The original owner of this Savoy Brown 1983 Honda Civic Sedan is said to have put it in storage for 20 years until the seller bought it “a while ago”, and the seller has since gotten it back in mechanical shape for regular use again. I believe it’s a DX model but I don’t know if Honda included badges for trim levels in this era – I could be wrong. It has all of the features of the DX compared to the base model. The selling dealer has this sedan listed here on eBay in Newark, California and they’re asking $7,999 or you can make an offer.
For the record, no, this car didn’t cost $8,000 brand new in 1983, just to get that out of the way. Other possible glitches with a few readers might be that this car is brown, and it has four doors. The paint looks a bit worn in spots and dull all over, but it would be a fun weekend project to clean it up to see how good it could look with some elbow grease. This car was made in February of 1983, the last year of Honda’s second-generation Civic. They started producing them in the fall of 1979 for the 1980 model year.
Despite this car’s apparent condition, I don’t know if the seller will get too many offers close to their asking price. If it had been a one-owner two-door hatchback in red or black maybe. There is one ace in the hole here: the five-speed manual! However, they do say the transmission makes some noise and needs service. They show the underside and it appears solid, but an inspection is always a good idea. This car was from the San Francisco area originally, according to the photo of the original “ownership certificate.”
The interior appears to be in outstanding condition, and I can only see a couple of things that make me scratch my head. The hole on the left side of the dash, and the two radio knobs are missing. Is that hole a mirror adjustment lever that’s missing? I can’t dig up a brochure that shows that area and the seller doesn’t mention it. I know one or more of you have owned maybe this exact model and would know. Otherwise, the classic 1980s velour seats (affectionately known as mouse fur in Honda circles) appear nice, if a bit under-stuffed.
The engine is Honda’s EM-series 1.5-liter DOHC inline-four with 67 horsepower and 80 lb-ft of torque when new. Backed by the (reportedly somewhat noisy) five-speed manual sending power to the front wheels, they say it has a new radiator, brakes, tune-up, oil change, and carb clean. They have a driving video here on YouTube. Have any of you owned a second-generation Civic four-door sedan?
Though not inexpensive, it’s not a lot if money for what can be considered a collectible car. This has more going for it than the ability to get attention at a coffee and cars. Vintage Japanese cars do have a dedicated following, that extends beyond performance models.
I live in the general area where this cars seller is located. Every time gas hits $6 a gallon a lot of cars like this come out of the woodwork. There are more than a few “econoboxes” stashed away in garages that and are more than capable of being put into service when needed.
Steve R
On EBay they state they cleaned the “calibrator”.. How Nice of them.
From what I remember the “calibrators” on these things are insanely complex, even more so if this car has a CVCC-equipped engine.
i have an 81 GL hatchback with almost the exact same mileage. This wouldn’t be worth $8k even if it were pristine.
There are a lot of other things I’d spend $8000 on than this bland banger.
I owned the station wagon version of this from new, selling it after six years. It was a great car, really fun to drive, but eventually it “sucked a valve” and I had one of those “low mileage” engines imported from Japan installed in it in order to sell it. Other than that and a replacement water pump, it was trouble free. It looked great when I sold it and I got a good price for it. Interestingly, I bought a pretty beat one a few years ago just to play with. After I noticed that a lot of the insulation on the engine compartment wiring was brittle and cracked (with small chunks falling off), I gave it to a coworker who just had to have it.
I forgot- I believe that the hole in the dash to the left of the steering wheel is where the rheostat for the dashboard illumination used to reside. The little black area on top of the dash just inside the driver’s door is a small compartment that is missing its hinged lid.
Back in about 93 when I was really young I actually got some tang in this exact same car. Damn that girl had low standards lol.
At first I was thinking this was some kind of astronaut in-joke.
Needs a little of Derek Bieri’s ShineJuice from Vice Grip garage,
It’s been a minute, nice to see one again. $4k . . . tops?
Talk about disposable!
Honestly that price isn’t too bad. Even if your intention is to just drive it. As for the transmission, change the fluid twice using Honda’s MT Fluid. It might not eliminate the noise, but there is a fair chance it will. Even the dealerships often use incorrect or inferior fluids in these. 118k miles is a fraction of the life available in that transmission unless someone did something really stupid. Nice find, thanks for sharing.
Savoy Brown? 🤣🤣
Oh come on! 8K??? Now I realize that 1993 was a long time ago, but I bought nearly this exact car for my son’s college transportation for $500 in nice shape. I don’t care what anyone says, this ain’t a “collector car”. It’s very simply a throw away econobox.
It’s an ’83, not a ’93 gramps…..get your eyes checked, maybe it’s time to surrender your license…and it’s a hell of a lot more interesting than your played out RWD body on frame Boomermobiles. These are the new classic cars for Gen X & Millennials.
The ’93 was a typo and I would be willing to bet that whatever you drive is not as much fun as my 480 horse 6 speed fixed roof hardtop Corvette. For that matter my wife’s Cadillac ÇTS-V would probably make you pee your pants.
I know a lot of gen-x and millennial gearheads and they would have no interest in this car.
What you said! 👍🏻🙂
In high school (class of 1993) one of my best friends had a car just like this. Right down to the pinstripe. (Only it was an automatic). He was the only one of us who had a car at the time and we called it the Brown Hornet. It had a great sounding Clarion tape deck too that we rocked out to Nine Inch Nails with.
I didn’t say it was a ’93, I said l bought one in ’93 and I would be willing to bet that whatever you drive is not as much fun as my 480 horse 6 speed fixed roof hardtop Corvette. For that matter my wife’s Cadillac ÇTS-V would probably make you pee your pants.
Auction update: there were no takers at the seller’s asking price.
Gee, imagine that.
What you said! 👍🏻🙂