I went to look at a 1990 Civic Si with about 220k miles.The seller was a bit of a fanatic. I can't imagine how much time he spend detailing the engine bay, but it was spotless. I could eat off the manifold... Ran great. Strong motor. Compression tested well. Suspension was just fine - pretty much what you'd expect for 220k miles. Interior was a 9/10. The Si front and back seats were fantastic.Everything worked. No cracked dash.

I would of taken it home but there were two things that rubbed me wrong.

It looked like the driver side door hinge pulled out of the chassis at one point (Common problem?), and someone did a shitty job welding the hinge back in and the door sagged a bit and took some effort to close. Not a HUGE deal, but bothered me.

The bigger issue, and I'm not sure how big of an issue it is, but there were very small traces of rust around things like the hatchback hinges (you could just see the red in between the cracks), and in places like the bolt holes around the gas cap, or a little around the door hinges. I checked everywhere I could for rust, and where I found it, it was in tiny tiny quantities, but it was there. Allegedly at some point it was resprayed factory white.

Seller got it from Salem Oregon.

I would say,
Engine, drivetrain and suspension = 10/10
Interior 9/10
Body 7/10 (mostly becuase of rust. Body was straight otherwise)

Firm on $3,600 asking price.

Thoughts? Should I buy it?

.

 

As a former and current Si owner, I have had a 1989, 1990 and a 1991, it is very difficult to not only find a rust free shell, but also one in OG shape with OG engine, interior etc.. Considering the rust, and door problems, I believe he should not go lower then $3000. The door needs a serious repair, and that isnt cheap.

Good Luck!

 

I opted not to move forward. The door and the small rust spots were just too much for me to look past, and the seller was firm at 3600. The search continues.