87' CRX Fender Question
michaelhinkle1
Senior Wagonist
Next week I might be picking up a 1987 CRX
Are all CRX models interchangeable parts wise?
I need some fenders and it'll be hard finding the exact same model, and it'd be too expensive to buy them new.
What other year(s) will fit the 87' model?
Are all CRX models interchangeable parts wise?
I need some fenders and it'll be hard finding the exact same model, and it'd be too expensive to buy them new.
What other year(s) will fit the 87' model?
Comments
84-87 CR-X fenders are plastic, and very, very easily broken. I mean you can look at one funny and if it's not already cracked it will crack.
Just keep in mind 88-91 CR-X pats are 100% different than the 1987 model you're looking into.
Unless this 87 is a fuel-injected Si model spare yourself the trouble. The other models are carb's, and by now 95% of them run like shit and are more costly to repair than the value of the car itself.
booooo! completely wrong, young man. I'm gonna have to call you out on this one.
Carbed cars are super reliable if you know what you're doing and they are no more costly than any other 20+ year old car. In fact, they get awesome mileage so that right there makes them worth the effort. Most of them have problems with the spacer under the carb needing replaced because they develop leaks over time... and/or the carb needs rebuilding too... but this is simple simple stuff to repair. Other than that, there's hardly any difference between a carbed one and an injected one. I'd be more worried about finding a working, reliable distributor (for ANY older Honda) that doesn't cost $400+ from the dealership than dealing with a carb setup.
I guess there's no "right" or "wrong" here really.
The heart of the issue is that unless you are a mechanic and know how to repair/tune mess with carbs they are in whole much more of a PITA to have repaired, period.
There are far less shops/mechanics willing to even work on those dinosaurs too. My shop won't touch them any more because of the brittle plastics in the engine bay, and the fact that 99% of the time we spend diagnosing them is wasted because nobody wants to spend the ungodly amount of money on parts/labor it takes to fix them.
If you like carb'd Hondas that's great for you. You must be a glutton for punishment.
Parts are much more difficult to find for the carb'd Hondas. Actually in this specific case parts are going to be hard to find even if it's a fuel injected '87 CR-X anyways. If the search expands to a 1988 CR-X model the parts will be much easier to find, and if you want gas mileage get the HF model which is more efficient than any carb'd Honda ever was.
you guys have talked me out of buying it in 3 posts.
Good luck man! Remember when you're patient and you wait for exactly what you want you won't always have second thoughts, and you won't have to constantly work to try and make the car you bought into the car you should have purchased the first time.
With wagons as rare as they are someone would probably trade you a CRX in good shape for your wagon even if it needs work.
they don't see them as a car that can be amazingly sleek and extremely unique. they see it as "an 18 year old car with low miles and lots of odd ends" as i've been told many times.
not many people see wagons like we do. if a crx came up for trade, i'd throw in cash as well. but it's very doubtful that'll happen.
thanks for the help man.
but like B18C5 said, be PATIENT. it took my 5 months to find the 'perfect' wagon (and its still isnt that perfect, haha) and i am very happy.
FACT: A carbed 87 HF gets better mileage than injected HF models from 88-91.
B18, you seem to be saying that because you've worked on cars since 1995, you have lots of experience. Not everyone would see it that way. That only goes back to the introduction of OBD2. 15-20 years ago, mechanics were bitching about all these new-fangled computerized cars, daggummit!. I think that a younger mechanic's disdain for carbs is the same attitude only in reverse. (not saying you're a noob, not trying to start a fight, just keeping it in perspective)
Personally, me and my family have had many carbed cars: Accords, Civics, Toyota and Mazda trucks, domestics, etc... Problems with the carbs were pretty rare, but worst case scenario was that the carb needed rebuilt and vacuum leaks fixed. That never cost me more that $250-$350 bucks out the door. I just had an air-cooled V-dub redone for $125... those are as simple as they get, though. My one buddy is currently driving around an 85 crx with over 200k. He had the carb rebuilt and spacer thing replaced about 4 years ago, and it runs perfect. He also had the clutch replaced... total bill was $700. He gets like 38mpg beating on it around town and loves the car.
Since you like facts.
FACT:
By default carb'd cars are older than fuel injected cars, and by default there are less of them on the road, parts are harder to find, and due to older age the condition of most of them are less than favorable when compared to newer, fuel injected cars.
I'm glad you like carb'd cars and have had success with them. I'm not saying that they cannot be reliable, efficient vehicles. What I am saying is that the likelihood of finding a good carb'd car and finding a good mechanic to work on that car is much less than finding a good FI car and having people lining up to take your money to fix it.
I live in the metro area of Atlanta, and we have emissions to deal with too. The number of shops willing to do ANY repair work to carb's vehicles is shrinking - actually the decline started about 5 years ago because parts prices are still high for cars worth $300.00 book value, and good luck sourcing parts cars - refer to my fact above.
I have a few customers whose Carb'd Hondas are "grand fathered" in that we still work on. I'm not saying that because they are carb'd they suck, because these cars have been well maintained are are reliable. What I am saying is that most of the carb'd Hondas out there will be in much worse mechanical shape than the newer, mopre readily available Fuel-injected ones.
...and even if you have money to fix a problem with one, sometimes the problem is actually finding the parts to fix it.
Example?
Engines. I can pick up the phone and call any JDM importer and have a 88-91 Civic engine shipped to my door, no problem. I could order 10 and still have no problem.
Try finding an old 12 valve 85-87 Civic engine with low miles and a warranty. Try finding a 1.8L 86-89 Carb'd Accord block from an importer - not going to happen easily at all.
Forget about trying any good old standard B series swap if you've got a carb'd chassis too, unless you enjoy swapping out fuel tank, fuel pump, fuel lines, entire chassis wiring harness, etc. etc. One can swap a B into any fuel injected 88-91 Civic within a day's time if all the parts are there.
Lastly my "experience" working with these cars was cited to simply say I'm not just some random internet kid who hates carbs because they're old hat. I'm no master mechanic, and I don't have to be to offer up my opinion based on seeing many carb'd Honda being towed to the crusher because of costly repairs.
My working with these cars for years also doesn't make what you say less true or valid either - I wasn't trying to say I know more. I do kind of resent the fact that you flatly said "you're wrong" in your first reply. It's more a matter of opinion than fact or fiction, and I'm pretty sure most Honda enthusiasts these days would agree more with my suggestion of steering clear of an old carb'd CRX. Does it make me "right?" No.
michael:
In the metro area of Atlanta, GA 88-91 CRXs and EF hatches are a dime a dozen. People sell them with some sort of swap or suspension work all the time for under $2,500.00. It might not be this way where you're from, so perhaps my suggestion of being patient isn't valid.
You may have to actually drive out of state to get a good car.
Comparing a VW Beetle to a carb'd Honda is not even the same thing. You know as well as I do there are TONS of dedicated VW air cooled shops, mechanics, etc. They have entire books, parts catalogs, magazines, TV shows, etc. etc. just for air cooled, carb'd VWs. Not so for the carb'd Hondas. I'd buy a VW Beetle with more of an expectation of being able to afford and try my own repairs on it with it being 40 years old than I would a 25 year old carb'd Honda.
...and that $700.00 is more than the car is worth too. Most people would have a hard time justifying spending that sort of money on that car. You and I, and a lot of enthusiasts here might not, but most people would. Then again most people also don't like Civic Wagons.
Okay I'm off the soap box now. I just wanted to clear a few of my points up. No harm intended, no comparing ding-a-ling sizes - just having a discussion.