JesseCRX

Well,

I've got some DOUBLE good news.

First, I'm gonna be a DADDY! My wife and I just found out that she is 2-3 months pregnant and we are super psyched! So, being that we only own a CRX, a hatch and a Del Slo we figured we were gonna need a 4 door car. With the economy sucking n all we opted to pull out a small loan and look for a deal and that didn't take long at all.

A lady had posted up an 89 RT4WD Honda for sale in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I called her and asked her some basic questions about the car and she was super nice. My wife and I were gonna drive from Houston to Tulsa but at the last minute I changed my mind and flew up there. The lady was kind enough to meet me at the airport. We drove to a local Denny's where I got to check out the car and do the deal.

The goods: The car had some really nice options! Passenger mirror, optional center console ashtray/lighter, rear speaker pods, rear head rests, roof rack(missing some rails tho), mud flaps,

The bads: tiny rust spot near the passenger tail light, warped front driver side rotor, code 1 CEL, and the car had the stench of dog ****!! The only interior piece that was fubar was the rear carpet. It was a complete mess, stained and stunk!!!

I was able to talk her down to $1100 and she accepted. I drove her all the way back to Houston. The hwy mpg on this thing is amazing! At the halfway point of my gas tank I was at 240 miles!

Here are some pics..






Now my I have a few questions(Yes, I know about Hondacivicwagon.com but I wanna ask here first since I am not too much of a noob here).

1. What pieces are missing from the roof rack??
2. Can a CRX or hatch aftermarket exhaust work on this particular Honda Wagon model?
3. Is there anyone here running an aftermarket spring/shock combo(for other efs) with good results???

I've already started taking apart all the interior for a thorough cleaning and OMG this thing is DIRRT-TAAYYY!!! I am talking old coke syrup/dust on top of dust kinda dirty.

Anyway, wish me luck. This is my first wagon! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

crx_si-r

im going to say that the crx/civic hb exhausts are not going to work seeing as our exhausts run over the rear passenger wheel and i believe your exhaust runs under the passenger wheel because of the rear axles

JesseCRX

I was cleaning the car earlier and saw the rear axles you were talking about. Thinking maybe a re-routing job will do the trick. I plan on going much lower, but not slammed. Maybe 1-2 finger gap all the way around. I have plenty of crx stuff laying around(sway bars, shocks, springs, etc)so I am wondering if this stuff will work. I am doing some lurking as we speak at the other honda civic forums.

vtecn8ive

Seriously your best bet is to go on to www.hondacivicwagon.com very helpful bunch. I am also a recent recipient of a rt4wd and h-t for the most part has limited/useless information on the rt4wd. Just a word of advice!

It looks like your roof rack is complete. (its how mine looks)

You have to make an exhaust to work (has to bend around the drivetrain).

check out hcw for the best combination of springs/struts for your wagon. Somebody did a full analysis of what is the best combo (crx/civic and integra parts)

vtecn8ive

nice find on those rare parts

I was looking all over for a 88-89 rt4wd red with grey/black interior

ended up getting a turbo'd 91 rt4wd that has since been deturbo'd (i have no use for power) and will be getting convertered to d15z1 (gas sipper)

SoB NiG

SOOOOO EF'N CLEAN AND MINTY!!!

vtecn8ive

trying to get post count up?

JesseCRX

I took your advice and posted the thread over at HCW.com

I'll post more pics tomorrow of my cleanup progress.

hushypushy

Is it just me or is the Wagovan optional center piece different??

hai_tech

clean

88_acED6

i have seen many clean wagons and hatches and fodoes in tulsa and surrounding areas.......never that one though

supersteven

I have one just like that but automatic! Sick *** car! I envy you having a manual BIG TIME!

B serious

iTrader: (1)

You have no idea how jealous I am. Trade for a clean *** EM1? lol.

I LOVE these F'ing things.

Iopni

i just got a crappy wagonvan for free from my moms ex, its way dirtyer than that thing, its got like 20 years of cigg gunk in it. but a free cars a free car :D runs but sounds like a subaru who needs all 4 cylenders

~sp33~

Yeah, the gap that would usually be between the radio and the floor is larger.

JesseCRX

the pieces are different indeed. I was just cleaning the interior parts with mild soap and water last night, and the OEM wagon shift boot was NASTY. So, I took my old momo boot off of my civic hatch piece and as I was looking at both pieces side by side I noticed that they are different. The wagon parts are shorter and wider. Have a look-see!

Wagon on the left, Civic Hatch on the right



Wagon center console piece on top of the Civic hatch center console. Doesn't fit AT ALL.


Wagon center console piece on top of the Wagon center console...mates perfectly.


And since the back carpet that was in the car was totaled, my buddy Jay told me he saw one at a local scrap yard. I went and picked it up, and even though it's stained it's in MUCH better shape than the one that was in there. I am soaking it with stain remover and shampoo foam now.



And speaking of cigarette gunk, there was tons of it embedded in the plastic. I went through a full can of cleaning wipes to get that **** out. I am taking my sweet time cleaning this thing!

apekd

Nice wagon. Very good shape too. Good find. In for more updates

hushypushy

^ good pics, I never knew the difference. You are very lucky to have the Wagon center console, those are pretty rare...

JesseCRX

More pics of the cleanup horror.

I took out the seats to expose the carpet. Oh, and I just found out the car has oem floormats..






Here is the rear cargo area after clean up. I shoulda taken pics of this before I cleaned it. There wasn't a clean spot of red anywhere. There was a combination of spills and stains back there. By the way, what is that black plastic ring for? The one on top of the tire.


I also noticed that the rear speaker pod on the passenger side was really flimsy. I started to take off the 10mm bolt and noticed that it was cracked. Any quick remedies? I tried to remove the pod, but it felt like something might break if I applied too much pressure. They feel really delicate.

nfereorhatch

Man i have been looking for one of those for years! Very nice find, i am so jealous!

apekd

pastiweld would work on it. Did it have the Metal spare tire cover?

EE2bitsk

damn good buy sir.
i want that center console soo bad.
i think the axle back section mite bolt rite up, as for the rest it will have to be lengthened.(if not already answered.)

JesseCRX

Yes it has a metal spare tire cover that is attached to the rear carpet. I threw the one that came with the car away. It was in horrible shape. Found a newer one at the junkyard.

vtecn8ive

You are a lucky bastard with all the things you got on that car. lol.

Anyway you can get pics of the floormats?

We have a discussion on hcw on what will work in it. check it out..
http://www.hondacivicwagon.com/bb/vi...php?f=9&t=2360

LoSt is BlaCk

looks just like mine!!! Best of luck with it. MAKE SURE you take care of that trans and the rear end...parts are NOT easy to come by... mine is broken at the moment and finding a tranny has become a MAJOR pain the ****...