Project 1977 Honda Civic CVCC

[mcd5150]

So the story begins with my second classic car. July 1st was an interesting day I have to report on. I went and bought a 1977 Honda Civic CVCC. It has over 111,000 miles on it. I bought the car from in Ohio about 100 miles from home. I knew going in there were problems, it's from 1977 and what car that is that old and doesn't have problems you are kidding yourself. On the way home the car wasn't stable above 45 miles per hour (even though the speedometer said 50). Therefore I took back roads on the way home. About 8 miles from home the front drivers side tire which was dry rotted gave itself up. I have driven a car from Florida to Pennsylvania on dry rotted tires so I felt that I could go the 100 mile trip home. The spare was also dry rotted and was in worse shape. So I called for a tow, I sat around for 5 hours awaiting for a tow. During my wait, my phone almost died twice. I am not blaming the towing company for my wait they had other jobs that day for whom he was doing work for our state police. What I did notice yesterday that a lot of people drove by, some rubber necked some didn't even pay attention. I would like to thank the police officer that came by twice during his shift to come and check on me. He even brought me a water. In 1977 no one ever dreamed of having a cup holder, one modification I'm going to add in the future.
Also it seems that I need to get a new belt, it was squealing like a banshee after I blew my tire. Come to find out that that a bolt on the alternator is not there. I know she needs work. I felt every single bump on the road, I'm hoping the shimmy in steering is caused from the bad tires, in which I'm going to buy 4 new 12s, yes 12s not putting 20s on this one. The tires are also the wrong size so that's why the speedometer was off. I know I have a good mechanic that will look over the car and give me an honest opinion.
The car was painted at least once before and after looking at the car there are some dent that I didn't notice before. I am not sure if she is a 4-speed or a 5-speed but she grinds in second and third if you don't have enough rpms or if you don't put the clutch all the way in. Body has literally no rust except for a small bubble on the drivers a-pillar.
Also I asked my dad to come out and keep me company in which he stayed with me for a couple of hours. I'm not upset at the towing company or none of the people that didn't stop. I'm grateful for the people that did one guy stopped by and told me his first car was a 1977 Civic and he just might have a spare wheel in his basement. He also told me to pick up some points because his car used to go through them pretty regularly. Oh and a side note on the way home one of the vehicles that passed me by a 1949 Ford pickup that didn't even notice me was broken down a mile down the road. That Ford was the tow truck drivers next job. I'd rather get all the kinks worked out now before I really try something extreme, like highway speeds and Pittsburgh traffic.

End of the project to hopefully look like this

For a possible run coast to coast

[mcd5150]

Update on the progress.

New tires installed and the "shimmy" the last owner told me is gone. Even thought I put on four new 155/80R12 Inch Nankang CX668 tires speedometer is still off by five miles per hour.

Took it up to 70 mph (according to GPS app) and some morning rush hour traffic, the temp gauge got a little high for me so I was worried the electric fan was not working. Fan does work and thank goodness no overheating. On smooth roads no problem, pot holes and every bump I can feel.

Also notice a small bulls-eye on the front windshield, hope to fill it and not replace the windshield since its an original Honda windshield.

Love that less than $20 fills up the tank.

[Thor]

Hi, welcome

The speedometers were calibrated for the car's designed and intended fitment which was 5.60x12 cross-ply [bias belt]. These were taller than 80% profile and so when radials were fitted the speedos read fast, which suited the authorities and it made the car look quicker on acceleration.

When I did all the calculations for the suspension, I used 165/70x13 on Accord rims, this being the closest to the original rolling radius to emulate the original suspension angles, ground clearance etc.
With all the variances and vagaries that we can create on these cars, I have for many years used a sat-nav for my speed. Despite what is often said, I find them more accurate than any traditional speedo. I am talking hundreds of thousands of miles to form this opinion.
If it is accurate in one car, then it's the same speed in another car which may have better or worse clocks, but when radar is about, you know what speed you are doing, removing the niggle of ''is this clock off?''
I run our Police radars at exactly the limit speed on the sat-nav. Not yet been caught and I am no slouch.
Warning
Civicitis is contagious
All the best
Pete

[mcd5150]

Hi, welcome

The speedometers were calibrated for the car's designed and intended fitment which was 5.60x12 cross-ply [bias belt]. These were taller than 80% profile and so when radials were fitted the speedos read fast, which suited the authorities and it made the car look quicker on acceleration.

Thanks Pete for the information. I used the door size recommendations for tire size, but you can not get a 152 tire anymore. I used this web site https://www.automobile-catalog.com/tire ... hback.html to check for correct sizes. The tires that were bad are 165/70/x12 and the speedometer was still off. I will try getting those size tires when these run out of tread

[mcd5150]

Update 2: The Alternator Story Continues.

Drove about 125 mile (back and forth to work a couple days), Alternator Belt started squeaking again during start up. Looked into the problem a little more deeply. Took off the alternator belt, wanted to change it out anyways, and had a heck of a time getting the bottom bolt out. After lots of banging and the having to replace the oil filter because it was in the way.

After removing the bolt, there are four problems. 1. The bolt holding the alternator is the wrong size, its English (1/2 in) and the whole car (so far) is metric. 2. It is also too long that is why I now have a dent on the oil filter. 3. The said bolt threads are stripped, I can only figure at one time someone used a bolt and nut to hold the alternator in. 4. I know the reason why for the bolt and nut configuration, the threads on the alternator are stripped too.

Time for a new Alternator, Alternator Belt, correct size bolt, and oil filter. BTW anyone know the right size bolt that goes into the bottom alternator bracket? Would prefer to get a new one since I know I have the wrong size and the old one is actually stripped and bent.

[mcd5150]

New alternator did have a threaded end on both ends so I had to do the bolt and nut configuration for the bottom end, oh well. New oil filter and new belt, car back on the road. Question is what to work on next

[mcd5150]

Well I know now what is next....

Head gasket and rocker cover are leaking.

Also I am going to need to find a new transmission, took it to a reputable shop and they said with the grinding best to get a new one. Done some searching and I haven't found a 4-speed available.

Since I know I have to take off the air cleaner, I think I might do the weber change over. Also might do an aluminum radiator upgrade.

[mcd5150]

Car overheated on the way to work. I have blown the head gasket because the oil is all milky. Found out a rocker nut came loose but I was able to fish it out. Time to disassemble.

[mcd5150]

I was curious why my car overheated in the first place and I pulled the thermostat housing and there was no thermostat in the car at all. So the big mystery is how can a car overheat without having a thermostat? Logic would have told me a stuck thermostat would have caused the engine to overheat, so I'm going to have to dig deeper and find out the reason

[mcd5150]

More not so good news, machine shop says that I have two bad lobes on my camshaft, so I am looking for a replacement now. I did drop the oil pan and I found the missing part from the camshaft. The pan looks good, just might need a little paint here and there. Also pulled the radiator and I think I am just going to get an aluminium replacement.