While not museum-grade, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Civic is in amazing-enough shape to warrant our interest. Will this throwback econobox be compelling enough, however, for someone to throw down some serious cash?
Numerous historic events occurred in 1949. The most significant of those on a global scale was the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. On a substantially smaller and weirder note, 1949 was also the first documented sighting of the “Poe Toaster,” a mysterious individual who for decades paid counsel to Edgar Allen Poe at the author’s grave each year on January 19th (Poe’s birthday), leaving cognac and roses. Somewhere in between those extremes, Ford launched a new series of autos for the 1949 model year that, in the estimations of most, saved the company from financial ruin. The 1948 Ford Super DeLuxe we considered yesterday was an example of what had come before: a model that first entered production in 1941, before WWII was in full swing, and that retained much of its mechanical DNA from the decade prior. That still held some charm, despite our car’s somewhat goofy Keystone Cops livery. A $9,900 asking price mollified opinions overall, earning the old-school Tudor Ford a solid 63% ‘Nice Price” win.
Over the counter
According to the ad description, the 1980 Honda Civic 1500GL that has come our way today was purchased new by a pharmacist who has owned it ever since. It’s perplexing to consider the relevance of the initial owner’s chosen vocation to the car’s sale. It’s an even more obtuse effort to determine whether their means of livelihood influenced the choice of the Civic. More important is the ad’s revelation that the pharmacist, or an agent acting on their behalf, has had the car squirreled away in storage for the past 20 years. That’s some Rip Van Winkle shenanigans, right there.
The seller acknowledges the car’s rarity, decent condition, and low mileage (50K), but claims they have no use for it and, hence, would like to see it go to a good home. For the next owner, the car will come with a clean title, the original pink slip, and, one would expect, 20-year-old tires.
Civic duty
This is an early example of the second-generation Civic, which was designed less as an evolution of the first-generation than as a version of the wildly successful Accord shrunk down to three-quarter scale. For the era, this was the top-of-the-heap offering in the Civic lineup, with the GL getting its grunt from the Civic’s largest engine option, a 1500cc 67-horsepower CVCC inline four. That’s mated to a five-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels, the preferred choice for performance over the two-speed Honda-matic slushbox.
Other niceties over lower-tier models included a tachometer in the dash, a wiper-washer on the rear hatch glass, rubber rub strips along the sides, and, somewhat remarkably looking back, radial tires on its steel wheels. While this is a three-door hatchback, in the U.S., the second-gen Civic was also available in four-door sedan and wagon bodystyles. The two-door sedan (hunchback with a separate trunk, ala the Mini) of the first generation didn’t make the cut for the sophomore team.
Collecting dust
While the car has been in storage—gathering dust, according to the ad—it seems to have weathered its time in solitary without that many issues. The seller claims everything on the car to be working, save for the radio (oddly, disconnected) and A/C(needing a belt).
The engine bay appears clean in the pictures, showing off what looks to be a new battery and Honda of yore’s penchant for vacuum hose overload. The CVCC four is an interference engine, so given its age and lack of information provided regarding maintenance, a new timing belt should be at the top of the next owner’s to-do list. The bodywork and metallic silver paint show minimal signs of age or use, with just a few small dings here and there. Fortunately, all the trim and hard-to-find rubber bits appear intact.
Upholstered in glorious red velour, the cabin looks like a fantastic time capsule ready to transport occupants back to the Reagan Era. The only drawback is the wrinkled, abraded driver’s seat that appears to have made the trip one too many times. The only other obvious issues are some fading plastics and a broken rear-seat latch surround.
A cream puff of a deal?
We should note that this Civic is a pretty old car. It will, hence, drive like an old car, albeit an old Honda Civic, and those tended to drive pretty nicely. This will be nothing like the 20-year-newer Civic Si we considered just a couple of weeks back. At $13,000, today’s car is ten grand less expensive than that later car, however, so there are trade-offs in its favor.
It’s time we consider this Civic on its own merits and whether it’s worth the $13,000 asking price as presented in its ad. What’s your take on turning back the clock for that kind of cash? Does that seem like a fair deal given the car’s condition? Or is that price tag a prescription for disaster?
You decide!
Nice Price or No Dice:
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Michael Sweeney for the hookup!
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