Newbie bought a Lemons car -- '94 Acura Vigor (Page 1 of 2)

5 cylinders of fury!

My friend in high school had one and I got to drive it spiritedly often. I was pretty impressed with its handling for a FWD sedan. I can't offer much more than that.

Yes, everything you mentioned can be sold and put back into the budget.

A stiffer suspension will net you BS laps regardless how under budget you are.

You can buy suspension parts for it, but you'll need to document the hell out of both purchases and stuff you sell if you hope to avoid BS Inspection laps. That means you need to print out all Craigslist/eBay/forum/etc ads, save all receipts, etc. Getting parts you had "just lying around the shop," or parts given to you by friends/employers/etc., doesn't mean they're free, by the way; we will want to see fair value for such parts applied to your budgetary total.

As others have said...spend your money on making the car more reliable!  Look at things like the tune up parts, the fuel pump, etc, etc... 

Hondas eat head gaskets, so if you can swing it, swap out the head gasket and buy new headbolts to keep the head in place.

Also, you might save some money on a new windsheild by going lexan instead.   Most circle track race shops will sell you a large slab of lexan, and its easy to trace the frame, cut, and install.

Lexan is the way to go, just remember that you'll have to make some metal braces to support the windshield. To cut the lexan, use a jigsaw with a really coarse blade. Be sure to put a couple layers of painter's tape on the foot and on the windshield to avoid scratching.

Seriously on welding the heads to the block?

I thought this was true of all engines.

Jim, at least put the smiley face at the end.....he might just try it

Why go through all that trouble when you could just gas braze it?

Honda's are great, but in Lemons they tend to blow head gaskets. What you can do to help prevent this is 3 things: Replace your gasket now, and put in aftermarket studs that are stronger, like ARP. Find a bigger radiator as stated, maybe from like a F350 or something (it's Lemons, make it fit).
Third, learn to be a better driver. I mean that in a general statement to the entire team. Don't use the transmission to downshift, your brake pads are much cheaper and faster to replace. Don't race so aggressively that you miss-shift and put it in 2nd when it should have gone in 4th. This will shoot the revs to 13000rpm. Guess what happens then? It would also be a good idea to stay away from redline. If you must, put in a shift light. Either that, or glue a block of wood to the backside of the gas peddle to help support your led foot.

Honda's have excellent handling and more would win if teams would keep from pushing it to out drag a T-Bird.

Does anyone here have experience with the Honda 5-cylinder in the Vigor popping head gaskets, or is it just experience with the 4 cylinders speaking?

It's the 4-cylinder experience talking, but it is an issue that seems to be indiscriminate of cylinder count. at MSR last month, i know an E30 straight-6 that blew a head gasket, and a Ford V8 that blew a head gasket, as well as a Honda L4.

as long as Zoomzoom replaces his brake fluid, rotors, and uses race pads, addresses all cooling issues, any other problems will most likely be driver induced