"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
10/17/2018 at 09:35 • Filed to: project golf ball, wagovan
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"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
10/17/2018 at 09:35 • Filed to: project golf ball, wagovan | 11
| 16 |
Well the tags and title are in process, the car is unloaded, and the Uhaul is returned. I guess I own this now. Next up is figure out what the hell I’m going to do with it.
Let’s start with a recap...
A Recap
Middle of last week I stumbled across a Craigslist listing for a this. It was a little far away and very not running, but otherwise caught my interest. I’ve long been a fan of weird late 80s, early 90s 4WD... things... and the 4WD Civic wagon was certainly one of my favorites.
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I texted the seller, one thing led to another, and we agreed on a price, time, and location.
Sunday I loaded up the Land Rover and headed out. After a brief hiccup where the UHaul place I’d booked the trailer at wasn’t actually open on Sundays, I got a trailer and headed to the sellers house.
First impressions... weren’t great. From 20 feet the thing looks great, but the closer you get you begin to notice a lot of problems. The driver’s side mirror is broken, there is pretty extensive hail damage, the tires are old, there is no battery, etc etc. Still, the interior is immaculate and oh what is this...? A
solid
rear axle?! Ok yeah... we’re doing this.
Money changed hands and we loaded it up on the UHaul.
The guy’s driveway was steep, narrow, rutted, and gravel, which was... interesting. I put the Landy in low range and it powered through no problem. Three hours later I was pulling into the house, wondering what I’d just done.
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So what is wrong with it?
Great question! I don’t know. The seller claimed it was a carburetor issue and that it just needed a kit installed. What he didn’t mention is that he removed the factory carb and all the stuff that went with it.
And it was a lot of stuff.
Like... what is going ON HERE?! I can identify most of the major components, but it seems like I’m missing some parts of the carb and control box, not to mention all those vacuum lines! Wow...
Ok, well he provided a Weber K726 kit as well, presumably because he was tired of dealing with... all that. The kit includes a Weber 23/36 DGEV Progressive Series carburetor with an automatic choke (boo) and a bucket full of stuff to fit it to the Honda.
Woof. OK so I’ve got my work cut out for me figuring out what of that is still needed what I can do without, and how to proceed. I’m inclined to go with the Weber kit, though I am sad that means losing the uhh “charm” of the factory system.
Other than that?
Well, provided I can sort out that mess… not a lot. The rear hatch needs new gas struts, the oil needs changed, and the interior could use a good cleaning. It is also missing a battery, which is a bummer, and the tires could use replacement. That is all that I know of that is wrong. I’m sure there are other issues lurking.
The exterior is presentable, but rough. The hood and roof have extensive hail damage, which is earning this thing the name “Project (Blue) Golf Ball”… or, you know, “blue ball” for short.
Or maybe not.
What is right with it?
It is a 4WD Civic from the 80s! So… nothing?
Ok kidding aside, the interior is in truly excellent shape. Dash, seats, headliner, visors, instruments… everything looks very minty, making the 103k miles on the clock slightly more believable. It also rocks factory AC, the correct number of pedals, and is decidedly funky.
However, the thing that really put this one over the edge for me was what lurks underneath…
Yes. That’s right. A solid rear axle. Maybe not the most important thing in the world, but for a softroader that is pretty cool! Additionally, the “super-low” gear give this little Civic the same final drive ratio of a 2016 Jeep Renegade…. Which is both disheartening and hilarious. Add that to a stock 7” of clearance and decent gas mileage…
I’m excited to see what this thing can be.
So what’s the plan?
Well… first step will be to get it running. The more I think about it the more I am fairly resigned to doing the Weber conversation, even though that really isn’t my style. I feel like taking something off because it is “too complicated” (See Saab w/ CIS) is seeing a challenge as a nuisance… rather than something to be conquered and learned about.
But I digress… the PO removed the everything and it looks like it’ll be pretty much impossible to put it all back without an example car parked next to it… to steal parts off of.
So yeah, Phase 1 is to throw the Weber on, drain and fill the gas tank, replace the battery, and see where that gets me starting-wise.
Phase 2 is a cat-back exhaust replacement, timing belt, water pump, and belts and hoses. Also I’ll do whatever other problems are lurking, and probably throw in an ignition system refresh “while I’m in there”.
Phase 3 is where we start to get into the fun stuff! I’m looking to source some 14" OEM wheels for it and some all-terrain tires to match. Also looking to source an OEM (or equ) bull bar and roof rack. Yes, those were available options if not on this generation, then certainly the next.
I need them.
Phase 3 also would include whatever I choose to do to it cosmetically. I have enough thoughts there that it probably deserves its own post.
So what?
While the Civic is certainly a departure from my normal stable-o-projects, I like it! It is honest and weird and just... different from my other children. Will I love it as much as I love the Alfa or Saab? Maybe! I hope so! But if not I’ll sell it on and probably won’t lose much cash.
E90M3
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 09:46 |
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Not to get too off topic, but I saw the photo with a credit from Hooniverse. Wasn’t that place started when people, back around 2007 or so, got disillusioned with the direction Jalopnik was going?
Tekamul
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 09:48 |
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Frikkin awesome! Enjoy that project.
You’re definitely better off going to the Weber, the stock system will probably leak every thousand miles, unless you go all new lines .
All the 80's Hondas were live/dead axle in back (which is funny, because 70's civics were IRS) . They liked to keep it cheap and simple, their best trait.
ATs with white lettering would look amazing.
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Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
> E90M3
10/17/2018 at 09:49 |
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Not sure. It is just one of the first that comes up when you do a google image search for “Honda Beagle”.
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E90M3
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 09:54 |
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Fair enough, I just remember hearing they were a bunch of old Jalopnik commentators , old being retaliative and back in the early 2010's.,
So Shiney. So Chrome! So Frunky
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 09:54 |
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Alternate name suggestion: Dimples
Urambo Tauro
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 09:55 |
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What the hell kinda “wear and tear” is going on with that shift knob?
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Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
> Urambo Tauro
10/17/2018 at 10:06 |
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Yeah I have no idea. Looks to me like the plastic is just cracked?
TheTurbochargedSquirrel
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 10:14 |
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I never realized these had a live axle in the rear though to be honest I think I would be just as surprised if it had a proper independent setup in the rear. These things are so strange and I love that they exist. How little power do these things have? Is it a proper AWD system with a center differential or does it use a transfer case?
Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 10:15 |
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D16 + Turbo swap. Problem solved.
Go have fun trolling WRX owners.
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Urambo Tauro
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 10:17 |
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Yeah I’m just trying to imagine how .
*slaps shift knob with a bric k * This bad bo y can fit so many downshif ts in it
ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 10:22 |
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A direct relative to my racecar. Nice find. Throwing away that feedback carb and doing the Webber kit is the only right answer. Outside of California, import shops and took those off and threw them away at first problem when customer cars were past warranty. There’s no reason to mess around with that thirty years down the road.
Relish the fact that Honda actually put a real drain plug on the fuel tank. When you get to the timing belt phase, you might add a valve adjustment to the list. Old Hondas love properly adjusted valves. You might poke around online for the Honda service manual for that car. It ought to be lurking out there as a .pdf, and Honda manuals of that time period are very good.
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Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
> TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/17/2018 at 11:08 |
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These things are super strange and I am quite happy they were made. Seems like the late 80s/ early 90s were 4WD mad.
Allegedly this thing makes... 79 HP? I think? It has the same power-to-weight ratio as my Discovery II.
We’ve had a hard time figuring out how the 4WD power transfer actually... works. This version, the 3rd gen, uses a power transfer unit of some sort to send power to the rear wheels when 4WD is engaged. The later, 4th gen, units use a viscous coupling in the rear drive shaft to enact a early AWD type system that doesn’t require user interaction .
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Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
> ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
10/17/2018 at 11:20 |
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I saw the drain plug and was excited! I’ve burned through so many fuel pumps in the Saab because of my stubborn commitment to not drop the tank to drain it .
Yeah the FSM seems pretty good. I have a couple PDF copies (weirdly I did before I bought it because I am a digital hoarder) of it but they don’t have indexes, which has been annoying. I have a paper copy en route so that’ll help.
Good tip on the valves. I’ll add that to phase 2.5.
gmctavish needs more space
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 11:49 |
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Feedback carbs are trash, don’t feel bad about not tackling it. That much effort for inferior carburetion isn’t worth it, but I know what you mean about wanting to stick with the factory setup. I wish the first thing I’d done when I got my Raider was swap to a Weber instead of waiting till this past summer.
winterlegacy, here 'till the end
> Urambo Tauro
10/17/2018 at 17:30 |
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someone wanted VTEC from a car that never had it
Pixel
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
10/17/2018 at 20:36 |
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A friend had one of these as his daily back in the early 2000s. Shortly after this picture he added an “Underpowered by Honda” windshield banner, that got him almost as many responses as the rest of the paint job.
