1989 Honda CRX SI

Hi there.   Here I have for sale an 89 Honda CRX SI. I purchased this car in March of 2013 and at that time it had approximately  225000 miles on the odometer. It is now at 261871 miles.  

 There is a lot to go over in this description so I will split the description into three parts. Exterior/Interior/Engine and drivetrain. I will point out the mods that have been done and any issues the car has:


Exterior
The car was painted only a few months after I bought and was finished in laser blue metallic which is a color that came on the newer Mini Coopers.
The car was originally silver. When I purchased the car. a front end swap from a civic had been done. I decided to replace the front bumper and support with brand new ones in the 90-91 style CRX since I preferred the look of the newer style bumper.
The tail lights were also replaced with those from a 90-91 model CRX.
The SIR rear spoiler was imported from germany and put on just before painting.
The wheels are Drag DR-23 in polished finish. They have no curb damage to speak of and have been on the car since I had the car painted.
Some body filler was used just under the drivers side door handle as it had a series of small dents in that location. This was also applied just before the car was painted.  
The hood seems to sit a bit high on the drivers side as you can probably see from the pictures. Also the drivers side headlight has a small hole in it. I have used some clear silicon to plug the hole.
The tint on the back glass has a few wrinkles in it. Also the black strip on the top of the rear hatch has begun to peal up. On the CRX I had before this one. I pealed all of it off and sprayed it black. This is a good option if you decide to fix it. I should also note that the hatch will not open with a key. but can still be opened from the lever at the drivers side.
The sunroof functions normally aside from occasionally having to help it initially lift when opening. I also suspect the water drain tubes that begin at the sunroof are clogged since some water will drip from the hatch struts if the car is driving in the rain.
Overall the exterior looks very nice as you can see. I get compliments on it's appearance all of the time. Also worth noting is it has been always been parked in a carport/garage nearly every night since I have owned it.


Interior
Since this car did not come with any rear interior pieces when I bought it. I decided to lay some sound deadening material down and make a floor for the back and put some carpet on it. I also installed a subwoofer/Amp to it.
The steering wheel was replaced with an aftermarket as the stock one was falling apart.
The drivers side seat is pretty worn out on it's left side. It looks as though some stitching up was done at some point on the upper left bolster. However. The passenger seat is in very nice shape.
The drivers side door panel has some wear where the letters are (please see pic).
I installed and armrest from a later model civic. It serves it's purpose well and adds some additional storage space.
The climate control has zero cracks in it. But does not light up fully. Since these units are prone to breaking and are quite expensive. I decided not to remove it to replace whatever light or lights have gone out.

Overall the interior is in pretty good shape. A few rattles and squeaks here and there when driving but nothing bad. It's also worth noting that I am a non smoker.


Engine/Drivetrain
When I bought the car it had approximately 225000 miles on it and the previous owner said he bought the car from on older gentleman who used this car to commute very long distances. He also said that the engine had been rebuilt at some point but could not tell me when that was.  Without really knowing the service history I immediately replaced the following:  Timing belt/Radiator and hoses/Thermostat/Temperature sensor/Air filter/Plugs and wires/Upper and lower tube seals/Distributor/Air Conditioner compressor/Exhaust parts/Speedometer cable/Axles
The engine runs very strong and does not smoke nor does it leak oil. I believe I can hear a slight misfire going on at idle but does not affect driving at all.   I very rarely take the rpms above 4k but when I do it pulls nicely and has all the power you would expect from a D16A6 engine. I have also changed the oil every 4k-5k miles.
The transmission shifts nice with no grinding to speak of. The clutch engages normally and does not feel worn at all.
An aftermarket battery holder was installed since the original was not with the car when I bought it.
One of the distributor bolt holes is missing. but this has never affected the distributors functionality.
The hood release cable has popped out of it's lever inside the car. The cable itself is quite hard to pull. Right now I am using a wrench to get a good hold on it and pull it quite hard. It is especially hard if the engine is warm and the metals have expanded a bit.
The A/C has been converted to R134a and works fine but it does make some cricket like noises when you first turn it on and are at idle. It has done this ever since I put the compressor in but has never affected it's functionality.
The exhaust is an ebayer header to high flow cat to resonator to a high flow muffler which is basically an off brand flow master. I took this to my local exhaust shop 3 times before I got the kind of sound I was after. It has a noticeably deeper tone from stock and has very little rasp. I actually thought it had no rasp at all until my brother drove it and I heard it from outside the car. It does not drone at all when driving it but it will give you a nice sound when you give it some gas.
The car is on lowering springs but they still have some travel. I replaced the dampers with stocks ones. I also have a set of stock springs that will come with the car if you would like them.
The tires have good tread on them. I would guess they have around 50% life left.
I was recently diagnosing a squeak I heard coming from the drivers side front. I found that the lower ball joint is worn and causes the noise. I tore a small hole in the boot of it and shot some WD40 into it and the squeak has gone.  I got a new ball joint in and when I went to put it on I noticed that the drivers side axle boot has split and has slung grease. I would recommend repairing the boot or replacing the axle and at the same time as replacing the ball joint.

Aside from the axle and ball joint needing to be replaced before too long. the car is mechanically sound and ready for many more miles to come.

    This has been my daily driver for over three years and has been a fantastic car! I have owned three CRXs over the course of over ten years and I like them very much. This one has been the best of the three I have owned. It works like a charmand has never left me stranded.
 Just typing this description of the car makes me sad knowing I will be letting it go but I have my first brand new car on order and as much as I love this CRX. I just cannot justify keeping it.
Being such a huge fan of these cars. I am quite knowledgeable on them and I am very happy to answer any questions you might have so please don't hesitate to message me.
      Thank you         -David

Also published at eBay.com

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