Got a honda del sol for free. What now?
 

I previously owned this car from 2008 to 2011 before selling it to family as a cheap commuter. After a couple years of use (and neglect) the car is no longer running or in good shape on the interior or exterior. It's been sitting in a driveway for over a year, and in exchange for hauling it off, I get the car back for free.

Here is my truck, a 1992 Chevrolet C1500, with the 1993 Honda Del Sol S loaded on a car dolly. I don't hypermile or track mileage on the truck because I only drive it when I need to haul things. I like red cars if you couldn't tell :)

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Anyway, here is the car. As you can see it has the normal Honda rust on the quarters and rocker panels. Several large dents, hail damage, and some fading paint. It's not pretty, yet, but for free I can't really complain!

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So what do you think should be done with this blank canvas? I was thinking building for max MPG. Obviously the Del Sol's main problem is aero. Otherwise it's a pretty light car (2200 lbs) compared to my HX (2400 lbs). My thoughts:

- D15Z1 VX motor or possibly D15B 3-stage VTEC
- My spare HX transmission with VX final drive
- HX or VX wheels (sell/trade current wheels)
- Fiberglass kammback, mirror delete, rear wheel covers, belly pan, grill block
- Lighten the car 100 lbs

Buy some metal body parts from the scapper and get it back on its feet , then look for a 1 liter motor for it possible air ride it for fun and economy / comfort.

Gut the interior

Could buy a Sprint or firefly and use its drivetrain

Or a tdi and join the diesel crowds mpg savings !

Your plan sounds perfect! I would love to see a long kamm/ short boattail on a del sol

Maybe it would be interesting to replace the rusty panels with some fiberglass, both due to its lighter weight but also to eliminate rust issues.


With a turbocharger and an intercooler it would be great. It may even not feel so underpowered without them, but a well-tuned setup would allow it to be kept at lower RPM while cruising. Nowadays even the turbo-lag issue is easier to overcome :thumbup:


Or if you would go with a TDI there is also the opportunity to convert it to also run on vegetable oils.

That rear window/deck is screaming for a plexi fastback treatment.

A diesel swap would be fun, but the availability of diesel swaps here in the US is not so good. I don't think a 3 cyl. swap would be ideal without a turbo because the Del Sol still weighs a lot compared to a CRX or Sprint. 60-70 HP just isn't enough. If I do go a turbo route, it would be with a CRX HF/Civic CX motor (70 hp 8 valve) and be tuned to run very lean at low loads. 8 valve + turbo + lean burn is a setup I have been researching.

Make a trike! :D

Quote cbaber: it would be with a CRX HF/Civic CX motor

That makes good sense, I like the idea of a lean burn Del sol and both being Honda's it should be a reasonable easy job, especially if you have the parts car parked next to it.


I like idea of the plexi rear extension it gave me a idea of making a canopy for it , removable and acts as a storage areo back. Nice to dream anyways..

My first thought was to make it a crotch rocket that seats 2. :D

You can get small diesel engines from generators, small tractors and such. Maybe find one use, use the motor and sell the rest online to someone?

I got my sidekick aligned and love it. I wouldnt mind a b series engine it with vtec. As is it hover around 3 grand at 60 mph in 5th gear.

I cleaned the car out today, removing the seats and center console because I am going to replace the carpet. While I was doing that I decided to see how much weight I could remove, and here is the progress so far:

Spare Tire 17 lbs 15.4 oz
Targa Top Rack + Dampers 12 lbs 13.6 oz
Rear Cargo Shelf & Trim 11 lbs 10 oz
Trunk Carpet + Dampers 7 lbs 7.6 oz
Floor Mats 5 lbs 8 oz
Jack 4 lbs 2 oz
Rear Speakers & Panels 3 lbs
_______________________________________
Total Weight Savings: 62.5 lbs

Impressive, considering the removal of these items does not take away any comfort or function.

62.5 / 2,200 = 2.8%

What is the rule of thumb for mass reduction to mileage improvement?

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post315236

Be warned that it runs 25 pages. Personally I don't care for red, except for Koral Rot and Mountbatten Pink.

According to Weight reduction - EcoModder the EPA says 1-2% for every 100 lbs, with lighter vehicles having a greater benefit.

You can't really go wrong with weight reduction. Besides the MPG benefit you get better braking, cornering, acceleration, etc. It's especially important for this car because the stock engine produces around 100 hp, and I plan to swap in a motor that has less power and torque, plus a taller VX transmission.

If you're still looking for ideas, user jedi_sol had one that he took pretty far.

Details: Aero Sol *SOLD* - 1993 Honda Del Sol GSR Fuel Economy - EcoModder.com

Looks like he was averaging 42 mpg out of it before he sold it. It should be noted that it did have a totally different engine from an Acura, but he did do aero mods to the body. And I believe most of it was documented somewhere here on the forums.

Convert it to electric drive.

Thanks. I've looked at a few Del Sol builds. The common theme is the need for aero mods to really make it worthwhile. 42 mpg from a performance engine is impressive.

If my situation was different, that would be the way to go. However, my commute is 100 miles round trip and from what I have seen from other DIY EV builds, that kind of range is hard to achieve.

Are you building strictly for economy? 60hp would be plenty for that, especially after some aero work.

1st gen Insight engine might work well. I'm assuming you would discard anything related to the IMA.

Are you sticking with simple swaps (engines that are basically bolt-ins)? Some people use Kubota diesel engines which are commonly found in refrigerated semi-trailers. That will take some effort though, especially since Hondas spin backwards, so you can't just fabricate an adapter to mount to a Honda tranny.

Insight swap might be interesting. They are repetitively cheap on ebay (~$600). I'm not sure if that has ever been swapped into a Civic before. Might be worth researching. I would be running it without the IMA.

IIRC the Insight is fitted with the IMA to overcome its painful low-end torque. If you would rather not want the IMA to remain operating, you could be better off with the engine (and transmission) of a Metro if you would really go the downsizing route.

Or just slap the engine of a random wrecked sportsbike and leave it as a weekend club racer :D

if i had the money/time/space:
complete drive-train from a TDI MK4 VW. lighten it up even more and get it in the 60's.
a friend is putting the TDI in an S10. he is making the adapter out of steel plate to mock it up.

Not really difficult, just expensive. A 100 mile range pack would cost roughly $18k. :)

I'd love to see a kaamback that still allows the use of the trunk.

Everybody on here always says a Del sol would be a prime candidate because of the "targa" style rooftop, but I've never seen anybody pull it off yet....even me :)

I still have my fiberglassed driver side rear wheel skirt that I built for my old del sol in my garage. Not sure how much shipping would be to your location?

My plan of attack is to form a fiberglass kammback using methods the car audio guys use to build custom sub enclosures. I'll need to construct a rough template, then use small foam pieces to form smooth transitions, and finally stretch some fabric over it so I can lay down fiber.

I plan to attach it to the back of the rear window arch with a hinge so you can lift the kammback up and still retain use of the trunk. I'll probably utilize the rear spoiler as a rear mounting area so I can lock down the kammback securely, and when I need to open it just reach in and unlatch it.

Or I have also though about reversing the direction the trunk opens. This way I can form the fiberglass right onto the trunk (for seamless install) and then the whole assembly will open the opposite way a trunk normally opens. I would make some sort of latch by the rear window.

CBaber, what about having the trunk open sideways, with the hinge on the driver's side?

Cool idea. I have wondered about a kamm where the trunk opens like the tailgate of a pickup. Reduce weight too by cutting the stock trunk to remove the top "lid" portion and by removing the the back window.

Would you take it a step further and remove the interior and frame below the window?

I have thought of doing that. Currently, I have all the interior trim pieces removed, including back seat. Sometimes I think I could almost create a one person sleeping deck back there, trunk to front seats. But I wonder how structurally significant the rear deck for the speakers and the diagonal supports for the rear seat-back are. I have so many projects in the car and the home--both maintaining and modding--that I have never yet tried this idea.

That would be nearly perfect.

I would definitely recommend reinforcing it.

The backlight may add strength as well. If you hinge it at the back, I'd add the safety latches they make for suicide doors.

A turbo would make P&G technique harder if not impossible, no? Something about heat, I think.

seems pretty simple to me.

1.smaller/efficient honda engine
2.kammback/ undertray /wheels and other aero improvments
3. weight reduction (trunk lid, wheels etc)
4. ??????
5. profit

I think i've settled on a VX engine imported from Japan. I contacted Hmotorsonline, a very reputable engine source, to see if they had any 1992-1995 D15B VTEC-E motors (same thing as US D15Z1). They are a little pricey at $795 but from all the reviews I have read you are guaranteed a good low mileage motor. I've also got some other leads to chase down that are a little cheaper at around $500. I already have the transmission, I can get the VX ECU, and the wiring from non-VTEC to VTEC-E is pretty simple. I'll be putting in a lighweight flywheel, new clutch, engine tune-up, timing belt, water pump, etc.

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Looking like a Mazda MX-3...

I've seen that in previous Del Sol threads. I believe that is the MX-3 glass layered onto a Del Sol. If I remember correctly someone tried to mock it up but found the MX-3 glass too wide to be of much use. Plus all my weight loss would be used up with that huge glass panel lol

It's funny that this was posted because I saw a white MX-3 on the highway today.

That would be correct.

I saw one of those cars today, minus the wing. It looks like an attempt to make an el camino. Any thoughts of making it a mini truck like the eco mudder geo metro? :turtle:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2468/...600a52e5_o.jpg

I also had that impression for a while.