My first VTEC.....YO.

[CaneyJ]

Well having had the wheel of luck come around for the better with a new job nailed down it's finally time for the taste of a new Mota . I've done the whole home brew turbo charging route and experienced all the joys it brings :/ and my current hankering was for something sporty, N/A, fun, 2-seat and a bit of drop down action for summer.

I was determined for it to be Japanese as I always fancied a bit of 90's sporty fun. Yes the obvious choice would be the MX-5 and I was seriously tempted but doing the obvious thing isn't my style though a super-charged one might be my next car. Inspiration for the choice in-fact came from playing gran turismo and the CRX popped up which got me thinking.

It's an electric targa top with drop down rear window so it has advantages of a convertible without the downsides of fabric tops. It's quieter, more secure and being FWD will be more predictable to control especially when the snow comes. It's more powerful than the 1.8 MX5 and can be economical when I ever want it to be .

Went and saw a couple and this is the result of my searches. Low mileagee, 1992, rust free, SIR import (the spec in all the Gran Turismo games ). It's my first Vtec and must say that it sounds very sexy when all 170 ponies are “on song”. It came with an uprated clutch, brakes and suspension all ready for a few more ponies to be added.

Owned the car a week and not noticed any faults so far. Few rattles, no leaks, slick gear change. Perhaps the only gripe is the pillbox-esque rear vis, the demand for high ron petrol and getting out is a pain in narrow spaces due to being so low to the ground but otherwise I love it.

Immediate plans are to source some clear side indicators and clear bulbs, remove the stickers, rust-proof it and repaint the rocker cover. Future plans probably will be new rota grid alloys, induction, a tubular manifold through to exhaust (1992 so no CAT required ), and a lot of chassis bracing, maybe brakes.

The roof is especially cool as it is one of the first hardtop convertibles I believe and my girlie flatmates love it's transformers impression .

James bond missile rack comes as standard. Also the standard way of accessing the boot, gets some stares in the supermarket car parks.

Maybe you might see it as a bit hairdresser but the same could be said for the MX5 which people think more highly of nowadays but hey ho.

 

[CaneyJ]

Yes I wanted an Import as they have all the toys usually rust free and offer more power . I paid 2 grand for mine which might seem a lot but it came with full service history and was only 65k miles which is rare as most have "moon miles" due to being hondas, the buggers don't have the decency to die.

Also like that it's old and i can work on it myself though I think I will take it to garages to maintain the service history. If the roof breaks which sometimes happens then it's costly at a dealer of course but you can do it yourself for not much money. I've joined a club which has provided a manual on fixing it, 99% of the time the plastic cogs lose their teeth over time and it's just a matter of replacing them but mine runs perfectly. Will see how it is 40k miles down the line . If it does break, there are manual winders behind the drivers seat to get it open or shut.

Most in fact come with the electric roof, the SIR equivilant here is called the VTI but is 160bhp not 170 and has a few less toys though it does take normal petrol, filling up with V-power on a weekly basis is a pain. On paper it says it will do 0-60 in about 7.5 and go to 130mph so it's a fast hairdresser car for sure .

 

[CaneyJ]

Mechanically underneath it IS a Civic but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It's lighter than the equivalent 90's civic and shares the Civic Type-R engine, it's as reliable and also means parts and tuning is plentiful and cheap .

 

[CaneyJ]

Whoops mis-read the wiki articles when reading up on the car doh! Well I think the extra weight is worth it for the sheer awesomeness factor .

The rear window is also electric so it basically becomes a full convertible with a roll over bar. Even with the roof mechanism, the boot is also pretty generous.

The main reasons for choosing this over a civic was my original desire of wanting a warmed-over 2 seater convertible.

The fact it might look a little limp wristed is fine in my books, it's much rarer than a MX5 and the girlies love it and thats good enough for me .