Last weekend I made what I hope to be a fantastic investment, but I'd like to fill in some backstory first.
I bought a huge turd earlier this year, it was a absolute wreck. A 1997 Civic HX with near 290,000 miles, but it was super cheap and I was driving a Miata with track suspension and no AC.
It needed everything. Timing belt, every oil seal, clutch, brakes, window regulator, it had a cracked exhaust manifold, body damage, rust, trim falling off, countless leaks and rattles. (It was really cheap) But I have a lot of experience with this car. My brother has had one for 5 years or so and he has put about 150,000 miles on it at this point, for a total count of 300,000 miles on that vehicle. No problems for him, and no problems for the rest of the fleet of these cars made up of our friends. My brother is in his late 20's and I am in my early 20's. Us and all of our friends are at that point in our lives when jobs and girls and educations are pulling us in all different directions all over the country. This turd I bought from one of our friends had two cross country trips to Seattle, WA under it's belt. Between the 6 of us we might have 600,000 miles of experience with this specific variant, the EK Civic HX. I figured I could save this one given our experience.
I was wrong, at least for now. I have been working 30-40 hours per week as an engineering technician for a blue chip company, meanwhile trying to finish my bachelors degree in engineering. I have had truly no time to dedicate to restoring a car. I did the timing belt, a few gaskets, the window regulator, and then said screw it. I was drowning, but I had confidence the car would keep running despite my abuse. It did, and it still runs, but I have been summoned to Iowa next summer for a special project. I need to move halfway across the country for 3-6 months, and I won't be living the city life, so I will absolutely need a car. A cleaner, better maintained, newer HX was what I needed, and that's exactly what I found.
This one has 120,000 miles, and by the looks of it, has been meticulously maintained. The owner was an older lady, and it was maintained by her son who is an automotive technician (supposedly). Thus, I don't have maintenance receipts, but there are some bread crumbs suggesting decent care.
The engine bay is fairly clean. Fresh battery, clean brake and clutch fluid, clean air filter (Honda OEM), oil filter is also Honda OEM, dark green Honda Type I coolant.
I don't know why it has a strut tower brace, but it does.
One of the fender's VIN does not match, but the headlights, front bumper, and hood are all original, and there is no bent metal to be found, so I think whatever happened was minor.
Some of the wiring and sleeving going to various sensors looks curiously clean. It was either washed very well or replaced recently.
The AC works and the hoses look brand new, perhaps it has been worked on recently.
Things get a little ugly here, the bolt securing the timing belt tensioner is not factory, but these are very prone to ringing off so it is understandable.
Whoever did the timing belt did not replace this top cover correctly so the dipstick rattles a bit.
It looks like someone tried to close the hood with the hood prop still in place. This is fairly common.
The interior is really clean. Factory floor mats!
Really oldschool aftermarket radio
Every gauge and all of the lights work great, even the HVAC lights are still nice and bright.
Ignore my breakdown and survival kit, it has trunk carpet and trim! I've never owned a car that didn't have a gutted trunk until now.
These wheels are not plastidipped, they are beautifully powder coated. This protects them from that brown blotchy look that so many of these wheels succumb to over the years.
It also has fairly new Michelins, another sign of decent care.
Here it is in front of the old 1997, now a parts car.
I don't really have any special plans for this car other than good maintenance and a few mpg mods.
I'll probably replace the old head unit, then maybe design some sort of data logging system to track gas mileage.
I'd like to learn about aerodynamics. We have been building a splitter, undertray, and wing for the chump car lately and I find that field very fascinating. I might see if some sort of partial under tray and DIY adjustable cooling inlets are possible (for mpg, not speed). I know those things have been done before, but I want to keep it looking stock, and completely reversible.
I'm super happy to have a respectably clean car for once.
Originally Posted by tsingson
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