Cold Start
Builder: Wa Lee
Chassis: 1997 CE1 accord wagon ex
INSTAGRAM: walleyemance1
My first car was a cd5. I’ve always loved the 5th gen accords ever since I first laid eyes on my friend’s older brother’s 1995 Bordeaux red cd5 in freshman year of high school. It was very basic back in the late 90s, just slammed on stock ex wheels painted white with basic bolt ons and NOS. But I was in love, I knew one day I’d have my own.
Five years later, after high school, I finally picked up my first cd5. At the time, I didn’t really care what color it was or model since I didn’t know much about the differences, I just knew I had to find one. So I found a 5 speed 95 LX sedan in cashmere metallic and bought it. My plans for it weren’t too big for it, as those years priorities were to partying and chugging as much alcohol as we could. Instead, I grabbed parts here and there and over the next few years it. Got closer to what I envisioned for it. That project never was completed though since the car was lost in an accident in 2007. I began searching for another cd5 after but my sister offered me her 1998 civic for free, I said why not and began driving that and modding it slowly until it was stolen a few years later. After the civic was stolen, I started searching for a cd5 again but I needed a car asap and my brother just happened to have a 2004 TL 6spd he was using as a winter beater at the time that he wanted to get rid of. I ended up buying it from him and started modding that too. Slow build with that car as all my attention was focused on my ex-girlfriend at the time. A few years later, we break up, I lose the TL due to bad decisions and I am stuck without a car again.
I begin searching again for a cd5 and this time I actually find a decent one with a somewhat clean body and low 90k miles. The car had just popped up on the local accord facebook page and was a theft recovery. I went the same night and bought the car without even looking it over. Brought it home and looked over it and boy, the previous owners never did any maintenance on it ever. Oil leaks all over, frozen solid gaskets, you name it. I ended up replacing everything and fixing what I could and it was good to go.
I told myself I would not mod this car but you know, within a week, it was dropped even with winter approaching. A few days later, some wheels. Another week, more parts and it just keeps going. I had a vision for that car but it kept changing as opportunities for me to buy new rare parts kept popping up. It was like it was meant to be, I couldn’t say no. 2 years pass and I’ve collected so much stuff that I could build a second car if I really wanted to. This car needed body work and a repaint to really shine with all the parts I’ve accumulated but then I thought to myself, do I really want to put that work into this car?
Now the accord wagon. I’ve always wanted a wagon even when I had my first cd5. They were just a lot harder to find. I told my friends back then I want one and I’d have one and they just looked at me in disgust with the question why? Why you ask? Because it’s a wagon! Anyways, I figured I’m old now, I have the means and funds to travel and find one, I’m going to do it and I did. I searched all over the country for months. Emailing, texting, calling ads with no responses from sellers thinking I'm trying to scam them. I was starting to lose hope. I find one close by and put the sedan up for sale and it sells. Now I have no car and my hope is that this guy will sell me his wagon. I found a Bordeaux red wagon in Chicago and it sounds good. We fly out expecting it to be as clean as the owner says it was. We get there and it’s in worse shape than my sedan and most others on the road. My friend and I are stuck in Chicago with no way home, flights are $600 for a one way back to Minneapolis and car rentals are not available. What do we do? Well there was another accord wagon I had contacted a week earlier without response. I ended up calling him again and leaving a message that I was in town and would like to go check it out. He actually replies and we Uber out to his house. It was a beater wagon for sure but he didn’t want too much for it. Test drove it, bought it just so we could make it back home and drove that through the winter.
As winter came to an end, I had to make another decision. Fix this beater wagon up or find a new one. I never stopped searching over winter and I had found one I really want in New York. It had been available while I had my sedan but was sold before I could get the chance to even think about it. This was my chance, it was meant to be. Everything happens for a reason right? I message the seller, we talk and he says he’s firm on price and I say I’m willing to pay his price, I’ll fly out and pick it up asap. I book my flight, fly out by myself this time since it was so sudden and pick the car up and bring it home and the rest is history.
My love for the 5th gen accord probably will never die. People ask me why I drive these old cars all the time and always ask why I don’t buy new cars. It’s quite simple, It’s because I love these cars and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nuts & Bolts
Engine/Drivetrain: F22b1 with 5 speed MT swap, megan header, aem sr intake, full tsudo catback with modified rear section for the wagon
Suspension/Brakes: CXracing coilovers, front/rear truhart camber control arms, 5 lug swap, Tanabe front stut bar
Wheel/Tires Specs: Racing Hart type C 18x8.5 +19 215/35/18 front 18x10 +25 225/35/18 rear
Exterior: Greddy and etc front lips, Mugen and etc grills, modified Modulo cf4 side skirts, OEM SIR rear lip, OEM roof rails with Yakima rack. Morimoto d2s projector retrofit JDM Stanley clear headlights and JDM depo black headlights, OEM yellow and clear fogs, JDM bumper lights, ledglow underbody lights, wellvisor window visors, clear tail lights
Interior: NRG hub and quick release, woodgrain steering wheel, aftermarket shift boot and nob, mugen style pedals, interior led lighting, Kenwood double DIN, Kenwood speakers all around, 12” Rockford p300, rear roof mounted LCD monitor, 600 watt power inverter
Cool Down
Dream Build: There really are only two other cars that I would want to build. That is a 6th gen JDM accord wagon and an 8th gen accord wagon/tsx wagon.
Which celebrity you would help with a flat tire? I’m not big into celebrities, so I’d probably help them anyways not even realizing or knowing who they are.
Which celebrity you do not help and continue driving? Same for the first question honestly, lol.
Celebrity Crush: none
Favorite TV show of all time: do cartoons count?
Favorite Song: I’m a trance guy so it’s hard to choose but definitely the older late 90s/early 2000s tracks
Favorite Youtube Channel: Automotive Anatomy? I’m not on Youtube much unless I’m there to steal music honestly, lol.
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