New car time!!!
 

Hello, just yesterday I took Yolanda the Honda ('02 accord coupe) to a local shop to take care of a hub bearing that had gone bad in the front right wheel. Once they got it on the lift, the reason the bearing was going so quickly became apparent. The sub frame in the front right corner was cracked in at least 2 places and broken clean through in at least one. :eek: The cost to repair everything (right hub bearing, right ball joint, evap issue, and cracked frame) is going to run nearly $3,000 :eek: essentially what we paid for the car. I'm only 18 and don't have that kind of money to put into the car if I could spend that or a bit more to get something with a smaller engine and a blessed manual transmission. Right now I have my eye on an 1997 Honda civic dx hatchback that I believe would be a very good starting point for an cost effective ecomodded car. In roughly 2 months I am leaving home for a cross country backpacking/survival camping trip that will last at least a year. I will be using the car to drive from wilderness area to wilderness area/trails that I would like to go to. my needs from the car are getting from point a to point b in geographic conditions ranging from Alaska to the high desert. tentatively I have my eyes on a 1997 Honda Civic dx hatchback. I am all ears, any input you can give would be much appreciated.

If the civic is in good condition, then you will get no argument from me, you could even pick up a D16Y5 engine later on and do an engine swap, and get even better mpg.

On another note, hit me up when you come through the high desert, (if by high desert you meant Barstow/Victorville area) and I'll take you out to lunch.

Baltothewolf, Do you know of any issues in particular I should be looking out for or that are common for these cars?

I'll most likely end up in that area of the country next spring, so we'll have to see how the trip is going, I don't make a habit of turning down free food though :)

Head gasket, that's about it, everything else is easily doable yourself. If it 'jerks' or has weird power issues the EGR is probably blocked and needs to be cleaned, it's an easy DIY fix and only costs about 60 bucks.

Okay, thanks for the information. Because of my time constraints for the trip, I'll most likely start a build thread soon after buying the car. So it will take shape quickly :)

It is a manual right?

Yes, after being plagued with a AT in the accord that's not an something I'd like to repeat.

Yep, get it if it doesn't have any problems. Like I said, you could always do a D16Y5 swap for about 800 bucks for L/B if you wanted to.

Well, I am now the proud owner of a new (to me) 1998 Honda civic dx hatchback 5 speed manual car :) Driving stick will take a little getting used to, I've now driven stick for 7 hours, 5 hours of which was on the way home today, so I'm certain it will become natural soon enough. On the listing on craigslist the color was listed as dark amethyst, and honestly I think that Amethyst is a good name for her :) I'll post pictures when I get home from work :)

Nice! If I was you I would start looking for a 92-95 VX, or 96-00 CX tranny for the taller gears. I just picked up a VX tranny for my HX and I'm hoping for a 8-15% MPG increase from the the mod, I will probably get even more then that, but I don't want to get over optimamastic.

Oh also, I only have 1500 miles behind a stick and I don't remember the last time I grinder gears or stalled, it all depends on how fast you adapt but, it's extremely easy and when you drive an automatic you will find yourself looking for the clutch lol.