New Project: Canadian only Civic HF??
 

You folks in the States got all the cool eco stuff in the 1980s and 1990s. The CRX HF, the Metro Xfi etc. We didn't get any of it up here. So this may be one you guys never got! You folks had the Civic Std from 1988-1991. It was the super base model, and in manual form it only came with a 4 speed. We had the Civic CX. It was also the super base model, but the 5 speed was an option. It's not an 8 valve 1.5L like an HF, but I have a theory that they came with the HF transmission in it. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not, but I look forward to finding out, as these are hard to find any information on. If anyone out there knows for sure, by all means please let me know! But until then, I have adopted this little guy as my new driver/project.

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1990 Civic CX, 5 speed, original paint. Tomorrow I will start sorting out the interior and paint. I need to clean under the hood so I can hopefully see the code on the transmission. Manual steering, no center console, cheap seats, no tilt (OK that's one thing I HATE not having lol) no fabric on the door panels, no rear window wiper, no pass side mirror. First mods will be synthetic oil, put my donor car VX rims and tires on it, and install the MPGuino and a tach. My first goal will be 40 mpg with the mixed driving that I do, then after that 50. :snail:

If the trans numbers are confusing you could always buy an original sales brochure off Ebay and compare ratios.

The brochure isn't very detailed, but it looks like the CX falls between the STD and DX.
1990 Canadian Civic brochure incl. Wagon (pics) - Civic Forumz - Honda Civic Forum

looks like there was a 4 speed std sold in Canada and it was a 31 pounds lighter then the cx too.
From that link it looks like the CX has a 92hp engine, same as the DX while the std has a 70hp engine, much closer to what the HF has.

The DX (D15B2) and STD (D15B1) engines are almost the same. Both have the "Dual-Point" throttle body injection. The STD engine has a more restrictive throttle body, a slightly milder camshaft, a close-coupled catalytic converter and a different ECU. Apparently that's enough to delete 22 HP.

Wow, that is a really vague brochure. Maybe someone on Honda-Tech would know.

Well at any rate, it's good to know you didn't get an STD.

The ratios should be in the factory service manual. My 1990 Civic service manual covers the Canadian version, but it's the Wagon-only manual.

Having driven a few of the USA sold STD's I didn't think any of them were lacking power given the size of car that they are, the 70hp rating is at a lower RPM, same with the peek torque rating, so the RPM range that you tend to drive in has plenty of power, it also gave them an EPA MPG rating that was 3-4 mpg higher.
The CX that was sold in Canada of course is lighter, doesn't have the passenger side view mirror, mud flaps or any other options that add drag.

I haven't seen a civic hatchback that has a body in that good of shape in a long time, around here they are all rusted out!

Have you had a chance to figure out how fast the engine is turning on the highway?

I have not had a chance to install the tach yet. And thanks for pointing out the lack of mud flaps, I totally didn't notice lol. My Civic wagon was a DX, and this feels different on the highway RPM wise, but then it's been a long time since the wagon so who knows. It's not an Si trans though, that's for sure lol. The body is decent, 2 holes on the underside of the passenger rocker in front of the rear wheel, but nothing serious. It got traded in at a VW dealership, I am guessing whoever had it got themselves a new TDI, base model, stick, if the CX was their car for the last 23 years ha ha. It was actually going to get scrapped, so I had to fork out $50 more than the scrap guy to get it. Seriously, what a waste that would have been, I am glad I saved it!

The DX Wagon final drive is 4.058 and the DX Hatch is 3.888. But that difference is probably not noticeable without a tach. Thanks for saving an old Civic. My Wagon is held together with expanding foam!