The car before you is a 1980 Honda Civic. It's my uncle's old car, but now it lies in a field beside my house. This car has been abandoned and exposed to the elements in that field for over ten years.
To make a long story short, we decided to grab some basic hand tools today and dismantle this car piece by piece, just for fun. First thing's first... off with the hood. Four 10mm bolts, and then clip out the washer fluid hose. No problem. Now, off with the doors. Sixteen 12mm bolts and a linchpin for each one.
And then that's when we noticed it. This car is in immaculate condition, even after sitting in a field for ten years. The engine bay looked cleaner than the one in MY Accord. There is ZERO rust on this car. The doors are still sealed, and the paint is in 'OK' condition for a 3o year old car. The shifter felt smooth, and aside from the three snake skins we found inside... it was still pretty comfy.
I sent my brother after the battery from my car, and we hooked it up.
It ran.
Well, ok, it started a few times and then quickly sputtered to a stop with quite a heave each time. But the point is... it turned over. It's been sitting in a field for 10+ years, has zero rust, and it turned over several times. Not only that, but you can also dismantle this entire car with nothing more than the most basic of basic hand tools. Why, you can have the entire head disassembled (valve cover, valve springs, retainers, cam, cam gear, timing belt, etc) with nothing more than a 10mm, 12mm, and a two screwdrivers.
Hats off to Soichiro Honda. You've been dead for quite a while, but this car you built definitely isn't. It demonstrates the sole reason that I love old beaters. With a normal, functioning car, you just can't have these kinds of experiences. We went on to discover that the motor, internally, is in immaculate condition. The carburetor is in immaculate condition. The pistons had zero buildup on them after 200,000+ miles. Everything still turned freely, the throttle still worked, and the distributor obviously still worked. Hell, the entire powertrain rotated under it's own power, albeit for just a few seconds.
I don't think I'll ever look at Honda the same way again.
To make a long story short, we decided to grab some basic hand tools today and dismantle this car piece by piece, just for fun. First thing's first... off with the hood. Four 10mm bolts, and then clip out the washer fluid hose. No problem. Now, off with the doors. Sixteen 12mm bolts and a linchpin for each one.
And then that's when we noticed it. This car is in immaculate condition, even after sitting in a field for ten years. The engine bay looked cleaner than the one in MY Accord. There is ZERO rust on this car. The doors are still sealed, and the paint is in 'OK' condition for a 3o year old car. The shifter felt smooth, and aside from the three snake skins we found inside... it was still pretty comfy.
I sent my brother after the battery from my car, and we hooked it up.
It ran.
Well, ok, it started a few times and then quickly sputtered to a stop with quite a heave each time. But the point is... it turned over. It's been sitting in a field for 10+ years, has zero rust, and it turned over several times. Not only that, but you can also dismantle this entire car with nothing more than the most basic of basic hand tools. Why, you can have the entire head disassembled (valve cover, valve springs, retainers, cam, cam gear, timing belt, etc) with nothing more than a 10mm, 12mm, and a two screwdrivers.
Hats off to Soichiro Honda. You've been dead for quite a while, but this car you built definitely isn't. It demonstrates the sole reason that I love old beaters. With a normal, functioning car, you just can't have these kinds of experiences. We went on to discover that the motor, internally, is in immaculate condition. The carburetor is in immaculate condition. The pistons had zero buildup on them after 200,000+ miles. Everything still turned freely, the throttle still worked, and the distributor obviously still worked. Hell, the entire powertrain rotated under it's own power, albeit for just a few seconds.
I don't think I'll ever look at Honda the same way again.
That's incredible. Holy crap!
ReplyDeletehold on to your civic.
ReplyDeleteI planned on it before but I definitely am now.
ReplyDeleteThat's insane! I honestly can't think of many (if any at all) other makes that would hold up like a Honda...
ReplyDelete