I recently picked up a 1985 Honda Accord LX from my neighbors for free to use for a daily driver/winter beater. It is in pretty decent shape, new floors, brakes, clutch, all power options work, AC, cruise, engine runs well and the tranny shifts smoothly. However, I've driven it for a few hundred miles and I noticed a few things:

The power steering, although recently replaced, only works when the car is moving and only really seems to work in one direction when stopped.

With the AC on, the car seems to have a hesitation, almost like it is missing under heavy loads or acceleration. It also seems to run pretty warm, the temp needle gets around 3/4 of the way up the gauge - is this normal?

Since I've been driving the car I've noticed that there are a lot of other Accords on the road that look a lot like mine, but with either flip up headlights or other subtle differences, do any parts interchange between these cars and mine or do they just look the same?

I plan on keeping the car mostly stock, but I wouldn't mind getting a few more ponies out of the motor. I guess the aftermarket for the 1.8 carb'd motor is pretty limited. Are there any tips/tricks for getting the most out of it? Any info is appreciated. Here is a pic of the beast:

 

i dont know about the power steering but my 93 civic did alomst the same thing. when ever i put the a/c on, the steering wheel would shake like a mother f**ker but the motor wouldnt hesitate. and the needle must stay at the same point, just underneath the 1/2 point. you also may need Free-on. It sounds like your A/c needs to be charged. you may wana check the thermostat and possibly the radiator could be clogged. and for those flip up lights, yopu prob been seeing an 86-89 accord.

manual 98 accord ex

 

that is by far one of the cleanest O.G. accords i have seen in quite some time. take care of it and it should run forever.