This is a rare find - a 1981 Honda Prelude with no rust that has traveled less than 71000 miles!  In 1981 all Hondas in North America were sold on a waiting list. This car was manufactured in June of 1981 and pre-sold to a couple in Alberta Canada. They traveled to the Victoria Honda Car Centre in Victoria, British Columbia August 6 1981 to pick it up. They took it on a trip to Montana to break it in. Fortunately for the car it only spent less than two years in Canada when its owners moved south of Tucson Arizona where the car has been ever since. 

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This car is from the era where Burgess Meredith did the voice overs on the Commercials that ended with "Honda . . . We Make It Simple". 

It is incredibly simple to work on -  everything is right there. Fortunately this is the EL 1.6 liter engine which did not have the complicated box of vacuum hoses on the engine firewall like the U. S. model did. Like all Hondas of that era it is a carburetor and a manual choke. If you pull out the choke all the way, push it in one click, it starts immediately. If you let it warm up a minute, push in the choke, it runs incredibly well. Hard to believe it's a 33 year old car. It is so quiet at idle you are tempted to try and restart it, thinking that you've killed the engine. 

The dash looks as close to new as possible, no cracks, yes I repeat no cracks since this car spent most of its time in the garage. When it had to be outside there was a reflective sunshield in the windshield. Obviously being outside any of the days in the Arizona sun is not great for a car, but still the paint can be buffed to a shine. It does have some door dings, nicks and scratches on it - it's a 33 year old dark colored car. Some of these could be buffed out. The trim is all there but it shows signs of wear. Here's going to be the toughest decision for the new owner: (1) whether to just leave it alone and drive it. (People stop and ask you what it is or some stop and comment about how they remember when the car first came out or how they used to own one.) or (2) restore it into a show car. If you ever were to restore a car, the only sane way to do it is to start with the best example possible. This is one of the best around. The clock still works and keeps perfect time.


The Original Speedometer works just fine but it is in kilometers. It shows 114,134 kilometers, which equals 70,763 miles. Below you'll see documentation showing that these are actual kilometers. I recently found a speedometer cluster with miles. I put it in the car this morning for the pictures, obviously the miles are too high for this car. But both will come with the car, your choice in which you prefer.

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It comes with the original owners manual, warranty book, embossed Honda card and both of the original Honda keys (after 33 years!).

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I have records for the car since 1998. There could be a few invoices missing, but as meticulous as this person was, I doubt it. I drove it back from AZ to Texas without a problem and my best tank was over 38 mpg.  The car appears to have its original spare and jack. The tool kit is complete.


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Even some of the clear plastic which covered the labels on the coin box and the door lock are still present which you can peel off if you'd like. 
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Accessories were available for first generation Preludes, which were built from 1979-1982. But the best looking accessory was the Alloy Wheels. This car has them. Cooper Tires, correct size are in excellent condition.
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The car is 33 years old and definitely not perfect. It runs like a top, but there are some nicks, scratches, etc. The upholstery needs to be replaced. But all in all it's one of the nicest, unmolested first Generation Honda Preludes in existence. The Auction starts at $1981.