For a little history, when we first built the Prelude for Lemons we gutted most everything we could, and got rid of a few things we should not have in the process. One was the heater core (who knew it might rain and we’d need a defroster?) and another was the rear glass to keep the exhaust fumes out.
We initially had a side-exit exhaust so the fumes weren’t much of an issue. After a few races we decided the loud-@ss exhaust was just too much, so to have room for a real muffler we had to route the piping in the stock location. Once we reworked the exhaust, the fumes indeed became an issue, so we decided to do something about it before the 2013 season.
We have been wanting to shed some weight for a while (did I mention I’ve lost 25 lbs since last October?) and improve our aerodynamics along the way. Ryan sent the team a pic of a mod Bowie Jr. did to their Civic and that got the ball rolling to proceed with what we now call the “Fastback Edition” Prelude.
Ryan sourced the parts and construction details and then we got to work. First up we removed the trunk lid and did a little planning with tape to get the concept:
Next, I let Ryan loose with my air hammer to do what he does best…demolition!
Demolition complete:
It just so happens that our team is good friends with a guy who is a master fabricator, Randy Melton, so when he offered to help we didn’t turn him down. The first step in re-construction was to build a frame to support the new “hatch” area:
Next up we cut a section off the old trunk lid and welded it back in place to complete the look:
With the frame completed and in place it was time to get to work on attaching the new Lexan. Clecos rock!
Marking, trimming, drilling, and more clecos. BTW, no heat was used to shape the Lexan:
With the basic structure in place, it was time for a little more function and aesthetics. I painted the inside trim black and we added a piano hinge so we could have an access hatch to the cargo storage area. After installing over 125 pop-rivets thanks to my new pneumatic rivet gun we had this:
The finished product….Prelude Fastback!
Hopefully it was worth all the effort. I guess we will find out in a two weeks at the Lemons race at CMP.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
- AB
