David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/27/24 11:08 a.m.
feature_image

This is just a Kamei spoiler away from perfection–or maybe it’s already there. The 1981 Honda Civic sedan sports the all-important, five-speed transmission.

It looks clean and sits low on some Rota wheels.

The Civic is in Dinuba, California, with an asking price of $6500. The ad’s been up for a while, though, although note that the car has been …

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David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/27/24 12:50 p.m.

My first car was an ’82 Accord sedan. (Yes, with a stick.)

So this one gave me the feels. 

Just gotta find that Kamei front spoiler....

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/27/24 12:55 p.m.

Wow

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/27/24 1:12 p.m.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Wow

It’s cool, right? I even dig the one yellow headlight. 

DavyZ
DavyZ Reader
8/27/24 1:18 p.m.

I had a girlfriend in college who had one of these, but I remember it being whitish beige or some similar color.  It was also a 5-speed and I found the car to feel surprisingly quick (for the time) compared to my '77 200SX.  This car just has cool 80's vibes and I like it despite the coffee stains on the carpeting.

I saw one on the freeway in CA and the owner had stuck BMW badges on it--I swear it freaked me out because I could not tell what kind of car it was at first.  Amazing what a badge can do to 'transform' a car.

 

gzuckier
gzuckier New Reader
8/27/24 1:29 p.m.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

The regional? national? Kamei HQ used to be off I-91 in New Haven, and a visit to their parking lot looked like a shot of the Federation fleet from Star Trek. 

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/27/24 2:00 p.m.

In reply to gzuckier :

Now that you mention it, I seem to remember our parts coming from Jersey. 

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/27/24 2:01 p.m.

In reply to DavyZ :

Yeah, though, this Civic needs Triumph Acclaim badges. 

DILYSI Dave
DILYSI Dave MegaDork
8/27/24 2:24 p.m.
David S. Wallens said:

My first car was an ’82 Accord sedan. (Yes, with a stick.)

So this one gave me the feels. 

Just gotta find that Kamei front spoiler....

83 Accord Sedan.  With a stick.  Burgundy on burgundy.  Had the upgrade 10 spoke alloys.  

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/27/24 2:36 p.m.

In reply to DILYSI Dave :

Fancy. I had steelies. Blue on blue, too. 

XLR99 (Forum Supporter)
XLR99 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/27/24 3:23 p.m.

79 Accord mit Kamei air dam and some AT engineering parts.

Sadly it was above my skill level to glue Kamei together after hitting a snowbank.

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
8/27/24 4:26 p.m.

I've never wanted a Honda Civic. Until today.

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/27/24 4:30 p.m.
Appleseed said:

I've never wanted a Honda Civic. Until today.

My work here is done. laugh

ndavis
ndavis New Reader
8/27/24 5:20 p.m.

Almost looks Volvo ish

 

Tom1200
Tom1200 PowerDork
8/27/24 8:54 p.m.

I and one with ATS wheels.

thatsnowinnebago
thatsnowinnebago GRM+ Memberand UberDork
8/27/24 9:51 p.m.

Weird to see Dinuba on GRM.

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter)
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/27/24 10:54 p.m.

In reply to Appleseed :

*Sedan*

 

(I think my next car will likely be the new civic hybrid in the hatch; it's winning out against the new Prius in non Prime AWD guise or a used Polestar 2 dual motor. The Polestar would be more sporting and more luxurious, but it can't tow enough to drag the Pebble around with it and the cost of ownership of tires and brakes on it versus a Civic hybrid tire cost and being able to do brakes on a civic without fuss. (Messing around with lifting 20"+ wheel and tire packages; even alloys, and hanging brakes large enough to haul down an EV of that size and performance potential is exhausting for me at this point. The job may only take 2-3 hours for me to get done, but I'd be done for the rest of the weekend and it's also at the top of the weight of what I'd trust the quick jacks to handle; not the mention the height in the garage of the roofline while up on the quick jacks. 

The new civic hybrid hatch has the potential with better tires, decent aftermarket suspension upgrades and maybe so torque split programming using steering angle and wheel speed sensor data to program motor delivery in a limited slip type fashion to apply it to pull the car through the corners without understeer, to be the best Civic ever. And there's a solid argument that the civic is the best compact model of all time. It's the S class of the compact car. 

ClearWaterMS
ClearWaterMS HalfDork
8/28/24 11:12 a.m.
David S. Wallens said:

In reply to DILYSI Dave :

Fancy. I had steelies. Blue on blue, too. 

i had an 83 grey on grey accord sedan.  I don't remember the wheels on it.  I just remember one day at work in the winter I went outside to start it up and let it warm up a few minutes before we closed.  As we were closing a frequent customer walked in and asked if that was my car in the parking lot, to which I proudly said yes and how it had been great with over 200k miles on it.... to which he said, oh because it's smoking really bad right now.  The radiator cap had siezed shut in the cold and the car overheated immediately.  I nursed it home, parked it in front of my parents house.  I think I replaced that car with a much newer 89 Acura Integra...

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/28/24 11:14 a.m.

In reply to ClearWaterMS :

Bummer. A good friend had a gray-over-gray ’83 Accord sedan in school. 

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/28/24 11:16 a.m.
David S. Wallens said:
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Wow

It’s cool, right? I even dig the one yellow headlight. 

It is very cool. I was a porter in the used car department of a Honda dealer in 85-86, so I remember these cars well. Is it wrong for me to want to stuff CRV AWD under it?

DILYSI Dave
DILYSI Dave MegaDork
8/28/24 12:34 p.m.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
David S. Wallens said:
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Wow

It’s cool, right? I even dig the one yellow headlight. 

It is very cool. I was a porter in the used car department of a Honda dealer in 85-86, so I remember these cars well. Is it wrong for me to want to stuff CRV AWD under it?

If that is wrong, I don't want to be right. 

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