If you were a child of the 80s, the fifth-generation Honda Civic was the attainable project car that could be built into something so much greater. The Fast and the Furious franchise pretty much immortalized these things on the big screen, but it didn’t really need any extra profile. Tuner magazine had a spread about a Civic coupe or hatchback with an engine swap and coil-over suspension in seemingly every issue, and my high school parking lot was absolutely littered with these things. This VX hatchback was the super-efficient model geared towards maximum fuel efficiency, but it’s also desirable to builders because of its reduced curb weight – think of it as a race car in need of an engine. Or, just a really nice survivor of a typically abused chassis. Find it here on eBay for $6,500 or best offer.
Of course, if you wanted a true performance model right out of the box, Honda did offer this generation Civic with a limited-production Si trim in three-door form, but good luck finding one of those today that hasn’t had its original engine swapped out. The VX underwent numerous enhancements to deliver impressive fuel economy, upwards of 55 miles per gallon the highway, including the removal of cosmetic trim pieces and the installation of lightweight aluminum wheels. Some Honda builders have found ways to extract more performance out of the SOHC VTEC engine, including head swaps, bigger pistons, and an intake manifold swap, but it may be easier to drop in a B18 or H22 from an Integra or Prelude. Either way, you’re going to have some fun in a factory “lightweight”, of sorts.
The interior was super spartan – again, track car! -but it’s also Honda’s simplicity in design at its best. I yearn for the days when A-pillars were this small, and the sightlines were this broad. The VX also retained crank windows and a basic 5-speed manual transmission, giving you everything you need and nothing you don’t. The seller notes that the previous owner was a heavy-set gentleman and that the driver’s side bolster is slightly damaged, so some upholstery work (or a replacement seat) will be needed if you’re looking for perfection. Mileage is relatively low (especially for a Honda) at 65,000, and the seller notes that the paint and undercarriage remain in excellent condition, with factory undercoating still visible.
The engine bay is clean and fairly typical for any car of this vintage, with the paint wearing off of the valve cover. If you cleaned that up with some fresh paint, the engine bay would look fairly mint. What’s more incredible is to see an engine bay that remains this stock in a Honda of this vintage. While I know it’s sacrilege to suggest swapping out the engine on such a nicely preserved survivor, I love the idea of keeping this fuel-sipping VX largely the same from the outside and creating an incredible sleeper – firm up the suspension slightly, but keep the stock wheels on some meatier tires, and drop in a rev-happy DOHC engine. Or, just enjoy driving an incredibly simple car that will give you decades of reliable service with the most basic of upkeep requirements. Which would you choose?
If I’m not mistaken, probably the only car back in 92 that would do better mpg, would have been the CRX HF, and good luck finding one like this. I’m thinking maybe a little lower on the price, maybe 5k, but this is very nice for what it is. I’d daily drive the wheels of of this, knowing that it would take a long time to do so. 👍
This model replaced the CRX HF. The only thing that could top it in MY ’92 was a Geo Metro which was a size smaller and orders of magnitude more cheapened-out.
Someone I knew that owned this same car, same year, teal in color told me that the three door body style like this was less produced and sought after by tuners. I’m not sure if that’s a true statement or not.
I don’t know if the 3 door was less produced, but you can almost be guaranteed who ever does get this, they’re gonna modify the dickens out of it. Kinda a shame if they do, but, to each his own.
I had a cheap 1990 3 door Civic in rusty red that was so full of rust holes, people wondered if they were a design element. None the less, more then one kid asked to buy it. I junked it out because I thought the frame wasn’t safe, but what the junk dealer did was on him. A lot of kids saw that stupid movie(s) and thought they were cool. Trouble is most kids have bigger dreams then wallets. My car wouldn’t have done well rodded out.
I doubt it will be modified. You can find heavily modified cars in need of some TLC for abouts the same price. A coworker recently bought a rust free turn key highly modified Honda similar to this one that had a later model engine with an aftermarket turbocharger, upgraded 5 speed, suspension and brakes for less than $7,000.
There are similar cars to his that can be found with a little effort since late model Evo’s and WRX’s have become the standard bearers for 4 cylinder performance cars. Basically, the market has moved on from late-80’s early-90’s Honda’s. The staging lanes of the four and six cylinder class at my local track used to be filled with Honda civics, nowadays you can go months without seeing one.
Steve R
Could that be independent rear suspension i see?
Quite surprising about the rust mentioned above since i don’t think i ever seen a steel ’91-99 Mitz 3000gt with rust, unless the paint surface was broken. Could it be that higher end/priced cars back then got better rustproofing/steel, even on cars made by “lower rated” car companies?
“Could that be independent rear suspension i see?”
Yes indeed; the suspension was very advanced for such a vehicle. The front suspension is famous for having so much travel and as such people could slam these 3 inches or more and still have it ride ok.
My wife had a 93 DX 3 door, same color. Basic commuter, with no A/C or power windows. Drove it for almost 200k, the head gasket went and we gave it to our high school aged son who got together with his friends and with some luck repaired it to live another year. Great little cars.
What I remember about these VX Civics is that car magazines said you “paid” for the extra mpg with mediocre driveability because the gearing was chosen for maximizing fuel economy. Car&Driver tested one and hated it, as did AutoWeek, if I remember correctly.
I had a Civic CX, a somewhat similar car but with only 70 horsepower to this car’s 92. The gas mileage was a bit worse with a CX, I am guessing because that smaller horsepower had a fair amount of metal to haul around. About a year after I got the car I swapped the engine and transmission for units from a 2nd generation Integra, that really woke that car up. Oddly, fuel economy was about the same, maybe even better, with the larger engine.
BTW, the 2 door coupes would arrive in 93, so in 92 it was a hatchback or 4 door sedan. So I would imagine that the 92 hatches sold only a bit worse than the 4 door sedans.
Test drove the VX in ’91 if l recall correctly. Great car, thought it drove better than the (probably) more popular model up the range. Skinny, low drag tires would have dented desirability after awhile.
Demo l drove only had one door mirror to reduce drag. Seem to recall 64 mpg highway.
Price was around $6500 if (once again) memory serves.
Really liked the style of this model.
Eventually bought a 1968 Bonneville convertible. Yeah, l know…..