I just purchased a '93 Black Civic EX Coupe. Its automatic(please hold the boo's, i need a transportation car). Can someone tell me if this particular model of civic came with vtec? I dont think it did since there is no vtec logo on the valve cover. Only "H".

The car has 145k miles on it, runs super quiet, and seems like it has been owned by a fellow "modder", but it doesnt look like he did alot. Only thing that is modded is the spark plug wires(blue NGK) and has a sorry ass amp in the back(100wx2 Jensen).

The body has about 4 or 5 places where somebody couldnt drive right and "scraped" something. Its been touched up with black paint, but of course u can tell someone scraped it. Has one place where the paint was cracked and nobody decided to touch it up with paint, so its starting to rust.

It has stock 14 inch steelies with hubbies that are loosing paint. It has generally good tires as well.

The pass. side tweeter is missing and i was told that was a stock acc. so i could pick it up at a junkyard. Anybody selling their stock pass. tweeter and enclosure(small circle black thingy in lamens terms)? I would love to buy it.

The frong drivers side 8"(i think thats what it is), is kinda blown, bass sounds horribe on it. And it has an aftermarket pioneer cd deck in it as well.

Also sunroof and cloth seats.

All this for $3800, think its a deal? I thought so! Financed it for 13 months.

So in a year, i will own my 96 Accord LX Sedan and my 93 Civic EX Coupe.

So lets get on to what this thread is really about now that i have ranted enuff.

I would like to know the best things to do to take care of this car besides the basics. Looks like its been taken care of, "had" a leak, just cleaned the engine bay up good today, had ALOT of muddy oil on the tranny and engine. I want to get two new speakers(pass. tweeter and drivers 8")so it'll sound decent. Everything else is in pretty good condition, i dont think i'll worry about any body parts cuz the damage is minimal on those, not in this for that much show, just to look nice.

Next weekend i plan on oil change, and tranny fluid change as well as spark plug change. The cooland reservoir looks a bright green so it looks like the dealer did general maint. before selling the car. I dont think tranny flush is gen. maint. but i'm not sure.

So any tips or suggestions as to what i should do to this car if any are greatly welcome. I want to make sure this car lasts a long time.

Thanx!

Dave

P.S. I'll have pictures of my Civic soon, just gotta dig a camera out and take some pics.

 

Hey Dave....

Well congrats on the Civic. Good times. As far as the vtec question... I believe so. I too have a 5th Gen EX and I have the sohc vtec. YOu have the auto though and I have a 5spd, so maybe it's diff? I don't know auto Hondas at all. My thought is that they just didn't give you the cool snazzy valve cover, that's all. But then again I could be wrong. I've been wrong before, so what's stopping me now?

I bought my 95 EX last fall. I paid 4000. It had 122K on it. Needed some minor body work, interior detailing, engine bay detail... but other than that... she was in tip top shape. I know I got a smokin' deal on mine though. So, since you paid 3800 for your 93 with more miles. I don't think you got ripped off, but maybe not such a deal though either. Check kbb.com to see what todays value on it is.

This is my third Civic. The last 2 I had over 265K on them when I sold them. (They both were still running great) I plan on keeping this one even longer. Oil changes. It's so key. I change my oil between 3-3500 miles. I also spend one Sunday a month and check maintenence items on her from head to toe. Once a season I take her to my mechanic to give her another look over too just in case. Keep up with it's scheduled maintnence and you should be just fine. It's when you start to neglect the car and let stuff slip some time, that's when sh!t goes south. Also, the harder you drive your car...the faster stuff goes bad. You know that... you sound like a smart guy.

Hope I was of some help. If not.... oops.

-Mindi

 

Unless your motor has been swapped, you have a D16Z6 with VTEC. Sounds like a good buy overall :bigok:.

 

:werd:

 

It sounds like you really love your Civic! My 96 Civic is an auto too and I also just use it for a commuter, but with some fun too.
Can't wait to see some pics!

 

Thanx for that reply, yes, i am a stickler for keeping my cars(plural now..yay!)maintained. I change my oil on my accord between 2800-3000, so i never go to 3k with one oil change. I have had synthetic in her since 80k miles, JUST turned 100k today.

I will keep regular oil in my civic since its an older car, if only i owned it from 60k+, oh well, i dont plan on racing it or anything.

And yes, its not a SUPER KILLER deal, but its what i was looking for.

Yeh, still dunno if i have vtec. I would think in the dawn of vtec with honda's they would make SURE a car they sell has it stamped on their valve cover, thats just me. Is ther a wire or anything that is "only" a vtec part? This way i can make sure.

94civicex said: Unless your motor has been swapped, you have a D16Z6 with VTEC.

So i'll check the engine stamp on it, if i can find it. I can see my accord engine stamp(f22b), so i'll see if i can see this one too.

96greencivic said: It sounds like you really love your Civic! My 96 Civic is an auto too and I also just use it for a commuter, but with some fun too.

Yeh, any car i buy i'll love for sure. And i shopped EXCLUSIVELY for a honda and a honda only(for obvious reasons).

So, thanx guys and gals for these posts, its nice to be a civic and an accord owner now, i've been in the accord world for a while so excuse my civic ignorance when it comes to history. But, my accord still drives a heck of alot better than the civic, the civic is smaller of course :-) Nice little commuter.

Keep em comin if ya feel like typin for a fellow civic owner.

Dave

 

D16 is a sohc vtec. You should look for the engine stamp. I'd be shocked if you didn't have vtec though. Keep us posted!
Mindi

 

It's good that you cleaned up the engine bay. This way, if you have leaks or any problems, you can see where they're coming from much easier.

Give it a good cleaning and coat of wax to help protect the paint. It looks like you've got the oil and tranny fluid covered and you're saying the coolant looks good so that's good.

I guess you can check your brake pads, flush brake fluid if it doesn't look like it's been changed in a while, check cv joints, check for excessive wheel bearing play, check the condition of your ball joints, lube door hinges and stuff like that.

Just some suggestions (though I know you asked for other than basic) but it seems like you've got it all covered. Congrats on the purchase and I hope it provides you with years of fun, trouble free miles.

 

i DO indeed have a D16Z6. So according to you guys it IS VTEC...BUT it doesnt say it on the valve cover, thats weird.

A friend of mine said that the valve cover and heat guard were painted. I kinda agree with him with the head guard, but i thought that year civic came with a black valve cover. If this is the case, and the "VTEC" was painted instead of embossed on there, thats why i don't see it.

Thank you for those suggestions. I have everything covered except flushing break lines. I have yet to do that and I have been meaning to do it with my Accord.

All cv boots, and ps boots are in good condition, no cracks whatsoever.

I just got done changing the oil and filter as well as the spark plugs. When i was changing the oil i noticed a small "still wet" leak where the bottom most belt is on the engine. Its very close to the rim of the oil pan, BUT, it doesnt look like the oil pan because its dripping from the actuall place wehre the pulley is. So it looks like i have a small leak there. If you or anyone knows what i'm talkin about, feel free to give me the proper "terms" for what i'm talkin about I'm not always good with terms unless i work with that part regularly.

One question though, i can't for the life of me find the friggin PCV valve. On my accord is is directly sitting on top of the valve cover, on this Civic its nowhere to be found, any clue? I figured it had one because the book at Advance Auto Parts had a PCV Valve model number listed with my model civic, i figured they weren't wrong. Oh well!

Thats about all for now, again, thanx for all these helpful suggestions, you all have been a little welcoming crew for me

Dave

 

vtec wasn't a huge thing back then. the valve covers either came in black or just metal and didn't say vtec on them. the newer engines do say vtec.

as for the tweeter, it was an option, not standard (i don't have them) but i'm sure you could probably find one or just get a better one. and the speakers in the doors are 6.5 i think...

i'd also check (or have checked) the transmission, radiator, water pump, and thermostat because those are all things that went out on me.

good buy btw. :goodjob: