BluLude Racing has acquired a 1989 CRX Si from the original owner via Hendrick Honda in Charlotte, NC. In a positive twist the car was originally delivered by the original dealer on the same street 14 years ago (Hendrick is the successor).
This vehicle has 174,328 miles on the odometer and is mint. The only exception we have found is hail damage to the bodywork at some point in its life. Otherwise, there are no new parts or repairs to the skin. There is no rust anywhere on it. The engine needed its 2nd timing belt before I drove it home to Pittsburgh.
We did find a serious transmission leak on return due to a cut passenger side drive shaft seal. The car was sold to me AS IS. There was only one minor glitch in the sale-otherwise my salesperson at Hendrick did an outstanding job via the internet and telephone.
The car is currently being race prepared for SCCA ITA in 2003 at a professional chassis shop near my home. This means that the absolutley original and complete interior has been removed. The Si sunroof has been taken off and a DX roof skin installed (rules permit this). Kirk Racing in Alabama is fabricating our roll cage while the shop does the body and paint. We have changed the stock black to Cerulean Blue Metallic.
What is important to me is that the entire driveline appears to be as originally built. Any parts that were replaced over 14 years were done with genuine Honda components. My dealer is Honda Village in Greensburg, PA. My technician-Bill Bach and service advisors: Joe Miller, Bill Heller and Dean Smezak are great to work with.
My other cars: 1996 Civic HB CX (2nd owner 60K now) and 1999 Prelude Base SS (1st owner 27K) are also cared for by them and have been since purchase there. All of my cars are modified in some way-particularly the suspensions. The engines remain stock including the CRX's D16a6. The transmission in the Si is excellent.
Interesting to note that the original CRX owner indicated that the clutch is original to the car. The timing belt and a few other parts have been done. But we did find that the spark plug wires were dated 1989 before I had them changed out during the checkup on my return from Charlotte (yes I did drive it home).
The only thing we have discovered about this car-sold to me AS IS-are some nut shells in the blower housing and the intake resonator. This in addition to squeaking in the suspension (original bushings we think) seem to be the only things that are unusual. The car lived in the greater Charlotte/upper SC area until March).
Again I highly recomment the staff at Honda VIllage for their honesty and care for their customers. Most everyone there has more than 10 years in this or another Honda or Smail dealership. Thanks for reading.
Update: 6/26
The chassis is nearly completed. There will be a lot to do here when it gets home-door panels, instruments, finish painting f the interior and parts of the underbody that need recoating as a result of the welding work. We will also be putting the radio system in. I have a number of things to bolt on such as the DC Sports header and Neuspeed strut tower bar. Electrical modifications include the required Master Disconnect.
Some of these items will not appear in the next installment as they are for a later time in the summer. What I can promise is a complete set of pictures of each modification. We are also carefully saving all of the documentation, including drawings and cross-referenced Honda part numbers.
BluLude Racing has acquired a 1989 CRX Si from the original owner via Hendrick Honda in Charlotte, NC. In a positive twist the car was originally delivered by the original dealer on the same street 14 years ago (Hendrick is the successor).
We did find a serious transmission leak on return due to a cut passenger side drive shaft seal. The car was sold to me AS IS. There was only one minor glitch in the sale-otherwise my salesperson at Hendrick did an outstanding job via the internet and telephone.
My other cars: 1996 Civic HB CX (2nd owner 60K now) and 1999 Prelude Base SS (1st owner 27K) are also cared for by them and have been since purchase there. All of my cars are modified in some way-particularly the suspensions. The engines remain stock including the CRX's D16a6. The transmission in the Si is excellent.
Again I highly recomment the staff at Honda VIllage for their honesty and care for their customers. Most everyone there has more than 10 years in this or another Honda or Smail dealership. Thanks for reading.
