I have the oppurtunity to pick up this 87 CRX for $250. Its been sitting for about a year, but for the price I dont care. Heres are my questions. I know its an 87 but are there parts available for it? Like lowering springs? Cold Air intakes? When I look for parts it says 88-89 or 88-91 CRX not 87. I would swap the motor for some other D-Series. Are the suspension, engine parts the same as an 88 non si CRX? Pics below., any help you can give me! I am used to my 97 EX so this is all new to me!

 

84-87 CRX/Civics are not like 88 models - front suspension on them is torsion bars - rear is solid axle with shocks - they have the same basic chassis platform as the 86-89 Integra - D-series engines, except for D16A1, will not bolt into them - B-series mount kits are available - they have plastic body parts, like front fenders, etc.

 

1st gen CRX's are a completely different animal. Great cars, but different you know?

Check out http://www.redpepperracing.com for all your 1st gen CRX info.

Cheers

 

I think if I go ahead with this, it will be to make it a strong running car, repaint it, and sell it. Looks difficult to swap it to a fuel injection motor. Anyone else on this forum have a car similar to this?

 

If you arent pretty capable in the garage then avoid it.You need to do some re wiring etc to go to a different engine etc.They are cool cars and hard to find with a solid body.

 

Yeah the more im reading about it, the less I want to do anything serious to it. It has 118,117 miles, some rust on the rear quarter panels. It apparently ran when he stored it. He said he sometimes had to push start it, they dont know if it was fixed be4 he stored it. Havent talked to the actual owner just his sister.I think it would be a fun lil car to make it solid again and sell it for a profit and start on something else.

 

id go for 88-91 unless you can get a 1st gen si... there fuel injected

-joseph

 

ive got the same car except si and fuel injected. Great car and unique too as there arent many around. I am the expert on this car so msg me any quesitons

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lightcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">id go for 88-91 unless you can get a 1st gen si... there fuel injected

-joseph</TD></TR></TABLE> trust me I would, but you dont find these cars this cheap and this clean around here very often. I will prly just end up cleaning her up and making her my secondary car

 

My wife got a running 87 CRX Si for like $700 last year. It still runs like a champ.

Check out redpepperracing and when you search for parts I BELIEVE you want to search for the "Civic Coupe," not the "CRX."

 

why go FI? You can make pleny of power and still keep i carb'd. Parts are out there, they just require a little more searching than parts for a 2G CRX.

Even if you just get it running to use as a second car it'll treat you good. My 86 Si averaged 38MPG.

As stated earlier, check out redpepperracing.com for more info.

 

Looks like you got yourself a nice little 87 CRX/DX 1.5L 12 valve D15A2 3-bbl carb car there for cheap, 76 screaming hp, exactly like mine except I bought mine brand new and it's rio red. Put a little work into it and have some fun driving it!


Modified by noodlerooney at 4:55 PM 3/30/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by noodlerooney &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1987 CRX/DX: Looks like you got yourself a nice little 87 CRX/DX 1.5L 12 valve D15A2 3-bbl carb car there for cheap, 76 screaming hp, exactly like mine except I bought mine brand new and it's rio red. Put a little work into it and have fun!</TD></TR></TABLE> They told me its a manual tranny, but I forgot to ask if its a 5speed. When you go to http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com it ask if its a 3speed,4speed,5speed. Anyway to tell in that picture?? They told me last night they couldnt get it started, it was getting spark and turning over. Still for $250, I think I can get her going. I have a freind who is pretty good with carbs other than that I could do most of the work.

 

Is there a sticker on the drivers side door/jamb? Transmission type, Interior/Exterior color code should be there. I gotta tell you, the car looks sweet, I wouldn't think twice about buying it for 4 times the price, everything looks original! Damn, even the front header panel is intact! Rust (damn, I hate that word) in the rear wheelwells/rocker panels is very common, remove the black rear wheelwell trim, just traps moisture. Try to keep the original paint if possible, looks like it just needs a cleaning from here...I've kept mine completely stock..
First thing, change the timing belt/idlers, easy job. If they go, your going to bend valves. Check and make sure the timing belt is intact before cranking it over, if it's not, boo-hoo.
Yea, check out redpepperracing.com (online OEM Factory Repair Manual) and crx.honda-perf.org for 1st gen Rex's.


Modified by noodlerooney at 8:54 AM 3/29/2006

 

I havent seen the car in person yet, but I will be tommorow. My plan is to buy it, get it running, and then start replacing maintence parts. The timing belt is def. I will replace ASAP as it has 118K so its prly never been done.

 

Yea, 19 year old timing belt, with my luck, I would get it running and the timing belt/idler would fail... replace belt/water pump/idler.

 

yeah mine to, thanks for the links guys, alot of good info there. Hopefully wont take to much effort to get her going.

 

I would probably inspect the top end on the motor. I had a 84 DX and a 87 Si, and both had top end oiling problems. I ended up having to put new heads on both cars. It turns a seemingly good deal into a not so good deal in a hurry.

 

Still $200 bucks isnt bad to me...here are more pics.

 

S**t, didn't see that rust before. Check the panhard mount, facing the rear of the car, look underneath towards the rear axle on the left, you will see a mount connecting the rear axle to this mount. If this is severly rusted as to compromise the integrety of the mount, it must be repaired before driving the car. Lots of info on RPR, CHP. Interior looks good though ...

 

How bad is that rust? For the parts rusted up on the wheel wells, do they make like new metal plates that you can weld in and paint? I have someone that will help me fix the rust. In those pictures, what makes you think the pan mount may be rusted? Just the amount of ruse on there?

 

If you're handy fixing rust/welding/paint, it's not a big problem, get some sheet metal, bing, bang, boom. The panhard mount is notorious for rusting out in the 1st Gen Rex's, always seem to be a problem. Mine actually collected water in the inverted channel member the mount is connected to and rusted out. But hey, maybe yours is fine, just wanted to call your attention to it is all.

 

Thats exactly what I need to know right now. Im used to common problems on 92-00 civics so this is all new to me. Thanks for looking out though. Im going to look at it in a few hours, and take alot of pictures so I can study them to get an idea what it all needs.