I seed Ford have just released the all new Capri.

[Drago]

Until you point the damn thing at a corner, that is...

You know me Miss Reynard - it's all about looking cool.

 

[figbat]

Aside from my much-loved my Mini, and albeit two decades younger, the only other classic car that I really want to own is a series 2 (circa 1989) Honda CRX v-tec.

I had a CRX VTEC (strictly a Honda Civic CRX 1.6i-VT) for a few years. In fact I was a founder member and administrator of the CRX-UK forum for a while. It was a great car, one I’d love to go back to. Mine was one of the very last off the production line, in September 1991. It was first registered in December 1992 (K). It had the cam cover off of the replacement (mk3, “del Sol”) engine it was that late in build (the cam covers were interchangeable but had a slight design difference between the B16A1 engine of the mk2 and the B16A2 engine of the mk3). I sold it in 2004 but can still recite the VIN from memory now. I only ever saw one example with a higher VIN, by 4).

Unburstable engine, loved revs, great handling, no torque steering thanks to equal-length half-shafts, proper Honda reliability and engineering. The 2nd model to get the VTEC engine, after the Integra. The Japan market models made a genuine 100 bhp/litre which was unheard of for a production, naturally-aspirated, road-going car. The UK version was a few hp down (150 bhp) thanks to different mapping with no knock sensor. The UK car had no power steering or a/c though.

I could go on at length…

 

[Reynard]

I had a CRX VTEC (strictly a Honda Civic CRX 1.6i-VT) for a few years. In fact I was a founder member and administrator of the CRX-UK forum for a while. It was a great car, one I’d love to go back to. Mine was one of the very last off the production line, in September 1991. It was first registered in December 1992 (K). It had the cam cover off of the replacement (mk3, “del Sol”) engine it was that late in build (the cam covers were interchangeable but had a slight design difference between the B16A1 engine of the mk2 and the B16A2 engine of the mk3). I sold it in 2004 but can still recite the VIN from memory now. I only ever saw one example with a higher VIN, by 4).

Unburstable engine, loved revs, great handling, no torque steering thanks to equal-length half-shafts, proper Honda reliability and engineering. The 2nd model to get the VTEC engine, after the Integra. The Japan market models made a genuine 100 bhp/litre which was unheard of for a production, naturally-aspirated, road-going car. The UK version was a few hp down (150 bhp) thanks to different mapping with no knock sensor. The UK car had no power steering or a/c though.

I could go on at length…

They caught my eye back in the day when they did a single-make race series with them. I think you could upgrade the dampers and a few other bits, but they were largely showroom spec. Racing was always close and frantic.

I've always liked the styling, too - distinctly Japanese, but it just looked so right, somehow. And then add to the fact that my favourite racing driver used to sell them for a living, and he and his brother also raced them, so yeah, that's part of my motivation.

That's Dave Loudon (#33) on the left, and Paul Warwick (#11) on the right. Donington Park, 08/07/90 (pic scanned from Autosport)

 

[DRM]

The only classic for me is a Plymouth Roadrunner Suprbird, because I'm certifiably mad and think drum brakes on a 400 horse hot rod is perfectly acceptable. Barking, and I love it.

Many years ago, there was one of those filling up with petrol at our local petrol station, asked the driver to blow the horn on it, which still worked…….the Roadrunners beep beep!

 

[Drago]

Plymouth Road Runner Superbird. Very, very cool.

Honda Civic Vtec. I suppose it's cool in a geeky kind of way.

 

[tyred]

Plymouth Road Runner Superbird. Very, very cool.

View attachment 757734


Honda Civic Vtec. I suppose it's cool in a geeky kind of way.

View attachment 757735

I wonder has anyone ever put a VTec engine in an Acclaim. Would be the ultimate Q car.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Plymouth Road Runner Superbird. Very, very cool.

View attachment 757734


Honda Civic Vtec. I suppose it's cool in a geeky kind of way.

View attachment 757735

Hang on - has Drago's "Special Thread" rusted its way through to here????

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I wonder has anyone ever put a VTec engine in an Acclaim. Would be the ultimate Q car.

Sacrilege??

 

[wafter]

Mine broke. I just put another one on.....

Presumably you made some effort to line the bits up again beforehand..

I wonder has anyone ever put a VTec engine in an Acclaim. Would be the ultimate Q car.

IIRC there was something like this on FB marketplace a while ago - can't remember exactly what was in it, but something fairly spicy. My grandad had an Acclaim


As a kid I remember we were probably mostly a Vauxhall household, although my old chap being in the trade (as a self-employed mechanic) was to an extent driven by what fell into his lap. I recall he had a metallic blue Mk2 Cavalier and around the same time my mum had a green Mk1 Astra estate. Before that she had a Chrysler Avenger, and they were both into Minis (well, he was and so was she by association) before I was born. Later the old dear had a Mk3 Astra and the old by had a run of Volvo estates - a tatty black 244DL and later a presentable red 240.

I've become quite disillusioned by the classic market (asset price bubble, blah, blah) however as I've got older and become more charmed by comfort than performance, I do wonder whether there would be worse things than running a relatively run of the mill classic - something tax-free and fairly sensible like a 240 estate, W123 Merc, E23 or E28 BMW... irritatingly a lot of the Kraut saloons seem blighted but slush boxes

 

[figbat]

They caught my eye back in the day when they did a single-make race series with them. I think you could upgrade the dampers and a few other bits, but they were largely showroom spec. Racing was always close and frantic.

I've always liked the styling, too - distinctly Japanese, but it just looked so right, somehow. And then add to the fact that my favourite racing driver used to sell them for a living, and he and his brother also raced them, so yeah, that's part of my motivation.

View attachment 757733

That's Dave Loudon (#33) on the left, and Paul Warwick (#11) on the right. Donington Park, 08/07/90 (pic scanned from Autosport)

The CRX Challenge cars were a dedicated series of chassis and used the non-VTEC engine. They are rare and sought after now.

I’m struggling to find any pictures of mine. Here’s a thumbnail I found for now. Vogue Silver was, IMHO, the best colour, followed by Celestial Blue.

 

[Reynard]

The CRX Challenge cars were a dedicated series of chassis and used the non-VTEC engine. They are rare and sought after now.

I’m struggling to find any pictures of mine. Here’s a thumbnail I found for now. Vogue Silver was, IMHO, the best colour, followed by Celestial Blue.

View attachment 757780

Lovely

I'd go for black myself. Or red. I know they came in both. Though to be fair, if finances ever allow, I wouldn't let colour be the deciding factor. Mechanical and structural soundness is far more important. I mean I always wanted a red Mini, and yet ended up buying a green one!

P.S. A character in a story I'm writing drives a black CRX vtec. Part of the story is set circa 1989.

 

[figbat]

Lovely

I'd go for black myself. Or red. I know they came in both. Though to be fair, if finances ever allow, I wouldn't let colour be the deciding factor. Mechanical and structural soundness is far more important. I mean I always wanted a red Mini, and yet ended up buying a green one!

P.S. A character in a story I'm writing drives a black CRX vtec. Part of the story is set circa 1989.

OK, so here's some authenticity for your story. The CRX VTEC never came in black in Europe. The only way to get a black one is to have an imported Japan-market (JDM) one, which were known as the CR-X SiR (note CR-X vs CRX). Or you can respray a local one whatever colour you like. The only official colours for a VTEC in the UK were silver, red, blue and white.

Also, 1989 is when the VTEC version(s) were launched so any car in a 1989 timeframe would be brand spanking new, maybe even a launch demo car. If you need any other details or minutiae, let me know!

 

[Reynard]

OK, so here's some authenticity for your story. The CRX VTEC never came in black in Europe. The only way to get a black one is to have an imported Japan-market (JDM) one, which were known as the CR-X SiR (note CR-X vs CRX). Or you can respray a local one whatever colour you like. The only official colours for a VTEC in the UK were silver, red, blue and white.

Also, 1989 is when the VTEC version(s) were launched so any car in a 1989 timeframe would be brand spanking new, maybe even a launch demo car. If you need any other details or minutiae, let me know!

Ah, thanks for the heads up! This is the kind of nerdy / useful stuff that Mr Google can't seem to serve up.

Even though I've not said outright that it's a CRX, I do strive for accuracy in the little details. The car is described as a "small, black, front-engined Japanese coupe, modified with flared wheel arches and aftermarket alloys".

The character in question (a young man in his early 20s) would certainly have the means and skills at his disposal to do the work and respray (his day job is a welder / fabricator), but if black was JDM only, then maybe I might give him a red one instead.

 

[figbat]

Ah, thanks for the heads up! This is the kind of nerdy / useful stuff that Mr Google can't seem to serve up.

Even though I've not said outright that it's a CRX, I do strive for accuracy in the little details. The car is described as a "small, black, front-engined Japanese coupe, modified with flared wheel arches and aftermarket alloys".

The character in question (a young man in his early 20s) would certainly have the means and skills at his disposal to do the work and respray (his day job is a welder / fabricator), but if black was JDM only, then maybe I might give him a red one instead.

Happy to help. I’d only add that it would be a very wealthy and/or enthusiastic owner who would make such modifications to a brand new car, and one that was relatively expensive at the time. That said I can’t think of another car that fits your description!

 

[Reynard]

Happy to help. I’d only add that it would be a very wealthy and/or enthusiastic owner who would make such modifications to a brand new car, and one that was relatively expensive at the time. That said I can’t think of another car that fits your description!

Enthusiastic, definitely. Hard working, sure. Wealthy? That would very much depend on how one defines it...

The alternatives would otherwise be a Golf GTi (which the person on whom this character is partially based actually drove), an Escort XR3i, Peugeot 205 GTi or Astra GTE...