Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Mismatched Front/Rear Strut Combinations?	1		02/14 12:45pm

By Justy (216.254.141.68) on Monday, February 11, 2002 - 07:27 am:

No Konis for me... Upon further discussion with the previous owner of my '75 Civic (dad!), I've learned that the original strut casings are toast. The plate at the top of the strut casing that meets the spring broke off sometime in the late '70's, and dad's temporary repair involved hose clamps and wood blocks. A more permanant repair or replacement didn't happen before the car was parked in '82. If this car is to be driven again, I need to replace both rear struts. At least the springs are still good...

Classicgarage, the same place that sells the Koni wet inserts, also sells KYB struts. They're inexpensive (US$80 for a PAIR!) and they don't require parts that I don't have. Since they're so cheap I can only assume they're hydraulic, not gas. Has anyone had any experience with these, good or bad? Anything about suspension that's been mentioned on the board has been Koni, Koni, Koni.

I was thinking of getting original Honda struts and adding Koni inserts later, but there's a slight price difference...

two KYB struts @ Classicgarage = US$80 = CAD$128
two Honda struts @ dealer = 2x CAD$265 = CAD$530

By kelly (164.106.146.138) on Monday, February 11, 2002 - 08:33 am:

i recently got a pair off ebay. cheap and are a tons better than a monroe or the like. they are oil not gas but they feel firm enough. i went ahead and dropped the front springs while i was at it. handles much better now

By Justy (216.254.141.68) on Monday, February 11, 2002 - 08:51 am:

I'm just replacing the rear struts out of necessity right now... the original front suspension should still be fine (I hope!), so I'm not messing with it. I just want to get the car on the road.

Of course, come summertime, I want to be ready to start autocross. If I go with the KYB rear struts now, I'll get a matching front set in late spring, and by then I hope to know enough about suspension to know the right adjustments to make.

By Don (209.181.52.51) on Monday, February 11, 2002 - 05:30 pm:

I'm interested in your old strut casings, if they are original, they may be salvagable with some work. You can never have too many spare parts ..... Now if I could get down to Australia on vacation....

By Justy (216.254.141.68) on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 - 07:03 am:

If anyone's got the KYB oil struts... are the casings openable? Could I replace the inserts with gas shocks?

Or does anyone know where to find a decent gas strut (casing + shock) for Civic 1200?

DON: I'm not sure if I'll hang on to the casings or not, but if I determine they're really no use to me, I'll give you a shout.

By Darrell --Maryland-- (12.91.151.70) on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 - 08:18 am:

I've got KYB stuts. I don't think they were meant to be taken apart. They look just like the stock struts.

By quikrick (63.204.16.66) on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 - 11:34 am:

I have KYBs and cut wagon springs all the way around on my 79 CVCC. Feels good to me! I did notice that they all have the hex top and you can see the threads, so it looks to me like they can at least be opened.

By Justy (24.76.60.52) on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 - 04:01 pm:

Okay, people like KYB struts. Sweet. I'm going with 'em. Now it's time to shop around to see if I can get a good price locally on the KYB gas struts (GR-2 or Gas-A-Just), and if not, Classicgarage gets an order for four hydraulic struts. Woohoo!

By Christopher Thomas (61.9.135.144) on Thursday, February 14, 2002 - 03:23 am:

Pedders suspension in Australia make gas shocks for civics but i don't know how much they are or if you can get them in the states. I think the shocks are there touring series but don't quate me on that. If you want some more info goto www.pedders.com.au.

By glen (203.25.25.117) on Friday, February 15, 2002 - 02:12 am:

I called My local Pedders on Tuesday. They are the touring series. When I asked about a price for them, they told me that this is all they have for our cars.

Front $360aus
Rear $400aus

I dont think I will get them. To expensive for me.

By Justy (216.254.141.68) on Friday, February 15, 2002 - 08:07 am:

Well, here's what I decided to go with:

-=FRONT=-
Koni "Red" inserts
http://www.classicgarage.com/
US$60 + US$30 s+h = US$90 = $144 Canadian
(also ordered the Haynes manual and a fuel filter)

-=REAR=-
KYB "Gas-A-Just" struts
BC Shock & Strut, Surrey, BC, Canada (604)580-3366
$119 Canadian
(to be picked up Saturday!)

Now, if I can just find a carb rebuild kit for a 1200, I'll be set... if anyone's looking for a carb rebuild kit for CVCC, there's always seems to be one on eBay.

By quikrick (63.204.16.66) on Friday, February 15, 2002 - 08:10 am:

http://www.recarbco.com/specials/

Check this out. I've bought several carbs from these guys over the years.

By Justy (216.254.141.68) on Friday, February 15, 2002 - 08:42 am:

Thanks for the referral, but after some searching, recarbco found the carburetor for an EB1/EB2... US$369... with discount, US$249.06. Ouch. So I won't be buying from them. If necessity forces me up into that price range, I'll go just a little higher for a brand new Weber with install kit.

Oh, hang on, I didn't ask Recarbco if they had rebuild kits available...