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Sometime within the next five years (when I have a garage / kids get a little older) I'm going to start one of the following projects:
(altered above, originals below - apologies / thanks to whoever's cars these are)
At least one of these will go beyond being a photoshop experiment and go through the necessary engineering rigor to become a durable reality, including finite element analysis, structural+suspension rework and proper fiberglass bodywork and paint. I'm also planning to update it with modern electronics like a CarPlay-ready deck, backup camera, etc, and some TBD augmentation to the powertrain, but that's secondary. I'm aiming to eventually be close to show-car quality but still have it be useable on a daily basis for hauling bicycles, home improvement building materials and equipment (payload 600-700lb).
I've always liked the BB6 Prelude and it's also the least practical mainstream-classic Honda (small rear seats, small trunk not a hatch) so it seemed a natural choice. The proportions also lend themselves to a more El Camino-like result. But compared to a DC5 Type-S it's heavier without meaningful additional torque, has rear double wishbones (vs. semi trailing arms) that will reduce the useable size of the bed, and has an older, oil-hungry engine with no 6MT option and fewer 'easy' mods. I want to be sure I'm barking up the 'right' tree before diving into the very involved background research on one car.
So I welcome all constructive comments to start me off right! Time is on my side... for now.
Spot on. I considered going that route but it didn't take me long to realize I had no desire for a Jetta pickup, though it would be much easier and probably cheaper in the end. I may dig deeper at some point to see if their kit can be partially repurposed.
That said, one of the reasons they picked the Jetta platform was because the rear floorpan is pretty strong/stiff by itself, so they could minimize the necessary bracing after cutting out the C-pillar and rear deck. Among the possible candidates this may become the #1 factor for platform choice. Offhand I suspect that the newer DC5 also wins in this regard, partly because it starts off with a yawning hatch opening and they would want to bias the strength/stiffness toward the floorpan to keep the CG low.
Again to manage expectations of anyone looking forward to a good build thread with pictures and video links (and there will be!) this is merely an inception of a multiple-year, sporadic-burst project as I juggle other life priorities. In the meantime I appreciate any information / pointing to info sources / sharing from experience that I can get. Thanks in advance!
Saw an article earlier this week about these conversions. In some Euro country, it's legal for kids to drive at 15 without a license as long as the vehicle is a sedan that has been converted into a pickup.
Saw an article earlier this week about these conversions. In some Euro country, it's legal for kids to drive at 15 without a license as long as the vehicle is a sedan that has been converted into a pickup.
Is there horses pulling these cars in said Euro country?
Is there horses pulling these cars in said Euro country?
yea I am from the Balkans, basically a black hole of Europe, and I have never heard of this. Maybe in Albania, those guys live like they did 500 years ago, bet they still don't grasp the concept of a car so they are pretty lenient about it.
I bet it's not a rule about it being converted sedan specifically but maybe that it's now classified as farm/work truck that's intended to be driven on the family property running hay and eggs.
something like a loophole
Thanks all for the aesthetic votes and encouragement. I take confirmation of sacrilege positively too, it compels me to do an OEM-worthy job!
I definitely had trouble deciding how to cut off the cab of the Prelude - near vertical makes the cab's fore-aft position look too weird, but pushing it back makes the bed even tinier. It might have to ape the El Camino's curved buttresses with inset vertical window to look right but remain practical. The RSX version has more contemporary proportions, but yeah part of me agrees with rockstar about "Geo Metro Jeep". I may have to render 1/4 and 3/4 views to get a better sense... way to push my limited PS skills...
Any other Honda platform candidates come to mind? S2K sounded cool but I think the bed would essentially be a planter box size-wise... and I wanted to start with a torquier engine than a B16 (EM1). The newer Civic coupes have a bubble roofline that I don't think would work at all aesthetically.
Originally Posted by myron
I like the jetta UTE so much!!! Those guys did a great job with it. I watched a bunch of build videos from them as well.
Totally agree - the clean-ness of the finished product almost makes me wish I wanted to start with a Jetta, if that makes any sense.
Waffle swap - purely motivated by the fact that I have waffles sitting in storage right now and was curious how they might look. Probably won't be on the cards when I finally reach the stage of choosing what wheels to put on haha
Don't use a B16 unless you are turboing it. It's absolutely gutless and any car built after 2004 will kick the shit out of it.
why would you take the nice K-series engine out and replace it with the inferior B-series? While the B holds a special place in my heart, it's from a time gone by.
Is there horses pulling these cars in said Euro country?
Originally Posted by myron
yea I am from the Balkans, basically a black hole of Europe, and I have never heard of this. Maybe in Albania, those guys live like they did 500 years ago, bet they still don't grasp the concept of a car so they are pretty lenient about it.
Or course, now I can't find the link. It was somewhere like Sweden or Finland, IIRC.
Don't use a B16 unless you are turboing it. It's absolutely gutless and any car built after 2004 will kick the shit out of it.
why would you take the nice K-series engine out and replace it with the inferior B-series? While the B holds a special place in my heart, it's from a time gone by.
I think I may have been misunderstood - I was saying I wouldn't use an EM1 Si with its B16, exactly because of lack of torque. I've had two cars with B18Cs and I'd hesitate to start with even with that. Same reason the H22 and K20 (and respective cars) floated quickly to the top of my list. It's good to have that confirmation from you though!
Ah I get it, people thought I was talking about the S2K having a B16 engine... when I was actually talking about 1) a car and 2) an engine common to many cars (that I would never consider because of that common engine). Sorry for the confusion there.
Maybe I missed it - Is this your old username? Banned?
Yeah, automatically banned because I started a new account with this current username. Thought I would do that instead of troubling the mods to change my old one since it was only a week old. Didn't realize having two accounts was against T&Cs... my bad. Won't do it again.
Sileighty truck is like three cars in one... I like the execution of the last one. No ugly bracing, bed space maximized around the wheel wells.
That said, I'm leaning toward using a FWD platform because one of my stretch goals, probably in a 2nd phase, is to add electric drive to the rear end. On a RSX I believe it can theoretically be done using a rear end from say an AWD CR-V. Rear diff and batteries may eat into the cargo bed depth but the the result would be well worth it
And so it begins, 10 months after I first thought about it. Picked up a 1997 BB6 base for the princely sum of $1100. Comes with the following features free of charge:
0) No turn signals (quickly fixed by swapping a fuse)
1) Gutted cat lazily welded back directly to the mid pipe
2) No rearview mirror
3) A yawning double-DIN hole in the dash
4) Four different tires, two different sizes
5) Broken speed sensor
6) Broken AC
7) 2nd gear grind
But VTEC works and it drives like the devil
Strong engine, Greddy muffler, no damage to body panels, windows and sunroof actually work!
First order of business this week - revert exhaust to stock with a new cat and O2 sensors, new speed sensor. Mid pipe and welded cat sitting in my UA7 ready for cutting and grinding at work today... thought it was a mid-engined TL didn't ya.
Hybrid electric's gonna be Phase 2... quite a ways down the road, but it will happen! Phase 1 is just the pickup part, I'm aiming for a daily drivable structure by end of this summer, and to complete the aesthetics by next summer.
Yeah it was more than I budgeted for, but pickings have been slim in the bay area and I didn't want to have to tow one from far away. After all in the grand scheme of things... drop in the bucket. CA smog is a PITA though.
Thanks for the encouragement. With 3 young kids and no garage (have to do this mostly at work), I'll need everything I have to see this through.
Back to Phase 0 updates. Task completed at work today - gutted cat and mid pipe are no longer joined at the hip!
For the ride to work - one time the TL pass-through is actually useful
Close-up of the problem. Pretty terrible welding, you could see poor penetration in some places after the cat was cut off.
Sparks rock.
Belt sanded the mating surface. The gasket should do the rest.
Cat, O2 sensors, gasket and also speed sensor should arrive this week. aiming to smog this weekend!
Replaced / installed the following yesterday night, after the kids went to bed:
- New cat
- New O2 sensors
- New gaskets
- Speed sensor
- Cleaned out EGR valve (had a pending code)
Parts laid out for photo op:
Bolted up the cat with new bolts borrowed from work...
Installed! Working when it's dark and cold out (by bay area standards) ain't fun... gotta get me a garage.
Broke-in the cat this morning and then drove to work, new O2 sensors were iffy and only seemed to work after a lot of warming up. Lost my tachometer along the way (!!) but the OBDII live data feed still shows a reading. Still no speed readout. Also experienced hesitant acceleration toward the end of my 20-mile journey, after parking the car and trying to restart, ignition turns over a little and stops. Looks like I have to check my alternator and battery. Not a huge surprise there but one I could have done without while gearing up for smog...
07-12-2016, 06:03 PM
waffle swap?
Sylvia trucks > *
Sileighty truck is like three cars in one... I like the execution of the last one. No ugly bracing, bed space maximized around the wheel wells.
aiming to smog this weekend!
