BUYING A 41 Year Old HONDA CIVIC *Runs And Drives*
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- čas přidán 4. 11. 2021
- David has been restoring a white 1978 Honda Civic for quite awhile now and he found a driver to join the fleet and restore. This 41 year old Honda Civic 1200 was up in Kansas City and we jumped in his Honda Ridgeline to drag it home. The antique Civic roared right to life, we drove it on the trailer and headed back to Wichita. Then I got to drive the old school 2 speed Hondamatic transmission for the first time!
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#CheapCar #HondaCivic #Civic - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Back in the day, a bunch of my friends had beater civics they all drove around. It quickly became a game of “Bumper Snivics”. I as a passenger one day, and stoppe at a light, and we got a love-tap from behind. Senior citizen in the car next to us gasped an looked shocked. The look on her face when my driver put it into reverse an slammed him right back was… indescribable.
Great story. Got a good lol from it.
Me and my friend both had caprice classics that were pretty rough around the edges, and would push each other around in the parking lot. One of te best times of my life. And I had no idea
We did the same in the mid 80’s with VW Rabbits
@@RodThorell Lol. I was the odd one out, as I was the only one with a Rabbit. Swapped that for a Scirocco that I still have today. It might even run with a new fuel pump and relay. :)
Been there done that except out junkers were some busted up Isuzus and Geos. We would turbo swap them and blow them up all the time screwing around so it was a common sight to see one of us pushing anothers busted ride home one bumper tap at a time lol
Friend of mine's father had about five mid-seventies Civics that he kept running during the mid eighties. Fun little cars.
I think most owners seem to have several
Bring this one back when he combines the two. It's definitely worth another looksee.
Will do. I'll maybe even put updates on my own channel occasionally
My buddies parents had a 75 with the Hondamatic 2 speed automatic. Eventually they gave it to him and we installed a system in it with 2 10 inch woofers to the rear panels in the back under the windows and tweeters up front with a decent amp. It was like riding around in a koss headphones with awesome bass. It actually ran really smooth and had surprisingly good power for what it was. Cool little death trap that got great mpg.
I'd say it was less of a deathtrap than its contemporaries like the AMC Pacer or Ford Pinto.
Thanks for going along with me to get the car JR, maybe I'll be inclined to start uploading some Civic restoration content to my channel
That would be a hit I'd bet!
This comment should be pinned.
It's amazing how quickly Honda's evolved.
My wife had an 83 Civic hatch that appearance wise looked very similar to this one, but had a bigger engine with a 5 speed that could easily cruise the interstate.
Still probably wouldn't reach the optimism of the speedo, but could take us to college and back with no sweat.
The transmission makes a huge difference. I did a road trip in a 79 with a manual and it was able to keep up on the highway. Not fast, but livable.
I had an 82 hatchback 5-speed. GREAT car. Sadly, I ran him headfirst into a telephone pole at 35 mph. I walked away but the car was kaput.
I had the 83 with the 1500 with a stick and it would do 130mph all day long. I don't know if the 1300 will do that.
I had a 4-speed 1200cc Civic from 1975 that could maintain 90mph even uphill. Amazing vehicle. I miss it sometimes. Of course, it took about 20 seconds to reach 60mph and another 20 to reach 90. But that wasn't bad for a then-26-year-old car with a motorcycle engine and no overdrive.
In 1980 the car made a dramatic leap forward with electronic ignition and a bigger .. engine and of course the carburetion choke was automatic and not inside the cabin
That Civic is a year younger than me, and probably in better shape! Can't wait to see what you are able to do with this. Nice to see some less than desirable cars being cared for because that's history some of us want!
Same here. 78. Back when I was about 19 my friend had picked up a 1978 Civic just like this one, same color too but it was a manual. He showed up one day when I was working at a car dealership as a car Detailer I walked out of my bay and the racket the engine was making I said turn it off, turn it off!. Checked the oil and there was nothing on dipstick.... I went into the shop and pumped some oil into a jug and went and topped it off. Took probably 3.5 litres. It was quite a bit quieter on startup but I told him the damage might already be done. Sure enough, 10 minutes later he was back.... on foot. He made it about 700 feet from the dealership and it had thrown a rod. Ended up scrapping the car. Was a shame because it was in great shape otherwise. I still to this day don't understand why he wouldn't have checked the oil when he went and looked at it to purchase, as part of the typical once over you give a potential purchase to determine what state the vehicle is in. Or at least check everything before you start driving it around. Stupidest way to ruin an engine in my opinion and so easy to prevent.
I had one of those in white with a 4-speed stick when I was a teen. My sister passed it to me. it was truly a fun car that almost didn't need any gas and it took a beating 'cause I was a teen. I miss it a lot.
Definitely amazing on gas! I had a five speed, a lot of fun to drive as a teenager
I had a white 79 4-speed that took a lot of abuse and kept on trucking
My step dad had one in the early 80's. He hit a kangaroo and it came through the windshield and wrote the car off from the inside. It smashed every window, dented every panel and then just climbed out the hatch and bounced off.
That story and the video of the guy punching the kangaroo are just about the most Australian things in the world.
Neat old car! I used to drive an ‘82 Honda Prelude some 30 years ago. Kinda wish I still had that car. It was a sweet ride in high school and college. 🇺🇸🚜👍
In their day, the 79 manual trans Civic and Accord got killer gas mileage, which was important during our 2nd gas crisis. Hondas and VW Rabbits were selling like hot cakes. We even had inflation back then, just like today.
No need for any trips to 'Mexico' for this car.
@Jim jibroni #FJB
My girlfriend in high school had one and would get near 50 mpg. There were so many around, you had to make sure you got in the right one in the parking lot!!
So hard n the Ridgeline! I’m on my second one and I thing it’s the best designed and built truck for 95% of what anyone needs a truck to do. Got 50% of my origami purchase price back on trade, 8 years and 120k miles later!
Nostalgia for 2 gear manually shifted auto, needing to do points and always knowing we were going to die if ANYTHING hit us... I would buy that today! ...goood scary times
In the early 90's I had a one similar to this, but thank god with a 4-speed. It was fun to drive and I would swear the interior was some sort of TARDIS like alternate dimension because it was so spacious. It might be an urban legend, but I think the trans in this is functionally the same as the one in the CB750 Hondamatic.
I had one too around the same time. It was fun to get to 70mph in 3rd gear.
I live in Central California and there is a renaissance of these little cars here. Mid-70s Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Datsun cars are creeping out of the baseboards in the dry months. A buddy of mine has a ‘75 Datsun 510 wagon that is an absolute showstopper.
I had a Ridgeline and loved it! Plenty of truck for most people and you get Honda reliability with it.
This was my first car in 1995. Baby blue, but 4 speed manual. 1200CCs of pure awesomeness. Drove across country in one in the middle of summer, no AC. Good memories.
Ahh... the memories. In 1979 we had a white ‘78 civic with blue vinyl interior. 4 spd. No options. We would travel on vacation from NC to FL. My sister and I were small enough that we would sleep back to back on the folded down rear seat back wedged against out suit cases in the trunk area...and with 2 dogs curled up asleep in the rear floor boards. As a parent I can’t imagine doing that, but that’s how it was back in the day. We once did the same trip crammed into a Porsche 924! My parents were insane.
I'm a Honda and bmw guy..I cry inside with joy when I see the original civics
A friend had a '78 Civic 1200 that he put a quarter of a million miles on before he replaced it (with another Civic).
Crazy... I just picked up a 1981 Honda Civic wagon. Neat little cars - It's great to see their day arriving for collectability!
My dad had one of those in the mid 80s. It was black and absolutely perfect, as if it had just left the showroom.
This could be a good money-pit project. You already in have the K-motor experience. Make it magical!
That was my 1st car... way back in 87, had a 77 Civic, w/the Hondamatic. Don't knock it too much, back then I pegged the speedo on mine. Not for long, but it did better than a 100mph on the CT highway I was on. Tore a piston rod on that. Also learned the value of the Oil light. Replaced the cylinder head on that and got a higher compression to boot. Also did the impossible and buckled the wheel bearing. Impossible because at the time the wheel bearing was warrantied for life. Good times, and step dad was Honda mechanic so all of it was a side bit of fun for him. And compared to today, soooo easy to work on.
Takes me back!!! Had a '73 [!!] Civic with a 4-speed. It ran really good, could smoke it's tire off the line, no sweat! Front fenders were rotted on the tops; bought NEW fenders but had to cut them off because rot on bolts. No problem!! WELDED the new ones on!! Painted it dark silver. First car I ever painted, came out pretty nice. I drove the WHEELS off that thing!!! We get a lot of snow in Chicago from time to time; I took great delight in parking it ON TOP of snow piles left from plowing. But this thing HATED to start in the cold. No problem! One-legged push off the snow, she's rolling down the snowpile, choke full on, dump the clutch in second....popped off every time!!! I really miss that car, so much FUN!!!
We had a few of those little Hondas , great cars they were. Our 78 was a 1200 5 speed with gauge package. Moms 75 was a 1500 hondamatic. I got it up to 100 on the freeway but it took awhile! LOL
I LOVE that car! You NEED to do a restoration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hondamatic, no need to use low unless you need to accelerate quickly. They had a brilliant torque converter that made up for the lack of gears and automatic shifting.
People who had those cars in the 70s loved them. One has to remember the speed limit was max. 55 over all states so this transmission actually did a great job.
I wonder if you could replace the cv axles with a couple small planetary overdrive units to increase the top speed, while still keeping the car relatively original.
@@JuiceSpringsteen88 perhaps, I think it's possible to fit the 3 speed Hondamatic (had L * OD) from the next shape Civic or an accord to one of those.
We have now become used to cars where engine noise is not the loudest noise at speed.
@@andrewthompsonuk1 Thank you Andrew ! I was wondering if someone would mention that MANY of the HOndamatics are actually 3 speed, but they are just not labelled in a traditional manner. Watching this video, no label was clearly visible, not sure if it's just the camera never got a steady focussed view, or if the upper decorative label was faded or missing. Yes people should be aware that a Hondamatic gearshifter may be labeled "L" (low or first gear) : * (Star, which is second gear and used for inner city driving) : and "OD" (for overdrive, equivalent to the highest gear other auto or manual cars have). So yes when exceeding 44mph or 70 kmh on a flat road definitely put it into "OD". Was this particular Honda Civic one WITH or WITHOUT the "OD" third automatic gear ? That would certainly reduce engine revs at open road highway speeds.
@@KiwiCatherineJemma as far as I remember the OD was never on the Mk1 Civic? I think it was a MK2 feature. I was impressed by the fact you could still start off from rest on the steepest Wellington streets in * in the Mk2. Not that you were supposed to. The Hondamatic was almost a household name in New Zealand in the 80s. Despite the not self shifting I still liked driving them.
Had one of these in the late '90s. First car I owned that started up when I wanted it to instead of when it felt like it. Made me a life long Japanese car fan. It never broke either, just succumbed to rust as most Hondas do.
I had one of these and a 79' prelude. So much fun!!! Perks of working at a honda dealer as my first job in the late 90's. First car was also a EF civic.
For My youngest daughter's first car we bought her a used 79 Civic, same color. No CATconverter because the CVCC engine met emissions standards 15 years ahead of time. Incredible fuel economy with her standard trans.
Finally, you got a great little car, or David did any way. I had a white 78 and loved it. Even drove it 125 miles when I sold it with almost no hiccups (just needed a bit of oil and antifreeze). Love these old Hondas! I have a brown '82 Civic that's my baby now.
I love how JR always buys the most clapped out pile, and is like “maaan this things sweeeet” lmao
Lol that's not clapped out
And JR didn’t buy it
I love it! my first car was a 78 5 speed purchased in 1990!!! I could reach out the passenger side window to extend the antenna from the drivers seat while going down the road!
I can't believe Uhaul actually rented him a trailer; around here they won't even talk to you unless you are towing with a 3/4 ton, no matter how small the car being hauled may be.
I had a 1976 CVCC Civic 4 speed manual. Loved that little car. Wish I could find one it would be a blast to drive again
Brings back memories! I had a pretty orange one with Recaro seats back in the early 80's. I traded it for a Kawasaki 750 motorcycle. They were both great vehicles. IIRC the struts in mine worked.
I passed my drivers license in a 74 Honda with that type of car. Thanks for showing and brining back some teenage memories.
Brings back memories. I remember seeing these on the road all the time in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, then I guess they rusted away and got scrapped, being looked up as disposable cars. I got a beater 2 door hatchback 1983 Civic around 1996, so the second generation, but similar, and even then, it was a rarity on the roads. Nice to see a few of them are still left, hope this one gets restored to its former glory.
I had 5 of these cars. 78’s and 77’s. Automatic and 4 speeds. They were so much fun and cheap. Like $50. I got an engine from a late 80’ accord eventually. It was a ripper. Super quick. I could smoke crx‘s and newer civics all day long. I miss those cars.
I bought a new 1978 Honda Civic hatchback. It had a manual transmission and it was an excellent car. It came with nylon tires, so I quickly had them replaced with Michelin tires. It was comfortable and extremely reliable.
In 1972 Honda added the Coupe to it's car line in America. Within a few months I bought one in Monterey, CA. It was a 600cc, air cooled, 2 cylinder. It had a 4-speed trans and 10" wheels. It would run 60 mph all day long unless you got into some real hills. I drove it all over California about San Francisco south. Went to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks in it. Brought it home to Alabama when I got out of the Army in 1974 and after about a year sold it. I have been kicking myself ever since. It was a great little car. I would love to get one and put it back into like new condition. The only time I see them anymore is when someone had restored one. The two colors you usually see are the orange and yellow. Both colors make for an easily seen car, even one that you look at the door handles of an old style VW bug when you are sitting in the driver's seat. If you ever get a chance to get one to work on - do it. It would be fun to watch you do a restoration on one.
I went to school with a guy 6'4" 275 lbs who drove one between MD and UVA, he loved it. He didn't sit into it he wore it!!
JR
That's my dream car!! No joke.
Also like you using the Ridgeline to pull it. Thanks for the great videos.
Love these little Hondas! My first car was a 1977 Civic white with tan interior this one brought back some memories.
I had a high-school buddy who drove a 1978 Honda. That Hondamatic transmission baffled him. I remember that it seemed to run forever on 5 gallons of gas!
This sooooooooooooooooooo awesome! Back in the day, two of my good friends had these Civics and they were so much fun!!!!
My dad was a Honda mechanic until he retired recently. I grew up around these and not going to lie..I kind of want one now
HEY, Show Love for the 2007 Honda Ridgeline. Had mine since March 2007.
CC says, "I'm watch Jericho". Go Jericho go! Ha
Fun fact, the little dash ashtray assembly lifts out to clean it. They often go missing, so they can potentially bring some $$$$
What a gorgeous little nugget. That Core 2 Duo jacket was also absolutely fabulous
I love it.
Old school Honda's never die.
my mother had one like this but orange you take off in 1 and at 35 you switch to 2 was crazy.. me and my friends called it the skateboard. i remember the parking spot was so tight me and my friends pick up the front slide it in the spot and then did the back.. such a tiny car... loved it
Not even sure VGG would drive that home.
So cool. We had a 1980 Accord hatchback. Loved that thing. Wish I still had it. 😊👍👍
I bought one new in 1978.1200 cc 4 speed.30 mpg.$4000 with taxes and tags.After driving undependable junk for years,that car was wonderful.
2:56 I had a '75 Honda Civic 1200cc and got it up to 100MPH... downhill. 90 uphill, 95 straightaway. Don't underestimate that 1970s Japanese engineering.
Super cool ! All this time and it's still running and driving.
That white Chevy was all about the swagger!
Can’t wait to see this little civic!
Sick, i have a 1986 Honda Jazz (City) AA with Hondamatic. Its fun to drive and can even make the wheels spin during full power shifts.
owned one of those Honda civicw except mine was a 4 speed manual. Used to use it as a business vehicle when I was a Technician on the streets fixing photcopiers. It was cheap to operate and ran perfectly.
I really hope you keep us updated on this one.
Nice! I have not seen one of those since the early 90's. Hope we get to see the finished project once David's done with it.
I'll try to keep updates posted on my channel
Quick facts: My first Honda was a 1978 Civic CVCC with a 1388cc engine. You have to shift the trans all the time. The trans was a 2 step operation like your friend said. The final gear ratio is 4.10 to 1 which is why the engine screams but efficient actually. I drove mine from Buffalo to Cape Cod a bunch of times with no problem, 400+ mikes one way. Car needed leg room for anyone over 5'-6". Mines was the same brown color. I had a recall for fenders rusting, but I had mine undercoated so it didn't affect me. Hope this helps and enjoy the ride! BTW, the car car with a full size spare and never needed unleaded gas!
This is the car that began Americas love affair with Honda.
my first car was a 77 Honda Civic with 4 speed manual, lot's of nice memories! i still dream about it from time to time😊
Had one when I was 18 years old man I regret getting rid of it such an awesome car
Nice! My Dad had a 78 Accord. That one was totalled, so he then got an 80 Accord, which I learned to drive on. ☺
My neighbor had one way back, got it for cheap because it needed an axle and nobody knew how to do them. Him and my dad got a service manual and had it fixed in no time. Great running little car.
A factory fresh Honda Civic with gold rims. This car is a weapon with class.
Great find! Good friend of mine in high school had one and we used to go everywhere in it.
Got to drive a 79 when my Corona Mk4 went into the transmission shop.
The little civic was actually not a bad little car.
When you guys said you guys where towing with a Ridgeline you guys made a memory pop up in my head. So about a year ago I was picking up a car that I didn’t know if it ran or not and my El Camino didn’t have a engine at the time so I put my trailer on the back of my dads Vue Redline and towed the car back with the Vue.
“How dare you -THIS IS AN ‘81 CIVIC!” 😂😂😂😂
No this is a 1st gen civic, 1981 was the 2nd gen civic.
Hahahaaaa
@@ethanf2351 it's a line from a movie 👍
It’s the first gen, second one was bigger
Employee of the month.
Back in the day, several friends of mine had these early Honda Civics and used them as daily commuters. In upstate NY on snowy days, these cars alway made it to work. The Chevys, Fords and Chryslers would be all over the road. I drove a Chevy Vega back then and I was glad to have an excuse to NOT make it into work. LOLS
The CVCC with the five speed was the bomb. My girlfriend had a bright yellow one with plaid seats that we drove cross country.
My buddy had an silver early 80s Civic, similar body style. It was a blast!
JR, I like that you're into such a wide variety of vehicles.
Haha! A pal in college had one. He was a machinist, rebuilt the engine to some crazy spec. That car would rip!!
I had an '81 Civic with the 1.3L 4-cyl and 2-spd Hondamatic. Great little car.
My dad had a 74 600 series. The motorcycle motor one. He drove from Missouri to California on 10 dollars in gas, and got the same mileage wether you cruised it or floored it everywhere. There is one this body style in the salvage yard 3 miles from my house, I always wanted to put a modern vtec 1.6 in one. With side by side off road tires, rally style
My dad had a74 also and we lived at 4500 ft. When I was 16, I got to drive it. It was screaming with for down linemen it it on those hills at altitude.😂
Owned a Civic CVCC, one thing I remember about it was the cooling system was tiny and in the dead of winter it took no time to warm up.
I bought a 06 Ridgeline because I needed to haul some stuff around. I've been pleasantly surprised with it. I've owned an Avalanche in the past and honestly, the Ridgeline does all the same things except for the pass gate that let me haul long boards.
Nice always good to see a real old civic get a video
Great video from JR.
I drove a manual silver one in the 90s. It was a pretty fun car overall. If you put more than 2 people in it the freeway was off limits but fun around town and country roads.
I'm old enough to remember these when they were new, always like those early ones with the crazy super thick rubber ring around the back windows..
I owned a car like that and it was a lot of fun. The transmission went out on it, so I installed a 4 speed in it. One time I had a flat at work. I worked with a guy that was built strong and he lifted the back end up by hand so I could change the tire.
That was my first car! 1978 model year. Awesome little car
Excellent Borat drop. Verrry niice.
My dad had a 77 4 door hondamatic civic. This brings back memories.
I’m watching that trailer and I just hear The Bee Gees You Should Be Dancing in my head. 🤣🤷♀️
In 1986, near USC in Los Angeles, a neighbor had one of those in red. IIRC it had SNU in the license. He made sure the group of us knew where he kept the key, and we were free to borrow the car whenever it was there. Fun car to zip around the city in the 1980s. Funner with a stick. :)
Brings back memories I bought
a 78 honda civic from my boss in 1983 loved it😍
Nice throw back , I you find an old Celica please do a video on it. Thanks for awesome content.
I'd love to see that too! My first car was an 81 Celica ST, I so wish I still had it!
I had an identical 1979 Civic in a fetching shade of Montparnasse blue. I bought it the day after I passed my driving test in April 1991. It was the 1200 with the same 2-speed Hondamatic transmission. Mine had the opening rear glass rather than a full tailgate. I've also owned Triumph Acclaims. These were the 1st gen Honda Ballade built in the UK by BL under their partnership with Honda. The 1st gen Ballade itself was a sedan version of the 2nd gen Civic.
Omg the sound of that motor brings back memories!
This brings me back to my younger days. Nice find
This is the new coolest car in the fleet!!! It's just gotta be.
The Honda episodes are some of my favorite.
I really love this old thing! 🍻
I had a similar little car in those years, a Mazda GLC! We had 4 people, luggage and a cooler and would take it everywhere. A little blue Easter Egg with graphics!