Honda Seats in My Skyhawk

[ks_skyhawk]

*This originally was posted on the V8 Buick site. I apologize for the redundancy. I know that you know, because most of us do know, what we collectively know about what's known. If there's something I don't but should know I go to Clyde because he....well....because he knows.

On or about 8-25-25, my shiny little Skyhawk will be the proud home for two each bucket seats out of a 2022 Accord. According to the previous owner, he purchased a wrecked vehicle for the engine and PCM to put into a Porsche and sold what he could from the rest. Beyond his basic ( Porsche ) problem, he said those seats were two PITAs stacked on top of his already expanding list of knowns. I am in total agreement with him on the PITA part! The driver seat is 6-way power plus lumbar. I've had 3 back surgeries I want some relief. That comes after the headaches I've encountered.

The window side portion of each of the seat back cushions are a bit too wide to fit. Those sections occupy the same real estate already used by the door panels and arm rests. SOMETHING had to give. After some head scratching, and after removing the seat cover, each air bag, along with taking out a few slices of foam here and there was the plan. Once the foam was out of the way almost to the metal frame and the base of each seat then straight up ....then a 90 degree cut back outward to a suitable point above the armrest location was the make room process. After which the upholstery could then be sucked in, then tucked up and inward and finished off by fastening the fabric to the metal frame under where the foam was removed.. What's visualized : From the top of the seat follow the stitching downward to he point across from the armrest then 90 degrees inward to the seat frame. It took about 90 minutes on the first seat. It’ll probably about be the same on the second. Those seats look good, feel nice, and fit like socks on a duck. Yes. IMO, it truly IS fine: Fine as a surgeon's tummy tuck in the area near your other half's belt line. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it…. I mean about my seats.

That GM HBody grouping included all years of the Vega in the 1970s. And from 1975 to 1980 the Monzas, Starfires, Sunbirds, and best of all, the Buick Skyhawks, were GMs’s attempt to make ammends for putting the screws to Vega owners who suffered through the abomination that was their 140 cubic ininch 4 cylinder engine. At the time they were GMs compact offerings of front engine, rear drive vehicles. My wife and I had a Skyhawk early in our 51 years of married bliss.
( WHEW!!.... That was close. Because she and her 9mm have left the room. She’s no longer looking over my shoulder proof reading as I write. )

Back in those early days of marriage, every time I peeked under the hood, visions of sugar plum fairies danced in my head. Fast forward a few decades. The sweet nectar of those thoughts and ideas have become reality. Once lifting the lid on the Skuhawk, one’s eyes take in the vision of a Buick 350 cubic inch V8 power plant that appears to be a natural and comfortable fit. At last there’s order in the universe….. because…. , from front to back, the vehicle is ALL Buick! That Buick engine sitting in there is likely a bridge too far for 99% of the guys who take on these swaps. Nowadays, popping the hood of almost every HBody survivor that remains and has had an engine swap surely discovers it’s Déjà vu all over again. There’s practically nothing but SBC engines out there to be seen in them. At one time, almost every part for the swap were available somewhere and even some complete kits for use with a Small Block Chevy were so common, it seemed like they were everywhere. Once I heard rumors that 7-11 Stores were going to stock SBC kits next to their big sellers like Slurpie Machines.

Really.?!

I believe the steering wheel of a Buick should deliver that feel of power to your fingertips, AND a healthy helping of torque at the tickle of your toe.

The next thing for the Skyhawk is a cowl induction hood from Unlimited Products just placed on order this week. I included the piece that fitted to my engine and attached to the underside of the hood. It fits directly over the base of the air cleaner and sealed by a foam boot. As it is now, there’s only 2” from the top of the carburetor to the underside of the stock hood. Now I can finally have a carb spacer.

This fall the heads and intake are being put on the bench. The TA intake is going to get some love and also a bit of a diet. The heads: I’ve done a smattering of it on small engines forever . My 1972 CB750 got the port job. I burnt out 2 electric drills and clogged up I don’t know how many burrs from grinding away on the aluminum head. I remember the motor had a new and fatter kind of intake sound. It did offer up some benefit from all that work. I can only guess what it would have been like if I knew what I was doing. I’m retired now and have spent a lifetime learning and doing. My shop has a spot for the aluminum and cast iron dust. I been collecting the proper tools and have a proper source of light and a vacuum system to help mu lungs survive the ordeal. Best of all is the hard work done before me, and the information available by people who DO know what they’re doing. I’ve been a student of media experts, YouTubers , magazine articles, and writers. I’ve found they all generally agree on much of the science and share thoughts about technique, and they often agree on a lot of what’s considered to be a proper way to go about it. I’ve ordered David Vizard’s Head Porting Book and will be diving into it as well.