Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Is There Anyone Out There That Cares?	7		11/04 06:28pm

By Becks (203.96.111.201) on Friday, March 02, 2001 - 06:49 pm:

Modern Jap cars are made of aluminum cans. I was recently driving my '76 civic home from work at 3am.....(I'm a cleaner for all the curious wandering minds) and a new model Skyline decided to pass me and give me a nudge to move my "piece of crap" as he put it out of his way. Well he contacted me on my passenger side to his drivers side. I get the wobbles a lil but carried on to the nearest garage with him in toe. By then he had called the police so it was the waiting game with him mouthing off at me. I decided I had to looks at what my poor baby had sustained....and damn me nothing but a ripped off mud flap on the guard (and that was off a ford so no great loss)
As for the skid line....dented mags, scratches from ••••••• to breakfast, and a trip to the wreckers for a new door looks like.
So there it is I swear to anyone that the lil civics r one hard ass car when it comes to taking on these modern one. May not beet them in speed but damn they can take a knock or two.

By david (208.130.247.47) on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 01:18 am:

its kinda like alot older guitars. in the 60's the harmony(sears) was a beginners guitar, but in comparison to nowadays, i would consider them very solidly in the middle catagory as far as craftsmanship. buy a guitar for $125 today and you'll be luck to get it to tune much less stay around for 30 years.
civic were cheap only in context to what else was out there. big, heavy, inefficient bulldozers. serving no puprose, but to satisfy the bigger is better american mentality. not to say that some american cars don't have their charm and i do think that are quite a few poorly designed and ugly as sin imports.
what i'm worried about is new cars seem to be getting more complicated every year. what's going to happen in twenty years when all these computers and things start to fail? is anyone who wants to get into those cars going to have to have a degree in computer electronics?
i can see a day when gasoline cars will be a novelty and neiborhood children will giggle at the old man who is always tinkering with these weird smokey mobile contraptions.
i may just be ranting and fantasizing at 2 AM.

By Anonymous (208.60.186.113) on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 09:56 am:

My '79 civic is all the car I need. It is inexpensive to fuel, maintain and insure. I know that all of the other people around my age (19) love their camaros and mustangs, but my mommy didn't buy my car.

By John S. (216.89.129.67) on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 03:28 pm:

All I can say is DITTO to all of the above testaments.

By John S. (216.89.129.67) on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 03:50 pm:

You know , every time I pull up beside a new Honda , or for that matter most any of the newer cars. All slick and shiny, with their owners often as not either looking the other way so my rather tattered beater does not obstruct their view of what things should look like, on the one hand, or casting a not so innocent glance of subtle distain that my "pile of crap" is still allowed on the road. I think to myself, "how many of their current cars will still be on the road 20yrs from now", and know full well that many variables are at play it in that yet to come senario. But the most important variable of all is the will and commitment of the owner/driver, and not merely the integrity of the machine itself as to how long and how well it may survive the demands of its master.

By Don (209.181.52.61) on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 05:46 pm:

Its the day and age of what I like to call the "disposable car" Most people can barely afford the payments let alone the scheduled maintenance. So the average "Joe" just drives the #$#@@ out of the car and throws it away. I think you will see less and less of the backyard mechanic, but the equipment required to work on the these cars is becoming obsolete and available also, at about the same rate as the cars depreciate. Older scanners and scopes are available and cheap, as the equipment manufactures come out with new technology to keep up with the rising demands of the auto industry. Do I think we will be scouring the wreckers to find Integra R parts the same way that we look for goodies now. I would say Its a very good possibility.
This reminds me of an old man that came into my shop back when I had my 66 Mustang (sorry guys, I now have a Civic)telling me that "kids" (Me) these days don't know what horsepower was that the 60's were the days.
I calmly took him out to the parking lot. Strapped him in and started the car warmed it and hammered it. Then I told him the car was street legal, I drove it to work and the 351 makes 487 hp. Something you could never do with 60's technology. So cheer up the best is yet to come.
Will there be adjustments, and learning yes!
We will be able to build better and more enjoyable projects as time goes on, as the late model turbo 2 transplants and Integra swaps are beginning to show. I don't care if they make me drive a flying saucer, I'm going to find a way to make it faster! That's just my view! PS If you can actually work on late model cars and fix them right there is a very good living to be made.

By david (208.130.245.160) on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 06:44 pm:

as long as there are people with your mentality, don.

By Mad Mel (161.184.41.140) on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 09:19 pm:

The last 1200 I bought was ten years ago in college...I am still driving it. I had two before this one. (Three Mini's in there to) I am 35 and have no intention of getting rid of my 1200 Civics (cargo & project ; ). All the ladies think its more cool than an Slowmarrow anyways!!! I would agree.

New cars aren't to bad to work on actually (in Canada anyways). It was legislated here that engine control computers had to have self diognostics on board. Pick up a good fuel injection manual and it will tell you what pins to jumper on the diagnotics plug and how to read the codes to find out what sensor is buggered. Usually the engine maintinance light stays on when it has "recorded" the error codes.

How does one post pics on this board?

By david (208.130.241.174) on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 09:35 pm:

go to the formatting section on the left of your screen. what you need to know is is there.

there seem to be alot of canadian civic buffs on this page? getting into these cars has been more benifical than i first thought. i find myself thinking about my little beater all through out the day. i've been checking this board 4 or 5 times a day for the past couple of weeks. i know its a new thing, but i seem to be more into these cars than i was my bus and i was really into that thing.

By Dave (209.226.249.33) on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 04:45 pm:

Hey now now, dont go telling me about how crappy the new cars are because I know if I were to take you to a Honda dealer and tell you that the new S2000 in the show room was yours for the taking you would be happier than a pig in you know what. Actually the cars are getting much better. The truth of (dam pop up adds are nuts today!!!) matter is my 88 civic is a much better car than my 75. The 88 is not a "cute" car but a cool one. The first gens are def. a very cool little car too but in a different way. Lets face it if all of us were rich this site may be a Mclaren site or something. It is all what you can afford. In the mean time with the money that we have the first gens are a great little attention getter and a whole lot of fun for the buck but I am still waiting for the day I can get my NSX. I hope my L'll civic did not hear that it may get its feelings hurt. One thing for sure I will never ever sell mine!!!

By Mad Mel (161.184.40.193) on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 05:29 pm:

Thanks David
Yes Dave you are right if it where for the taking I would drive off with that S2000. In my case I could afford to buy an S2000 but I would rather keep my , 78 1200 and my 77 F150 in top tune and go to europe or say Bahamas for a few weeks every year. Just my oppinion...I just cannot see mortgaging a damn car. If I cannot crash my car and replace it tomorrow with whats in the bank...no thanks. SO when I am driving an NSX...you can be assured I made it BIG! LOL

Hey the richest guy in the USA was Mr. Walton of Wal-Mart fame and he drove an identical truck to mine (actually a little rougher) until he passed away! ...Bet he had a 1200 in the garage to! ; ) This frugal attitude made him what he was...we could learn a lot I think.

By david (208.130.247.111) on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 06:13 pm:

i agree with mad mel. i would definatly take the S2000 and mabey drive it as hard and fast as i could, for say, a month. then i would sell it and put a large portion of the money into my civic. you see, i like simple cars with character. there is so much less between me and go in my little '73. i also like these cars in particular, for one, beacuse they seem to embrace resonable performance upgrades. i think honda designed a really good engine for their little car. why do you think they put out the RS.

By daniel (208.220.89.28) on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 06:32 pm:

I think technology should be aimed at simplicity, that is why I am a true fan of the 1200's, and also why they will still be here when the cars of today are gone.

By david (208.130.247.172) on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 08:19 pm:

a thinktank of all the worlds brightest minds going "how can we make -this- work the best with the smallest amount of parts"
daniel, you a man after my own heart.

By Becks (203.96.111.201) on Tuesday, March 06, 2001 - 02:00 am:

Well my we baby ( 79 civic ) cost me all of $100 NZ and took only a replaced indicator switch to get on the road. And By God ive got my moneys worth outa it plus more.
So i say glasses up to the "old pieces of crap" cause they r here to stay weither the new hoons like it or not

By ray (203.97.2.242) on Tuesday, March 06, 2001 - 10:41 am:

agree.... there is nothing better than passing a monaro on a motorway onramp and it not being able to keep up with you.. you cant do better than that. oh the shame of it... a clasic like that being taken by a rusty old honda....heee heee heee

By Mad Mel (161.184.40.28) on Tuesday, March 06, 2001 - 06:37 pm:

Blowing by 318/325's on the ramps in Toronto is even more rewarding than a slowmarrow!!! He He He It was with my now Cargo 1200 (posted pics of her today under "New pics of a SOHC VTEC in a 78...")

By JohnJacob (38.31.113.229) on Thursday, March 08, 2001 - 08:10 pm:

And you know all the chicks ask to drive "that cute little car". So I let them I don't hear many Camaro guys or Mustang guys saying this.

By daniel (208.220.89.28) on Wednesday, March 14, 2001 - 03:22 pm:

They think its cute untill you start it up and it lobes stronger than a 5.0.

By Rexman (66.44.70.219) on Tuesday, November 06, 2001 - 06:34 pm:

um, i wish a skyline hit my civic. i've only seen one in person, stateside...

By Twyla (24.69.255.202) on Wednesday, November 07, 2001 - 06:41 pm:

this is all the damage that our car sustained after taking out a 1998 Pontiac GrandAm. The GrandAm was a write off.
and this is what happens when you forget to put the cotterpin back in!!!!!! (thankfully the wheel didn't come off the car totally, but this is what it looked like once we came to a stop)

By Richard Nasr (Admin) (64.114.135.216) on Thursday, November 08, 2001 - 01:23 pm:

I like the 77 bumpers much better!

How much did it cost to recrome them?

By John S. (207.160.161.212) on Thursday, November 08, 2001 - 01:39 pm:

Justin,
Slowdown...(a little).

By mike adams (206.58.33.68) on Friday, November 09, 2001 - 09:40 pm:

Actually Justin, if you'd been going faster you would have missed him completely! So speed up I say, speed up! Seriously, the second scariest moment of my life was while driving my 79 civic 1200 with my wife and both kids in tow, when a caddie blew a red light and almost t-boned us to death. If I had been going 1 mile per hour slower, that caddilac would have nailed me, as it was it passed me within 2 inches and my wife told me later that the look she caught on that drivers face was something to the effect of, "where the hell did that car come from?"

By Justin (24.69.255.202) on Friday, November 09, 2001 - 10:37 pm:

Richard, the bumpers cost me $250, but you would probably get charged $300 like Mo did. (I got them cheaper because I do tons of business with the guy)

By Rexman (66.44.73.18) on Sunday, November 11, 2001 - 05:51 pm:

hehee, my car has the 77 bumpers cause it is a 77. hehehee

By John S. (207.160.161.162) on Monday, November 12, 2001 - 10:37 am:

Actually one must be able to judge , in each particular instant, which is the appropriate action. Unfortunately one is not always given the time necessary to act. Thus the wisest course of action always is to drive these cars as if you are riding a moderately powered motorcycle. That is to say...always do your best to set yourself up with an out...always pan all your mirrors so as to be aware of what is going on around you...it is afterall constantly changing...and most important, NEVER trust the other guy to do what he is supposed to do. On a motorcycle it will get you dead, in one of these little cars, you could end up wishing you were. Oh, by the way, all of the above is also applicable for life in general.

By Travis V. (24.66.94.141) on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 03:07 pm:

The first year I had mine, I nailed a pickup, then a transport trailer tire. I drove the car home, though, and had it ready to go again in less than a month