Wagon On Steroids? 1998 Door Slammer Odyssey in MINT Condition...I Couldn't Resist
B18C5-EH2
Moderator
***First of all I still have my wagon***
So my wife and I had our second kid July 3rd, and since then we discovered how CRAP a 2011 Fit was for a rear facing car seat with someone trying to sit in the front seat in front of it.
...so we sold the Fit, and I began searching for a first-gen CR-V manual. After seeing numerous "clean, mint, great running" DUMPSTERS I decided a first-gen CR-V would not be be any sort of an upgrade over our current 1990 Civic wagon and 2005 Element as far as our kids are concerned.
So I turned my attention to the first-gen Odyssey. I used to manage a Honda-only repair shop, and worked in the Honda service industry for 12 years, so I'm familiar with the various Honda/Acura models and all of their mechanical greatness, and shortcomings.
First-gen Oddyseys have always been my favorite Odysseys. Super reliable drivetrain, lightweight, drives like a car, and now crazy affordable.
So I searched the entire southeast, and found a MINT 1998 Odyssey LX with the middle 50/50 split fold bench seat, which seats a total of 7 passengers. It has the one year only F23A7 2.3L VTEC engine, not the same garbage 4 cylinder Accord tranny found in the 1998 Accord, and this particular example is just crazy nice.
115K miles, original body panels, clean/shiny paint, clean grey interior, brand new belts, water pump, seals, gaskets, hoses, radiator, front rotors, pads, Accord LX V6 wheel covers, thermostat/gasket, fluids, etc. - all genuine Honda parts (except radiator). Owner works at a Honda dealer in parts, is an enthusiast, etc.
Check it:
So I took a one-way flight 450 miles away to Orlando, FLA to buy it, and then drove it home.
A/C is meat locker status. Drives perfectly, rides amazingly well, and interior is near mint. Seller even threw in a rare RA1 JDM front lip.
Current plans are to get rid of the OEM cassette deck and get something with an aux input, better speakers, and longer term plans are possibly lowering on Tein S-Tech springs, new KYB shocks (although it ride sooooo god now albeit a touch floaty) and some OEM alloy wheels - have not figured out which ones yet.
For now though we're just enjoying having the extra space. Our 4 year old son loves riding in the third row seat. He actually ran up and hugged the Odyssey when he thought nobody was looking.
So my wife and I had our second kid July 3rd, and since then we discovered how CRAP a 2011 Fit was for a rear facing car seat with someone trying to sit in the front seat in front of it.
...so we sold the Fit, and I began searching for a first-gen CR-V manual. After seeing numerous "clean, mint, great running" DUMPSTERS I decided a first-gen CR-V would not be be any sort of an upgrade over our current 1990 Civic wagon and 2005 Element as far as our kids are concerned.
So I turned my attention to the first-gen Odyssey. I used to manage a Honda-only repair shop, and worked in the Honda service industry for 12 years, so I'm familiar with the various Honda/Acura models and all of their mechanical greatness, and shortcomings.
First-gen Oddyseys have always been my favorite Odysseys. Super reliable drivetrain, lightweight, drives like a car, and now crazy affordable.
So I searched the entire southeast, and found a MINT 1998 Odyssey LX with the middle 50/50 split fold bench seat, which seats a total of 7 passengers. It has the one year only F23A7 2.3L VTEC engine, not the same garbage 4 cylinder Accord tranny found in the 1998 Accord, and this particular example is just crazy nice.
115K miles, original body panels, clean/shiny paint, clean grey interior, brand new belts, water pump, seals, gaskets, hoses, radiator, front rotors, pads, Accord LX V6 wheel covers, thermostat/gasket, fluids, etc. - all genuine Honda parts (except radiator). Owner works at a Honda dealer in parts, is an enthusiast, etc.
Check it:
So I took a one-way flight 450 miles away to Orlando, FLA to buy it, and then drove it home.
A/C is meat locker status. Drives perfectly, rides amazingly well, and interior is near mint. Seller even threw in a rare RA1 JDM front lip.
Current plans are to get rid of the OEM cassette deck and get something with an aux input, better speakers, and longer term plans are possibly lowering on Tein S-Tech springs, new KYB shocks (although it ride sooooo god now albeit a touch floaty) and some OEM alloy wheels - have not figured out which ones yet.
For now though we're just enjoying having the extra space. Our 4 year old son loves riding in the third row seat. He actually ran up and hugged the Odyssey when he thought nobody was looking.
Comments
you have to come over to http://www.odyclub.com/forums/28-1995-1998-odyssey/
ther is another member on civicwagon thats rolling both an RA1 &EE2..!!!
as for the mods and upgrades you spoke of send me a PM might be able to snag the springs if u act fast ..!!
this guy is kinda our trail blazer ... has his own shop & many altered Hondas or Acura..!!
air runner suspension, lots of imported parts ... was in the 2012 sema ..!!
but yes i was looking for white! grey interior! 1998! 4 doors, no sliding mini van door rediculousness!! great pick up!
It is UNREAL how mint this thing really is overall.
ZERO rust.
ZERO leaks.
ZERO indications of wrecks/repairs.
ZERO worn bushings.
The only thing I found in need (other than a wheel/tire balance) was that the rear brake pads were a few mm from indicators, so I replaced those. Caliper pins were nice and free, and were greased with what looks like Honda silicon grease as opposed to high temp wheel bearing grease.
The guys at the shop were dumbfounded as to how freakishly clean the van is outside, inside, and underneath.
I'll be getting some blind nuts and shouldered bolts/OEM front lip hardware soon, and then I'll be mounting the freshly repainted (Duplicolor trim paint, black) JDM RA1 front lip.
I honestly expected the suspension to be a little worn, or for it to ride floaty and/or need shocks, but this is not the case. It's hard to justify swapping it out in favor of new stuff like shocks/lowering springs right now.
There is a fully equipped Mugen one in town I quite like
I wish mine was that color.
A flush drain and refill of the tranny fluid every three or four oil change with genuine Honda ATF is a good idea with these transmissions. They're not as bad as second and third generation but still weak link, I know, I had to change my transmission, but i still love it.
Yeah me coming from a Honda service background, I'm still cautious about ANY Honda auto tranny. In our 2005 Element I did the 3 quart drain/fill every 15k miles. I plan on doing the same with the Odyssey after an initial 3 times drain/fill with a short get drive between each.
So we took the Ody out of state, and it drives like a dream. We rode 6 people deep yesterday, and the 2.3L pulls us around effortlessly. I'm actually impressed with how little throttle I have to give it to accelerate from a stop, and for merging/lane changes.
I'm so glad I did not find a clean CR-V as it could not offer us this unique experience.