winter shed £100 civic
Discussion
This is my second venture into winter shedding, one which I didnt actually plan on doing this year as I had convinced myself that all the hours I spent last year underneath my mx5 painting and undersealing should see my wee pride and joy make it safely through the next few salty months without much problem. Then someone at work 'knew a guy' who was getting rid of a car and only wanted what he could get from the scrappies for it but felt it was too good to be scrapped with 7 months MOT still on it.
After having a quick poke about here and there and a cheeky drive round the block, I convinced myself that buying a car with an odometer that begins with a 2 was not scary and handed over the hundred quid he was wanting for it. Driving off instantly remembering all the smart questions I was going to ask him regarding servicing, timing belt etc...
Being an 18 year old, 100 pound car it needed a couple of things done so that it can safely get me through the next few months and few thousand miles. So this was an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the fact I go to an engineering college that has trainee mechanics eager to work on different cars so as to gain more experience.
After having a quick word with one of the lecturers the 'purple passion wagon' was soon up on the ramps getting new front discs and pads and brake light bulbs. Total cost: 75 quid and a £3.99 jar of Kenco's finest smooth blend - they legally cant charge for labour. Whilst it was in they adjusted the handbrake and bled the whole brake system too. They also noticed that the car had its timing belt done only 25k ago as it was written on the front suspension strut under a thick layer of dirt. Happy days!
I've not even done a 100 miles in it yet but I'm already enjoying the quiet refinement of a car with a standard exhaust and suspension, I can actually enjoy listening to the radio for once and potholes have been reduced from an earthquake like experiencing to a slight bump. Now wondering why i ever spent so much money on coilovers and a silly exhaust. I'm even starting to like the colour!
I also must commend Honda for their engineering prowess as the car still drives straight and the clutch and gear box feel less worn than my mx5's - although that may have something to do with the life this civic has had cruising along motorways as a sales rep's car compared with the mx5's, presumably, many years of B road hooning. My only complaints are that the speedo is a bit intermittent in its ability to indicate speed and that I'm not used to having to park such a long car.
Plans for the future are to try and treat the rust and hopefully punt it on in the spring so that someone else can get a few more miles out of it.
The car it will be replacing for the next few months in the background
Never had a car key that looks like a house key before! (also a bit of an excuse to show off my keyring ha)
Quite spacious in the boot
Obligatory odometer shot
After having a quick poke about here and there and a cheeky drive round the block, I convinced myself that buying a car with an odometer that begins with a 2 was not scary and handed over the hundred quid he was wanting for it. Driving off instantly remembering all the smart questions I was going to ask him regarding servicing, timing belt etc...
Being an 18 year old, 100 pound car it needed a couple of things done so that it can safely get me through the next few months and few thousand miles. So this was an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the fact I go to an engineering college that has trainee mechanics eager to work on different cars so as to gain more experience.
After having a quick word with one of the lecturers the 'purple passion wagon' was soon up on the ramps getting new front discs and pads and brake light bulbs. Total cost: 75 quid and a £3.99 jar of Kenco's finest smooth blend - they legally cant charge for labour. Whilst it was in they adjusted the handbrake and bled the whole brake system too. They also noticed that the car had its timing belt done only 25k ago as it was written on the front suspension strut under a thick layer of dirt. Happy days!
I've not even done a 100 miles in it yet but I'm already enjoying the quiet refinement of a car with a standard exhaust and suspension, I can actually enjoy listening to the radio for once and potholes have been reduced from an earthquake like experiencing to a slight bump. Now wondering why i ever spent so much money on coilovers and a silly exhaust. I'm even starting to like the colour!
I also must commend Honda for their engineering prowess as the car still drives straight and the clutch and gear box feel less worn than my mx5's - although that may have something to do with the life this civic has had cruising along motorways as a sales rep's car compared with the mx5's, presumably, many years of B road hooning. My only complaints are that the speedo is a bit intermittent in its ability to indicate speed and that I'm not used to having to park such a long car.
Plans for the future are to try and treat the rust and hopefully punt it on in the spring so that someone else can get a few more miles out of it.
The car it will be replacing for the next few months in the background
Never had a car key that looks like a house key before! (also a bit of an excuse to show off my keyring ha)
Quite spacious in the boot
Obligatory odometer shot
GBTurbo said:
£100 bargain!
Doesn't this have the d15 sohc with vtec? I know the later variants do, ek3 96-00 shape etc because Ive got one!
Looks great, got to love old hondas
You may well be right man. I'm not that clued up on civic's but yeah I've been told it's a SOHC. It's not the lsi so I just presumed it didn't have vtec. Although according to ultimatespecs.com I have the dxi which has the same engine as the lsi?! Doesn't this have the d15 sohc with vtec? I know the later variants do, ek3 96-00 shape etc because Ive got one!
Looks great, got to love old hondas
I didn't even know there was a dxi! Take it out for a drive the vtec changeover is about 5/5.5k I think. There's not really a noticeable change in power it sounds a bit different and the revs go up a bit quicker and that's it!
It's not very aggressive at all, makes a nice noise though.
If you dont mind a bit of spannering, have a look around the owners forums you should be able to download a workshop manual pretty easily.
It's not very aggressive at all, makes a nice noise though.
If you dont mind a bit of spannering, have a look around the owners forums you should be able to download a workshop manual pretty easily.
GBTurbo said:
I didn't even know there was a dxi! Take it out for a drive the vtec changeover is about 5/5.5k I think. There's not really a noticeable change in power it sounds a bit different and the revs go up a bit quicker and that's it!
It's not very aggressive at all, makes a nice noise though.
If you dont mind a bit of spannering, have a look around the owners forums you should be able to download a workshop manual pretty easily.
Yeah that was another reason why I didn't think I had vtec as the first thing I did when I got it was redline it in second and didn't notice anything. Guess I was expecting it to feel like a small turbo coming on boost haha. It's not very aggressive at all, makes a nice noise though.
If you dont mind a bit of spannering, have a look around the owners forums you should be able to download a workshop manual pretty easily.
Speaking of noise, I think I might drill the airbox for some giggles...
Tbh I don't want to have to break out the spanners with this car as I'm hoping to poly bush the mx5 which I can't imagine is goin to be easy or enjoyable. The joys of old car ownership eh!
Don't drill the airbox - you'll only annoy yourself. Give the car a clean, look after it and drive it for a year and then flog it in the local paper for £500. Good honest cars with MOT are rare post scrappage and your Honda looks fairly tidy.
If you think I'm overestimating with £500, try buying your daughter a runner of a small car for under £1k - the scrappage scheme seems to have taken away all of the old gems
If you think I'm overestimating with £500, try buying your daughter a runner of a small car for under £1k - the scrappage scheme seems to have taken away all of the old gems
Edited by 0a on Saturday 27th October 16:56
0a said:
Don't drill the airbox - you'll only annoy yourself. Give the car a clean, look after it and drive it for a year and then flog it in the local paper for £500. Good honest cars with MOT are rare post scrappage and your Honda looks fairly tidy.
If you think I'm overestimating with £500, try buying your daughter a runner of a small car for under £1k - the scrappage scheme seems to have taken away all of the old gems
To be honest I really dont think I could get 500 quid for it. I've since discovered the speedo is intermittent in working. Also the rear arches are quite corroded. The service history is quite ropey for the last few years too. If you think I'm overestimating with £500, try buying your daughter a runner of a small car for under £1k - the scrappage scheme seems to have taken away all of the old gems
Edited by 0a on Saturday 27th October 16:56
Surely a drilled airbox will only be louder than a standard one under wot though?
GBTurbo said:
This man above speak sense. Keep it tidy and punt it on after winter. You'll see £500 easily.
Don't get a massive bean can exhaust either. When I swapped my standard exhaust back onto an old civic I had it was so much nicer to drive.
Enjoy it, utter bargain.
Yeah I do plan on keeping it tidy and I'm not going to do anything to it as all my spare cash will be going into the mx5. Plus I'm quite enjoying having a quiet car as the mx5 has a stainless steel system with a decat and its a bit on the intrusive side. I can also presume a completely standard civic of that age is quite rare these days too! Don't get a massive bean can exhaust either. When I swapped my standard exhaust back onto an old civic I had it was so much nicer to drive.
Enjoy it, utter bargain.
Ok so, despite performing flawlessly since I bought it, the civic rather reluctantly started this morning. It fired up like normal (cold engine) then immediately died. It then only started after a good five seconds on the started motor and ran like s
t for about five seconds before settling into a normal and smooth idle. There was a slight bit of smoke from the exhaust when it was running rubbish.
Anyone who's clued up on Civics want to have a guess at what it potentially could be? Its ran and started fine since but my confidence has all but gone!
t for about five seconds before settling into a normal and smooth idle. There was a slight bit of smoke from the exhaust when it was running rubbish. Anyone who's clued up on Civics want to have a guess at what it potentially could be? Its ran and started fine since but my confidence has all but gone!
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