This clean second-generation Honda Civic hatchback sports the less frequently seen round headlight set-up, and is claimed to be an original paint car. The seller notes he acquired it five years ago and has driven it sparingly, which has encouraged him to move it along to a new owner. The body looks great and mileage is relatively low at 54,250. The Civic is listed here on eBay with a $3,200 opening bid.
Though it may not seem like it, this generation of Honda’s fabled Civic was a quantum leap over the first generation in terms of comfort and quietness. By today’s standards, this is still a rattletrap, but in 1980, it was likely a revelation to have a small, economical car like this be as comfortable to drive as it was. The seller doesn’t oversell the cosmetic condition, as the paint, black plastic trim and lenses all appear quite nice.
While I would personally save my pennies for the later “S” model trim that came out a few years later, there’s still a lot to like here. This car features the standard issue 1.5L four-cylinder which was capable of recording close to 50 m.p.g.’s on the highway in 1980! Although this era of Honda also saw the liberal use of vacuum lines and hoses that look like a nightmare to maintain today, the seller say the Civic is currently in fine running condition.
Although more pictures of the interior would be appreciated, what we can see looks good: nicely upholstered bucket seats, uncut door panels, and a dashboard that looks quite tidy. The standard-issue steel wheels will never win any beauty contests, but they do add to the overall feeling of preservation this Civic exudes. Bidding opens at $3,200 with the option to Buy-It-Now for $6K.
Same one Bruce Willis crashed in Pulp Fiction. Nice car. Would make a great daily driver.
“Sorry baby but I had to crash that Honda.”
“Zed’s dead baby, Zed’s dead.”
Unless the US got a different setup, regular Civics from this 2nd generation got 1300 cc engines, not the 1.5 litre mentioned here. And a manual choke, plus 12 inch wheels, two items that were already rarities in 1980. 80-81 had round headlights, 82-83 square ones. 3rd gen came out in ’84. 1980 is the only year with body-colour bumpers. My Mom’s ’81 Civic Wagon is the first car I drove, and the write-up is right, these were pretty refined compared with Chevettes, Pintos and the like.
US Spec Civics got the bigger engine…
US Civics got either the 1.3 or the 1.5. given the trim level of this car (vinyl seats, no door arm rests, no wheel trim rings), is expect this to be a 1.3.
My mother bought a 1.5l 4-door sedan in 1980-81. Those were considerably more upscale than this one. They all drove quite nicely, though.
I worked at the Honda dealer as a technical from 83 to 14 when I retired. These civics were a joy to work on! Easy to maintain, light weight parts, no electrical problems unless an untrained set of hands got to them. Those cvcc engines ran so clean, didn’t get cat converters until feds mandated that ALL cars had to have. Carbs needed floats some times on rebuild. Neat little dependable cars !
Sweet looking Honda Civic. I remember the 1st and 2nd gen Civic. At the time, I didn’t find either of them very attractive, certainly next to the Accord. But the more Honda changed the appearance of the Civic over the years, the more I like the early Civics. The only thing I never liked was its lack of a 4 door hatchback body style for the US market. For most other markets, you could order a 4 door Civic hatchback. But never in North America. I’ve never understood why that was.
Clean little car, and would make a fine daily driver, I guess. But I was confused about the engine size too. The top of the ad says 1300cc, then in the description it says 1500. Somebody has taken care of this.
Once upon time I knew my -80 Civic so well that when I went to fix it I took only the wrenches I knew I need with me. Never had to go back for more
Looking back – perhaps not my best acquired skill ;-)
Happily have forgotten after 30y+ and surely RHB-610 has been turned to tin cans already twice if not more often
A week later and still no bids.
Still 6 hours left in the auction.