Although we are all mentally prepared for the demolition derby, there are a number of modifications needed to properly prepare the car. Thankfully, RP is as excited about this project as I am and, like old times, is contributing his skills. Yesterday was our first mod session, and this is an after-action report of sorts. A more general update will also be sent to the distro list, so be sure to visit Jason at the Derby and follow the instructions to sign up for the list.

We reviewed the to-do list and sketched out priority, timeline, and basic approaches, with a hands-on review of the car afterward. Here are the major mods to be done:

The Battery
The current battery does not hold a charge, meaning I need to jump it every time I want to practice driving. RP happened to have an extra battery he thinks is good, so the first step was to swap out the old battery with the “new” one. That was easy enough, and the only item left is to start the car today to see if the newly installed battery works.

Edit: The battery did not work. Bummer, USA.

In addition, the rules require we move the batter to the passenger area. We, well, really he, sketched this out. RP doesn’t think will be a problem, just an effort that takes some time. We bought wire for the battery move and RP has terminals that will be donated to the cause. Presuming the battery is okay, the next steps are:
(1) RP finds the terminals.
(2) RP finds where to buy the other end terminals and tells me.
(3) I buy the terminals.

Edit: The cables we bought have one set of correct ends, and RP has the other set.

Gas Tank
There is some concern that the current gas-cap area will not pass demolition derby inspection. There is no concern that I am in danger. RP suggests, and this follows the derby organizer’s recommendation, that we move the tank to the rear passenger area and insert a tube into the existing gas-cap area tube. This will primarily serve to assure organizer’s that the rusted out gas-cap area is a non-issue with the added safety bonus of putting a gas tank a couple feet from me. Note, the battery and gas tank will not be in the same area.

The next steps for this effort are:
(1) RP will identify the parts (e.g., fuel line, valves, etc.) and tell me.
(2) I will buy the parts.

p.s. RP, the rules state that a metal tank is required, so no plastic one. It also must be within arms reach of me so I can turn the tank off in time to prevent my animated gif from becoming reality.

Hole in the Hood
The rules require we cut a whole in the hood above the carburetor, which from my attendance at derby’s is used by the fire fighters to gush water into the engine compartment to put out fires. RP does not think this will be a problematic, just a bit time intensive. There is no timeline on when this will be done. The next steps are:
(1) RP identifies needed Dremel bits (his are old or whatever).
(2) I buy the new ones.

Chain Everything Down
Various parts of the car (e.g., hood, doors, etc.) need to be chained down. Following MW’s initial suggestion of using chain and carabiners, RP and I will make a future hardware-store visit to buy the equipment. This will be combined with an almost guaranteed other trip for this or that. Next steps are:
(1) Buy the hardware and install it, waiting to lock it up until the night of the derby.

Other Tasks To Do
In addition to these major efforts, there is other homework (in no particular order):
(1) RP looks for a jack handle, figuring out where I can buy a replacement if possible.

Other Tasks Done
(1) RP recommended I buy a Haynes manual for the car, so we know for sure where everything is and how to go about doing different things. Thanks to the patented one-click buy of Amazon and my new Amazon Prime membership, the manual should arrive early this week along with about $200 of other stuff I’ve bought since going Prime. Specifically, the manual will help us move the gas tank and deal with the carburetor. Oh, and it was super inexpensive ($5, I think).

(2) I find a solid relevant car forum, in part to seek help and in part to taught the people that we’re destroying this car. The best one my search revealed is Honda-Tech.com, which has a “classic” Hondas section. There is also 3geez.com, which is dedicated to third-generation Honda Accords. Both will be used, and added to the wiki page. I still need to go through 3geez to see if there’s anything useful.