Project Files: CRX

Well, I got the Mac today, and probably only need to make one more trip to Rat Shack for some cables and fiddly bits. I'll probably spend most of the weekend playing with that, and due to an onset of Indian Summer in the Midwest, I might try to get in a ride or two on the bike if I have time. Since I have kinda been geeking out lately on this blog, here's some pics and info of a past project for the grease monkey crowd:

1991 Honda CRX

When I got out of school, I was driving a 1989 Firebird that was the biggest lemon I ever owned - it was costing me more in parts every month than most car payments. Since I was gainfully employed, I went out and leased a brand new Jeep Wrangler.

I liked the Jeep a lot, (especially in the winter, since I am usually branded an "essential" employee, and have to show up to work even during snow emergencies) but I was sick of making the payment after 4 years. So, when the lease was up, I set out to look for a cheap, reliable car that I could afford to pay cash for.

Now, even though I would love to drive a vintage Chevelle or C-10 pickup every day, in the real world it creates a host of problems - the cost of gas, repairs, and insurance & the need for a garage are just a few that I am not equipped to deal with right now. In my experience, "efficient & reliable" means Honda or Toyota. Since there are three Honda plants in my part of the state that employ thousands, even the most die-hard "Buy American" types around here hold Honda in high regard, and used parts abound.

It just so happened that a friend of mine had just bought his wife a new car - previously she was driving a 1991 Honda CRX that was her family's "spare" car. (They had three kids in college at the same time, so someone always needed a car). The good news is that since the car was only driven occasionally, it only had 60,000 original miles. The bad news is that since is was being used by college kids who didn't have a reputation for either driving skills or sobriety, it was dented & dinged just about everywhere. The last of the kids had just graduated, so the Honda wasn't needed anymore and was just taking up space. After some shrewd negotiating, my friend agreed to sell me the car for $800.

The CRX as it was delivered.

The first difficulty came the weekend I was to pick up the car - we were hit by a blizzard and the car was plowed under several feet of snow. While waiting for it to thaw, someone decided to smash the window and rip out the cheap stereo, also destroying the center console in the process. My friend lowered the price to $500 and told me to come pick it up while there was still something left.

There were two adantages to buying this car: 1.) due to the popularity of the CRX with the "Fast & Furious" crowd, repro panels were plentiful & cheap. 2.) I was working at a car dealership, so I had a source of tools & cheap labor for anything that was over my head. Over the next several months, I scoured the web buying the bulk of the parts I needed (fender, lights, center console, front bumper, misc. trim pieces, etc.)

Repairing the hood, marker lights, & bumper.

Side shot of the new fender after mounting.

Rear spoiler was added.

The CRX unibody frame has integrated drain channels for the sunroof models, which is what causes every single one of them to rust out at the left rear wheel well.

Just back from the paint shop. We did a lot of restorations at the dealership, so there was always someone willing to do a paintjob on the cheap to get their foot in the door.

As it is now (minus a few layers of dirt). It desperately needed new tires, and I got a deal on a set of old stock 16" Progressive wheels that was too good to pass up - with no power steering it handles like a racing cart.

So that's the saga of the CRX. Not really my style, but it was fun to do and is actually a blast to drive. The original owner of the car (my friend's father-in-law) saw it a year later, and kicked himself for letting them sell it to me. Not a week goes by without some pimply-faced teenager offering to buy it from me (I won't let them have it just so they can put a coffee-can exhaust and APC stickers all over it - overall it looks pretty much as it did stock, except for the wheels & spoiler). Lately my genetically-encoded vehicle lust has been kicking in (my father bought a new car every two years, like clockwork), but the Honda is too cheap to own for me to get rid of it. The plan is to drive it 'till the wheels fall off...