When Honda launched the unique Prelude as a 1979 mannequin, it was a sporty-looking machine with loads of Accord parts, a beneficiant serving to of luxurious and comfort options, a curb weight only a bit over a ton … and never a lot energy below the hood. The second technology of Prelude appeared in North America as a 1983 mannequin, and it was markedly larger, sleeker and extra highly effective than its predecessor. Gross sales of second-gen Preludes continued right here via 1987, and I’ve discovered a final-year instance with the hot-rod Si bundle in a automobile graveyard in Phoenix, Arizona.
This fuel-injected 2.0-liter engine confirmed up when the Prelude Si debuted late within the 1985 mannequin yr, and it gave the automobile spectacular acceleration. I daily-drove an ’87 Prelude Si (pink, after all) for some time within the center Nineties and thought it was respectably fast. This one was rated at 110 horsepower and 114 pound-feet, which was first rate for a automobile that weighed simply 2,426 kilos.
Probably the most compelling motive to purchase a fuel-injected Honda in 1987 was that the fuel-delivery programs on carbureted Hondas had develop into so sophisticated (on account of more and more strict American emissions necessities) by that point that their vacuum-hose diagrams resembled a map of the universe (or the infamous Afghanistan Stability/COIN Dynamics PowerPoint slide). Against this, Honda’s PGM-FI system labored very properly and had easy plumbing.
Distinction that diagram with this one for the dual-carb-equipped 1988 Accord (the bottom 1987 Prelude’s 1.8-liter engine used the same system). Which one would you reasonably have when the engine developed a misfire or would not move a smog test?
The MSRP for this automobile was $14,945 with the five-speed handbook transmission, which it has. That is about $41,366 in 2023 {dollars}. The bottom 1987 Prelude with the carbureted 1.8 engine value $11,995 ($33,201 after inflation).
While you received the Prelude Si for ’87, this “HIGH POWER SYSTEM” AM/FM/cassette deck with seven-band graphic equalizer got here as customary gear. This rig will need to have made the hits of the period sound nice.
309,527 miles present on the odometer, which (simply barely) will get this automobile into the Murilee Martin Junkyard Odometer Corridor of Fame. The best-mile Honda I’ve ever present in a junkyard was a 1988 Accord with 626,476.2 miles on the clock.
The inside is pale and a bit crunchy, however not abused. That is typical of high-mile automobiles I discover in such locations.
The Arizona solar is tough on automobile paint, however the dry local weather saved this automobile rust-free till the top.
A 16.68-second quarter-mile time was fairly good for 1987.
The fashionable automobile for fashionable individuals.
In Japan, the Prelude was obtainable at Honda Verno shops.