I'd be eternally grateful. It's gonna be my new appliance car.
I'd be eternally grateful. It's gonna be my new appliance car.
5 Cylinders. They look cool and are similar to the first generation 2.5 TL. You could get them with a manual. I am pretty sure I remember them having head gasket issues.
With my luck lately. The service secretary at Shelton Mits had a 92 with a stick. I should have paid attention.
I've also heard that the similar 2.5TL is nearly bulletproof...just harder to find with a manual.
Whenever I've looked for an Acura Vigor (Sold in Japan as a model of Honda Accord) the ones I've found always had huge mileages on them.
Supposedly, the downside to either the Vigor or the TL with a 5 is that power is better than a 4 (it's rated at 176 horsepower) and even surpasses a Maxima of the same year...but the gas mileage is close to being that of a 6 (under the "old" EPA system, it was rated at about 19-24, on PREMIUM gas).
Be advised that if you go for one with automatic that the unit used in these cars is robust but does NOT shift all that smoothly.
Driver's side airbag only until '93 on the GS model, and passenger added to the LS in '94. Antilock was standard on all Vigors.
My parents looked at one when they were new, my dad ended up buying a neon though. I remember it was a nice car, but I looked for used ones once and most of them had oil pressure/knocking issues mentioned in the add, so I didn't pursue that any farther. I saw one a couple days ago on the freeway, so they can't all have died yet. Lol
From what I recall, that 5 cylinder shares a lot of parts with the D-series engine...
those things were 5 cylinders? I learned something new today.
Gearheadotaku wrote: those things were 5 cylinders? I learned something new today.
5 cylinders, AND look like they're RWD when you pop the hood.
Very strange cars.
very strange, parts are hard to come by (don't even bother looking aftermarket, most places have no clue what that car is), it's old and that's about it.
NEver seen an issue with engines on them, other than oil leaks. THat is a common one and usuallystems from the distributor and the oil filter housing.
only came as automatics .... 'nuff said ....
IIRC, same engine as in the Sterlings as well.
there were definately 5 speeds available.
The I-5 was only ever used in the Vigor and 2.5 TL in the US. The Sterlings were a variation of the 1st gen Legend, with either a 2.5l or 2.7l V6s
nope, that was the Legend motor.
the oil filter is a pita to change on that 5 cylinder. other than that i always like them. stout car. felt like it anyway.
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:Gearheadotaku wrote: those things were 5 cylinders? I learned something new today.5 cylinders, AND look like they're RWD when you pop the hood. Very strange cars.
So, it's like working on an Audi but you have to swear in Japanese?
Boy, haven't seen one of these in years...always liked the look of them.
Sonic wrote: there were definately 5 speeds available. The I-5 was only ever used in the Vigor and 2.5 TL in the US. The Sterlings were a variation of the 1st gen Legend, with either a 2.5l or 2.7l V6s
My fault...makes sense, Sterling 825/827's. 
JFX001 wrote:Sonic wrote: there were definately 5 speeds available. The I-5 was only ever used in the Vigor and 2.5 TL in the US. The Sterlings were a variation of the 1st gen Legend, with either a 2.5l or 2.7l V6sMy fault...makes sense, Sterling 825/827's.
I still haven't figured out how the Sterling got screwed up so bad. It was supposed to be a car with British luxury and Japanese reliability instead we got British reliability with Japanese luxury.
A dealer in Gainesville, Fl. has a Vigor, a dark green one. It's on CL if someone is interested.
Friend of mine in Highschool had a dark blue one with over 200k on it. 5 speed stick. Cool cars, but PITA to get the unique parts for them. If you want something similar pick up an Acura CL. It won't have the same cool inline 5 sound, but they are super easy to get parts for since it's an accord coupe.
I can see the allure....kind of a 3 series powering different wheels. A buddy of mine drove his dads when we were in high school when his escort was on the DL. It was a pretty sweet ride from what I recall.
(not my friend)
I wonder what CRV/Pilot/Other components would be needed to build a ZOMFGAWDVIGOR???
There's no real way to build one AWD. Since the engine sits in there longitudinally, the trans sits BEHIND the engine between the seats, then runs the power back up beside the trans to a diff that sits beside the oilpan and then runs an axle through the oilpan to the other side. Basically, there's nothing in the US that used that same drivetrain setup besides the LEgend which was a V6.
Honda was 36" and a rear diff away from having a cool I5 RWD sedan. And then they ran the power all the way back up front.
Bobzilla wrote: Honda was 36" and a rear diff away from having a cool I5 RWD sedan. And then they ran the power all the way back up front.
Sometimes you really have to wonder what they are thinking...
Trans_Maro wrote: So, it's like working on an Audi but you have to swear in Japanese?
I've worked on Mitsubishis for 18 years, I already swear in Japanese.
Honda "previewed" the Acura spinoff with a dealership network that used the Vigor as it's flagship car and the Integra as it's "mid sized" car. (The first gen Legend was created for the new Acura dealerships when they first debutted in the U.S. and weren't even sold in Japan for the first few years.)
In Japan, the dealerships that sold these 2 cars were the equivalent of Mercury to Ford. Therefore, to keep costs down, the Accord "shell" was used for the Vigor, but something had to be done to differentiate it from the Accord...so as other manufacturers have done, Honda took an existing engine and added a cylinder (just as Nissan did with the engine that powered 510s and then the 240Z, tho Nissan added 2 cylinders to the 510 engine to get the 240 engine.) Since pretty much EVERY Honda car at the time, and since (with the exception of the S2000 roadsters) has been FWD, they decided, obviously, not to make the Vigor RWD...tho it would have seemed so much simpler.
heres a rare 5 spd I tried to sell you guys!
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/crazy-jons-car-lot-everything-must-go/8452/page1/
wound up letting it go for local $2000...and it was in awesome shape
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