03/17/2026
Last week Monday, I had this 1984 Honda Civic 1500 S brought all the way from Oregon straight to my door to see what the condition was going to be after sitting for 12 years up north.
Rust was my first thought, second was the carburetor. Turns out that neither was trouble. Checking the basics like fluids, belts and hoses. All in great shape, full fluids, all rubber was soft and not hard as stone as if it were an Arizona vehicle.
Checking ignition timing I found that it had the wrong distributor cap installed. I'm still scratching my head on how it was even running?
This is where the fun begins. Trying to find correct 42 year old parts. I had to pull my parts catalog out multiple times. Had the cap the next morning. I was still on the fence about the carburetor, added 3 gallons fresh gas and turned the key. It had a few issues at first, but once it warmed up it was holding a pretty good idle at 1,000 rpm. Enough for me to trust driving it a mile or so in the neighborhood to test the clutch, and shake some cobwebs off.
Was given the green light to proceed with other, mostly maintenance repairs.
Timing belt/water pump kit with cam and crankshaft seals, thermo-stat. Valve adjustment, front brake rotors and pads, rear shoe's/drums are good. Pair of C.V. axles, engine and transmission oil change. Turn the key, fine adjustment for timing and idle. Done. Never had to open the carburetor. What a GEM of a Civic!
