I just bought a 90 Civic Hatch Back 4 speed base model a few days ago.

It has 215,5xx miles on it, and runs OUTSTANDING. No smoke, no squeaks, no gargling, no noticeable loss of power what-so-ever, shifts like a charm. 35-40 MPG

My question is, what are some things I can do to make sure she keeps running well? I know that many people take this car to 400,000 miles; but I want to insure it.

Spark plugs, gaskets, fluids, internals, timing belt, ect? I have the tools, time, and money. And some knowledge, not extensive, but I have an able friend.

My only thought is, I don't want to spend a lot ($200+ or so) when I could just put the money to a newer D series motor.

I am also wondering if the best thing to do overall is leave it alone (aside from regular maintenance of course) the whole "if its not broken don't fix it" motto.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some pictures just for the hellofit.

 

i'd just replace things like the oil pan gasket, the one on my DA was like wood it was so brittle and shot. timing belt water pump, coil igniter or just new dizzy to be sure. when the time comes head gasket

 

As a matter of principle, drive it. The more you drive it, the more tuned-in you'll be to how it's supposed to work. Then, when something starts to fail, fix it. Fix it the right way, the first time, as soon as possible. Don't cheap out or do the bare minimum, fix it how you would expect a professional to fix it.

It's a Civic, so anything that breaks can be replaced for twelve dollars in an afternoon. And you found H-T so all the info you'll ever need is out there.

 

Okay, for now my plan is to get some new NGK spark plugs, and just change the oil. I plan to use high mileage non synthetic (I believe that synthetic can leak out of high mileage motors because smaller molecules and the seals aren't quite at good??)

And I am going to look into changing the timing belt just to be safe...

Thanks for the advice.