Ancient Hondamatic Civic

1975 1200cc non - CvCC Honda Civic Hondamatic in nice shape

[@rover215]

Hey- It's my car! Thanks for the vid, Mark :) I gotta fix that creaking door! I had the passenger panel off so I could service the window regulator. Works great now but I have been lazy and haven't put the new plastic and door card back on. And yeah, those are 1st gen Accord 13" wheels. Hilarious that 13" wheels are an upgrade(!). Only 51 ponies, but it pulls fine around town. I stay in the right lane at all times on the highway and don't go over 60mph.

[@JMassengill]

very nice car rover215

[@MarkBarrey]

rover215 my family owned one of the first accords back in 1976 here in the mid Atlantic area. How much are you asking for your civic?

[@rover215]

Mark Barrey I may have a buyer already, but I was asking $1,700 and it comes with a couple 5 speed transmissions, all associated linkage, 1st gen wagon knuckles (for 4x100 wheel conversion and brake upgrade), full deluxe gauges, original 12" wheels (also with brand new tires), and a bunch of other little stuff.

[@dakota563]

Very nice car it's in great condition

[@Russell-ox3ef]

Love the car I've been looking at a honda n600 but think my wife would like one of these more.

[@Armadurapersonal]

Honda went from making stuff like this to the NSX in 15 years. Is incredible how much Honda, Toyota, et all grew in such a short period of time.

[@jordannash153]

Is that what's gonna happen with Korean cars

[@AIDAHAR210]

@@jordannash153 they are almost there. Kia Stinger is pretty sick. They need something like the NSX as their halo model though

[@DB-yi5sm]

It's et al. (yes, with the dot), not et all. Just saying so you don't look stupid next time when trying to act literate.

[@owenb7911]

thanks to the Japanese government investing in them

[@ciello___8307]

To be fair, Honda won their first F1 races before then even made a car

[@redsorgum]

Those old Honda civics are awesome! I would love to have one, automatic or stick. I was still in high school when this came out.

[@davidhollenshead4892]

I used to service them, they are junk & parts are NA...

[@michaeldavidmontalvo2402]

@@davidhollenshead4892 why so negative?

[@shadow1fun777]

@@michaeldavidmontalvo2402 theyre a hard car to own, trust him hes not wrong, I own 3.

[@nickrustyson8124]

@@shadow1fun777 Plus if you get in an accident, you are fucked. If you survive in one of these old Hondas, you will be wishing for death

[@AIDAHAR210]

Its a great car for weekends. But the newer Civics make better daily drivers

[@charlesameyer1]

Thanks! This really brings me back. My first car was an orange 74 with Hondamatic I bought off the family mechanic. Nobody explained the Hondamatic to me; I figured it out. Nobody explained the choke to me; I never figured that one out, though. When all was well, it was a hoot to drive, and parking was easy even in Manhattan. With the BMW 2002-knock off interior, I could pretend I was in a fancy sport sedan. A downside was that it often didn’t start in the rain, a problem that was hard to figure out. And, like virtually all old Civics in the northeast, rust ate it from the ground up. A couple of comments on your example. I couldn’t tell whether it was a respray. The outside seems to match the inside, but one of the front fenders seem to have spray paint mark. Also, I’d never seen a ceiling console like that. A dealer-installed option, I guess. A fun fact: At the transportation exhibit at the Smithsonian, there’s one of these in red.

[@DjordyDonopawiro]

this thing would probably look incredibly mint after a good detail

[@michaelhildebrandt4853]

How much $:s would you be asking for, as is?

[@jamesstuart3346]

I had a '79, same colour, with a 4-speed stick...traded it on an '82 Prelude...both terrific cars

[@mkrp4]

This was a first engine I've ever took apart myself when was working in auto repair shop as electrical tech

[@espvp]

"second barrel kicked in yo" 🤣

[@jasoncarpp7742]

I remember this generation Honda Civic. I find it more attractive than most future Civic. I love the colour. :)

[@vanceblosser2155]

According to Wikipedia the CVCC engine was a feature of 1975 Civics part way through the model year. In the early 80s we were going to go camping with some friends who had one of these, we had a 66 VW campmobile and they decided to follow us down the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. We lived close to it. As we started down the drive a rainstorm came up and I noticed the Civic had vanished from my rear view; after a bit we looped around and they were sitting by the road. This particular car had a habit of drowning out in heavy rain. They could let it sit and engine heat would dry it out but if the rain was still coming down it would soon stop again. Neither of them was very mechanically inclined so I always wondered if some new plug wires and distributor cap would help. Oh, and in the mountains the VW bus could easily outrun it - which was a rare experience for me. After a few more times of stalling we called the camping trip off and returned home and watched movies together, and it continued to rain all weekend.

[@stevebutler812]

I had a 74 in 1979 in Pleasanton, CA. A mechanic there realized Japanese cars were taking off, and became the areas first Japanese -only specialist & was very successful.

[@seanandtracey1]

These didn't last very long here in the Rust Belt....

[@davidhollenshead4892]

As in 4 to 6 years...

[@jamesdunn9714]

A lot of old timer cars didn't last in the rust belt; no rust proofing.

[@anzebeton1869]

Same in the Alps

[@AmigaA-or2hj]

Same in Scotland! Always raining!

[@AcmeRacing]

My sister's 1975 Civic rusted out in two Maine winters. the parking brake pivot pulled out of the floor one day, shortly after the back leg of the driver's seat broke through the floor. It was a 4 speed, and the clutch cable failed repeatedly. It ran across the top of the exhaust manifold. Honda bought owners new front fenders after the first year, because those rusted through right away.

[@Marshal_Dunnik]

Beautiful patina, the car has aged very gracefully

[@gornzilla]

The only car my mom bought new was a '78 CVCC with a Hondamatic. I drove the hell out of it in high school along with a '64 Ranchero (170 ci straight six) and later, my first car, a '74 Thing. You change gears around 30 mph. Those things handle like a slot car. I took out the transmission by doing neutral drops when I was 16 or 17. It took a lot of those before the transmission had to be replaced, but my dad thought it was natural because there was a ton of miles on it. Nope, just an idiot teenager. I had to check and 75 ci is 1229 cc.

[@gornzilla]

@KC JONES Luckily that devil is dead.

[@weaponofmassconstruction1940]

@@gornzilla That's cold!

[@donsailing1356]

Ah yes..... my first of 16 Honda’s I’ve owned was a brand new ‘75 Honda Civic 1200. Same “Highland Blue” color. Mine was a four speed stick, and mine was not a hatchback, but rather a trunk model..... the rear window was “fixed” and a small trunk lid beneath the rear window opened to a small trunk. I bought the car for $2,514.00. I worked in the body shop of what grew into a very large Honda dealership, so I’ve worked on thousands of Hondas over the years. I can tell you those 13” wheels came from a 1980 Accord. Also, the wood grain steering wheel came from a 1976 Honda CVCC 5 speed car. Those Civics were really revolutionary..... several of my co-workers became Honda fanatics. Good old days............

[@donsailing1356]

I want to add that mine also had the overhead console with the spotlight and “amazing” analog clock! Ha It was a dealer installed option that I bought at the parts counter and installed myself.

[@mikescudder4621]

Amazing you remember how much you bought it for! I bought and 'refurbished' a 75 1000cc civic. Great little car, loved it. Sold it 13 years ago, to fund going overseas, for about the price you bought yours new, although in $NZD.

[@donsailing1356]

Mike Scudder The ‘75 Civic had an MSRP of $2,859.00.... base model....plain Jane, right out of the box... no A/C. I worked for the dealership and knew the sales manager well. He discounted it for me, but insisted that I finance through them. I bought the A/C unit through the parts dept and installed it myself. All the A/C s in Civics were dealer installed back then. I had done custom paint work on several new ‘74 and ‘75 Civics back then.... the owner of the Dealership saw the first one I did, and was quite excited to have me do several more.... any kind of layout I wanted. An interesting note: the dealership took a brand new ‘75 Civic and drained all the fluids...removed the battery.... the showroom floor had four heavy duty jack stands positioned so that we could get several guys together..... grabbing the front and rear bumpers... and turned the car upside down and let the rubber bumper guards on the bumpers rest on the jack stands. The roof was about 8” off the floor. Really bizarre to walk into the showroom and see the Civic upside down..... the point was to really let customers see the drivetrain, suspension components...etc. After it had been there for many months, they scooted a large thick piece of foam rubber under the car... several of us lifted the car... they removed the jack stands....we had to rest the car gently on the foam rubber before turning it right side up, but the center roof skin buckled.... we had to put a new roof skin on the car before they could sell it. I was fortunate to work for that dealership when they first started selling the little 600 cars. I remember the owner of the dealership coming around with little one page flyers of the “little Honda cars” they were going to sell. Most guys laughed..... but I was intrigued. Months later, when the first truckload arrived.... several of us each hopped into the cars and took them for drives!!! I hopped into a dark red sedan.... and I remember thinking, “I’m getting one of these!!”

[@mikescudder4621]

@@donsailing1356 Woah, thats crazy!! I guess the front engine, front wheel drive setup was out of the ordinary back then. Do you have any photos on a blog or something? I hope you hung onto one of those Honda 600's! I take it you've seen the 'finding serial one' N360 documentary?? I don;t have any Honda's any more unfortunately. But i do have a 1981 2 cylinder 550cc Mitsubishi L100 (minicab) wide 55. I bought it in Chile and then drove all over Chile, Argentina, Bolvia and Brazil!! My first car was a 2nd gen 1982 civic 3 speed hondamatic i bought for $50 of my friends grandmother - it was in pristine condition! I didnt even have a license to drive yet! The gears were marked 1, 2 , and then a 'green star' as 3rd. So its nickname became 'green star'!!! hehehe... good times, fond memories!

[@donsailing1356]

Mike Scudder ....Yes... I’ve seen the story of serial #1. Very interesting..... I really loved those little 2 cylinder marvels. I have also owned a little used ‘72 AN600 sedan..... it was t-boned in the passenger side. I had to pull the rocker, quarter, roof..... it came out very nice! I bought it for $150.00 from the Ins Co. I had 600 bucks in it finished. Drove it for a year..... never took any photos!! I certainly wish I still had it. Presently, I own a pristine 2007 Honda Element SC. Absolutely love it! Owned it since new, and I’m NOT selling it! I’ve owned many Civics.... Crx... Prelude. Honda’s forever....

[@josephineoliver9499]

I had a 1970 something 2 door Honda Civic semi-automatic and it was a terrific little car. I loved it!

[@040119863842]

I love seeing all these old cars coming out of Oregon.

[@lorisilvester8204]

I used to own a car like that one it was even the colour. My friends called it the smurfmobile. I swapped the hondamatic for a 4 speed. One time I had a flat at work and a co-worker, with a stocky build, was able to lift up the back corner of the car while I changed the tire.

[@ratoneJR]

My buddy still owns a '78 Hondamatic 750 motorcycle, he bought new. Coolest bike in the world. 10 mph neutral drops are the best.

[@losttribe3001]

My older brother had 2 of these (30 years ago) and he once parked up on the curb while parallel parking. I asked if he wanted me to fix it so he didn't get a ticket. "Nope", he said. We literally picked the back end up and off the curb without straining. I wish had kept them.

[@timothyhh]

That overhead consule is pretty fancy.

[@97warlock]

I had a 77 that I beat to hell & back & neglected & misused it, this was in early 90s, still had some growing up to do, but just wanted to say......it still ran strong when I sold it.

[@bode7164]

I love the tiny sport car they came out with in the late 60s. The S800, one of a kind, really cute.

[@boufie9997]

I had one of these (station wagon model). 1st gear is good up to 50mph (yes, 50MPH), then nudge the shifter into 2nd. No clutch, semi-automatic, smooth as glass. Had mine up to 100+ and it still wanted to go faster! Loved that car, wish I still had it...

[@skswig1]

I had a '76 manual and loved it. Mine had 13 inch wheels. These years did not have cvcc engines. That came in 77 78 i believe.

[@ricklingard]

I had a 1976 one in 1983, manual , 1.5 motor , it went like a rocket compared to the UK cars of that era ...it was well worn but she kept going

[@Ka9radio_Mobile9]

I had a 1976 w/2 speed trans. I miss it, great car!

[@pdxyyz]

Pretty close to my first car, 1978 Honda Civic, 4 spd manual. MIne was not a CVCC either. NIce to see one still running and with minimal rust. Mine didn't survive the Canadian winters.

[@oekfoh8684]

My dad had a couple of these when I was a bit younger, probably up until 2009 or so. Not sure what year model exactly they were but they looked similar to this. They were sitting in the backyard ever since I could remember and one day he ended up selling them for scrap. SCRAP. Even worse, he had a Morris Major that he also sold for SCRAP. Breaks my heart, I wish my brain was more switched on when I was in highschool and offered to buy them off him or something...

[@michaeldion8798]

Use to have several of them, but mine were all stick shift. Best little car ever

[@stevevarholy2011]

My parents had a 1975 CVCC with the manual. I loved that car. But at 5, it was to a 5 year olds scale. It got sold in 1980 for a Chevrolet Citation after the CVCC blew it's headgasket twice.

[@Mermaid2261]

great little older cars.

[@thinkingjohn2099]

A friend of mine had one in 75 same color here in Australia and I got to drive it a great car at the time

[@SpudEater]

Man, I feel bad for neglecting my little 05 civic work car. 237k miles and I only had routine maintenance and replaced the starter and clutch in it over the last 4 years..my valve cover gasket is shot and I have the replacement but just haven't gotten around to replacing it yet. If I replaced that and did the spark plugs and coils, I could run the thing until it rusts out around me. Goddammit, I enjoy it almost more than my WRX and it has a damn good manual transmission. Honda manual transmissions are amazing, the WRX is almost sloppy in a way, had to change to a short shifter to get a notchier feel.

[@marksandstrom4248]

my recollection (age 62, I was already a competent car geek when this car was new): the non-CVCC Civic was an all-brand-new thing in 1973. the 1500cc CVCC came out all across USA for 1975, and was mandatory in California only, to meet tighter emissions regs. the non-CVCC was 1200 and/or 1300cc and remained available in 49 states for a while longer. yes I agree all 2-speed Hondamatics were only semi-automatic and had to be manually shifted between 1 and 2. Honda did not introduce a fully automatic transmission until 1980 in Accord and 1981 in Civic if I recall. Their first fully automatic trans was a 3 speed, but Honda came up with a 4 speed automatic only a couple years later, an amazing amount of progress in a short time. No USA Hondas had catalytic converters until 1980. Taking a different approach, VW had to use catalysts for carbureted 1975-76 Rabbits Sciroccos and Dashers but K-Jetronic Bosch fuel injection allowed 1977-79 49-state VWs to skip catalysts and use leaded gas. But not California I believe. 1980 meant catalysts for all gasoline VWs, like Hondas.

[@carloscarpinteyro332]

Mark: You sure know your Honda Civic history!!!

[@FuckSlowShit]

@@carloscarpinteyro332 Mark is old skool, youngsters these days just buys new Hondas and say there better. We'll see how long those pieces of junk lasts

[@JMassengill]

I had a 1975 CVCC station wagon with 12 inch tires. Even in the early 80's, 12 inch tires were not easy to find. Thanks for the walk down memory lane

[@warntheidiotmasses7114]

We had one of those. It was a 1200. I forget the year. Maybe a 1978. Green. Not great on gas as you'd think but it was that 2 speed manual automatic.

[@blakshon85]

When I was a kid I lived out of one these with my family in the Bay Area. In and out of hotels.

[@MikeSzJr]

Pretty cool, I have an '81 1500DX that was given to me and it's also from Oregon. Funny thing is, mine has the same Ron Tonkin emblem

[@chuckhaugan4970]

LOL!!! This is a "teacher" car! Every parking lot, at every level of education, had multiple Honda's or VW Rabbit, as the majority of teacher driven rides. These cars are indestructible! Most went over 250K mi.s, which was rare for any car produced between 72-90! Brings back so many memories. At an office I worked, a buddy who bought his 78 Honda Civic new, had over 300K mi's on his, with oil changes and religious system maintenance. I left the company in 1995, and in 2000, when I went to his daughter's wedding, he was still driving it around! If he's still alive, he's probably still driving the damn thing! Just amazing cars for their time.

[@bborkzilla]

My brother had one of those - 2 speed and everything.

[@petehuskins]

I had one of those in the same colour. Loved it but hated the "Hondamatic" gear box. Used tons of fuel for the engine size. When I was very young, our neighbours got 2 brand new ones with reg plates, "BFR8R and VFR8R" strange the things you remember from 40+ years ago!

[@expsterm1]

Could be a nice collector's item if fully restored.

[@edwardpate6128]

I was 15 when this car came out. Anyone who had the misfortune of having to drive one of these was the subject of ridicule!

[@suicidecaptine45]

That interior is crazy ahead of its time

[@horseathalt7308]

Reminds me of modern mazda too it really looks elegant yet simple

[@jasonrackawack9369]

In the 90s our high school parking lot was full of these.. of course they were clapped out $200 beater cars lol!

[@tinkersailorhead4360]

Wooden Wheel is so cool !

[@ZackJenkins]

I would love to own one of these.

[@tigercatartist]

I had a Civic that looked like this in 1975. Drove it off the lot brand new for $1,200. Mine was a stick shift. I had jut gotten divorced with 3 kids to support and my Ford Mustang had electrical problems. This was the only car I could afford. Later I moved up to an Accord then Preludes. Now I'm driving a 1998 Civic. I've driven nothing but stick shift Honda since 1975.

[@katanamd]

Pretty sure the door buzzer is a stall horn out of the same year Cessna.

[@2stroketurbo]

Bahahaha...

[@oe542]

“Where’s my Honda?” “Baby, I had to crash that Honda.”

[@oe542]

Carleton Rutherford it’s a chopper.

[@unstoppableplayz6948]

Nah man, im pretty flippn far from OK...you hear me, billyboy.

[@bigcarlover]

@AK747AMT Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead.

[@ElderlyIron]

Controlled Vortex Combustion Chamber. Original color, but not original paint. Look at the "Ron Tonkin" and you'll see the tape line with the original paint under it.

[@2stroketurbo]

you know your stuff ! Right again you are !.

[@nickwood8694]

I thought it was circular vortex controlled combustion

[@mikeallmon1]

compound vortex controlled combustion!

[@Stealthsuit07]

I have a 3 speed hondamatic civic from 1981 with the 1,3 liter engine. Very charming car - the unique half-automatic transmission(The speeds on mine are L, ★, OD) and the 80s interior is what I love the most about it.

[@jordangreyling8820]

really hope you get this, i got a similar car honday city 1985 with the same "3" speed hondamatic. are these cvt transmissions do you know? do i need to put special atf in or is dex III fine?

[@pjw1016]

I drove an orange ‘ 75. Loved driving it but the rear wheels always wore poorly from the light rear end bouncing on rough Midwest roads. Didn’t care that gas had skyrocketed to 60 cents.

[@crzy4x4]

I also had an orange one. It was a 74

[@sestrelbethesda9450]

Doesn’t the fact that the stickers on the inside of the driver door prove it is the original colour? 1. Because they give the paint code, and 2, because they would be shredded if removed and the same ones put back on... Love it though, very cool.

[@PapaVrooom]

My brother had a yellow one. That two speed was hilarious.

[@garyquail2347]

That's a neat little car that little Honda if it was painted in white looks like the car that Bruce Willis drove in the movie Pulp Fiction.

[@ferrari250lm]

Sorry baby, I had to crash that Honda.

[@gregorytimmons4777]

Nope, the CVCC came out a couple years after this regular Civic came out.

[@killstacy8088]

It came out a yeat later

[@edwardanthony7283]

I remember that puny gas miser. My neighbor had one

[@CRAPO2011]

Even back then Honda ergonomics were excellent. Dont know if the late great Soichiro Honda would have approved of the current digital clusters :-)

[@slaughter4113]

81 Honda civic 1.5 L Manuel ....My first car ran like a champ ..

[@kelvinlau9019]

I think the break booster is off to the right because they never thought about selling left hand drive, great video!!

[@TheFPF422]

I almost bought one two years ago... Went for a 1987 Volkswagen Golf (Rabbit for the US market) 1.8 I Automatic instead... My daily driver...

[@artSFCA]

I had a 1977 Honda CVCC just like that.

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

I am a Honda fan. I have had many cars, a lot of them German, but I have returned to Honda because they are so reliable and fun to drive and are generally well balanced cars..

[@rjung_ch]

Is that a green Renault 5 in the lot, at the end of the movie? I had one of those, the 1980 model, they called it 'Le Car' at the time. 5 speed with AC and ran well for it's size. Love that old Civic 1st gen, right? 1500 or so pounds? Nice. I live in Europe now so I won't come and get it...too bad!

[@ericlefebvre1696]

love those old civic

[@jurivlk5433]

One must change gears by himself. It's a semi-automatic ment to be driven in D only. In D it only uses the torque converter to adapt ratio. For steep hills, one cood choose the * position, using only first gear. I think, it was not a good idea to change gears while driving, although ment to be so. I bought mine with only the second gear functioning, which made it appear very slow, but in fact it made under 15s from 1 to 100 km/h in second gear only. The breaking belts of the automatic transmission were worn when I bought it, at 90'000 km only. Probably due to the previous owner, an idiot woman. I drove it for some 60'000 km more, down to southern Spain, where in post-Franco times there were zero Honda parts. And of course, the tensioner of the timing belt fell apart. Luckilly, it didn't kill the engine and they managed to repair it. Later, there was a transversal bar in the front that rusted into pieces. Parts were etremely expensives in my country, more than three times as expensive than the parts of a Mercedes 280S a friend had!

[@grunt98444]

Had both a 750 Hondamatic and a Civic Hondamatic, both vehicles needed to use 1 & 2 to keep up with traffic. Both use the torque converter at all times. Shifting was always recommended in any kind of traffic. There are no belts of any kind in the transmission.

[@ACoustaDC]

I bet it sips gas too! sweet ride... however that windshield was not designed for the cell phone mount... use at your own risk.

[@Skoda130]

This car makes me think of Police Academy's officer Hightower, as he drove in a similar civic without front seats. :')

[@blobby273]

7:33 like the tiny cigarette gauge needles

[@andyxfish]

My dad gave me a Station Wagin version of that car. Great Mileage.

[@74dartman13]

I had a little civic...was a 1973. Not much horsepower, but man that thing could handle curvy backroads. A guy with a Torino 351 laughed at my car, but he couldn't loose me on the backroads! Had a 4 speed and 12" wheels. I can remember buying new tires on sale at Firestone for $19.99 each! I miss that lttle car and those days of cheap prices!

[@Ideo7Z]

I'd get rid of those crap huge American bumpers and try to find jdm ones. Those things on them ugly as hell.

[@ephraimkaravan]

5:55 That subtle stutter made me choke on my nuggets

[@marissakphotography6604]

Wow what a neat car. I was hit by one a week after I got my license in 1999 in Hungary. I was in my fancy skoda 105 🤣.

[@SgtSnazzerino]

Two speed automatic? Those must've been looonnng gears lol

[@davidcollins1853]

What a treat! My teacher had one just like that, same color. She gave me rides in it. I was 12. Remember the sounds well; engine, door, shifter, and annoying buzzer.

[@williamnottbusch8024]

Most people did not know they were semi automatics and just drove them around in 2nd gear. They would come into the dealership with 2nd gear burned up. We would rebuild the second gear clutch pack and show them how to drive it.

[@FuckSlowShit]

Just like the stupid people buying suvs and egg sedans they think it's gonna last just by letting them running while parked. Also most do not check on maintenance & tune ups. I wonder how long these new pieces of junk will last. I drive a mid 80s Japanese Nissan with automatic very slow but never abuse and always maintenance from the current owner . Something lazy people can't do it hurts them.they watch tho

[@Owiko7]

amazing condition for that age!

[@chuckster3629]

I bought a new '77 Honda 750 Hondamatic motorcycle new in 1978. Got a great deal on it. Probably had a similar transmission to the Civic Hondamatic.

[@grunt98444]

Had a 78 750 Hondamatic, only difference was the "mag" wheels. Believe it would do 40 or so before shifting it into 2nd

[@pattiweigand]

My first love. I drove one of these in high school and love it. My parents had these cards and were super cute/fast.

[@moparguy37]

You shouldht have to hold the button in to go from first to second and you keep your foot on the accelerator. Also if you forget the chock out it has an automatic device that will pop the chock button back in

[@grunt98444]

You don't, just move the lever with out lifting on the gas pedal

[@ਗਰਚਾ22]

Nice car

[@fjlover7714]

my first car was a 75 hondamatic

[@serventofallah1426]

I see where Honda took inspiration of design for their new electric cars

[@BigRobChicagoPL]

Dad got a used 75 Civic with manual gearbox when he came to the US (Chicago) in 82. Of course being that it was in Chicago the thing was already rusted to bits and did not last much longer. Great to see these non-rust-belt survivors. Currently driving my 2003 Honda Odyssey and again the rust is killing it faster than the mechanicals.

[@DM-hw4cr]

This is the era that established Japanese cars in America. I believe the earlier ones were air cooled

[@akronymus]

Right. Honda N and Z models had a very tiny 2-cylinder air-cooled engine, but different from other kei cars of the time, four-stroke.

[@charger19691]

This brings back memories of my childhood. I remember a neighbor of mine had a Hondamatic Civic and it was bright yellow. Great little car! Thanks for sharing!

[@scottsmith6571]

If u have to shift it it be called a manual valve body auto ; gm made the power glide 2 speed just shifted once , glided lol

[@Driftinbarbob]

That is awesome I have a 1981 Honda Accord LX hatch back 5 speed This was my high school car not to get it back on the road

[@phantom62]

My step dad had one in Australia, but was gold coloured. We traveled for miles across Australia in it. It was immaculate for a '75 Civic :)

[@pauljw7697]

I sold Honda cars, Honda motorcycles & Yamaha motorcycles for 5 years starting June 1976. Back when gas first hit $1 a gallon. The Civic 1200 with Hondamatic sold for $2,699 plus dealer prep & freight. It was a model called "SBD". In fact SBD is the 1st 3 digits of the serial number. Honda also built a 2 speed automatic available on their 750cc 4-cyl motorcycle, model CB750A. It was also manually shifted from 1st to 2nd. In the car, you simply eased off the throttle, just slightly, & slide the lever forward to 2. Shift the same with the motorcycle. The Civic was available with the 1200cc or 1600cc CVCC engine. The 1200cc engine Civics serial # started with SB & the CVCC engine Civics serial # started SG. We had anywhere from 4 months to 1 year waiting list to buy a new Honda car. The CVCC engines were quite ingenious in design. It used a slightly richer mixture in the pre-combustion chamber to ignite a very lean mixture in the cylinder. The basic 1976 Civic 4-speed manual w/little trunk compartment sold for $2,295 plus prep & freight. The Civics w/1200cc engine all started with SB. The CVCC, 1588cc, all started with SG. I recall the Accords coming out in Aug of 1976 for $3,695 for the 5-speed. Accords with automatic became available the following year. Back then Honda's model year was same as calendar year. The new models weren't available until January, unlike American manufacturers who introduced their new model year cars every September. Back then, Honda cars were notorious for rusting through the fenders. The underside of front fenders has a ledge that held dirt and moisture to fuel the rusting. Add salt from the winter roads here in western Pa & many fenders had holes in them within 2 years. But, the Honda engine performed well, got great fuel mileage and held up good. The max speed across America was only 55mph. I recall getting over 40 MPG with the CVCC & 5-speed. The CVCC engine was a great design. But Honda used a cast iron block with an aluminum head, so they all blew head gaskets within the first 5,000 miles. Caused by the drastically different expansion/contraction rates of the 2 dissimilar metals as the engine heated & cooled. A CVCC would pull into the lot off the highway and we referred to them as crop dusters, due to the big cloud of steam they discharged out the exhaust. I don't think the Union Pacific Big Boy discharges that much steam.....LOL. The front wheel drive went great on snow covered roads.

[@gregorytimmons4777]

Strange because many cars have had cast iron block and aluminum heads. I'm pretty sure you have better luck if you retorque the head very so often but a great many cast iron block aluminum head combo's did much better than that about head gasket life.

[@pauljw7697]

@@gregorytimmons4777 The blown head gasket problem was only on the CVCC engines in both Civics & Accords. Honda didn't experience head gasket problems on the 1200cc engine. The CVCC Owners Manual recommended valve adjustments every 15,000 miles which mechanics took the opportunity to tighten head bolts. But the vast majority of the head gaskets blew within first 5,000 miles. The replacement head gasket stood the test of time. Consumers often knew they were buying a car that notoriously developed head gasket problems, but Honda had such a great reputation and stood behind the products they built so well, that people still got in line to buy one.

[@scottpool4777]

I personally would’ve liked on that 78 Cadillac and such like that but those were were cars were good not to plastic poop pay you without him today metal on metal.

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

My Mom's first car was a 1979 Honda Civic!!

[@solomongrundy1618]

I grew up in the back seat of an old civic

[@GalenlevyPhoto]

Makes me miss my 83 Civic wagon with 5 speed manual more. It had a 67 hp 1.5 liter motor and had a top speed of 95 mph. It got 40 mpg on the highway.

[@stevehansen6552]

The CVCC only came in standard with special paint and interior.

[@stevencorrea7982]

The new electric car looks just like this electric Honda

[@jamesfrench7299]

A neighbour had a poo brown one with a manual and I never liked it. Then I saw and heard an automatic with that Hondamatic whine and was instantly fascinated as I had only noticed the HM on the larger Accords. Needless to say, I'm only interested in the Hondamatic version.

[@grunt98444]

The Accords had a regular 3 speed automatic, no shifting needed