It’s funny how time keeps marching on. And not ha-ha funny, unfortunately. It just means that we’re all getting older, but it also means that the vehicles that a lot of us are interested in are getting newer. This 1991 Honda CRX Si is a good example of that theory. This one is listed on eBay with a current bid price of over $4,500 and there are five days left on the auction! This one is located in Merrick, New York. And yes, that’s a Fisker Karma parked next to it. This seller has one cool, unusual, eclectic collection.
This second-generation Rio red CRX Si looks like a winner. No, it wasn’t found in a barn but a reader submitted this find so it’s worthy of being shown. Not to mention that it’s a rust-free, unmodified (!), 5-speed sporty car in great condition that’s now 27 years old. A good portion of the Barn Finds readers aren’t even 27 years old and their vehicle likes are just as important than anyone else’s are. That glass hatchback/kammback peek-a-boo window is genius, I have a similar feature on one of my cars and it’s great.
This is an unusual looking car, there is no question about it. Most people will either love it or hate it. As is almost always the case, I prefer the first-generation cars, but this car has a huge thing going for it in that it’s original and unmodified unlike with most of these cars. The seller says that nothing has been “modified as to body, engine or usual performance upgrades found in these cars. I have original paperwork dating back to 1991, a hand written fuel and maintenance log since new, and almost every NYS inspection receipt since new.” That’s highly unusual and as you can see by the auction price so far it’s adding to the value.
For a car with almost 70,000 miles on it, this one sure looks good. I don’t really see a flaw in this car inside or out, unlike cars that I own that are much newer than 1991. The two front seats, the only two seats since the CRX is a two-seater, look great if not maybe in need of a good cleaning. The 5-speed and dash look great, too.
In Honda’s world, Si stands for sport injected, and this 1.6L inline-four has around 110 hp. It is a sporty car that’s fun to drive with four-wheel disc brakes and weighing in at 2,200 pounds. 1991 was the last year for this style of the Honda CRX and an Si model would be the one to have.
i wish i still had my black si, some kid probally has it now still driving it, damm good car!
It’s just a domestic import folks and nothing more 😜
Now if it was a 240 Z , NSX , Supra , Del sol two seater targa top or even an old FJ 40 pickup convert then I would be drooling
My HS days were cut on old American v8 muscle cars like 55 chev hardtop and a 69 rally Z and even one import in college which was a Lancia beta coupe
I get memories and now a bigger check book to relive youth🤠
Rust free from NY with 70k miles?
Does the seller work at CNN?
Faux News, actually.
Yes; I was the one who just wrote on the Honda ATC that “my jury was out on the quality of the cars Honda builds.” But these Honda cars were indeed damn fine! Unmolested, original miles, red-over-black, and a stick – Great find!
Nice ride Scotty! I have had great luck with my 91 DX 5 speed work rig. Oops, I dont really work any more so I will have to come up with a new term. Parked in front of my buddys Heavy Chevy van that he has been saving for 26 years now. Saving it for the four bolt main motor he claims. The sliding side door rusted off about five years ago!
Ha, I know the feeling of that rusty sliding door falling off, Mike. It’s always great to see your vehicles. The Honda looks great!
A car this old and with 70K miles, would be rust free, even if it was in Buffalo or Chicago. It shows it was only driven during not good, but GREAT weather.
I had a red 86 CRX Si, that I sold for $2,900 with 63K miles. The original paint was “pinked out” in about half the car, and the sunroof had a tiny spec of rust. Also, the plastic nose had cracked, and I bought a black replacement that I never painted. It is one of two cars I wish I’d never ever sold. Though I’m into NA Miatas now (and since 2001), I miss my old CRX dearly.
Oh, footnote, while I was in college, before I sold it, my then GF had an ’87 Black CRX Si. Yeah, we were the “CRX couple”!
VERY nice unmolested car! Too bad it doesn’t have factory A/C! Doesn’t look like it has power steering either??……..am I right? I thought ALL 91 Si’s came with power steering.
nope! My 91 SI Kamback also was devoid of both air conditioning, and power steering (both I wish I had)
CRX Si never had power steering.
Vintage Japanese cars like this, and of course ’70s Z cars, Skylines, Cosmos, and more, are the new affordable collectibles.
Well said, sir. I could not agree more.
I’m not sure what car I worked on, but back when these cars came out, Honda was a bit ahead of the US industry in the use of PLASTIC front fenders. As I was heading up Dupont’s attempt to get one of their engineering plastics into fenders to compete head-on with GE Plastics, I rented a CRX, removed the front fender and examined their attachments. Honda was very smart – they had the fender anchored rigidly along the doorline, but fasteners on the shotgun – the support rail from A pillar to nose – were designed to SLIDE as the fender grew lengthwise in hot climates. Plastics expand much more than metal when hot & contract more also when cold, so to prevent having the doorgap go from loose to possibly rubbing when the door was opened, the fender had to move at the nose. GM didn’t follow that method, and on some of the Cadillacs put into the Houston market, would have their doorgaps go tight and cause interference. When Chrysler introduced their LH series cars in 1990, they used slide fasteners I had designed in our Detroit lab. The worst case for all plastic fenders except for Saturm, was having to go thru the Ecoat (electrocoat) rustproofing diptank and bake oven at 400 F! That’s turkey baking temps guys!
The Chrysler fenders grew 1/2 INCH at the nose thru that oven, then less thru the topcoat oven at 250 F. We got it to work, and the plastic Chrysler fenders could take quite a parking lot hit without damage – just springing back to shape after a ding. AND they never rusted. Bob Lutz Ok’d the program because they were near bankrupt again in 1990, and the plastic fenders we helped develop saved them several million $$ in tooling dies. The plastic fender was produced in one shot, whereas the design had such a sharp nose that the metal boys couldn’t form the same shape in a single die and that boosted the investment by double or triple, just for that part. We drove the bodyshop guys crazy – they were used to hammering on fenders and doors to make them fit well, and they couldn’t do that with plastic – their mallets just bounced back! They’d get so frustrated they’d beat the plastic to pieces, which took a lot of whacking, then have to replace the part. The plastic didn’t vary as much part to part as metal, but the line guys finally learned to beat more on the metal than our stuff!
Great story. I had no idea.
The plastic fendered (and doors) CRX’s, where the 1st gen ones, as I previously stated. 2nd gens, had metal fenders.
Though they were impact resistant, the heat, humidity and ozone exposure, would destroy those plastic bits in FL. It was quite common seeing those cars with their plastics bits broken, as they would get quite brittle.
Ken,
That’s a fantastic story! Thanks for sharing that bit of automotive engineering history!
Car & Driver had a cover piece on the CRX SI. They loved this car. They called it the “thin wallet Ferrari.” Being extra long in the torso, this was one of the few cars I could sit in with slouching. Amazing!
I had never seen a Honda that the clear coat didn’t flake off they all had terrible factory paint jobs. Must not have been driven in the sun either
Auction ended, “no longer available”. Off eBay deal likely. Highest bid that was canceled was $7K.