Carrol Shelby, when doing work for Chrysler, said that he loved making a mule outrun a racehorse. Chrysler fans can interpret what that means on their own (please don’t send hate mail, I like Shelby Mopars), but my take on it has always been that it is fun to make an economy car outrun more expensive machinery. He also favorably compared the people who built up and raced Japanese cars in the 1990s to hot rodders from his era. I think he is right. When you look at what auto enthusiasts in the 1990s did with inexpensive Japanese cars like this 1989 Honda CRX Si found on craigslist in Jeffersonville, Kentucky for $3,000, it was a totally new type of hot rodding.
Honda Civics in general, and CRX models in particular, are perhaps the best Japanese cars to hot rod from the late 1980s through today. They have all the ingredients needed, such as good styling, almost bulletproof engines, cheap parts, a huge aftermarket, and light weight. A whole aftermarket industry sprang up to take advantage of the popularity of these cars, and the amount of horsepower you can get out of Honda engines is ridiculous. In the mid nineties, I went with the local Corvette club to a drag racing night at the local quarter mile strip. While I had a 430 horsepower crate motor (ZZ430) in my Corvette, I remember being quite happy about not being lined up next to one of the souped up Hondas that were in abundance at the track that night. Many a Corvette got a real whipping that night, much to the surprise of many.
The fourth generation Honda Civics, and thus their second generation CRX siblings, were the Japanese cars to have back then. The lighter models, such as the Civic hatchback and the CRX, weighed just over 2,000 pounds. Combine that with engines that responded favorably to minimal tuning and incredibly well to such tricks as turbocharging and nitrous oxide, and you have the makings for one fast mule. The mules, amazingly, were agile too. These particular Civics and CRX models received an upgraded double wishbone suspension at all four corners, making them handle like high dollar sports cars. So well that they were the terrors of SCCA autocrosses across the nation. They did this in the near stock class. That was the class that included the Mazda Miata. How’s that for hijinks?
This particular Honda CRX is an Si model, and is equipped with a manual transmission (yes!), working air conditioning, and a sunroof. The downside is that it has amassed 314,000 miles to date, making it pretty well worn. The owner seems to be quite knowledgeable concerning these cars, and states that it has received new tires, brakes, a distributor, and plug wires in the last year. The car is driven daily, and is all original.
Inside, it looks pretty good for a 28 year old car. Yes, these cars are eligible for display at Antique Automobile Club of America shows. Their cut off for judging is 25 years from new (Feeling old yet? I am). With that in mind, the dash and door panels look great on this car. The seats seem to be covered with a good quality set of seat covers, making me wonder their condition underneath. With that kind of mileage, it would be reasonable to expect them to be worn.
Under the hood, we see the ubiquitous Honda 16 valve four cylinder engine. The valve cover could certainly use some bead blasting and new paint or powder coating, but the rest of the engine compartment looks quite tidy and, unbelievably, stock. Very few CRXs escaped the tuners, making this one quite a find. The engine compartment sheet metal shows no sign of collision damage, but, in the picture above of the front end, it does appear some minor bump happened somewhere in the past 314,000 miles. Nothing too major, and nothing that cannot be fixed easily.
Given the rarity of finding a CRX that doesn’t look like one of the cars from the Road Warrior, you can probably overlook the mileage somewhat. That kind of wear will require more parts replacements than usual, but these Hondas were legendary for their toughness. If you bought it, you could head in three different directions. You could continue to drive and enjoy it like it is, replacing parts as needed. Or, you could start looking for a VTEC engine and speed parts to make it into a stoplight terror. My choice would be to restore it and take it to AACA shows. Seeing a CRX would probably put a smile on people’s faces when they see it on the same field as prewar Cadillacs and Packards. Maybe take it on some antique car tours.
Honda CRXs are fun cars, and they have earned their place in automotive history, just like 1955-57 Chevrolets. They are milestone cars, and a few deserve to be restored as they were from the factory. Racing mules are nice, but we need to keep a few stock mules around the pasture as well.
All original?
No Honda ever left the factory with panel fitment that sloppy, or that many different shades of red.
Wow, this brings back memories. My second car, the one I used all through my senior year of high school and college, was a red CRX Si just like this one. It was the car I learned to drive stick in and the car I first experienced the joy of high-speed cornering in. It wasn’t fast, but it was amazingly nimble and a total blast on the highway onramps and backroads of southern New Jersey. Unfortunately, mine lacked AC, which was pretty awful in the summers of southern New Jersey!
I put over 100,000 miles on mine without issue, and would have put on more had a dealer not botched a head gasket replacement, which wound up messing up the engine. But, as a car, the second-generation CRX is just a lovely jewel…the kind of car that is engineered at a level way beyond it’s price point, and a car that is way more fun than 105 horsepower should be. Fantastic seats, shifter and steering. Great sightlines, with the low cowl Honda used to be known for. Eager, if low-powered, engine that loves to rev. And mileage that never dropped below 30mpg, no matter how much the 18-year-old behind the wheel beat on it.
What would I do with this? It’s too beat up and high-mileage to restore back to showroom condition, so I would go for a moderate upgrade plan—a VTEC B16 or B18 engine will bolt right in, as will a lot of other Honda/Acura parts from other cars. I would upgrade the suspension, add a moderately upsized wheel/tire package, and get a brace for the hatch area to stiffen the structure. Repaint it red and hit the backroads for some fun.
This is neither a rare or a barn find. Dime a dozen in that condition.
Not rare, but uncommon. Most have a fart can, huge sombrero wing and wealth of eBay bling. I’ve owned six over the years. An 84′, 86′, 87′, 89′ and two 90’s. Loved them, but my favorite is the 86’/ 2nd GEN and those are becoming quite rare. My last one was hiding rust and I sadly cut her loose for parts gladly only losing $500.
oh a CRX Si. ..ummmhmmm. Well I personally will never have one of these things. I had 4 friends that each had one of these. 3 of them got in slow-speed wrecks with them – and ALL 3 of them got injured – they call had knee injuries – and one of them got it worse than that and was hurt pretty badly – at less than 20mph. 4th friend sold his cause he didn’t want to end up hurt. Thanks – but helllll no. I don’t know what the issue is – but apparently any type of front-end collision can result in serious injury to the driver. Nope nope nope. Take a Del Sol, a MR2, a Fiero, a Miata or something if you want a cheap two seater – but run like hell from these time-bombs.
I am 39yrs old and still to date, my all time favorite car! This is mine! 1990 Si. Love, the CRX always!!!
I worked an ALSCCA event and over the last two years this gentleman brought a CRX with some tuning. He would go down the straights at Barber Motorsports and catch the class leading Z06 Corvette. And the corners he went faster… Way too cool…
Horsepucky! It would take wayyyyy more than “some tuning” to catch a Z06 in one of these, whether it be in the corners or on the straights.
I remember these well. My wife and I were newly married with neither of us having earned our degrees yet. Our credit was poor and we tried to buy an ’87 CRX Si. The salesman wanted to take us on a test drive and my wife insisted on getting in the back. There was a mostly straight two lane road near the dealership with a slight dog leg to the R. That salesman scared the hell out of both of us as he hit fifth gear and ripped down that road as fast as he could and then turned around and repeated it on the return trip. I just knew the car was going to lose traction in that slight bend and we’d all be killed, but it stuck like glue and there was no tire squealing. Our poor credit killed the Si model, but they told us we qualified for a regular CRX. I said “no, no CRX Si, no deal”. We’ve had at least one Honda in our family since 1992 so I believe in the cars. Conincidentally, my ’97 Accord EX sedan 5-speed is on 314K miles too. Years later a guy I became friends with at Honda told me that word at the time on those CRXs was that any head on crash over 45 miles per hour would cause injuries due to the windshield/roof design. I never questioned it since those days were over.