Hey all -

Just got a 1983 Honda Civic 1500s of CL for a steal of a deal. Motor runs great for being an '83 with 230xxx miles on it, and overall decent body condition. I am fairly new to Hondas, especially the older generations, and am hoping I can get some great help here from some experienced people.

What are some things I should be wary of with this specific model? I did some research online and didn't find too many negative things - seems to be a great car from what I understand.

One thing I would like to get fixed ASAP is my dash lights. I am a young man, and travel a lot at night. Currently, I am using a flashlight as my "dash lights," as the actual dash lights are "non-existent." I replaced the fuses, but I'm a little hesitant of ripping apart the dash before I find out some tips/hints.

Looking forward to getting some great, positive responses! Thanks (in advance) for the help, and feel free to inform me of anything that you feel would be needed. (wouldn't mind doing some cool things to the body/interior once I get some more $$$ either).

Cheers!

 

Congrats on a great car! I used to have an 83 Civic S, but the body rusted so bad it was not worth fixing. The engine ran great though, I still have that actually.

Nothing really to be wary of, other than the potential for it to rust out. Hopefully you're not in the rust belt like I am, and the car will hold up for you. If your carb hasn't been rebuilt in a while, it may give you problems. My floats used to stick, causing it to almost stall going around bends and up/down hills, but a rebuild/cleaning fixed that.

When you say dash lights, I assume you mean the guage cluster lights? If memory serves, I beleive those are easy to change. Just remove the front gauge bezel, then the cluster is present, I "think" the light bulbs run along the top of the cluster, so if you undo all the screws holding the cluster in place, you should be able to tilt it towards you and you can change them out. Be carefull though, the speedo and tach are both controlled by cables that mount on the rear of the cluster, and if you pull too hard on it, the cables could disconnect from the cluster (and sometimes it can be a challenge to get them to snap back on as there's not a whole lot of room to work with behind the cluster).

As for doing some cool things to the car, there's really no aftermarket support what-so-ever. Rims will be easy to find as they're the common 4x100 honda bolt pattern. If your interior is in good shape, you're set, the S had the best interior of the 2nd gens as far as I'm concerned. One thing that looks good on the exterior is changing to the overseas style honeycomb grill, but good luck finding one.

 

Any pics of the new ride?

I have an 82 Wagon and I can tell you it's a great first car as it's easy to work on, parts are cheap and carries a sense of uniqueness that is hard to find in any 'new' car. I would say the first things you should do are the standard tune-up items such as:
Plugs
Plug wires
Cap & rotor
Timing belt
Fuel filter
Radiator flush
Oil change

All these parts can be had for ~$100 at Rock auto or similar

Let's see the pics and congrats!

 

awesome! yeah I'm gonna do some work on it tomorrow and I'll put some pics up if the weather permits (I live in N.W. Washington..really crappy weather lately, no garage..) Just had it in at a shop for a tune up/oil change and they checked plugs/wires, belts, filters, etc and all looks good. They also mentioned I should get a new exhaust fairly soon? I'll let you know how the surgery for the gauge cluster lights goes!

 

That's awesome! You might also try the combination switch. I have seen the switch work fine for the headlights, but fail for the dash. I would love to see picture of your new old Honda. I currently own a 1983 1500S - last major repair was a carb rebuild. It is being repainted this week - will be ready for spring soon! Good Luck!

 

yeah can we see pic???

 

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still workin on the whole gauge-cluster lights gremlin, gotta get some other new parts for it (i.e. new exhaust) and gonna do some paint on the bumpers. In all, I love the car. gotta give it some love/TLC to make it my "dream car" but its great.

On the note of the whole dashlights ordeal, i'm working on testing all the wires but i'm pretty stumped on the fuse box. on the front side its got the fuses and diagram, etc..on the backside, trying to find which wires go to which fuse, how do i tell? they are all in 3 or 4 large adapters and not labelled. (did I explain that alright?)

 

I'm afraid your links are busted...

 

k can I get some help loading some photos? :/

 

Try uploading on photo bucket then copy and paste IMG CODE in your message board or just direct link copy.

 

Sorry if im hijackin thread but i have a 83 wago that i just got and the previous owner got rid of it because of 2 blown head gaskets within year. Pulled the head and there is a little wear in the top of pistons from valves. It failed between 1 and 2 cylinders. Less than .003 warpage on head. Im thinkin that the head bolts werent replaced, but im not finding any head bolts for that motor. Will D15 head bolts work if i cut them down?

 

Ill post pics because this thing has not rust, for Iowa/South Dakota area this is a gem. Sorry again if i hijacked just let me know the written/unwritten rule and ill abide.

 

Nice ride, welcome!!!

 

Welcome to the HT! Post some pics when you get the chance. Can't wait to see it!

 

I would also like to see pics! I am also from Iowa!