It’s safe to say that our Re:Fuelers’ Rides contributor for today definitely has a soft spot for the 4th generation Honda Civic. After having owned many various UK versions the next only logical step for Lily would be purchasing a Japanese model. In order to achieve this however there was only one option… to import the car straight from Japan. Skip forward to today and Lily is now the proud owner of one of the cleanest example Honda Civic EF2’s we’ve ever seen!
My car is a 1991 Honda Civic 25X S-Limited (EF2), Japanese import. I have had plenty of Civics over the years, but the 88-91 models have always been my favourites. Having had all UK models previously, I knew I had to have a Japanese model. In my opinion everything about them is better looking, the rear bumper alone is so much cleaner, and the front ends on the Japanese late spec cars are the same as the higher spec VTEC models, again something I prefer the look of.
I found myself looking at the car for weeks when it was for sale in Japan, I couldn’t decide if it was right for me or not. From what I could see in the Japanese potato photos it looked like it needed some work – the previous owner had done some questionable things with paint, painting the interior plastics white and the exterior trims gloss black very badly. It also looked quite tatty bodywork wise, the roof, quarters and doors had lacquer peel, and it had quite a few dents. But eventually I was able to look past all of this, because it was clear to see from the photos that this car was completely rust free and had never been welded, and if you know Hondas, you will know that this is rare! My partner Brinn organised the import process for me and it was an exciting few months waiting for it to arrive!
When it arrived onto UK soil, I organised for my friend Rich to deliver it to my workshop, where I raced home from work to see it. I was obsessed with it from the minute I saw it, it was all there, it was running and I was extremely happy with my newest fleet member! Since that day, I have spent a lot of time on the car tidying it up and making numerous suspension / wheel changes.
The car has also just undergone a full exterior respray in the original colour, by Phil at Paintmonkey in Hemyock, so I’m currently rebuilding it ready for this year’s shows – fingers crossed!
I think my favourite thing about the car is how I feel when I’m driving it. It really is my happy place – it’s not a fast car, or really anything special but to me it is something I worked hard for, and have put a lot of love into. Oh, and I really, really like the bronze glass too!
I would recommend to someone that could be in the market for an 88-91 Civic to really check for rust (on the UK models mostly) around the rear arches inners and outers, sills and sometimes the roof channels & A-pillars. Get advice from someone who knows the cars before you view and try to take somebody with you to a viewing if you aren’t sure. There is also a UK based club called ‘4GUK’ that I am an active member of, where most questions can be answered / parts can be sourced etc.
Unfortunately the civic has only made one car event so far (Re:Fuel last year!), so I’m really hoping that this year I can take it to a few more events if they go ahead. It’s always nice to be around like-minded people and have a good chat!
Car Facts
Make: Honda
Model: Civic 25X S-Limited
Year: 1991
Engine: 1490cc Dual Carb
BHP: 103bhp factory
Top Speed: I’m not sure!
0-62mph Time: I’m also not sure…
Weight: 940kg
Additional Mods: Full manual conversion, Integra DC2 shifter, Skunk2 gearknob, Momo wheel, Rear LCA fork conversion w/ Function7 LCAs, Skunk2 Coilovers all round, upgraded front brakes from an EG5 with EBC drilled & grooved discs and yellow stuff pads, Rays/Volk Racing 5/4 wheels (refurbished by SWWR in Exeter) / fully polished Enkei Peaks Racing splits, Tanabe front strut brace, Cusco rear strut brace, Carbon fibre twin carb trumpets, fully custom KingFab Stainless-steel exhaust, Honda Access dash mat and Honda Access floormats.