in some states obtained a lot stricter within the early 2000s that it turned tough to move an emissions check in a CVCC Accord). I’ve discovered one discarded instance with nicely over 400,000 miles on the odometer, in actual fact.
This one made it to 214,719 miles, which is respectable however nowhere close to excellent for a Eighties Accord. For a junkyard Eighties Accord odometer to essentially impress me, it wants to indicate higher than 600,000 miles, or at the very least 500,000. It’s extremely uncommon for a junkyard Honda with the little mechanical upkeep indicators on the speedometer to not be exhibiting crimson throughout the board; few trouble to reset them even when service takes place.
I will guess it was a runner when it obtained right here, however the rust doomed it. Highway salt is used sparingly right here, and the single-digit humidity dries out damp areas earlier than they’ll rot from weatherstripping leakage, however Japanese vehicles of this period have been tasty snacks for the Rust Monster even in not-so-corrosion-prone areas.
It seems that most second-gen Accord commercials have been for the hatchback, however this is one for the fuel-injected 1985 Accord SE-i sedan.
In Japan, this era of Accord sedan obtained stylish SALOON badges on the decklid.