Thanks Adrian(Civic Guru), I stand corrected...that's what I get for trusting my feeble memory instead of looking it up to be sure, LOL.

By Adrian (Evocivic) (203.217.68.66) on Wednesday, July 06, 2005 - 04:15 pm:

Early 1stGen Civics used frt lower control arms which had the swaybar bolted directly to the top of the control arm.

The early Civic radius rods were welded to the lower control arm, and the sway bar bolted to the radius rod just like the later ones.

By John S. (152.163.100.199) on Wednesday, July 06, 2005 - 10:03 am:

Early 1stGen Civics used frt lower control arms which had the swaybar bolted directly to the top of the control arm. This was later updated to the final design which had the bar through the control arm supported and somewhat isolated by bushings. Honda made this change, mostly I believe to help soften the ride. Racers and autocrossers often convert back to the earlier parts, as it is a more direct and therefore tighter control of the front suspension.

Curious that the City knuckles appear to be the same as the Accords except for the strut dia. I had found this to be a doable conversion on 2nd Gen Civics using 1stGen Prelude pieces, and thus having openable strut casings and a wider option availability in inserts i.e. Koni etc. The stub/shaft on the Prelude balljoint is larger as well and matches the Prelude knuckles in that area,(larger that those on the Civic), so you might want to confirm this for your application as well.
It sounds like a good conversion option on the Cities...Turbo City boys will want to know about this! That is if it works out that all the parts mount up without modifying the actual geometry of the suspension in total.

By go4mo (80.216.207.89) on Friday, July 01, 2005 - 03:42 am:

thanks a bunch ..

i have just disassembled an 85 honda city - i stuck the motor in my 76 1200 - so far it seems i can swap over
- the knuckles/hubs (they are 4x100) - although the lower ball joint mount is set up to receive a shaft (from the ball joint) then tightens around the shaft (as opposed to the civics bolt and nut style ball joint ..

but ! -

- control arms swap , ( although the radius rod that usually goes through the 1200 control arm, is instead a "bolt on top of" job on the city control arm - but they are the same length and the sway bar can still clip on ...)

- and, the brake calipers (larger) from the 85 accord are a direct bolt up to the city knuckles -

(- also, and this is just from eyeballing them at the wreckers, the city knuckles are identical to the 85 accord sedan - with the exception of larger shock capability on the accord .. hmmm - cool ...)

so, why i am asking about the axle specs, - it also appears that the width of the drivetrain is the same, but i want to be absolutely accurate on it .. or use my 1200 axles and figure out if i need to swap the outer knuckle ..

..
haven't taken the rears off the city yet, so, not sure about it all .. but will keep you posted ..

question for all you suspension gurus out there .. what are the advantages/disadvantages of having a radius rod be either fixed at the control arm (honda city) or have a bushing (civic)?

cheers
mo

By sdcvcc (68.111.234.166) on Thursday, June 30, 2005 - 08:19 pm:

I can spec my 75 CVCC and my 83 Accords for the records.

By go4mo (80.216.207.89) on Thursday, June 30, 2005 - 02:05 pm:

oh yes, also .. anyone have a spare set of 1200 axles lying around that they could take spec/measurements from? --

i don't want to have to pull mine off to get the specs and am doing some hunting for similar cv's -- thanks

mo

By go4mo (80.216.207.54) on Thursday, June 30, 2005 - 06:04 am:

hey there -- thought this might be a handy thread to have for the brake conversion questions .. .. how about a thread on the various spline counts for inner and outer of the axles ..

for example, what is the inner and outer spline count of the 1200 axle?

what is the spline count for the inner and outer 2G civic?

etc ..