Who Needs a Hybrid???

Bullcrap. The car is fun. Working on it is a PIA. Am I keeping my
'87 Si? Hell yes! ...unless I can find a '88-91 Si to replace it.

Thank you.

I do all the work on my Si because 1) I don't trust the scumsucking
dirtbags charging $70-100/hr, 2) I can. But, it *IS* a PIA! I'm a
big guy (ok, hefty) and getting to things in such a small car can be
difficult to say the least. Took me all day to replace the starter
and I lost 0.37lbs of hide and had to do the whole job by brail.
Hated every second of it.

Do I love my Si? OK, I'm selling my custom Ford Econoline van, my
seriously pumped Camero, my '68 BMW R60/2 project bike, and keeping only my HD
90" stroker and my Si. I'm saving the HD to trade for a '91 Si. Only
then will I give up my '87. Fun? Like Big Brother and the Holding
Company, it's Cheap Thrills!

nb

 

Yes, but it is convenient to move the wheel before proceeding. Otherwise,
you drive in the wrong direction for a few feet.

 

Thanks for the common sense reinforcement.

One of the things that I like about the '83 is that I can actually do
most of the work myself. BTW, the thing that I miss the most is a cup
holder that can accommodate the 24oz cup of coffee in the morning. But
a trip to the local FLAPS should cure that detraction.

I suppose that today's cars are somewhat safer but there still is no
substitute for alert and defensive driving practices. I don't baby my
baby... I constantly travel in the 60-75 mph range and the damned thing
handles so well, well, I'm just confident of accident avoidance. If
someone should plow into me at a traffic light etc. well, I guess my
time will just have come..

JT

 

A few feet??? Don'tcha mean a few inches??

Have we become so lazy, so intellectually lame and so incapable of
mustering a few ounces of strength to park a freakin' compact car?

I've long suspected that the human race quit evolving a decade or two
ago and is now in the process of devolving.

Your post sorta confirms these suspicions...

JT

 

With my 98 HX I regularly get 55 mpg, but the hybrid is not bunk
particularly not the
enigne which runs on the much more efficient Atkinson cycle.

 

Since I'm officially retired, the sixty hours or so that I spent making
one running car out of two rewarded me as to an increase of my knowledge
of older Hondas and how easy they *were* to work on. The car has
everything I want (with the exception of a proper cup holder to hold my
gigantic morning cup of coffee).

And I think that you'll agree that the engineering in the earlier Honda
cars was a good deal more elegant than those of later years.

"ACAR" is living the life of a sheeple amply brainwashed in "new is
good" vs. "old is bad."

BTW, I'm even toying with the idea of installing a points/condenser
distributor given the pricey cost of replacing an igniter. I often get
50K out of a set of points in my old Studebakers...

JT

 

Replacing a starter in a gen2 is less than an hour's work. Three bolts
as I recall...

Gen 2 and its prececessors are very simple machines. Things started
getting complicated in '84.

JT

 

Evidently. I think my '87 was only two bolts, but getting to 'em....

 

You bet I hear you. I am officially retired, so I now have
the time to savor the learning that goes with car projects.

The car has

I wish I had the experience to comment intelligently on
this. So I'll take your word for it.

That sounds like an interesting project. Igniters, including
design and compare contrast with points/condensers, have
been discussed at no small length here.

Of course, the notion that one can just pop in a new set of
points every 50k or so for, what, under $10, has a lot of
appeal to me. Cheap reliability. I have no idea when my
igniter is going to die next, though I do plan to watch the
tachometer jump (or whatever Tegger's site now says on
this), since this is said to be a tipoff, and I can kinda
follow the electronics schematics explaining why this
happens.

 

Uh, I don't think so. That would be 1333 pounds. My '74 Civic
supposedly weighed 1605 pounds and your '83 is a porker by comparison.
My guess is that your car weighs about 2150 pounds.

Compared to that '74 Civic, my '94 GS-R is about 800 pounds heavier,
about twice as fast to 60 mph, far more durable, much safer and much
more comfortable. And the biggest difference is probably the
handling. The only down side is (was) the initial cost (I bought it
used in '97 for $14K vs $2.5K for the new '74) and milage - 24 vs. 28.
Adjusted for inflation, the cost is about the same. Adjusted for
longevity, the Integra was a much better deal. And, if I could
restrain myself to drive the GS-R no more enthusiastically than was
possible in the Civic, I bet it would get better milage.

I would just be happy if they would sell more of their cars with
manual transmissions. Face reality, if people are willing to pay a
grand or two for AT, how are you going to convince them to abandon AC
and power door locks?

 

I haven't changed a starter in a couple of years but IIRC, the '83 had
two main bolts (one of which is partially blind) and a third bolt. But
the starter is in plain view. Honda starters are a pretty durable item
that should last well beyond a 100K prior to needing a rebuild.

As these cars get older, parts generally get cheaper as the dealers
close out their inventories to independents such as those who operate on
eBay. I've bought a couple extra starters (rebuilt) for less than $20.

JT

 

Just a few years prior to your beloved '83, Honda used to attach the
suspension directly to the front fenders/wheel wells; the wheel wells
would rot out allowing the struts to poke up thru the hood and the
engine to rest comfortably on the road.

Then there was the elegant Honda oil screen feature that caused more
than a few Honda engines to go TU due to oil starvation (piston rings
would shave cylinder walls).

There's lots more. Look it up.

The oldest car in my garage is only a few years younger than your '83.
It too is a cheap-to-keep shitbox. That I'd replace in a second if I
could buy a plug-in Prius today.

You think that '83 has tailpipe emissions similar to a new Fit?
Structurally, your '83 accordion isn't where I'd choose to put my
family. None of that bothers you, eh?

 

Hmmmmmm, I drove a '76 Civic to 160K with minor repairs until the body
rotted out...

My old cars range from 1931 through 1964.

Sometimes I wonder how I:

• Survived lead paint
• Survived a lot of years without seat belts
• Survived the era of no childproof prescription bottles
• Survived walking a 1/2 mile to and from a school bus stop

....and other factors too numerous to elaborate.

I suppose at some point, all vehicles will be the equivalent of M1 tanks
with like increases in weight and consumption of resources to build the
damned things. Hell, they are already being weight hogs.

I suppose at some point, we will all be injected with the "cure all"
mental tonics to ensure conformance with "upgraded" societal standards.

I suppose at some point, feeding will be automated as will be sleeping
and who know... Procreation too!

No thanks. I will continue to provide for myself based on independent
rational thought processes. Should disaster strike, my old points 'n
condenser vehicles will still run while your will be dead before departure.

You are a perfect example of, "Shouldn't the authorities be doing
something about the nut behind the wheel?" that is so lacking in today's
scheme of things... The ultimate devolving into a textbook sheeple.

JT

 

I recall 3/4 of Hondas of that era all had ruined paint right over the
battery, caused by the battery above dripping on them during shipment.

I also recall a lot of early valve jobs or cam failures, I don't remember
which.

Maybe 76 was right after that was fixed, but I don't recall the first Honda
sedans as being anything to be proud of from a reliability perspective.

 

You are correct. According to my Helms manual, my Si curb weight is
almost exactly 1 ton (2055lbs). I think I got that 2/3 ton number on
a hybrid/hotrod honda website. Perhaps they were talking about the body
alone, minus the powertrain. I can't even find the site anymore.

But, the fact remains, less weight means better milage. It's the
primary mechanism to increase gas mileage. Electric motors and added
wiring are big contributors to weight. Copper is heavy. AC is not so
heavy, it being mostly hollow tubing and vessels. Even the compressor
is powered off the engine. Plus Honda makes their AC systems very
close to optimal. The AC in my black Si is marginal at higher temps.
Over 110 deg F ambient, it's all but useless, and this being in
perfect working condition.

nb

 

I purchased my '76 from the original owner in 1982. It had over 80K
and I ran it to 160 K with only minor items such as brakes, one water
pump/timing belt and starter rebuild along with a used alternator. It
never failed EVER!

JT

 

Honda Fit weighs in at under 2450 lb., passes all current crash tests
and performs much better than your '83.

And the above are examples of your rational thought?

Have a nice day.

 

Which is 200 pounds MORE than my 92 Civic Si, which had more power...

 

And 400lbs more than my '87 Si. I remember reading the 4th and 5th
gen hatchbacks started putting on more and more weight, the only
exception being the high mileage vx models. These were prized by
racers for their light bodies (probably where I got that misleading
curb weight number). Did Si start adding power everything to Si's
later on? Mine is all elbow powered.

nb

 

That doesn't strike me as being particularly "optimal". But then again,
neither does living in 110-degree weather.