I recently stumbled upon a well maintained 1989 CRX Si while looking through local craigslist ads and Honda parts. A few days later, several conversations, and a long test drive, I purchased the car at what felt like a fair price.
The car has definitely been maintained by an enthusiast. I do believe he went wrong in a few spots and I plan on changing those.
Lets start with some photos!
The car has good condition climate controls and the dash/door cars are all in good condition. There is a blemish on the top of the dash, nothing extreme. The AC and heat both function very well. I live in Florida and on the drive home I turned the AC down to fan speed 2. I believe the heat in dex was 105* F that afternoon. The AC has been converted to R134A, which is a huge bonus in my opinion.
The functionality continues to the sunroof and trunk. Neither struggle to function nor do either of them currently leak. The hood pops without trouble and so does the trunk and gas lid.
The car has had the rear drums replaced with disk brakes and the E-Brake functions perfectly.
The CRX Si OE front seats are in excellent condition. They sport minor discoloration but no rips, tears, or worn down padding. The boast a ton of comfort compared to the STD seats in my hatch. Continuing with the seats, the rear has been converted to a JDM rear seat set up. While leg space is non-existent, it is a nice touch.
The factory head liner is in mint condition with no tears, streaks, markings or noticeable wear. The carpet is all in good condition. Nothing outstanding from the floor carpet, but it is definitely useable and doesn't show large wear.
The transmission has no pops but does have a grind while shifting into 3rd gear at RPM higher than 2,000. The stock clutch has been upgraded to a OE replacement Exedy clutch kit that is extremely smooth.
The car has been resprayed Rio Red in 2013. The clear coat could use a professional cut and buff as far as orange peel is concerned, but it shines very well and has a deep coloration. I'm happy that it was painted the OE color and that they went with a 2-stage paint set up instead of cheaping out with a single stage 'color match'.
The car has been lowered from stock height on ground control coilover sleeves and -I forgot the name- shocks. A smooth ride, doesn't bottom out, but does struggle with some drainage frequently found and steep drive ways. I would have opted for a slightly higher ride height. But the sleeves are adjustable so that is not out of the question.
The car has GSR blades with 195/50R15 tires in decent condition. Nothing to write home about, but it won't need new tires for a long time. The car also has OE mudflaps. They are all present and well maintained.
Unfortunately, there are some bad things. While the motor does run and test drove fabulously, I do not believe the engine management was done right. The D16A6 has had a head swap to a D16Y8 head and the pistons swapped to P29 pistons. This sports a ridiculous compression ratio that I believe has been tuned with rich fuel ratios and best guess timing.
The battery is no longer in the engine bay, something I plan on reversing. For a daily driver, I think the safety of the battery being in the engine bay and the ease of wiring is something that shouldn't be passed up.
The transmission does have it's grind. A rebuild kit from Synchrotech or a rebuilt transmission from Synchrotech is in order. It may be a while before that is replaced since it really doesn't affect the daily drivability of the car.
Lastly, the exhaust is an eBay special exhaust. The previous owner mentioned attempting to find a HKS exhaust but didn't have much luck so this was a 'temp' fix. I plan on replacing it with something near stock.
Goal for the car is a decent daily driver. I don't drive much, about 5 miles a day. And for anything longer than that or with the family, I have a Honda Fit. Things to come:
Remove P29 pistons and replace with new P2P pistons
Replace exhaust with stock twin tip exhaust from RockAuto
Raise the coilover sleeves
Move battery to engine bay
Convert to OBD1
General maintenance
Transmission overhaul
The car has definitely been maintained by an enthusiast. I do believe he went wrong in a few spots and I plan on changing those.
Lets start with some photos!
The car has good condition climate controls and the dash/door cars are all in good condition. There is a blemish on the top of the dash, nothing extreme. The AC and heat both function very well. I live in Florida and on the drive home I turned the AC down to fan speed 2. I believe the heat in dex was 105* F that afternoon. The AC has been converted to R134A, which is a huge bonus in my opinion.
The functionality continues to the sunroof and trunk. Neither struggle to function nor do either of them currently leak. The hood pops without trouble and so does the trunk and gas lid.
The car has had the rear drums replaced with disk brakes and the E-Brake functions perfectly.
The CRX Si OE front seats are in excellent condition. They sport minor discoloration but no rips, tears, or worn down padding. The boast a ton of comfort compared to the STD seats in my hatch. Continuing with the seats, the rear has been converted to a JDM rear seat set up. While leg space is non-existent, it is a nice touch.
The factory head liner is in mint condition with no tears, streaks, markings or noticeable wear. The carpet is all in good condition. Nothing outstanding from the floor carpet, but it is definitely useable and doesn't show large wear.
The transmission has no pops but does have a grind while shifting into 3rd gear at RPM higher than 2,000. The stock clutch has been upgraded to a OE replacement Exedy clutch kit that is extremely smooth.
The car has been resprayed Rio Red in 2013. The clear coat could use a professional cut and buff as far as orange peel is concerned, but it shines very well and has a deep coloration. I'm happy that it was painted the OE color and that they went with a 2-stage paint set up instead of cheaping out with a single stage 'color match'.
The car has been lowered from stock height on ground control coilover sleeves and -I forgot the name- shocks. A smooth ride, doesn't bottom out, but does struggle with some drainage frequently found and steep drive ways. I would have opted for a slightly higher ride height. But the sleeves are adjustable so that is not out of the question.
The car has GSR blades with 195/50R15 tires in decent condition. Nothing to write home about, but it won't need new tires for a long time. The car also has OE mudflaps. They are all present and well maintained.
Unfortunately, there are some bad things. While the motor does run and test drove fabulously, I do not believe the engine management was done right. The D16A6 has had a head swap to a D16Y8 head and the pistons swapped to P29 pistons. This sports a ridiculous compression ratio that I believe has been tuned with rich fuel ratios and best guess timing.
The battery is no longer in the engine bay, something I plan on reversing. For a daily driver, I think the safety of the battery being in the engine bay and the ease of wiring is something that shouldn't be passed up.
The transmission does have it's grind. A rebuild kit from Synchrotech or a rebuilt transmission from Synchrotech is in order. It may be a while before that is replaced since it really doesn't affect the daily drivability of the car.
Lastly, the exhaust is an eBay special exhaust. The previous owner mentioned attempting to find a HKS exhaust but didn't have much luck so this was a 'temp' fix. I plan on replacing it with something near stock.
Goal for the car is a decent daily driver. I don't drive much, about 5 miles a day. And for anything longer than that or with the family, I have a Honda Fit. Things to come:
Remove P29 pistons and replace with new P2P pistons
Replace exhaust with stock twin tip exhaust from RockAuto
Raise the coilover sleeves
Move battery to engine bay
Convert to OBD1
General maintenance
Transmission overhaul