Georgeous

Hello RPR,

I was a member here for quite a while, but mostly inactive. I have registered on RPR when I lived in Eastern Europe and owned a third gen JDM wagon. Many years and Hondas have passed since then. Now I have moved to NJ and have recently bought a first gen CRX (I always had a soft spot for these). This is my seventh Honda vehicle, a spontaneous buy, but I just could not pass this opportunity challenge.

 

So here's what I have as the starting point:

- Red 1986 Honda Civic CRX with no title and 60k miles on the clock. Miles look original to me for many reasons. I will post pics later, I'd say most people will agree after seeing them.

- The original owner stopped driving it sometime before 91, as the registration sticker on the windshield is through 1991.

- The guy I bought it from had it sitting outside for several years and never actually went through the challenge of getting a title for it. He has bought it from the other guy, who is a sibling of the original owner, that ran the "estate sale" and could never find the title. I have such an experience in the past (receiving titles in NJ for the vehicle that was bought without one), which I will use again to get this sexy red vehicle on the road.

 

So, long story short, I got it for 400 bucks, loaded it on Uhaul tow dolly and took off. I tried to think ahead, so... while I had it on the dolly I drained old gas from the tank completely, filled the tank again with 3 gallons of fresh gas, rode around for some more, drained again and then filled up the full tank of fresh gas. I also towed the car to the carwash and vacuumed it and gave it a good wash, as it was all in tree sap and bird poop and God knows what.

 

Me and my friends tried starting it that night, but it would only start and run with carb cleaner sprayed into the carb. So, I went ahead and changed both gas filters (in the back end by the tank, and up front under the carb cover). The car now starts with the key, but still runs weird, smokes and has no idle (engine stops once you take the foot off the gas pedal). I did not run it too long for now, as my next idea is to replace the engine (and transmission oil) and then to try figure out the idle.

 

The car is not all-perfect, as few scuffs and dings here and there, front grill panel (between the headlights) is cracked badly and needs replacement - I was seeing pieces of it flying off the car as I was towing it... Technically, the front caliper is stuck, will take it apart and see if it can be rebuilt quickly with some cleaning and lube. Rear hatch shocks are dead, and the stock Honda radio is missing one button, but it's still hella cool.

 

The short-term plan is to rebuild it to a reliable daily driver while getting the title for it. Then I may think of some swap options and suspension tune-up. If the original engine will be running good, the best idea would probably be to swap it to manual transmission (Si one, if it fits) and bike carbs setup to make it a bit jolly, if I will not succeeed in making the original carbs great again  I also find cragar louvers and recessed headlights to be very sexy, but this more of a long term stuff, like the wheels, etc...

 

Here are a few quick snaps from the day I got it (with my daily accord sitting next to it):