lifeofbean

I just picked up a 1995 Civic EX coupe for the whopping price of... $200.00

Friend didn't want to bother replacing the clutch in it after replacing the radiator, master cylinder, and timing belt all in a 6 month period.

So - would you guys fix it up, or keep it stock? It has a salvage title, which is my biggest concern insurance wise. Compression is like a brand new engine, and he always changed the oil every 3000 miles. No frame damage, body is in decent shape (some dents that can be popped easily, paint is in good shape), interior needs new carpet badly, but otherwise is in okay shape. I do know the engine and rear crossmember aren't original, but beyond finding junkyard marker on them and verifying the engine is a 1995 casting, I don't know much about that, nor does he (he got it with the salvage title)

Problems I've found beyond the clutch:
Extremely loose tie rod end
Both axles need to be replaced (cv joint boots are ripped on all 4 joints)
Drivers side mirror has been replaced with a DX manual model; passenger power mirror doesn't work and looks like it's about to fall off
Needs new weatherstripping on the drivers side door
Needs a window regulator on the drivers side
Transmission did grind going into 3rd and 4th; I changed the oil in it and put Synchromesh in and that cleared up shifting at normal RPMs, still grinds if I try to shift quickly at high RPMs.
A bunch of creaks/rattles from the back of the car, about what you'd expect on Honda with 200k on it.

Aside from the CV joints, tie rod, and transmission, it's mostly just little stuff wrong on it. I can get a transmission for $100 and put it in myself, and I've got some Neuspeed springs ready to go on it if I wanted to put them on. I've already replaced the clutch and rear main seal, just filled it up for the 2nd time since I got it and I got 32.83 MPG (combined city/freeway)

If it were your car and you had access to cheap parts + labor, and knew about the salvage title, would you fix it up or just keep it stock? It's been neglected (beyond timing belts and oil changes) more than anything else, but I do know he drives very conservatively and that he's never taken it above 3500 rpm, period.

Nickg116

can you register a slavage title in tx?

lifeofbean

Yeah you can, it just has to have a normal inspection before it returns to the road for the first time.

The biggest hassle is you have to "document" what's been replaced before the first title can be issued. The seller is "supposed" to do that, but didn't, so we kinda made a few things up going on what looked like it'd been replaced. It looked like it took a hard hit right on the front left wheel - left fender, headlight, front bumper, rear crossmember, and driveline have all been replaced at some point. Original radiator support though, and either they re-used the original hood or found another 95 EX hood (specs sticker is still under the hood).

I'm leaning toward keeping it and doing your regular bolt ons plus a slight drop, and putting on comprehensive insurance with aftermarket equipment coverage, eventually possibly dropping a B16 or B18C in it. Just hard to justify spending $95 a month on insurance on a car that you know you won't get a whole lot for.

civexturbo

Why not fix it up? For the money you already have in it, it would be a good car. Most ot the parts you would be putting on it aren't too expensive anyhow. I would keep it simple and daily drive it.

96dxpower

you got a running car for 200 freakn dollars. do wt you want with it yo

lifeofbean

That's pretty much what I'm leaning toward now. Once the CV joints and tie rod are done, I wouldn't hesitate to drive across the country in it. It has the usual oil leaks (I've already done the rear main seal), but none of them bad. My biggest concern is the transmission at this point.

Considering doing this for now:
Slight drop
DC GSR front upper strut tower bar
DC rear brake conversion w/DC master cylinder and proportioning valve
15-16" black wheels with a polished lip or something similar, maybe gunmetal with a polished lip.
Some cheap, quiet exhaust (done by a local shop)
Header
High flow cat
Cold air intake
Vision amber corner lights

I've already got an Iceman CAI and Neuspeed springs waiting to go on it. I can get anything I need dirt cheap except for the exhaust, wheels, and the amber corner lights.

96dx: LOL no kidding. Well.. when I got it, it ran great, it just.. didn't move. The clutch was so bad that the 15 minutes it normally would have taken me to get from my friend's to my house (after picking it up) took over 30, and I couldn't get it above 40 MPH before it started slipping. I just replaced the disc and wet sanded the flywheel and pressure plate, the disc was nonexistant but hadn't put grooves in anything yet.


Modified by lifeofbean at 11:36 AM 12/27/2005

JCritt

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civexturbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why not fix it up? For the money you already have in it, it would be a good car. Most ot the parts you would be putting on it aren't too expensive anyhow. I would keep it simple and daily drive it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

saywhat

Just wipe it down with armor all and sell it on ebay for a good profit.

J Rob

resell that **** make a profit and buy something not needing so much in better shape

whoDAT

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Honda King &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">resell that **** make a profit and buy something not needing so much in better shape</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'm with this guy!

rodrez.

If it were mine, I'd pull the carpet out of the car, and scrub it down, recondition all the plastics, replace whatever is beyond saving. Completely degrease and detail the engine bay. Change the axles and clutch, along with the timing belt, and at that point decide if I was going to sell it or keep it. You can get it back into good shape for under 500bux, and probably make a little profit off of it, or turn it into a project car.

JDM-EJ1

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civexturbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why not fix it up? For the money you already have in it, it would be a good car. Most ot the parts you would be putting on it aren't too expensive anyhow. I would keep it simple and daily drive it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly. Sure, the car looks like **** now. A weekend spent getting it cleaned up will make it look brand new.

Dc2Trini

200 $ cant go wrong

Jowee

Nahh, just sell it to me

moores55

how andwere did you get it for 200. if you dont mind me asking.

Brian Hinson

Hell I would have bought it for 200 bucks. Fix whats wrong with it an it will last awhile man

john666

personally if i owed that car i would sell it.. inless u plan to do some major mods soon like. itr suspension and motor swap.

96dxpower

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by moores55 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how andwere did you get it for 200. if you dont mind me asking.</TD></TR></TABLE> dude read the post homie!!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lifeofbean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Friend didn't want to bother replacing the clutch in it after replacing the radiator, master cylinder, and timing belt all in a 6 month period.</TD></TR></TABLE>

dcsports

i have same year civic and i payed 3500 and i didnt know it had frame damage and the motor has been shitty to me overheating oil problems tranny also for 200 i wish i payed that much cause ive spent a shitload on my car so u got a really good deal fix it

fmrprojects

man i seen worst. that **** just needs a day of cleaning, and it'll look a whole lot better

Sketch_hs

i'll give you $300 for it


hell of a steal man. lets see some after pics after you clean her up real good

t0ekn3e

clean it up and decide from there

lifeofbean

I've already cleaned it up quite a bit - engine bay was sprayed down at a car wash before the transmission came off, then dragged the transmission back to the car wash to clean it up. Then spent 30 minutes on the dash alone getting all the grime off of it. The seats are decent - no rips, no stains, but some cigarette burns. Also washed it yesterday. All of those pictures were taken before any cleaning whatsoever was done aside from cleaning out the trash.

WTF IS IT WITH BIRDS AND BLACK CARS?!?!? I get more bird crap on it every day - it's already got a bunch on it and I don't park anywhere near trees.

The hood is beyond saving I think - it has a bunch of dents in it and the paint is faded pretty bad on it. I'm leaning toward just tossing a CF hood on it, though that's way down the road. The paint on the rest of the car ranges from "okay" to "decent" - the roof is fading, but I think it can be buffed back to a shine. Same with the trunk lid. It does have a bunch of little scratches, but if I hang on to it for long I'll just paint it.

I did get it on a rack today to get the tie rod replaced - wound up being the inner tie rod instead of the outer like I originally thought though. Now the $#@!* alignment is horrible on it, bad enough that both front wheels are obviously pointing different directions. Did some measuring and didn't find anything bent in the suspension, and the chassis appears to be straight, so I'm just going to get an alignment done tomorrow and get the toe set properly. Counted the threads on the tie rod and made sure it was set the same. On the plus side, no more clunking in the front end, and didn't find any other problems while it was in the air aside from a minor exhaust leak at the cat.

My old DA Integra was in a lot worse condition - both body wise and mechanically. It smoked badly, the (auto) tranny was shot, it leaked everything, it was 4 colors (seriously), it had no carpet, and I got soaked every time it rained. On the plus side, everything on it worked, right down to the a/c and cruise. It'd been in who knows how many wrecks - 1 while i owned it, the previous owner wrecked it too (I bought it wrecked), and I found a lot of overspray under it once I tore into it to fix the existing damage. This Civic has been in 1 wreck.

john - why would you sell it? The engine is in great shape - no major oil leaks, great compression, no knocking, pulls damn hard for a stock D16Z6... the body is in decent condition for a 10 year old car, and at this point it doesn't need any major work done to it. It's just dirty and neglected.

rodrez, the timing belt and water pump were done at 190k. I've already tossed a new clutch disc in it, it has about 400 miles on it now. The axles are next on my list after 2 new tires, though they're not making noise yet. The door panels are ripped up a little (the vinyl at the bottom is ripped on both), but still solid. The only plastic that's really beyond saving is the center console - not only is it absolutely filthy, the cup holder is broken and the shift boot is torn. Still, I don't expect to spend more than $20 replacing that. I'd just leave it as is if the cup holder wasn't broken

I think I've decided on fixing it up, though I do need to talk to my insurance company about coverages on it.

Sketch_hs

i'm looking foward to "after" pics

SpoolinEK9

all projects have to start somewhere.