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Honda guys help me out here - 90/91 Civic Hatch Questions


spankis

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A friend of my parents has a 90 or 91 civic hatchback, which they bought new and have used to commute between Arlington and OSU for work for the last 22 years. I told them several years ago that if they ever get rid of it I may be interested. They contacted my mom last night saying the car needs a "$1000 repair" and that they are going to sell it, so I'm waiting for the rest of the info....

 

- Paint is Red (not yet sure on condition, but used to be nice)

- Manual Trans

- 87k miles :)

- Thing was maintained religiously, per the Owner's Manual

 

Not sure on whether it's a DX/LX/EX, but I know it's not an SI. Obviously this will tell me what motor/trans it has. I had my mother find out what repair it needs, how much rust if any it has, and how much they're asking for it.

 

What problem areas should I look for, and about how much would be reasonable to offer them (they're not enthusiasts, just an older couple). Depending on what the car needs it could become a little mileage machine for me, or something to swap cheaply. Any insight on common/easy swaps for these would be helpful too.

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I forget engine choices, but the '89 DX I had was the SOHC 1.5L and was very easy on parts and to work on.

 

As always, you gotta worry about the tin worm. My exhaust rusted off but the car only got marginally louder. Stereo speakers and cloth upholstery are crap-ola. Valve cover gasket will likely be a-leaking...

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I'll echo what others have said -- easy to work on, parts are dirt cheap and everywhere. There is no such thing as a $1000 repair if you're doing your own work.

 

Rust (and to a lesser extent, paint condition) is going to be the driving factor for the price. No rust, you're looking at something that could be worth 3-4 grand. Typical Honda quarter-panel rust and you're around 1500+. Rusted to shit and it's still an $800 car.

 

Replacement seats are also hard to find, so if they're beat, factor that into the price. If they're vinyl, they're going to be beat.

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Ef hatch came in 3 models Standard, Dx, and Si.

 

Standard is a 4 speed manual and swapping between DX and SI can be tricky.

 

Si is the only one that came mulitport both standard and DX are dual point fuel injection. Also Si is the D16A6 the others are D15's and all are non-vtec.

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Sounds like I'm going to go check out this car tomorrow or Sunday. I'm just waiting on a call back from the owner. Sounds like the car needs new CVs, a front brake job, a new radiator, and a valve cover gasket. She's only sent me one pic so far and from the side I can see the car is free of rust aside from a quarter size area on the rocker, just ahead of the rear wheel well...

 

We'll see. And Clay, I'll let you know bud ;).

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