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Restoration |
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Ted's 1974 Civic Project
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In 1977, my high school friends and I used to cruise around in my dads
‘76 Camero RS. My buddies were cheapskates just like me and would not
contribute any gas money, so I stopped driving them around unless they
threw in a buck for gas.
My friend Peter had access to his dads 75 Civic 1200, and we got more
cruising to the dollar, plus Peter let us drive. Right away I loved the
way his Civic handled, even when packed with guys. We never picked up a
single chick while cruising in the Civic and other guys regularly laughed
at us. My unwitting response was usually something like: "My other car
is a Camero!" which made them laugh even harder.
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In the fall of 2000, I got the idea of restoring a Mini Cooper but I could not find any
in my area. Then a funky orange ‘74 Civic 1200 showed up in my life thanks to the
thoughtfulness of my buddy Louie who knew I was fond of his car. Our buddy Patrick
sarcastically called the Civic "Stretch."
With crinkled fenders, oil leaks, worn bearings, mushy brakes, collapsed seats, cracked
weather stripping, and bald tires, I went for a test drive and found it to be nimble,
quick and fun to drive. It was exactly what I was looking for all along so I drove it
home. It was a filthy mess inside and out when I took delivery, so the first thing I did was
pressure wash the entire exterior and engine/bay that quickly revealed the
weather-stripping was failing completely. Additionally, because years of oil leaks and
dirt had bonded with every surface under the hood, a full cleaning of the engine and bay
was needed. I scrubbed the really hard baked-on dirt with a small wire brush and paint
thinner. This took considerable time and I used up a full box of latex gloves in the
process.
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Now it was time to rebuild and tune. I searched the web for ideas on what other Civic
owners were doing these days to their cars. I was thoroughly impressed with the depth of
knowledge, real experience and friendly advice available. More so I was impressed by the
power and handling these cars were capable of delivering. Unbeknownst to me, and to the
subtle scorn of my wife, I was to become completely obsessed with the First Generation
Honda Civic.
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 On ebay I found Enkei rims, filters, master brake cylinder, antenna, every manual or
book produced for the 1200, etc. I picked up a set old race tires and a race seat, plus a
thunderbird 4 into 1 header. These would prove valuable for auto crossing. Then I found a
Weber DGV carburetor and port matched stock manifold which worked great on the street, but I
didn’t like the way it performed during races in the extreme hard right turns where
the carburetor would flood. Even though the car only died one time giving me a DNF, I decided it
would have to go.
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Then came a huge find: 13x5.5 Panasports with center caps and a pair of fat sway bars.
CHEAP!
Wheels: 13x5 Accord Enkei rims for the street
13x5.5 Panasports with aged BFG RA T1’s for race days (tire softener
helps).
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Recently I swapped out the DGV for a Cannon manifold and 40 DCOE side draft carburetor for
some good power gains.
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 The block and head are stock and will remain that way while I race in F Street
Prepared. I’ll will drive this engine till it no longer runs fast and then rebuild it
for FSP.
Here is what I have done so far:
Engine (remains in FSP):
Cannon intake with Weber 40 DCOE side-draft,
Thunderbird 4 into 1 header, custom 2" to mini turbo muffler,
Distributor and coil from a ‘82 Civic 1300 with new cap, rotor, wires, and plugs,
New water pump,
Fresh hoses everywhere,
Holley red fuel pump and fuel regulator,
New top motor mount bushing
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Suspension:
Koni adjustable (wets) inside ’75 CVCC casings
Ground Control coil-overs
Eibach springs: 350 lbs. Front and 250 rear
New wheel bearings
Fat sway bars front and back
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New Custom Camber plates make 3.5 degrees negative camber up front and
2.5 negative in back:
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To do list includes:
Camber plates front and rear Strut braces,
Hard rubber bushings everywhere,
Fuel pressure and oil temp gauges,
205/50 13 race tires. Deeper front air dam, mild fender flares, master brake cylinder,
new rear drums, finish body work
Brakes:
’79 Civic wagon knuckles,
New rotors,
New ‘79 Accord calipers,
New brake pistons in rear,
New brake pads and shoes
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Body:
Replaced both front fenders, still in primer gray,
Sand and prime all surface rust,
New weather-stripping on doors and hatch
Grant steering wheel,
CVCC deluxe gauges,
Funky race seat,
Lightened chrome bumpers minus rubber bump stops.
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I picked up a wrecked ‘78 1200 recently that came with a Japanese RS 4-2-1 iron
header and custom 2" exhaust with Dynomax turbo muffler, Ground Control coil-overs
with Eibach springs, custom stereo, new radial tires, high-output alternator, New Weber
DGV carburetor, rebuilt head, 5-speed transmission, wood steering wheel and shift knob, chrome shift
lever, Honda Crx seat, etc.
I stripped the car down to the bone. It was the most therapeutically fun I have had in
years. Every bolt, screw and rubber bit was removed. Not a part (aside from the engine
internals) went untouched. What was left there was a sad sight. The carcass was dragged to
the auto wreckers, where I literally shoved it off the trailer by hand. I have a third
stock 1200 with a decent body to use as the shell for a modified street Civic. I’ll be
going for the ultimate sleeper with this one.
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Ted's Quick Time Autocross
Movies
Check the Gallery for his video's
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Ted Donahue
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