I need major help my friends.

[...Kanocode...]

What's up people?
Well, I'ma tell you my story. See, I had bought a 92 Honda Prelude after my 2003 Chevy cavalier got reposessed... Sad story cause the cavalier was my little sleeper, Alot of people kept saying they would outrun it, No, not while I drive.
That's another story though. I bought this honda Prelude as is, Not running, doors dented, Distributor stolen, Axle broke and sunroof does'nt close completely. I'm mostly worried about the engine, I've spoken to people about the car and all they do is give me the run around and speak of some hoopla. Some other guy Said it needed an engine swap, I don't think that's necsessary just yet. I planned on getting the distributor and hooking it up but the wire that comes from the bottom of the engine and connects to the distributor has been cut off by the culprate who stole the whole distributor. Alot of people said that car won't be ready by next summer but I believe that it can be done if I get the right info for it. Me and this car was Like Love at first sight ya know.
Today I just spoke to a mechanic and he said that it would'nt be a big deal, he has someone who specializes W/Hondas so he can get the job done but I'm worried of how much I might get charged.
I've busted my back to get this started and the Car has seen some bad winters, 2 of them to be exact... Previous owner did'nt even care about the poor thing. Any advice guys and Girls?
How much do you think I might Pay?
Do you think I might have the car ready by next summer if I start now?
Every paycheck I get gets tossed into the car?
Please, help me out. Any advice would do me good, I'd appreciate it, thanks.

Goon-Squad Race teamGoon-Squadron

[jakalminch]

Well if it's just the distributor you should'nt need to throw to many pay checks at it. You would have to be a little more specific about the engine problems for me to help. Depending on how much labour is needed you might be better off swapping. you could drop the jdm h22a1 into your 92 that would give you alot more kick and they run about 1000 usd$$. installation will take a few hours becasue you cant use anything that comes with the jdm but the motor and becasue your car is not a vtec now, there are a few things that would have to be adjusted, even if you found a (usdm) h22. If you wanna stay with the same motor its a little cheaper than the vtec and will fit right in less labour $$. It's all considering how much $$ you have , you could have it on the road in a month no prob with some coin. the sun roof im unsure of but if it does'nt close the interior is probably in rough shape. This sounds like a real fixer upper .. How much you pay for it ?? hope you got a good deal casue it might not be worth fixing. good luck !!

[...Kanocode...]

Sad enough I paid $1000.00, Yeah I'm a sucker for Preludes. I had a Guy that a friend of mines recommended to look at the car and he said that the engine might be okay but my cam gears and timing belt would need to be changed. He also said the engine would last about a year after it's fixed cause it has 20000+miles on it. I've been trying to ask everyone about this problem and I found out about this site and I'm glad I did.
I'm willing to spend $2000.00 just to get this baby running before next summer.
Hopefully The distributor is the only problem and not the begining of my problems.... It's okay though, I'm willing to work hard for this car.
I'll see what happens tomorrow if the guy keeps his word on coming to fix the car. He said that he'll get the distributor at the junkyard and that he'll have that baby running the same day.
I can't wait. I'ma still get the engine swap once that engine goes.
People keep telling me that I should throw a GSR engine in there but I've seen some JDM engines on eBay for a decent price; All bids only though.... $650.00 starting bidd is not bad, Right?
I'll update you on what happens next... What other advice would you have for me?
And thanks for replying, I really appriciate it.
Engine problems, it has not been turned on for about two years and still going, previous owner was really careless about the car's situation and condition. So people got into the yard and stole the distributor but in the process cut the wire that connects to the distributor, The one that runs from under the engine and connects to the plug on the distributor.
These guys even stole the spark plugs... I'm surprised they did'nt take the whole engine cause they should've taken the whole car if they had that much time to take the distributor.
But see, what had happen prior to the distributor situation was the owner was hit on the right side door and his axles messed up so every time he made a turn the car mede a squeaky sound; So he decided to park the car and never even warmed it up or bothered on asking for help.
The car spent two winters under mountains of snow. The car made the effort to turn on when I got a hold of it but when we popped the hood the whole distributor was a gonner. They took the whole thing.
So is it possible for me to have this car on the road by next summer at the pace of $300.00 a week?

[Dominic240]

I had a 92 Si. I had the car for 3 yrs. About the second year my cam bearing seals went out. Dumped all the oil out in a matter of minutes.
I figure thats fine, had all that done, new timing belt ,water pump,seals and evrything else. Cost me about $575.
well six months later #1 piston hit the bottom of my sparkplug.
This was due to a rod going out. loose bearing.
Anyways I sold the car for $1300. perfect condition minus motor problem.
I wished I wouldve kept it.
I could have had a different motor put in for less than $3000
with about 75k miles on it.
As in your case you know nothing about the car or what it has been through. instead of sinkin a $1000 or $2000 trying to get it running right.
Not knowing if what you do get fixed, this could mean that other stuff could go wrong in which costing you more $$$ . I would suggest calling a local Honda repair place for a complete motor swap. keeping everything stock as it was in the first place. Then start adding upgrades.
As for the Sunroof. Its either a swith fuse or motor that has gone out.
There is a allan screw in which you can manually close the roof. Its behind the dome light . it a little cap just pull it offf and you will see it...
good luck on the project anything is possible with the right amount of cash........

[...Kanocode...]

MAn thanks, I really appreciate it alot. For some reason the guy that was going to help me out in fixing the car has'nt shown up. It was raining real bad yesterday so I understand that part but now I need to find out if he found that Distributor. I thought I can avoid sending the car to the Shop but I guess that's my only option for now.
I'ma see if I can close the sunroof that way also. I should have some of my own tools to do this.
I really don't wanna give up on this car and I'm not r eady to pay $3000.00 or over for an engine swap just yet.
I had planned for the engine swap for next summer or in between the summer or the end of it. I'm breaking my back for this car right now... I only work for the car, that's where my paychecks go.
Also, WOuld there be a place or website that I can order the Distributor wires at?
See, I tried eBay but to no avail. They had all these Nology wires except the ones I need. The wire I need runs from under the car and connects to the distributor; It's wrapped in a rubber tube with Ten individual colored wires in the inside of the black rubber tube. As I said before, Some dude stole my Distributor W/Wires; He cut off my wires and left them hanging. We went to junkyards and everything possible except consumer auto parts which I've been told might have it. I mean, The distributor itself is not a problem on getting cause I see those being auctioned and sold every day but I wanna make sure I have these wires once I get the distributor. It sounds so simple and yet every Friday I get paid there's some roadblock that comes up or no one wants to help me in my quest to fixxing this baby up. It's rough especialy when you really care about the car. I don't want this baby to see another winter sitting in front of my house all helpless cause I just can't turn the car on.
So how should I do this?
Engine swap now or continue work on the current engine?
I mean, I can't afford the swap right this moment but I can save up and in a few weeks it can be done... Sadly enough I don't think we're gonna beat the snow waiting a few weeks. I wish I could get under the hood my self cause everyday I would be under the hood of my car doing the work my self. It's rough man.

[...Kanocode...]

Alright, I've just been told that what my 92 Lude is missing is called an ignitor harness; Now where can I find this Harness brand new?
Please help!?
If I get this I can take the first step no Prob. I tried Autozone but they don't carry it at all... Atleast my local Autozone does'nt. But I can try whatever other stores you guys recomend. Just please I'm begging someone help me out here.
My local junkyards don seem to have any 92 ludes. Is there any other car that has a compatible engine?
2.2 ltr non-Vtec. Yup, Non-Vtec.

[Dominic240]

Have your heard this motor run at all?
What will suck if you put all this work into it and still more costly problems.
I know that you can Get a h22a motor for about $1000.
What will cost you is the labor.
When I got my quote for mine they said it was going to be at $2800
That was with a H23a Motor installed And they will change out the water pump and timing belt also as part of it.
I dont know how many miles your lude has on it but if it is over 100k
I would check into alot of other stuff as well.
Also to think about that If you have a engine swap done most of the work is under a year warranty for most shops.
It is worth the time to wait a little longer or less possible headaches.
Thats my opinion.

[...Kanocode...]

Sad part is I have'nt heard this engine running... We're in the process of getting a distributor... Hopefully by tomorrow it should be done and if that does'nt work out then I'ma have to go with another engine.
What worries me the most is this cold weather and the fact that it just started snowing makes me worry even more, I can't afford that car to see another winter, that's going to be out during summers only.
I'm just worried that I'll be paying close to $3000.00 for all this.
Hopefully I can come up with the dough soon cause I'm in a race against time here.
So it would be sround the $4000.00 area for labor and engine?
How long will the car be gone?

[lilwhitelude]

first of all, what engine is in there. If it has an h23. find another engine. I don't remember who the company is, but there is a place in houston tx that has 40 thousand mile engines for around a grand. That will put you installation cost lower. labor for pullin that engine shouldn't cost more than 1500 dollars. Realistically, should be much less at a good shop. Even if f22, this should be about the same. It will save you some money to go with original size engine until you are prepared for the expense of a swap(Engine, harness, ecm, sensors, distribitor,waterpump,timingbelt,etc) Swaps are expensive. My advice is to go with what you can afford for now. No matter what engine is in the car, you wont be let down.
lilwhitelude

[...Kanocode...]

I have a 2.2 DOHC non VTEC engine in the car... In really bad condition. I just sent it to the shop this past friday and one of the guys said that the car's not worth it; He said that the engine is in horrible condition and that the body's in really bad shape. He did explain that they'll try to find the wires cause of that distributor wire being cut and he'll see where he can go from there, Yet I'm wondering how much I'ma get charged for the engine wires, Distributor and the labor.
I don't wanna give up on this car and Yet I don't think that I'm ready for an engine Swap just yet.
I'm kinda nervous cause this is the first time I've ever had a car in the shop and what happens if I can't come up with $2000.00 on the spot and have to wait 2 to 3 weeks to come up with that, They'll probably won't return the car to me at all and that's the reason I'm so nervous about this whole ordeal. I pray this thing turns on when they're done.
See I had a guy offer me an engine swap for $1500.00, He gets the engine and installs it for that price but it seemed a bit unbelievable to me so I am kinda skeptikal even though he's a friend of the family.
I'm mainly worried about the engine right now though, the body can be taken care of easily compared to the engine problems I'm facing.
See, I was actually gonna bidd on an engine for $650.00 starting bidd and it's always there so I know I can find an engine for a good price but then there's gonna be delivery problems. I'm trying to see if they can recieave the engine at the shop and install it there and I don't know how to go about this. I seen a h22b and h23 engine and know nothing about them so I'm kind of lost. one of the engines had 40k on it and I can't recall the milage on the other but I am willing to bidd on the engine if I knew how to take care of these problems cause I know that I'll need a tranny, Exhaust, Engine wires and distributor.
But the Engine I looked at had all the wires and distributor installed already.
I'm lost and do not know what to do about this.