well i have an opportunity to purchase a well-worn 1988 honda civic Std. It has 250k 4 speed manual with the 1.5l. It is for sale in the bargain lot of a dealership i work at. I could get a sweet deal on it (150-300 dollars) but it has many downsides.

the pros - i do want a project car/beater to drive during the winter and to work on my free time...i really want to rebuild an engine and learn more, and i think this car would be a sweet opportunity to do so. The price is sooo cheap and if i ever wanted to get rid of it...running or not, i have ppl that would like to buy it. The frame and exterior look decent and straight...minimal rust on the front by the hood and bumper. Firm front seats...minimal wear. Steering / suspension feels firm and decent. Engine has some get-up left in it...despite its hideous appearance. Muffler and piping corroded enough to give it a nice "performance sound". Comes with a pioneer head unit and decent pioneer speakers front/rear. Manual trans. Runs. some things work.

the cons - the engine is burning and leaking oil BADLY. blue smoke everywhere on startup and minimal smoke during normal driving. The engine block is completely hideous with oil and dirt, as is the whole engine bay. The interior is very poor and falling apart. It has 3 normal steelie wheels and 1 spare on it. Paint is 3 different colors...hood/fenders dark black, bumpers faded black, and car light blue. I already have a 1998 Civic EX that im making payments on...dont really NEED another car, but would love to get this one. No tach...bah. some things DONT work. thats all.

oh yes...one more con...parents against it. they say its my money (very little anyway...100 - 200... thats like 1/5 a paycheck) and i can do what i want with it, but they say to not do it.

Plans if i DO get it...

paint whole exterior rattle can black. Get 4 black steel rims which i have at a buddy's house. lower the beast. maybe 2.5 or so. dont really care about bottoming out etc. Strip the interior and redo. Redo whole exhaust system with piping from k-teller and an N-1 canister. (thats all in the way of modifying...i just want to work on this car...make it run better, not faster necesarily). Finally when i have time, tear down the engine and replace parts as needed.

Some cliff notes -

already have a 98 civic coupe, want to buy another civic ('88 hb) with 250k miles and is a dump for 100 - 200 bucks from work. parents against it, want something to play around with and work on. read the rest

what should i do?

 

If you can make money off of it if you sell it back out, I'd say go for it. If not, then I wouldnt drag myself into another money pit. but that's imo

 

to much work... its worth a shot if you love working on honda's ..
i would do it .just for the experience

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by core3200tm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its worth a shot if you love working on honda's ..
i would do it .just for the experience </TD></TR></TABLE> best words right there. seriously, honda's are the best money pit IMO

 

yea.. sounds like a $$ pit. you could probably score a single-colored, decent running EF for $1000