Classic Commuter: 1974 Honda Civic
The Civic was Honda’s first truly successful car imported to the U.S. That was in the wake of the pint-sized 600 sedans and right before the demand for fuel-efficient cars took off after the OPEC oil embargo. The first generation was produced between 1972 and 1979, and this ’74 edition is said to have the more powerful CVCC engine (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion). It looks to be a nice survivor-quality car but eludes that due to an earlier repaint. From North Hollywood, California, this smaller Honda is available here on craigslist for $9,500. Our thanks to PRA4SNW for a vintage Honda tip like this!.
Now in production for more than 50 years, the Honda Civic is one of the world’s best-selling automobiles at 27 million copies and counting. In the 1970s, it was a subcompact designed to compete with the VW Beetle and the U.S.-made Chevy Vega and Ford Pinto. The standard engine in 1974 had a displacement of 1,237cc, but the CVCC said to be in this car was 1,488cc and the difference in output was minimal (sources seem to disagree as to whether the CVCC came along in 1974 or 1975). But the CVCC’s design made it easier to meet U.S. emissions standards and we’re told it didn’t need a catalytic converter like almost every other car sold in this country from the mid-1970s forward.
The 1974 model also gained the 5 mph front bumpers for new safety requirements, which added seven inches to the length of the autos. The Civic was one of the earlier economy cars that was designed around front-wheel-drive which provided more legroom for passengers. A tour of this ’74 Civic reveals a nice car overall, but the paint is a re=do and there is some cracking on the hood and driver’s side door. Also, the driver’s door doesn’t seem to close all the way in the photos provided (a gap between the door and the body). Inside the Honda, only the headliner seems to be at odds.
At 65,000 miles, we’re told this Honda runs and drives (but how well?) and gets attention wherever it goes. Besides the paint, other stuff isn’t original as having been borrowed from other Civics over time (such as?). With one blown unit in the rear, at least one pair of shock absorbers will need to be replaced. The seller provides not one but two videos for potential parties to review. Is there room in your garage for a little car that you don’t see running around every day?
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Comments
I believe the CVCC engine debuted in the 76 model year so this 74 either has the later engine or the owner is mistaken. My parents had 2 when I was growing up. The first one was a hatchback they bought used and the 2nd was a 76 wagon CVCC. Dad always bragged he was the first one in San Antonio to get the new wagon. We outgrew the car with a family of 5 and exchanged it for a 78 Volvo 265GL wagon. The Honda was a great car the PRV V6 Volvo not so much. That car spent a lot of time in the shop with engine issues.
I was wrong 75 was the first year for CVCC and 76 was the first year for the wagon.
I had nearly the same car. Bought a ‘75 for my wife. Brown with butterscotch interior. I think the sticker was $1,840. I would run some unknown brand Israeli studded snow tires. Unstoppable in the winter. I got on a waitlist for the upcoming Accord. Traded up to get air conditioning…
Another great find from Russ. Seems to drag these out of the dusty abyss. The authors very first sentence, is spot on, but the tip of the iceberg on these cars. Honda had the luxury of not really sounding Asian, like the others,( don’t laugh, my old man laughed at the Asian names,,,Toyazukiu ?) and Honda was already a household name in motorcycles here, something that took years for the “others”, even us, to beat. A Civic or a Pinto/Vega? A no brainer there. The Civic, while still a “tin can” by most peoples accounts, was a name we could trust, and everybody else jumped on the “econobox” bandwagon, and never looked back. This car, or one like it, should be in a museum. It changed everything, and were remarkable cars. Always amazes me how these techno-wizardry Hondas of today, got their humble start right here.
$10 grand? Well, like a $10,000 VW bug, we never thought we’d see the day,,,
Actually PRA4SNW found this one Howard. BarnFinds gets most of its material from the tip line. Let’s give credit where credit is due. Russ did a fine job on the write up, but he found it from the tipper.
I disagree. The “credit” lies with the authors who turn it into a story for us. “Finders” aren’t writers and I can “find” stuff all day long, but can’t turn it into an entertaining story like “our” writers do. Besides, I’m not sure that’s true about most of their postings coming from tips.
Anything about the car, Tony?
At first I thought that this car was my first Honda – but mine was a mid-80s Civic in the same brown. I bought it in 94 with the express purpose of delivering pizzas, and it was an outstanding performer in that task. I could go a day and a half of hard, in town driving on a tank of gas, and it never needed much maintenance. It wasn’t a performer, but a real workhorse and reliable friend. Three years later, with the driver’s side floor rotting out, I gave it to a friend, who drove it an additional three years. Not bad for a $500 car! I later owned a whole slew of 80s Accords and Civics, every one a great, reliable vehicle. I really miss the hatchback Accord with the fold down rear seats, I could pack one with upwards of 50 large pizzas.
My first car was a ‘76 with the non-CVCC engine. Dad bought the car for me for $300 in 1985 and I kicked in $300 for a new paint job using my paper route money (it was silver and the paint was shot). Drove it to high school for two years with no issues. Not fast but was really fun to drive and tossable on the tiny (12 inch?) rims and narrow tires. This one looks like it has wheels/tires from a later Accord. Barely had enough power to back out of our steep driveway. If it were me, I’d paint it bright orange or lime green, put on some tasteful rims, drop it down a couple of inches and take it to VIR on track days.
I do love the Honda cars (Acura included). My first Honda was a new 1979 silver 1300 series, purchased in NJ during that really bad gas crunch, where lines were over a mile long to get a tank of gas. I don’t remember the mileage on that one, but it sure was a very reliable cheap ride to work in all that Jersey snow. My last “honda” was a 2010 Acura TL, which we finally let go of in 2020 for an Outback. However, I have a huge soft spot in my heart for Honda. I still have a 1996 Hatchback that I use to run around in the Village.
This is an interesting mix of ’74 and ’75 parts. @alphasud is correct that the 1488cc CVCC wasn’t available until ’75, but this car has the larger 13″ wheels, steering wheel, and auxiliary gauges from the CVCC 5-speed model. The rest of it looks like my old ’75 1237cc conventional engine model.
Yeah, this one’s a 1200 with a 5 Speed cluster and ‘80-81 Accord wheels
The CVCC had a slightly longer front end. Looked basically the same but the hood and fenders were longer.
Cool little car though.
Oops. I forgot to mention that the lack of the rubber filler on each end of the rear bumper and the slightly different shape to the front grilll indicate the the base car is indeed a ’74. Is there no way for the creator of a comment to edit it?
I absolutely love the first generation Honda Civic! Dad ordered a bright yellow one in 1979 with the 5 speed. In those days you had to wait for months for your car to be built and shipped from Japan. His arrived in May 1980, so he wound up getting the second generation Civic GL because by the time they were ready to fill his order, the 1980 model year was in production. The one he got was silver with a red interior. It was a great car and we drove it to 153,000 miles with no problems except rust and seeing the street passing by under the floor. I still preferred the charm of the original car and the dash cluster that looked more like a motorcycle instrument cluster. Wish I had the extra space and funds for this little one!
That car is definitely a survivor from the 1970s. All that woodgrain confirms it.
My first contact with one of these was when one came in for LOF, Rotate. I was told to grab the ladder, climb up and hand the spare down for a five tire rotation. That full size spare was what was keeping this car on the rack. When I removed the spare, off she went. Bent the five mile an hour front bumper up closer to the headlights. Big Hoss jumped up and down on the bumper, and that was that.
Bought a ’74 CVCC in orange with black and white houndstooth interior in ’76 after I got married. Had 13″ alloys and an air dam under the bumper. Fun little car to throw around the corners. Wife destroyed it by backing into a telephone pole. This one is NOT a CVCC, and I don’t see any claim in the ad that this is. Nice car, but a bit overpriced.
A true trip down Memory Lane. I remember when those were everywhere…except on dealers’ lots; there was a waiting list for them.
I also remember eight years later, when Honda bought back whole fleets of them, due to the excessive structural corrosion. Our local Pontiac dealer had taken on the Honda line, about 1974, as a sideline. One corner of the showroom; no other separation.
In 1982 I was shopping for a winter beater, and in the back of that lot, I saw a long row, against the trees, of patina’d Gen-1 Civics. No plates on them.
I had to find out, and the sales manager told me, those were repurchases. Honda had settled with owners, had bought back the cars and the VIN plates were already cut off. The cars were scrap metal.
I can cut Honda some slack – there’s no way someone in temperate Japan would understand how cold weather affects cars; and no way anyone in frugal (then) Japan could understand smearing city streets with salt. Honda learned. Toyota, beset almost as badly, seems to have learned better.
This one would be fun to have, but as a daily or even special-event driver…you’d have to proceed with caution. Parts and service knowledge are in short supply.
Don’t forget that in the early days, cars shipped from Japan were tied down to the decks. All that salty Pacific Ocean air got to them and most were already rusting when they were unloading onto the West Coast docks!
My 79 Honda 1300 came over from Japan, never had a problem with rust or anything else. I purchased it in NJ, then moved back to Texas (the two dogs rode with me while the family followed me in the Mercury). Had problems with the Mercury on that trip, the Honda ran smooth as silk.
As anyone who’s owned a classic Z can tell you, Datsun/Nissan products did fairly poorly too. They’d rust if you used salty language near them.
Neat car. Had a friend who was 6’5 and drove one of these for years.
Is it me, or does it look the interior is a couple grades better than the standard econobox?
I can see why these sold so well.
Wow, what a blast from the past. The very first car I drove on public roads the night I got my learner’s permit was my Dad’s brown ’74 Civic with black interior. This was in 1976 (and it was already starting to rust).
He was impressed with my mastery of the clutch, but then didn’t know about my previous experience driving a friend’s one-ton Ford around his farm, plus I had dirt bikes.
I do remember learning that night what a non-syncronized first gear is.
A trip down memory lane for me. This strongly resembles my first car, a 75 Civic CVCC that I bought used. Mine was the same color, but the seats were all black. (I question if this one is a CVCC since there is no CVCC badge on the grill.). I loved it, but it developed electrical problems, so I sold it and bought a brand-new silver 79 Accord. Good times!
Had an 80 Accord with the semi auto and 1601 cc engine a great little car although rust and an engine issue with the head came along but apart from that was very reliable and even a great touring car
I bought a 76 Civic to replace a Ford Cortina that was rapidly turning into iron oxide. Base model. The only option was a rear window defroster because my wife wanted the blue one, and the only blue one had the defroster. It had no floor mats or radio and bias ply tires. We divorced, I got radials for it and went autocrossing. Smallest engine and tires in the class but I have a walls worth of trophys, ‘ 81 G-Stock champion(Susquehanna Region SCCA),and 6th place in the ‘ 81 SCCA Northeast Divisonal. Loved that car.
I have to say the 1990 model of the Civic is the greatest most reliable Civic ever built in the modern era. Our close neighbors had a turquoise colored one up until almost the early 2000s that would start right up as if it was just off the dealership lot in the early ninties. In fact mom used that civic to haul clients around when she was first starting her real estate business after her Jimmy went down for repairs and I have personally drove one myself but it was a bit cramped and it did hold four of us pretty soundly and this includes the driving instructor.
Dash is giving Italian vibes.
This one has aftermarket seats. Oh, the memories of my old Civics! I had six of these deposable cars back in my early 80s college days. You could find these in the newspaper want ads or thrifty nickel ads (remember those days?) all day long for $150-500. Drive them up until they rust them selves out, hit the ads, and buy another. I had 2 1200 models, one wagon, and 2 of them had Hondamatics. 2 were this turd brown, my last civic was an autostick 1200 with a tacky after market black vinyl top. I raced the railroad crossing and lost. Yup, I made it through, however, the rear strut towers were so rusted out my poor Civic looked like a worm ridden backyard dog dragging its ass on the ground. The sparks flying in my rear view mirror were my first clue. Other memories, why are we being asphyxiated in your car, Blake? Oops am I bad, the motors warmed up now, guess I’ll push the manual choke button back in. If Honda new the words ani-corrosion back then, we would still see these awesome little boogars on the road. Loved every one that I had and miss them to this day!
Forgot about the story of my yellow 77 CVCC 5 speed wading through 3 feet of water in the great Tulsa flood of 1984. Car made it, true story. My mom was with me that day, she still gripes at me about driving in water. Soooo sorry your suitcase and feet got wet got wet Mom. That Civic gurgled underwater and kept going. Made it all the way up to Nebraska before it rebelled against my abuse and died. Tough little cars
Our company vice-president had one of the first ones in the early 70s … he was a tight-fisted German from the “old country” who had the money for a Rolls if he so desired … we joked about the small odd-looking car with the 12″ tires … he said they worked well in the snow in Chicago … I worked there over seven years and he still had the same car when I left …
I wonder how much less CO2 is produced by the CVCC motor which did not need a cat converter, vs. a car that has a converter.