Well, against LB's excellent advice that I just drive and enjoy the old 79 Accord as is, I decided to get it painted. Crazy? Maybe. But no more crazy then buying a like-new Porsche Boxster or building a new house. I will be way upside-down in the car but I plan to keep it for many years to come and there is rust to be addressed. Local OCB shop is doing the work. They come highly recommended by the local hot rod community and some of those guys are pretty picky about how their $50K rods are painted.

Here the old girl is, stripped of most of her chrome and trim, and a good bit of her interior. The rust on the front upper skirt is about the only really serious rust issue on the car. But there are small areas of surface rust here and there that will also be attended to. Painter is going to sand blast the panel below and zinc coat it before primer and paint. I am also having the seats reupholstered. That will be about the extent of the "restoration" at least for now.

 

Thanks for posting, Mike. Nothing I like better than a quick rehash of a decent car. It makes a world of difference for fairly short money. Did you strip the trim yourself?

 

This is way crazier than buying a like new Porsche.

I would want rust to be gone too! Will watch for the "after" pics.

 

LB, short money for sure. Anxious to see what my short money gets. (More than Maaco but less than what the downtown body shops charge.) Paint shop did the stripping. I'm sure they are far better at pulling nearly irreplaceable trim and badges than I would be. Plus I don't own a decent sander.

Lainey, pics will be up as soon as I get the old girl back. And, no, I don't really think the P car was a crazy idea. That was just the envy talking.

 

Is that your rental with the big tires beside it? Best wishes for a really nice outcome.

 

Very cool. Had that car in bronze, but rust was an issue up here with the salt. Loved it.

 

Dave, they tried to foist that thing off on me as a loaner but I held out for the John Deer. On that subject and in case anyone missed it, OCB = Ol' Country Boy. So no surprise they are restoring a vintage tractor.

Ken, besides being a ground-breaking car in its day and a fun driver now, the thing I love about the 1st gen Accord is you just never see them any more, because most of them have become either crusher mush or rust dust.

 

I bought a blue w/gray interior Honda Accord in 1983; 4-speed stick. Also, a milestone car as it was the first Japanese car built in the US. This was a great car and going strong at over 100,000 miles when I gave it to my oldest daughter in 1990. It didn’t take long for her to trash the car with neglect and minor wrecks.

 

We drove our Accord to 118K mi., sold it, and it continued on to over 160 when it was totaled. Loved that car.

 

I predict we'll see this on BaT Auctions | Bring a Trailer in due time.

Do what brings you happiness.