My question is about the length of the car, not including the bumpers. 1973 was the start and starting in 74 did the car its self get longer or just the bumpers? My point is I want the shortest version of the car its self w/o bumpers??? The CVCC I believe had a longer front end to fit the larger engine so these are eliminated. So is the 1973-1977 civic 1200 w/o bumpers the same length???? IF so this would make it easier for me to find one.

 

1200's should all be the same length.

 

I think you're right about them extending the bumpers on the later models. Not sure exactly what year the crossover was, but I would guess the chassis themselves were the same length. Honda is tricky changing little things year by year though, for example the Accord changed a few times during it's first generation, just slightly enough that fenders, hoods, and grilles wouldn't interchange across the 76-81 year range.

The 1200s were indeed the shortest, and you'd be the safest buying an earlier one. What I would do to verify is get OEM part numbers for hood and fenders year by year and see which ones match up. Then you'll know for sure.