Honda Civic Model 1980 Hatchback - Rescued in Pakistan

[Nnabeel79]

Hi Guys,

Just found this car parked from since few years in a basement parking....although its old but my favorite car of that era...so just bought it from the owner who didnt had any plans to rescue her. Picked it in bad condition and took it for full wash service and i mean full service.

Some Mechanical work was done initially to make it run able on the road. the head job was done, CDI coil was replaced, full brake service was done, radiator serviced, battery replaced, auto gear fluid replaced and the much needed minor things.

then first test drive was done on reached 60 kms and to my surprise and the mechanics surprise it runs perfectly well. the drive was much smoother than our local available suzuki and toyota brands

This whole process was done from 2015-16 and sharing the details on this side of the border.
Pics the actual condition when it was found, then serviced and then stages at dentar.

what i did I half scrapped it and not the full paint job as the body was not in that bad in shape. Car has complete blue interior, with original 3 gear hondamatic auto gear running on petrol only.

its a spacious car and i can bet i have load approx 6 full size suitcases when travelling across country.

 

[Nnabeel79]

these cars were imported during the late 80s and were very much popular. these Honda had many options and grades available as compared to the toyotas, nissan, datsun and dihatsu.

 

[Nnabeel79]

as the work started, i started gathering the required parts, started cleaning interior related things like dashboard, replaced door cards as they were bent. done some re wiring, fenders were remastered, minor details were taken care off.

 

[bhvm]

Wow Nabeel!
You are a true blue auto enthusiast, now with a blue car and blue interiors!
This honda hatch was never sold in india. I have never seen one.

 

[allhyundaicars]

There are many cars that Pakistan gets and we don't

https://www.cartoq.com/10-interesti...but-india-doesnt-suzuki-jimny-to-honda-civic/

@ Nabeel - keep us updated.

 

[Nanofreak]

^^allhyundai, that's because they hardly have a manufacturing base, on the other hand B'desh has a reasonable manufacturing hub.

@nabeel, is your civic a 3or4 speed, looking forward to your cars update.

 

[Nnabeel79]

Wow Nabeel!
You are a true blue auto enthusiast, now with a blue car and blue interiors!
This honda hatch was never sold in india. I have never seen one.

thnx man,

Yes we had a lot of them and still many of them still on roads but solely ppl like me are keeping them. otherwise people dont care because of parts scarcity and the mechanics now a days have lack of knowledge for these cars.

^^allhyundai, that's because they hardly have a manufacturing base, on the other hand B'desh has a reasonable manufacturing hub.

@nabeel, is your civic a 3or4 speed, looking forward to your cars update.

@Nanofreak its a three gear Auto 1200 cc model. There were some variants which came with 1300 cc and 5 speed gear box also. this model was from 1979 to 1982 and later Honda Changed the front headlights to square with interior upgrades.

We have now Honda, Toyota, Suzuki as the big three with manufacturing plants where as new entrants are FAW, JW Forland and Master assembling cars and SUV.

In trucks and buses, we have FAW, Hino, Gandhara Nissan (nissan diesel), Master.

During 2000 to 2010 Hyundai & KIA had assembly plants with limited models in production. the Santro Was a hit in that time.

Some posters of Honda from that era.

There are many cars that Pakistan gets and we don't

https://www.cartoq.com/10-interesti...but-india-doesnt-suzuki-jimny-to-honda-civic/

@ Nabeel - keep us updated.

Late 60 & 70 was a time of BOOM in PK, when most of the cars were imported, or being brought into PK by roads and yes we have seen many many many international brands and models here in PK. During iran/iraq was in 90s most car were brought in also via road. but then there was a time from 1995 onward when diesel fuel was cheaper then petrol like it was Rs. 9/- per litre and the petrol was 27/-.
this changed the whole scenario, ppl started throwing away the petrol engines replacing with diesel engines. Most of the cars were damaged because of the poor expertise of mechanics as well as the cars were meant for petrol engines and not the heavy duty diesel.
after 10-15 years most of the cars ended up to scrapyards and the remaining in bad conditions. as the world is changing more and more imported cars are being imported and ppl are forgetting the old cars like corollas, honda and dihatsus.

if we compare the japanese brands of late 80 & 90 here in PK, Honda stands out among all with the best interiors and designs with a vide variety of options.

here goes some more of the resto...... base coats applied, sanding done. minor grill setting done. some cleaning of interiors parts were done at home.

 

[Nnabeel79]

 

[Nnabeel79]

Some of the pics were skipped as i was not in the city when final coats were done. so here are the pics when the car reached my home after full coats and polish. fitting of lights grills, bumper guards, wipers, wiper grill etc yet to be done. the interior work also remains to be done. the steel rims were original 12" with this model so they were painted matt black.

 

[Nairrk]

Indeed, must appreciate your courage and patience to take a car from scrap condition and rejuvenate it.

By the way, how much did it cost you for this repair/replacement of parts etc.?

 

[Nnabeel79]

As the car reached home, i started completed its interior things as well as the exterior. Most of the things in the interior like the door hand rests, lock cups, glove box door and the exterior includes bumper guards and plastic trims which sits on bumpers and roof are impossible to find and when it is in blue color. so i had to rely on the old ones.

the steering logo was missing and the old guy had fixed some odd kind of logo. so went to the old parts markets and found the thing to be taken out of scrap car from an old steering column. the guy charged me a hefty amount but its worth because these things are very rare.

 

[Nnabeel79]

Indeed, must appreciate your courage and patience to take a car from scrap condition and rejuvenate it.

Thnx.

By the way, how much did it cost you for this repair/replacement of parts etc.?

It took approx 180k for the complete process included purchasing the car till completing all the bits and pieces. some of the things i had to buy paying extra because of their scarcity. this also includes changing the gearbox from auto to manual because it served almost 1-1/2 year when it started leaking oil and shifting gets rough. no one was repairing it and new replacement wasnt available. so i had to go for four speed manual for the similar model bolt on fitted.

 

[bhvm]

Awesome write up. You have really put your heart into the restoration. And let me tell You, this hatchback has some royal class of its own. Wide. Sleek. Long hood. Oh boy!

BTW here is my thread on some restorations and customization job (Although its not as much as yours in Magnitude)-

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-blue-elephant-my-safari-4x4-review-mods.html

 

[Nnabeel79]

Sorry guys was out due to some personal matters.....

further pics added. Some rain happened on the night took some pics. After that some dirty pics in the morning. Please ignore the plastic and rubber ears of bumpers as these were the hardest thing to find and were in living condition since 1981.

Also added some interior pics .....sorry for the result.

 

[Nnabeel79]

Repairing Glove box door latch:

the latch was broken and was not closing properly which was abused by the previous owner. What is did is took it our, needed some plastic bits to be glued with super glue, hinge was repaired and the glove box door flap has long crack. i closed it with Magic depoxy solution and then used aluminium strip and riveted from back side.