Learn me: First gen CRX

I have a coworker who is leaving the military and is moving across the country. He has a 1986 CRX Si. He wants $1k for it. I've seen the car a couple of times and its in decent shape. The driver's side front fender has a crack in it. There are a few small dents but no rust that I can see. The interior is worn but all there. We picked up some good door cards from the JY last weekend. He has done a ton of work to it. Front suspension is new. New radiator and hoses.

The bad is that it needs a clutch as it slips if you drive it aggressively. He bought a clutch kit (pressure plate, clutch disk, throwout bearing and flywheel) but hasn't put it in yet. The kid he bought it from hacked some of the wiring up. The high beam function doesn't work. There is no A/C (not an A/C car). The shifter linkage is worn (seems to be the bitch pin). The owner was saying it could use a new timing belt and water pump. Oh, the car also has 400k miles on it. Yeah, I know haha.

That's about it. The biggest thing is I know nothing about Hondas. I've already bought Honda shop and electrical manuals from Ebay. I'm just going to use this thing as a spirited commuter. I'll (hopefully) resist swapping the EW4 out for a B16. I kinda want to "restore" it since it seems these are getting thin on the ground but 1st gen CRX parts are hard to find.

TL:DR
I'm thinking about buying an 80's hot hatch and I have no idea what I'm doing.

Halp!

he only wants 1k for it, buy it and worry about all of the problems later

My experience so far, needs update: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/life-with-a-1985-crx-si/89950/page1/

Like you said, first gen parts are thin on the ground although mechanical parts aren't too tough to find. Everything you need for that timing belt and water pump swap is probably on the shelf at your local NAPA. It's not a fast car, although the Si is entertaining and I really enjoy it. You will hear many stories from people who had one and it was wrecked, and they all loved it.

I'm seeing 33 mpg when commuting, and it runs on 85 octane.

At $1k, you can't really go wrong.

Keith said it well. I too had one. Slow by today's standards, nimble handling, prone to tail snapping out in turns. God help you in a crash, they are the definition of flimsy.

While $1k is tempting, 400k miles, needs a clutch, no AC, and hacked up wiring would greatly temper my interest.

Sounds like it's worth the purchase. You're correct that parts can be difficult to find, but that adds to the enjoyment when you do find the parts. Kinda like an adventure.

Love the restoration idea. I've said for a while that those generation Civic's and CRX's are becoming very rare to find. I think a restored one will probably never lose it's value. However, you mentioned a swap. While I understand the temptation, try to keep it stock. If you want to restore it, the swaps have been done to death. A stock engined one will always be more rare.

-Rob

I worked with a guy at Year One that did a pretty thorough engine build on his CRX Si. Ended up being a right fun little screamer that shocked the hell out of our muscle car driving coworkers.

For a grand, why the hell not.

Another (Ex)owner here...

Keep in mind that these things hide rust very well behind the plastic cladding. I wouldn't recommend trying to take said cladding off either to check as it tends to get really brittle with age and like so many parts for 1st gens is essentially unobtanium these days.

They're fun to drive, though.

I had an 87 Si during my college years and and my future SWMBO complained that it was too uncomfortable, too hot without A/C, loud, and uncivilized. I loved it - tight gearbox, razor-sharp steering, and an engine that loved to rev. It always made you feel like it was much faster than it really was.

Rust in the rockers, rear wheel arches, and suspension attachment points killed it.

I bought one about a decade ago on a whim for $250. It was dirty, ugly, and run-down...and still a ton of fun!

I had a devious plan to strip out the interior, upgrade the suspension, put it on 13x9s and make a cheap autocross sled out of it. I did all of that, but ultimately decided to move on to a Miata.

All of the feedback on the brittle plastic body panels is spot on. I was constantly on the hunt for header panels, fenders, etc.

So to update this thread...

This showed up in my driveway after work:

I drove it around on my lunch break. The seller refreshed almost every suspension component and most of the cooling system. It drove well except for the clutch pedal travel. Its very stiff and catches at nearly the top of travel but the seller assured me that it only slips when you get on it.

I gave him $900 for it. This is my first Honda after driving for 20 years. Hell, its my first FWD as well. Expect lots of stupid questions coming your way

Have you ever heard that song "You don't how you are?"

Looks berkeleying fantastic. Rare (and my favorite) color. I've owned a baker's dozen but only one white one, and it was a junkyard find that I only bought for the motor.

I'm trying to resist the temptation to write a bible on EW's here. redpepperracing.com has pretty much all you need to know.

I love these cars SO much, my brother and I are currenlty working on producing replacement/perfomance parts, but have both hit major speed-bumps due to our respective "day jobs" blowing up (in a good way) recently.

Having raced this cars for years, and considering you have a REALLY CLEAN example (if the pics do it justice,) I'd beg you to keep the stock motor in it...even if it doesn't remain stock. ;)

Regarding the clutch: Try adjusting the cable. We picked up our first challenge car for around $300 because the "clutch was gone."

I drove it 2-hours through atlanta traffic with no clutch (with my brother giving me the occassional "bump start" in his CRV)

Got it back to the house, adjusted the clutch cable, and we were hooning around town in no time.

I bought an 87 CRX Si back in 1993. It already had 101K miles on it and was a rebuilt wreck. Drove it to 240K miles when it had to be retired due to structural rust (Massachusetts car). I've owned a lot of fun stuff since then, but that CRX is still in my top-five of favorite cars owned. I had a lot of adventures in that car.

Well, I finally took the car for a longer drive than around the block. It drives pretty well. It does stumble and idle really low until it gets up to operating temp. The trans grinds when shifting into 3rd when giving it the beans. Its more of a crunch than a grind though. I couldn't really feel the clutch slipping but it didn't feel 100%. It was about 78-79° outside when I took it for a spin. By the time I got home it felt hot but the temp gauge didn't indicate an overheating condition. I didn't hear the fan run though. The exhaust has a terrible rattle but I think its chunks of rust in the muffler. Whoever replaced the exhaust built the whole back half of the exhaust and its all welded together. It appears to have a Flowmaster or a knockoff Flowmaster muffler. I'd like to replace the whole thing with an OEM style exhaust.

So far I have bought a Honda Factory Service Manual and an Electrical Troubleshooting Manual. Oh, and 4 OEM centercaps since they are missing.

I really wanna try and keep this thing as OEM as possible. I have a soft spot for 80s Japanese cars. Too many meet a sad fate at the hands of goobers.

Any tips for fixing the issues? I haven't messed with the clutch adjustment yet. How about the stumbling when cold?

Oh, and this showed up on my desk the day after I bought it:

Its the PO putting it through its paces at one of the local autocrosses. I guess the pic goes with the car LOL