Ownership Verified: 2005 Honda Civic 1.6i Executive

captain_70s

captain_70s

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Glasgow, Scotland
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VTEC JUST KICKED IN, YO!

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In a shocking turn of events I've bought yet another car. You'll note this one is rather newer than my usual purchases and one of those bloody foreign jobs, there is reasoning behind this that I shall detail later. Essentially this is now my new daily driver, it's a 2005 Civic Mk7, it has the 1.6i VTEC motor which has done 68,000 miles with regular servicing and the car hails from a location in England far from the shitty weather/sea and is rust free.

It's an "Executive" which means it's a good spec, namely an all leather interior, heated seats and mirrors, a sunroof and air conditioning and is finished in "Magnetic Blue". It puts out 108bhp and can lug itself to 60mph in 10.8 seconds, I drive like a pensioner anyway so it's the perfect car for the job. After coming from a 58bhp 1970s car it feels surreal in it's levels of quiet and comfort, capable of travelling at 60mph without losing any oil and I did 18 miles today and didn't even need to stop to re-attach the exhaust.

Only problem with the car so far is that it has the stock radio and no aux jack so I can't blast The Moody Blues at abhorrent volumes on my commute.

I'll get a proof picture tomorrow when daylight is happening...
 
Nice purchase, but...do you still have the pair of Triumphs?
 
That's the first sensible car purchase you have ever made and slimming the Dolly fleet down to one makes a lot of sense. I hope this marks a change for the positive for you. I know I've given you a hard time over the years but I feel like many of us have been :wall: in trying to support and advise and getting ignored.

Keep it up. Those Civics are cracking little cars and tend to have been looked after by older folk as well as being pretty bullet proof so you should have few worries and be able to devote energy to your love of playing with dollies. Ye gert big poofter! ;)
 
Get rid of Doloshites. Celebrations will then follow.
 
I didn't think Civics could rust overnight... The Capt shall try his hardest to achieve this.
 
nicjasno said:
Did you jettison the corsa?
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I ditched the Corsa ages ago, late January perhaps? Since then I've been using the Dolly 1300 as my daily car. The full story of why the Civic has been purchased is this:

It all came to a bit of a disaster on Friday when my starter motor died, essentially cylinder compression was leaking into the crankcase and blowing oil out of the rocker cover gasket and oil cap because of the pressure, this oil leaked down the block on to the starter motor and killed it to death. At the same time a clutch hydraulic leak led to me running out of fluid leaving me with no clutch. So there I had a car which always needed bump starting but you had to start the car in gear because you couldn't engage them with the engine running because there was no clutch. It was problematic. Also, after 8,000ish miles of daily use the rate of age related failings had overtaken my ability to fix them on the fly. I acquired a scrap 1500HL for a decent engine as the current lump burns 5 litres of oil a fortnight but the 1300 needs too much to keep it roadworthy. The rear shocks are shot, should probably get new springs/bushes all around, new brake lines wouldn't go amiss and the metalwork is increasingly shabby as poor quality repairs from the past have started failing.

So I drove the 1300 home from work on Friday and put it in my parent's garage, poking around revealed it wouldn't pass it's MOT without a fight and money, assuming I got it through emissions at all, and I wasn't pleased with deterioration she's suffered over the last few years either.
The 1850 has been sitting in my driveway on axle stands bringing down local house prices since the beginning of the year as I slowly worked on it after it unexpectedly failed it's MOT miserably. Funding the repair of two 38 year old cars + a house wasn't going well, I started working more hours for money but was left with no energy, motivation or time to lay about under a car in the rain so I farmed jobs out to local garages who inevitably bodged it or fucked it entirely. Progress on the 1850 stopped as I directed money into the 1300 trying to keep it functional.

A plan was formed. I'd leave the 1300 in my parent's garage, completely strip it down to a shell and evaluate just how much it'd cost to have all the bodywork done in one go. Me and Dad can rebuild the engine aside from a few specialist jobs, sort the wiring and the suspension and there are some bits of light customisation I'v wanted to for years such as fit an overdrive gearbox and a 1500fwd interior. It'll cost thousands but it'll be worth it to have the car I want built to standards I'm pleased with. It probably won't be an Andeh level resto, I don't mind cosmetic blemishes and a full respray is unlikely, but I want the rust gone and the engine running properly with good compression.
Of course I'd need a daily car as the resto could take a couple of years so the Civic was sourced at a local dealer, my parents bought it in cash and I'm paying them back monthly. The money saved from not taxing and insuring two cars and the 1300's oil drinking problem, 34mpg thirst and ?300 a month repair bills will mean I can escape my overdraft at the same time.
That leaves the 1850HL. If it was possible I'd mothball it away in a barn somewhere and sort it out when the 1300 is finished, but that's not an option so it's now for sale. The money earned will go towards paying off the Honda, currently wanting ?500 for it. I believe it's currently the cheapest, complete and running Dolomite for sale. :lol:
It also sort of leaves the 1500HL which is in a yard a few miles away, I've not actually paid for it yet but assured the owner I'd take it. I've got to work that one out because I no longer need it now I'm not bodging my car...

Effectively it beings me back to the same situation I was in back in Oct 2013. One cheap, reliable Japanese hatchback for daily use, and the Dolly 1300 as a restoration project. Had I been more sensible over the last few years the 1300 project would now have been finished and the Yaris would probably have been traded for a Civic anyway! If I had played my cards right from the start I could probably have brought the 1300 up to scratch, paid off the Yaris AND bought the 1850 as a new project with money spare in the bank. Oh, and I'd have done an even course in welding, 50/50 hindsight and all that...
 
BlaRo said:
Ooh, Executive.
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Awwwww yea.

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ScarFace88 said:
Leather interior? IN A CIVIC???
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See above.

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It's thoroughly agreeable, nothing is exceptional about the car but nothing is terrible. It looks alright and hasn't aged badly, the interior is all pretty nice quality and not much is falling apart, it drives fairly well considering it's got ?28 LingLong Ditchfinders as tyres, the 1.6 is perhaps a bit strained for such a big car but I never take it over 3,000rpm anyway. The radio is pretty good so I can listen to BBC Radio 2 but I will have to pull it out and add a 3.5mm aux jack by putting an adapter through the CD changer port at some point. Also the headlights have gone cloudy inside and will need the usual cleaning and polishing. There are also a few paint scuffs here and there but it's better than I'd expect for a decade old car! Consider a decade old car from the 70s was usually at the end of it's life, probably looking something like this...

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It took a bit of getting used to, the crap clutch hydraulic pressure in the 1300 meant the biting point was down on the floor, it's pretty high on the Civic and the throttle pedal is much heavier with much less travel. I also screeched to a halt the first time I touched the brakes, apparently 4-wheel discs are a tad more powerful than front discs/rear drums of a 40 year old design and you only need to tickle the pedal to stop the car! It's also bigger than anything else I've driven, as wide as the Corsa but with better visibility and a little longer than the Triumphs but not quite as square so harder to place on the road.
 
captain_70s said:
Consider a decade old BL "car" from the 70s was usually at the end of it's life, probably looking something like this...
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FTFY :p

But seriously, congrats on the purchase. This should serve you a long, long time!
 
the 1.6 is perhaps a bit strained for such a big car but I never take it over 3,000rpm anyway.
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It's a 1.6 vtec Honda. It has no business ever being below 3,000 rpm. No wonder you find it "strained".
 
Aston Martin said:
I didn't think Civics could rust overnight... The Capt shall try his hardest to achieve this.
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I take it you're new to UK built Hondas... :D

Perc said:
It's a 1.6 vtec Honda. It has no business ever being below 3,000 rpm. No wonder you find it "strained".
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Or in other words: Drive it like you hate it.
 
Lovely car Dorothy. Be sure to pop round to Judith's for a game of gin rummy after bingo. She hasn't got long before she goes for her second hip replacement, you know.


:p
seriously though, these are good little cars. Even if you do look like a pensioner :p I'm sure it will serve you well!
 
BlaRo said:
The Dolomite looks like Brad Pitt's character in Snatch.
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You trying to say my car looks like a pikey?! I'll av ur fuckin head m8.
Mitchi said:
FTFY :p
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BL cars didn't last 10 years. :p
Perc said:
It's a 1.6 vtec Honda. It has no business ever being below 3,000 rpm. No wonder you find it "strained".
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Anesthesia said:
I take it you're new to UK built Hondas... :D


Or in other words: Drive it like you hate it.
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But my 45mpg average will be reduced...

Hbriz said:
Seriously though, these are good little cars. Even if you do look like a pensioner :p
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I keep a hat on the passenger seat, drive everywhere at 55mph and only listen to BBC Radio 2 or my jazz CDs. Make of that what you will. :p
 
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