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Any love for econoboxes?

nj pheonix said:
My 1st new car. An 86 CRX si. i really liked that car. Not much of a family car. Got rid of it around 95 with 180k on it. original clutch just starting to slip. I think 1 starter, several sets of tires and brakes and a few mufflers . They rotted out from condensation if you took a lot of short trips ( like most of us do).
Too bad the safety nannies made cheap fun cars illegal
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I had a 88' CRX Si as well, it actually had really good weight distribution and with some aftermarket suspension and nice tires it actually made for a really nice "spirited driving" car. fun stuff. Those late 80s hondas though do love to rot out, esp in the northeast, I feel your pain

I was also a big fan of the EF (88-91) civic 5dr "wagovan". 4wd 5 speed, whats not to love. they are actually quite desirable nowadays to make into project cars, rally style driving

the "wagon attack" series of videos always wanted me to buy one just for this purpose, just looks like so much damn fun

 
I'm pretty sure what I'm driving right now qualifies as an econobox- 2013 Hyundai Accent SE with a very tiny engine attached to a 6-speed manual. Good for 40 mpg in warm weather if you don't mind how pissed off the line of people behind you are. 35 is more typical if it's cool and you have to be anyplace by a certain time and /or value your life.
 
Farmhand said:
I have a soft spot for little Japanese cars, especially 70s/80s Tercels, Civics, etc. And anything Datsun. When I see one still on the road I just have to smile- there's something about those cars that I like. My first car was a VW Rabbit, two door, gas engine, three speed automatic.
Ironically, I'm 6'4" and prefer small cars. My favorite so far was my 2000 Toyota Echo that finally died of cancer- the Maine name for rust. It was like a go kart with heat and got 40 mpg. And I could park it just about anywhere.
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Yeah.....with an extra emphasis on the BOX part of econobox. Somewhere back in the early 70's I got my hands on a 68 Ford Cortina. Previously the only econo car I'd driven was a VW bug, but the Cortina would actually get out of it's own way, handled reasonably, and had a decent size trunk. IIRC highway mileage was around 30mpg. I enjoyed it ......... even in spite of the fact that it was pretty much considered an orphan almost as soon as it came out. (Well here in the USA anyway)

Though I never owned one I was also partial to the Datsun 510. (another BOX) A friend had one.....He'd hung a turbocharger on his and it was scary fast....

I owned a 78 Ford Fiesta for about 24 hours..... till I figured out it had been in a horrendous wreck that the car dealer failed to tell me about. Right back it went. Interesting note... the Fiesta used basically the same 1600 "Kent" engine as the earlier MKII Cortina. In the Fiesta it was a transverse mount for front wheel drive.

I remember being at a car show when the Ford Festiva came out. Saw a huge guy eyeing it....and laughed till I saw him lean down, move the drivers seat way back, then climb in and he fit comfortably. Go figure.

I still have a 68 Cortina around here and had notions of fixing it up and using it. But at this stage of my life I'm old, fat, and a bit more luxury minded..... so it probably won't happen. Plus nowadays cars like my 2002 Park Avenue will match the highway mileage of that old Cortina.... so.....

None of these is/was mine, just shown as examples..... of just how boxy they are !

68 Ford Cortina
httpi168photobucketcomalbumsu197ianianstewartCortinaV8_03jpg.jpg


Datsun 510
datsun-510-feature-136-004-1024x767.jpg


Ford Fiesta
1980FordFiesta_01_1000-700x475.jpg
 
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elcoholic said:
Bought a new first year '74 Civic. 60hp 1650 lbs and an 86" wheelbase. It really was a go cart. The real mini was 80" and the new mini is 98" for comparison. I once entered it a slalom race with my friend who ran his MGB. My civic was bone stock. I lowered the tire pressure and inverted the air cleaner lid. It was a tight course. The Civic was bested only by a couple of minis and a Lotus Europa. Sadly it was totaled in 77.
And replaced by new Accord.
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I also owned a 1974 Civic 1200, and for all its oddities (torque steering, obvious motorcycle heritage, high redline) I loved it. I also replaced it with a 1979 Accord, my only new car.
 
A friend of mine has a 510 set up as a rally car. He spends more time tinkering than driving it, but its such a cool car. He also has a civic "wagovan", actually three- one to drive and two for parts.
I completely agree that while modern safety features are a good thing, I hate having to look around either side of an A pillar because they're so darn fat! And putting your arm out the window? Forget it.
My first car was a VW Rabbit, two door, gas engine, three speed automatic. A very nimble car.
I had a Subaru Loyale wagon (the old, boxy style) with pushbutton 4wd. Once it snowed all day while I was at work, and at quitting time snow was drifted over the hood and six feet in front of the car. Hit that little red button and it crawled right out. It would laugh its way past plow trucks that were stuck on hills.
Like every car I've owned, it died of rust.
 
We bought a new Fiesta hatchback with the 1 liter 3 cylinder Ecoboost motor and 5 speed standard shift. This is our "toad" to be pulled behind the motorhome we now live in.

Anyway, the car is a gas. A great runner; very responsive, very good pickup, lots low RPM power so downshifting is often avoided--if you're going along 50 mph in 5th and want to accelerate you can just put your foot down for smooth acceleration. Excellent handling. The computer shows the car averaging a little over 41 mpg and we drive it in a lively fashion.
 
i had an 86 Civic Si hatch, red, 5spd, with many Jackson Racing mods, MSW 14x6 black mesh wheels, Yokohama tires. i dearly loved that car, and get kinda misty thinking about it. Traded for a new 90 Mustang GT, 5spd. oh gosh, i loved that one too.

and i'm currently on my second VW GTI, 2015 model, 6 spd. srsly love it too
 
shrinkboy said:
i had an 86 Civic Si hatch, red, 5spd, with many Jackson Racing mods, MSW 14x6 black mesh wheels, Yokohama tires. i dearly loved that car, and get kinda misty thinking about it. Traded for a new 90 Mustang GT, 5spd. oh gosh, i loved that one too.

and i'm currently on my second VW GTI, 2015 model, 6 spd. srsly love it too
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You didn't spring for the turbo either (on the Honda ). I know you read the copy more than a few times:D.
I think there was a line that stated the the engine in turbo in 1st gear was too much for the tranny. They suggested stay out of the boost until 2nd. Like that was going to happen:D. That's why i didn't.
BTW perhaps the worst car ever in the snow.
Too light, tires too wide . Just floated and slid.
 
My girlfriend had to have an '87 CRX SI and we found one just before the 88's came out, It was a fun car but I sold it in '99 with well over 200,000 miles on it when the hidden rust (again on Long Island) was getting the best of it (It still looked great). I changed the springs/ struts and with bigger sway bars it was like a big go kart and could get 400 miles to a tank of fuel. I always used BFG Comp TA HR4 tires on it, They'd last as long as anything else, handled well and were great in the snow (Maybe that's why it rotted away).
One of my first cars was a "74 Rabbit, It was a great little car and lots of fun, The muffler rotted off so I found an old glass pack and some used pipe and made an exhaust, It sounded pretty good. A '74 Toyota Celica GT was probably my favorite econobox I've owned, Incredibly reliable and looked good too.
 
Splatter Pak said:
I also owned a 1974 Civic 1200, and for all its oddities (torque steering, obvious motorcycle heritage, high redline) I loved it. I also replaced it with a 1979 Accord, my only new car.
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It was good you waited. The 1st 2 years of the Accord had a terrible front end flaw - they warped rotors like they were made out of tin foil. I went through 4 sets in the year and a half I had it. 3rd year forward they had it sorted out. All the grief and poor support from the dealers left a bad taste in my mouth for Honda products. I got over it and bought an '88 Acura Legend - soooo not an econobox, but that's another thread :)
 
elcoholic said:
Amer


Hell yeah! American Racing Libra's on a 510 are like EMPI's on a bug or Campy's on a Pantera - a match made in car heaven.
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That's just like my friend's 510, rims included. Except his isn't lowered, the body's sort of banged up, and there aren't any numbers or sponsors on it.
 
The only older Japanese car I have any love for (that was sold in the US) is the Datsun 510.

It was essentially a BMW clone. Just saw one a few weeks ago. Those things were a fantastic car and could really be built up.

I see the rest of them as tools, to be used up and tossed out.
 
elcoholic said:
Amer


Hell yeah! American Racing Libra's on a 510 are like EMPI's on a bug or Campy's on a Pantera - a match made in car heaven.
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Now we're talking. I put those same wheels on my Opel GT. A friend had them on his 510 with such large tires it almost looked like it was an off road vehicle.
 
Not really econo car related but one thing I really miss on cars are the triangle shaped vents in the side windows. You could open them up and then open the side window and they would block the wind, diverting it to the inside of the windshield to clear any fog build up in the winter. I did have them on an 80 Corona that I drove at one point so maybe there is a relation. That Corona was also a good car. It later became the Cressida and then the Camry of today.
 
The only small cars I've had were my first two, a 68 Beetle and the 73 SuperBeetle that replaced it. Smallest I've had since is my S10 pickup. I do miss the VW, but since most small cars are front wheel drive and I dislike how those drive, I avoid them with great fervor. I like big cars, and I especially love parking them next to small cars. This past Monday I went to a friend's dad's funeral and I had my 86 Lincoln parked between a Prius and a Mini. It was hilarious.
 
I had a ton of fun thrashing around for a couple years back in the late 80's in a 1980 Tercel. Bought it with a crushed fender & 77K miles on it for $400 - old lady had owned it since new and never had it serviced! Had the original plugs in it etc. and when she had the accident she just got rid of it and bought a new car. I had a friend at an upholstery shop whip up some nice front seat covers for it, put a junk yard fender on it, badass stereo in it and drove the wheels off it. My kids had a blast in that car, apparently e-brake turns are not just fun for the driver :-)

John
 
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