Ah, the humble Honda Civic. Built in TLCB’s home nation, and once – even if not any more – the byword for advanced yet reliable hatchbackery.
The Civic has since been overtaken by the Korean brands here in Europe, but early examples are still a reasonably regular sight on the roads due to their legendary reliability. It’s an even more common sight on the banger track, as early Civics are worth about £5 and they can take a serious amount of punishment before heading to the great carpark in the sky.
America is where the Honda Civic was really successful though, where – despite it being basically the same car as the one we have in Europe – the little Japanese hatch has trodden a very different path in the annuls of automotive history.
Today early Stateside Civics seem to all have one thing in common; modifications. Bad modifications. Here at TLCB we’re not really sure why this is, seeing as gas, cars, and insurance are so cheap in the ‘States why not just buy a faster car in the first place?
The upshot of this is that finding an original unmodified early Civic is like trying to find an educated climate change denier – it’s virtually impossible. Which is a shame, as the late ’80s and early ’90s Civics were great little cars when left as Honda intended.
If you’re reading this in America and have a hankering for an unmolested slice of early ’90s Honda pie, get on Craigslist, find 78 year old Mavis who’s recently given up driving, and buy her Civic. It’ll be a classic one day. Probably.
Alternatively though, you could build your own, which is exactly what TLCB regular Nico71 has done. Based on the ’90s fifth generation (EG) Civic hatch, Nico’s creation is gloriously simple looking. It’s not simple inside though, as a full RC Power Functions drivetrain and rear suspension system have been squeezed in.
It’s quite a feat of packaging and handily Nico has taken photos that show how it’s all been done. You can see all of the images of Nico’s little Technic Honda, inside and out, via Brickshelf – click the link above to make the jump to ’91.
