Connie
Well-Known Member
I met Connie a little over 2 years ago.
She was hidden inside of a snowbank and hadn't moved for 3 or 4 years. Her owner was leaving town, and was making a last-ditch effort to sell her before sending her to the scrapyard. Apparently, he said, because she needed a head gasket.
$600 and a call to CAA later, she was in my driveway. She ran well enough and only showed 141000km on her odometer, which couldn't be right because the gauge cluster says there should be four doors, and there are definitely two. And the tachometer acts like it should be hooked up to a 4-cylinder engine, as I am fairly certain that I have not been turning 9500rpm on a v6 for 2+ years without something terrible happening.
I got her brakes and a few suspension odds and ends, and started driving her 200km back and forth every day to work. She made it 40000km further before the puff of white smoke at startup became a catrastrophic failure. She got a replacement japanese angine with 45000km on it, and was back on the road a week later. That REALLY woke her up.
Over the next year, my job required I travel from Ontario to South Carolina approximately monthly. Connie did the journey 11 times, over 1500km each way, and her achilles heel didn't rear it's ugly head until the transmission decided that it was done moving forwards in a thunderstorm near Ghent, WV somewhere on I77. She had done 344000km. Although she was getting rusty and generally worn out, I found a local shop to replace her transmission with a used one for a pretty good price. Probably not a lot of work up there in them hills....maybe something in the water, too...
After a few more trips to the southeast, I ended up with a contract in Saltillo, Coahuilla, Mexico. Rather than fly, I set out on the adventure with Connie. Aprroximately 4000km later, she was with me in Mexico to escape the snow. And a month and another 4000km later, I was back home in time for spring.
She has continued to ferry me back and forth 200+km a day to headquarters since then, and is currently just a little shy of 420000km.
This has been my favourite daily driver I've ever owned. She doesn't look like much, and has some serious war wounds (Rear-ended on HWY 400 S by a truck doing about 50, Insurance wrote it off and paid out, bought her back for a few hundred bucks, spent $10 on self tapping screws and the MTO guy said it was perfectly fine to drive. And it is, it drives EXACTLY the same, but I'll take the money).
To this day, she drives perfectly. The sunroof still works, the windows still work, the power seats still work, the leather isn't that ruined, and the factory 6-disc cd changer/casette deck is a special millenial conversation piece these days.
The only thing I hate is the damn slushbox.
I have been doing some reading and have heard of swapping in the 6-speed from an acura cl-s or a 2003-2006 Accord. I would also like a little more power, something between 250-300 would make this car the perfect highway cruiser. I was thinkig a J35 would be perfect, or something out of an acura?
Don't know a whole lot about modding honda's, I've been an RX7 guy for a long time, but it's time for an upgrade for Connie, or a new daily commuter. Either this car or maybe buy a lower mileage one that is a little less ruined. I kinda like the thought of a car this haggard being fast though. Don't get me wrong, she's still no slouch, but she isn't fast either. And I just can't do the automatic thing anymore.
I like the shape of the 6th gen coupe more than any other Accord, and it is such a shame the V6 only came auto...
Is there anything I can do for now until I can take her off the road this summer and do the swap to get some more power out of the J30? Has anyone on here done a 6-speed swap in the GTA and wouldn't mind letting me come take a look and snap some pics of your swap??
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
She was hidden inside of a snowbank and hadn't moved for 3 or 4 years. Her owner was leaving town, and was making a last-ditch effort to sell her before sending her to the scrapyard. Apparently, he said, because she needed a head gasket.
$600 and a call to CAA later, she was in my driveway. She ran well enough and only showed 141000km on her odometer, which couldn't be right because the gauge cluster says there should be four doors, and there are definitely two. And the tachometer acts like it should be hooked up to a 4-cylinder engine, as I am fairly certain that I have not been turning 9500rpm on a v6 for 2+ years without something terrible happening.
I got her brakes and a few suspension odds and ends, and started driving her 200km back and forth every day to work. She made it 40000km further before the puff of white smoke at startup became a catrastrophic failure. She got a replacement japanese angine with 45000km on it, and was back on the road a week later. That REALLY woke her up.
Over the next year, my job required I travel from Ontario to South Carolina approximately monthly. Connie did the journey 11 times, over 1500km each way, and her achilles heel didn't rear it's ugly head until the transmission decided that it was done moving forwards in a thunderstorm near Ghent, WV somewhere on I77. She had done 344000km. Although she was getting rusty and generally worn out, I found a local shop to replace her transmission with a used one for a pretty good price. Probably not a lot of work up there in them hills....maybe something in the water, too...
After a few more trips to the southeast, I ended up with a contract in Saltillo, Coahuilla, Mexico. Rather than fly, I set out on the adventure with Connie. Aprroximately 4000km later, she was with me in Mexico to escape the snow. And a month and another 4000km later, I was back home in time for spring.
She has continued to ferry me back and forth 200+km a day to headquarters since then, and is currently just a little shy of 420000km.
This has been my favourite daily driver I've ever owned. She doesn't look like much, and has some serious war wounds (Rear-ended on HWY 400 S by a truck doing about 50, Insurance wrote it off and paid out, bought her back for a few hundred bucks, spent $10 on self tapping screws and the MTO guy said it was perfectly fine to drive. And it is, it drives EXACTLY the same, but I'll take the money).
To this day, she drives perfectly. The sunroof still works, the windows still work, the power seats still work, the leather isn't that ruined, and the factory 6-disc cd changer/casette deck is a special millenial conversation piece these days.
The only thing I hate is the damn slushbox.
I have been doing some reading and have heard of swapping in the 6-speed from an acura cl-s or a 2003-2006 Accord. I would also like a little more power, something between 250-300 would make this car the perfect highway cruiser. I was thinkig a J35 would be perfect, or something out of an acura?
Don't know a whole lot about modding honda's, I've been an RX7 guy for a long time, but it's time for an upgrade for Connie, or a new daily commuter. Either this car or maybe buy a lower mileage one that is a little less ruined. I kinda like the thought of a car this haggard being fast though. Don't get me wrong, she's still no slouch, but she isn't fast either. And I just can't do the automatic thing anymore.
I like the shape of the 6th gen coupe more than any other Accord, and it is such a shame the V6 only came auto...
Is there anything I can do for now until I can take her off the road this summer and do the swap to get some more power out of the J30? Has anyone on here done a 6-speed swap in the GTA and wouldn't mind letting me come take a look and snap some pics of your swap??
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
