The philosophy at Honda's engineering department has always been,
"Keep it simple'.' Sometimes it's more difficult and requires a lot
more ingenuity to keep a design clean and simple rather than doing
things in a complicated
way. The Honda Civic 1200 and the Civic CVCC are both good examples
of clean, straightforward styling.
Everything on the car is there for a definite purpose. And what you
don't see, the engine and chassis parts were all designed with the
same goal in mind.. ."build it right, but keep it simple'.''
Tip
Main Cluster Speedo/Fuel/Temp Removal
The main instrument pod (tachometer + speedometer) has 3 10mm nuts that hold
it in. Two of them are sort of behind the steering column, facing the
firewall. Feel around for them and you will find them. The third one is also
facing the firewall, directly behind where the tachometer is. Once you get the
nuts out you can pull it out just enough to remove the cable from the back of
the instrument housing. when you have the cable removed, you can pull it out
and have plenty of room to work with the wires. To take the gauges out, first
remove the mounting bracket from the bottom of the housing. Keep in mind that
the housings are fragile, and any any mount of pulling on it will break the
screw tabs that hold it to the bracket. I have not found a pod yet that
doesn't have broken mounting tabs, but it doesn't really affect the instrument
pod that much.
To hook up the tachometer you will also have to put the unattached blue wire
on to the negative post of the ignition coil. The blue wire is the tachometer
signal wire. Look at the wires around your coil, it won't be attached and will
probably be wrapped up in the loom. You should find a blue wire with a
"bullet" connector somewhere around there. On cars that had the tachometers
stock, the other half of that connector has a short lead that connects to the
coil. I believe the yellow wire is power.
Exhaust Tip
The stock exhaust system is a source of great air flow
restriction. By replacing the exhaust system you will discover dramatic
increase in power. The most popular method is to install a high flow muffler
or resonators at the back. Oblivious the size of the exhaust pipe will have to
be increased to a size that suits your application, typically 2". Larger sizes
may be required for Turbo or NOS, keep in mind the decision to do this upgrade
will also increase the in car noise.
You will most likely be visiting a shop to have your system fabricated from
aluminized/ galvanized. steel or from stainless steel, the later one giving
you the most durability and most expensive. This upgrade can add up to 2-5 hp
depending on the type of system used.
1StGenCiViC.com 1StGenofDurham
Welcome to the website of the First Generation Honda Civic.
First 1973 Honda Civic to 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979; 1200's and CVCC models.
Find helpful information on tuning and technical data and specifications,
custom bodywork, welding, engine swaps and will help you
on your way to customizing your ride if that your wish.. Find pages of
brochures, resources of books for repairs and guides for do it your self.
The Honda Accord was introduced in 1976 as a
follow up to the Civic.
HONDA will soon have delivered the millionth Civic to its customer somewhere in the World. Few cars have aroused as much interest and speculation as the next Honda which would be launched at the height of the Civics' almost mythical success. The new Accord, a thoroughly developed design with many praiseworthy features, fulfills the expectation and more. This is one Japanese car which is judged by its design and technical finesse, commendable road manners, rather than by generous equipment The Accord is a sound development of the Civic in its basic mechanical configuration and design. It is an evolutionary car.
Honda CVCC EF Inline four, transversely mounted and inclined 15 degrees forward, powered by a 1599cc capacity engine delivering a Bore and stroke of 74x93mm. That’s a 8:1 Compression ratio. Power is delivered by a water cooled cast iron block with a aluminium head. The head drives a single overhead camshaft, cogged belt driven and acting on three valves per cylinder through rocker arms. One intake valve in pre-chamber. One each intake and exhaust valve in main combustion chamber. (Remember this is the new emission friendly CVCC design used in the Civics’). It’s carbureted by a Honda-Kehin CVCC triple choke downdraft carburetor, fed from a 50 litre fuel tank by an electric pump. Japanese power rated at 80hp at 5300 rpm, equivalent to approximately 72 bhp. Torque rated at 12.3 kg-m JIS at 3000 rpm. Honda CVCC dual combustion chamber charge stratification, deceleration and ignition control, meeting the 1976 Japanese Emission Standards.
Wheels are driven by either 4-speed manual., 5-speed manual or Honda 2-speed semi-automatic. The manual transmission transfers it power through the use of a single dry plate clutch that is hydraulically operated. The weight of this new Honda is 855kg for the SL model to 890kg for the EX version.
The Honda Accord design can be compared to the Scirocco or the Toyota Sprinter LB (Corolla). There styling at a glance is very similar between the three models.
What
is Prelude
Prelude was introduced in 1979 as a sports coupe
Performance and more stylsh than the Accord. It was released with an
1751cc EK1 motor pumping out 72hp compared to the 68hp of the standard Accord model. Whellbase 91.3, 2.4 inches less than the Accord, Prelude could compete at the quarter-mile in 18.8 seconds at 70 mph, however backseat space was at a minimum.
The one feature that was a mainstay in this car was the power sun roof. The Prelude's main power plant was a 1751cc version of the Accord's CVCC SOHC four producing 72 hp at 4,500 rpm and 94 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm, backed by either the Hondamatic 2-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual transmission.
Four wheel independent struts, brakes and floorpans were all borrowed from the second generation Civic design.
What is S360
The S360 is the
beginning of the lead up to the S500 and S600/800.
The Honda S360 was introduced in 1962 as a
prototype car. This 4 seated convertible sports car that had a top
speed of 100km/h. This was achieved with a new double overhead cam
engine with 4 carburetors, it’s inline four cylinder engine was
water cooled and ran at 9000rpm to make 33hp from 356cc’s of motor.
It had a 5-speed manual transmission with a chain driven final drive
with rear independent suspension. The S360 never went into product
because of Japanese restrictive displacement laws. Future changes of
the S360 would increase the engine size to 531cc @ 44hp with drum
brakes to make the new model S500 convertible or the Japanese
domestic market.
What is RS
The RS is the ultimate factory Civic.
Dubbed Road Sailing, it was a more performance
oriented civic opposed to the standard economy-boxes we all know. It was released with an
1170cc EB1 motor pumping out 70hp compared to the 50hp of the standard model. Engine
modifications included twin Keihin carburetors, a freer flowing exhaust manifold, longer
duration cam (15 degrees), domed pistons (bumped compression up to 8.6:1), and
strengthened crank bearings. Handling was increased with a set of stiffer springs (30%),
shorter stiffer struts and 13" wheels wrapped in 155-80-13 tires. The wheels were
black with a polished lip and had a red "H" center cap- this is where the red
Honda "H" started. Besides the RS badge on the front grill other exterior
options included flared fenders, fender mounted rearview mirrors, and a slightly different
bumper assembly. The RS's were only released in warm red/orange paint schemes. The
predominantly black vinyl interior included a wooden steering wheel and shift knob, center
console, grab handles, a mechanical tachometer graded to 7k rpm, and a center auxiliary pod with
fuel/temp gauges and an air vent. The US gauge pods merely had the gauges for fuel and
temp. More info here
Second Generation Honda Civic 1980-1983
What is a Honda N600
The Honda
N600 was produced in March 1967. It was a front-wheel drive two-door sedan
with a 78.7-inch wheelbase and approximately 122inches long. It was
technologically advanced for its time. It had a mere height of 52.2inches
and a curb weight of 1213lbs powered by a type S2, SOHC, 599 cc (36.553 cu
in) air cooled 2 cylinder engine able to reach a top speed of 81 mph. This
little car was suspended on rear torsion bar and leaf springs.
It was the first front wheel drive 2 door sedan Honda imported into North
America in March of 1970, It was first introduced in Hawaii in 1969. It
was priced around $1,300.00us.
What is a Honda Z600
The
sporty Z600 coupe was introduced in the US in 1971 with a total production
of 40,586 sedans and coupes were sold here. Approximately less than 2-1/2%
remain today of that number of which most were sedans.
The 2door Z600 hatchback originally had a 345cc engine in the Japanese
market, a more robust 599cc engine was squeezed in for the European
markets. It came in basic colors of primarily orange, yellow, olive green
and blue. The power plant was a Air-cooled, two cylinder SOHC aluminum
engine, this gas miser came through during the oil crisis of the 70’s
giving the owners a excellent fuel efficient car, it was rated to get
approximately 40mpg while it only held 6.9 gallons of gas.
The Honda Z600 was built on a 123in x 51in chassis and approximately 51in
high with a Curb weight of 1312lbs. Given it’s small size it was found to
still give reasonable comfort to the driver and front passenger. The back
seat would be described as storage only because of the little wiggle room
in the back. This car had some interesting advances like retractable seat
belts and a in dash seat belt warning system, front wheel drive and power
assist brakes.
What is CVCC
CVCC means Compound vortex controlled combustion.
The CVCC engine debuted in 1975.
Offered alongside the standard Civic engine, the 53-horsepower CVCC
engine displaced 1,488 cc and had a head design that promoted
cleaner, more efficient combustion. The CVCC design eliminated a
need for a catalytic converter or unleaded fuel to meet emissions
standards. (Nearly every other U.S. market car for this year
underwent the change to exhaust catalysts and the requirement to use
only unleaded fuel.) Due to California's stricter emissions
standards, only the Civic CVCC was available in that state. A
five-speed manual gearbox became available this year, as did a Civic
station wagon (only with the CVCC engine).
A CVCC engine has a special cylinder head.
The CVCC head uses a
stratified charge combustion chamber. A
stratified combustion mixture is richer at the sparkplug and much
leaner at the main part of the combustion chamber. The rich mixture
is easily ignited by the sparkplug and this initial flame will
ignite the remaining leaner mixture. The CVCC head uses a
pre-combustion chamber that is about the size of a thimble. The CVCC
carburetor is actually two carburetors in one, a lean part and a rich part. The
lean part feeds the main combustion chamber and the rich part feeds
the pre-combustion chamber. The rich mixture in the pre-combustion
chamber is ignited . A "flame hole" in the pre-combustion
chamber allows the pre-combustion flame to blow across the regular
combustion chamber and ignite the lean mixture.
More Info Here
More Power
Firstly, the Civic 1200 engine is a very strong little machine which
has high rev capability. To exploit this some good cheap
modifications which can be made easily are the fitting of a sports
exhaust and perhaps a Weber carburetor. The sports exhaust is easy
enough, with a set of extractors, a hotdog and a turbo tailpipe
should give you a bit more power by freeing accumulation of exhaust
gases. Genie make a good tailpipe, the hotdog can be bought pretty
much anywhere. As far as extractors go, well in Australia there is a
header pipe made by Hurricane, as far as I know this is all there is
for the Civic 1200.
Installation of a Weber is where real performance comes from at this
level, note that this is not really effective without a decent
exhaust system. We have used two types of Weber, the best seems to
be the 32 DGV model which is an aftermarket carburetor used on just
about everything up to 2 Liters. DON'T believe anyone when they tell
you this is the wrong carburetor for a little Honda, from my
experience so called experts haven't a clue about the capabilities
of these cars! On my own Civic I have a 32 DIR 21 model which comes
from a Renault 12, I think my a father picked it up for about 40
$AUS from a wreckers.
Fitting it is pretty easy: Tear off the old carburetor and air
filter. Get an adaptor plate, Lynx make one for a Datsun 1200 for
about 25 $AUS, that is the one to use. Since Dattos use the same
Hitachi carburetor, obviously this will work. Get another air
filter, we have tried lots of tricks here but the best seems to be
the RamFlo type filters, once again they cost about 25 $AUS.
Electronic Distributor Conversion
(Honda Electronic), 1200 Electronic Upgrade
This distributor is from the second generation Civic. It is an electronic distributor and doesn't use points. You also need the wiring from the same car and the coil. Do not use a ballast resistor with the new coil and be sure to gap your plugs as a car with electronic ignition (.040 I think)
If you are converting to a second generation distributor, be sure to use an extra mounting plate at the bottom to make up for the longer shaft. The one from your old distributor will work but they will line up differently, get a 2nd generation one and they will match. As for wiring, If you pull one from the junkyard, mark the wires and where they go as you remove the harness. It's best to get the coil with it so you don't have to disconnect it, and just take the coil and related wires off of the main harness. It is easier to have the wires installed and then replace the coil than it is to deal with a mess of loose wires.
I just finished putting the 2nd Gen electronic dizzy on my 74. When I pulled it from the car at the yard, I grabbed the whole system, but cut the line leading to the fuel pump. When I put the electronic dizzy into my car I had to use not one but TWO extra spacers to make it exactly the same length as the old points dizzy. The plate that comes with the electronic dizzy is different than the points dizzy plate. Because of this I had to do some custom drilling to the extra plates to enable me to get the full Advance/Retard motion. It's nice to know I will never have to adjust points. Bomber system. Buy a new cap and rotor, buy fresh plugs, buy new coil and dizzy leads for the system too. Gap the plugs at 039 to 041. Remove the Ballast resistor, and connect this lead to the coil.
EN1 Distributor wiring diagram for a 1200 swap
This setup does not require spacers when using the EN1 dizzy.
Wiring is different if using EJ distributor and spacers may be required
The EN Canadian dizzy is a bolt in, however you need some kind of external control module to make it work. The EN only has a magnetic pick-up in there unlike the US has the pick-up and igniter built into one.
...1StGenOfDurham.ca or 1StGenCivic.com is not in anyway affiliated with or
endorsed by Honda Motor Co.,Inc
The Honda Accord was introduced in 1976 as a
follow up to the Civic.
Prelude was introduced in 1979 as a sports coupe
The S360 is the
beginning of the lead up to the S500 and S600/800.
The RS is the ultimate factory Civic.
The Honda
N600 was produced in March 1967. It was a front-wheel drive two-door sedan
with a 78.7-inch wheelbase and approximately 122inches long. It was
technologically advanced for its time. It had a mere height of 52.2inches
and a curb weight of 1213lbs powered by a type S2, SOHC, 599 cc (36.553 cu
in) air cooled 2 cylinder engine able to reach a top speed of 81 mph. This
little car was suspended on rear torsion bar and leaf springs.
The
sporty Z600 coupe was introduced in the US in 1971 with a total production
of 40,586 sedans and coupes were sold here. Approximately less than 2-1/2%
remain today of that number of which most were sedans. 
The CVCC engine debuted in 1975.
Offered alongside the standard Civic engine, the 53-horsepower CVCC
engine displaced 1,488 cc and had a head design that promoted
cleaner, more efficient combustion. The CVCC design eliminated a
need for a catalytic converter or unleaded fuel to meet emissions
standards. (Nearly every other U.S. market car for this year
underwent the change to exhaust catalysts and the requirement to use
only unleaded fuel.) Due to California's stricter emissions
standards, only the Civic CVCC was available in that state. A
five-speed manual gearbox became available this year, as did a Civic
station wagon (only with the CVCC engine).
stratified charge combustion chamber. A
stratified combustion mixture is richer at the sparkplug and much
leaner at the main part of the combustion chamber. The rich mixture
is easily ignited by the sparkplug and this initial flame will
ignite the remaining leaner mixture. The CVCC head uses a
pre-combustion chamber that is about the size of a thimble. The CVCC
carburetor is actually two carburetors in one, a lean part and a rich part. The
lean part feeds the main combustion chamber and the rich part feeds
the pre-combustion chamber. The rich mixture in the pre-combustion
chamber is ignited . A "flame hole" in the pre-combustion
chamber allows the pre-combustion flame to blow across the regular
combustion chamber and ignite the lean mixture.