Topic: 1989 Civic Si Hatchback - Remembering the glory days

[Flinter]

I stumbled on this article and video yesterday and it got me thinking. The 99 Civic Si was my first new car and as a 17 year old I was over the moon.  It was purchased in July, 89 and Ms. Flinter continued to drive it until Sept. 2006 when we let it go to make room for the SX4. It had in excess of 330,000 km at the time and when I left Ottawa in 2012 it was still going strong.

Autoblog Article
http://www.autoblog.com/2015/02/27/motorweek-honda-civic-si-video/

MotorWeek Video Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAQ18k0jdLU

Here are a few shots of my particular car.





These last 2 pics were taken the morning we traded it. I thought it still looked pretty good for a 17 year old car.






Thinking back to the sub-compact and compact cars of that time, the Civic Si was on the cutting edge for 1989.

- Even the more basic D16A6 engine offered here in NA was impressive with an all aluminum design, 4 values per cylinder with all 16 valves operated by a single cam shaft. Power : 108 hp @ 5600 rpm,Torque : 100 ft·lbs @ 4,800 rpm, Redline : 6500 rpm 
- Multi-port Electronic fuel injection.
- 4 Wheel fully independent suspension with upper camber controlling links.
- Great thickly bolstered sport seats.
- Electric sunroof.
- A slick shifting 5 speed manual.
- Light weight of 2300 lbs.
- Great utility with the hatchback and flat folding seats.
- All this at a price of ~$15k on the road.

On the downside:
- Manual steering made parking tedious at times.
- My Civic had no A/C which really sucked in the Ontario summers.
- With no airbags, a lightweight chassis, and no other modern safety equipment, this thing probably would be a death trap if you ever had an accident.

In later years I replaced the stock shocks and springs with a set of H&R OE sport springs and KYB AGX adjustable gas shocks. Even squirting around town this thing was a riot to drive.
 

[2JDM]

 

The body looks excellent for a 17 year old Honda  How did you keep it rust free?

[Flinter]

The body looks excellent for a 17 year old Honda  How did you keep it rust free?

As it was for most Japanese cars of this vintage, rust was definitely a battle with this car. Our Civic was painted twice while we had it and the second painting can be best described as a restoration. Most of the rocker panels and the bottoms of the doors were cut out and replaced. Behind the rear wheel wells rusted sections were also cut out and replaced. IIRC a small area of the floor panel was also replaced.

After the restoration I discovered Krown and over the last 4-5 years we had it, the body held up well.

[initial_D]

Oh yeah! I remember the Honda Si cars, the CRX, Civic, them were the 'hot rods'. 

On the market were the GM F-bodies, Mustangs, (not many other choices), somewhat affortable ... The likes of the RX7, 300Z, Supra, Stealth were too expensive. Toyota discontinued the RWD Corolla and the Celica line, but they did make some good non-appliance cars back then, really like the looks of the Corolla GT-S and the 2nd gen Supra.

[Flinter]

Oh yeah! I remember the Honda Si cars, the CRX, Civic, them were the 'hot rods'. 

On the market were the GM F-bodies, Mustangs, (not many other choices), somewhat affortable ... The likes of the RX7, 300Z, Supra, Stealth were too expensive. Toyota discontinued the RWD Corolla and the Celica line, but they did make some good non-appliance cars back then, really like the looks of the Corolla GT-S and the 2nd gen Supra.

Agreed. If you couldn't afford a RX7, 300Z, Supra, Stealth then your options were limited. It seems that as Toyota moved away from that segment  Honda kinda stepped in  with the 4th-5th generation Civic's and 2nd-3rd generation Integra's.

I also had a thing for the 2nd gen Supra . My parents did own a 1984 Celica which I think shared a common platform with the Supra of that time. It had a neat 2 tone color scheme like the pics below.

[neil]

Oh yeah! I remember the Honda Si cars, the CRX, Civic, them were the 'hot rods'. 

On the market were the GM F-bodies, Mustangs, (not many other choices), somewhat affortable ... The likes of the RX7, 300Z, Supra, Stealth were too expensive. Toyota discontinued the RWD Corolla and the Celica line, but they did make some good non-appliance cars back then, really like the looks of the Corolla GT-S and the 2nd gen Supra.

Cutting edge for the Si came in '91 with VTEC IMO,  But the Si's were a good wagon for sure.  My wife had a '90 Integra which was a very fun car.

Cutting edge though in the Hot Hatch market in '89, I'd go with this crazy machine:



Only sold in Canada one year:  135 HP Colt/Mirage Turbo, made C/D\s top ten list that year.



This was my Fave:  323 GTX  132hp Turbo AWD.  The WRX of it's day.

[Railton]

Picked up the Talon TSI AWD Winter '89-90. 200hp and AWD. Yee Haw. Had it until 1996 Winter and traded it in on a '96 TSI AWD. Had that one until 2004.
Railton

[johngenx]

I would still like a Celica All-Trac Turbo.

[rrocket]

I would still like a Celica All-Trac Turbo.

You want the JDM export ST205.  Was pure awesome! 255HP.  I see them offered for sale in Canada from time to time..

[2JDM]

Motorweek has been uploading retro reviews lately on YouTube.

88' Celica All-Track Turbo Review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMo_74zJ-oA

'89 Mazda 323 GTX:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dssgPe36RlE

'89 Mirage Turbo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bebg-wJTsVY

'88 XT6:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uceY4A3N-HE

[The Mighty Duck]

Honda was at their best from the late-80s to the late-90s, imo. They had the NSX, the Integra (including the brilliant Integra Type R), the CRX, the Civic, the Prelude, and the S2000 squeaks in with a 1999 launch. Their whole lineup was really spectacular.

The modern Fit, Civic, and Accord are all great cars in their class, but Honda doesn't have the same soul they used to. Then again, the new NSX and (European) Civic Type R are steps in the right direction...

I would still like a Celica All-Trac Turbo.

One of my favourite cars of the era...

[rrocket]

Picked up the Talon TSI AWD Winter '89-90. 200hp and AWD. Yee Haw. Had it until 1996 Winter and traded it in on a '96 TSI AWD. Had that one until 2004.
Railton

I REALLY like the 96.  Please tell us more!!

[rrocket]

I had a 1994 Stealth TT......that was a fun car.  More of a fast GT than all out sports car.  But nonetheless....was fun!

[initial_D]

The Celica All-Trac were only 200Hp & 200 ft-lb for the ST185 model we had here, it was heavy at over 3200 lbs. I remember reading on Car & Driver calling it over weight and underpowered, thirsty, 0-60 at over 8 seconds, plus a high MSRP, didn't do very well in terms of sales. Hence we didn't get the ST205.

A friend of mine imported an ST205, too bad the turbo blowned not long after. I couldn't get some decent seat time. He sold it, tons of interests in that car.

[dkaz]

Beautiful Civic. It's hard to find rust free Civics of that vintage even in rust-free Vancouver. You must have put a lot of love and care into that car.

I had the D16A6 engine in my 1988 Honda Civic Wagon RT4WD as well, although it was only tuned for 102 HP in 1988. Great engine. Miss that car dearly, even though I only had it for 12 days until someone ran a red light. I was almost in tears when I had to sign the car over to write it off.

[KD]

My first new car was a 93 Civic Si.  I purchased it without a radio/stereo and installed my own killer sound system.  A couple of my friends were so impressed with the sound of the audio system they got me to help them install the exact same system in their cars.  Loved the car, but the seating position didn't agree with my physique and my hip would start to bother me on longer trips so I sold it after 2 years.  No problem selling it either. 

Perhaps my favorite Honda was the 2-yr old 86 Prelude that I bought from a friend.  It was red and simply a beautiful car and handled like nothing else around at the time imo.  I only had it for a few months as I was t-boned at an intersection and it got written off.    I think I've owned 4 Hondas in total and all from the late 80s to early 90s. 

[Flinter]

Picked up the Talon TSI AWD Winter '89-90. 200hp and AWD. Yee Haw. Had it until 1996 Winter and traded it in on a '96 TSI AWD. Had that one until 2004.
Railton

I REALLY like the 96.  Please tell us more!!

Agreed, the Talon/Eclipse were very desirable cars of the time. I was also more smitten with the second gen. Considered picking one up used at several points but never did take the plunge. IIRC the tuners were making some serious power with these cars??

[OliverD]

I'm still disappointed that I never got to own a Prelude. By the time the prices became palatable there were few left that weren't beat on and/or distastefully modded.

[Flinter]

I had a 1994 Stealth TT......that was a fun car.  More of a fast GT than all out sports car.  But nonetheless....was fun!

I experienced my 1st 4 wheel drift as a passenger in a Stealth TT. Couldn't wipe the grin off my face for hours.

Understand your comment about it being more of a GT though. Just a bit too big and heavy to be an all out sports car.

[OliverD]

I had a 1994 Stealth TT......that was a fun car.  More of a fast GT than all out sports car.  But nonetheless....was fun!

I experienced my 1st 4 wheel drift as a passenger in a Stealth TT. Couldn't wipe the grin off my face for hours.

Understand your comment about it being more of a GT though. Just a bit too big and heavy to be an all out sports car.

Also FWD based so the majority that were sold were a bit lackluster in comparison to their appearance.