Finally picked up my 95 VX

[smccall]

Well I just picked up my 95 Civic VX from Philadelphia and drive it back down to Ga. It has 146k on it and i got it for $2k. I kind of jumped out on faith hoping the car was everything of what the pics showed. In the end, I would say I am somewhat satisfied only because there are a few things that I have to do to it to get it where I want it to be. Here's the list:

1. Driver and Passenger Side CV Joints are blown. (heavy Vibration going over 75mph and the boots have oil coming out of them.
2. 4 new tires
3. Its a CA Fed Car so I need to get a 5 wire O2 sensor and 49 state ECU for Lean Burn.
4. It needs a paint job a few little dings taken care of.
5. It has the ugly Alteeza Taillights so I need to find a factory set.
6. Rear sits lower than the front. (after market struts in the rear) So I need a factory rear setup or new springs and struts all the way around.
7. I need to replace the spark plugs, wires, and air filter.
8. Possible Seafoam action
9. Needs a new Driver's Seat.

After that the car will be perfect. Driving back I got 399 miles going 70-80mph and when I filled up, it only took 8.6 gallons to fill again. Hopefully after I do the tune-up, new tires pumped to max psi, and get the cv joints done my mpgs will be better. And then when I switch the O2 sensor and ecu, it should be even better.

No sure if the CA Fed Vxs have the upshift light because I couldn't see it. I may have overlooked it because the bulb is blown out. I will have to check later. Also on the way back, when I was on E, the gas light never came on. Do VXs have gas lights? I need to check that too. Other than that it has A/C, no rust, and was dirty as hell so I took all the seats out and vacuumed them and the carpet until the vacuum cleaner quit.

If you guys have any other suggestions, let me know. I need to do a gaslog.

[GasSavers_BIBI]

Originally Posted by smccall

Well I just picked up my 95 Civic VX from Philadelphia and drive it back down to Ga. It has 146k on it and i got it for $2k. I kind of jumped out on faith hoping the car was everything of what the pics showed. In the end, I would say I am somewhat satisfied only because there are a few things that I have to do to it to get it where I want it to be. Here's the list:

1. Driver and Passenger Side CV Joints are blown. (heavy Vibration going over 75mph and the boots have oil coming out of them.
2. 4 new tires
3. Its a CA Fed Car so I need to get a 5 wire O2 sensor and 49 state ECU for Lean Burn.
4. It needs a paint job a few little dings taken care of.
5. It has the ugly Alteeza Taillights so I need to find a factory set.
6. Rear sits lower than the front. (after market struts in the rear) So I need a factory rear setup or new springs and struts all the way around.
7. I need to replace the spark plugs, wires, and air filter.
8. Possible Seafoam action
9. Needs a new Driver's Seat.

After that the car will be perfect. Driving back I got 413 miles going 70-80mph and when I filled up, it only took 8.6 gallons to fill again. Hopefully after I do the tune-up, new tires pumped to max psi, and get the cv joints done my mpgs will be better. And then when I switch the O2 sensor and ecu, it should be even better.

No sure if the CA Fed Vxs have the upshift light because I couldn't see it. I may have overlooked it because the bulb is blown out. I will have to check later. Also on the way back, when I was on E, the gas light never came on. Do VXs have gas lights? I need to check that too. Other than that it has A/C, no rust, and was dirty as hell so I took all the seats out and vacuumed them and the carpet until the vacuum cleaner quit.

If you guys have any other suggestions, let me know. I need to do a gaslog.

No E light for gas, got to be careful. Looks like a good deal for 2k$, post your first tank mileage once you get all the things done. Also, try the 5th gear at less than 45 mph, you will be suprise how much torque you get for the rpm your at. I was, especially that I had just sell my integra with 130 pound of torque that couldn't stand less than 1500 rpm (even 2000).

Also, its a 95, you people in the US are lucky, here in Canada, they did the model for only 1 years, 1992, what a shame!

[garyhgaryh]

CA VX has no upshift light. Also, you either have a CA or FED Vx, not both (no CA FED vx).

By the way, you got 48mpg, which is pretty good for a car with bad cv joints!
Gary

[Danronian]

For the strut issue. I don't see why the rear struts would be shorter... Performance struts or not, they have the spring perches at the same height (then again there is a yellow Koni strut that has an adjustable perch height). My guess is that the owner has lowering springs on the back, and OEM springs on the front. If it does have performance struts, you can use them with OEM springs and your car should be even and ride good as long as they're not blown.

[smccall]

Thats right, I meant CA VX. Yeah I was suprised that I was in the mid to upper 40's with its current issues. Hopefully I can get them squared away pretty quick and get into the 50s.

wow, no gas light or up shift light. I thought it was a strut issue because when I took off one of the rear wheels, the strut was red. If you look at the picture of my car, look at how the back is lower than the front. Its at least 2.5 inches lower.

[Gary Palmer]

Seem's like a pretty good purchase, particularly coming out of Philadelphia. It sounds like it must not have been their to long.

Maybe they lowered the back, to try to give it better aerodynamics. Seem's like pretty decent mileage for a CA version.

[garyhgaryh]

I was bummed about the missing gas light and upshift light when I got my car.
I don't even have a passenger side mirror. Thinking about adding one, but that will increase drag .

Gary

[smccall]

Yeah I thought that it was a good deal being no rust and only 146k on it. Just all of those little things that will add up money wise to replace like the cv axles, suspension, and tires. I found a guy on the ImportAtlanta site who has a 95 VX and total stripped the car down to the metal frame and repainted the entire frame and body and but it back together with a K20 in it. he doesn't live far from me so I'll try to hook up with him to do my axles and suspension to save money. After that, tires, tail lights, and the other little stuff will be simple for me to do myself. Luckily mine has a passenger side mirror. I'll just have to keep track of how many miles I get each tank and make sure I don't run out.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

CV joints should be easy, they are held in by a single nut on the wheel end (you smash it to lock it in place, so buy a new one) and a snap ring at the tranny end, a flat pry bar is all you need in order to pull the shaft out of the tranny, and I suspect the parts will cost around $50 for each side.

[smccall]

ok, seems easy, but i will definitely have to do this with someone experienced. Then I should be a pro. I'm guessing swapping out the suspension should be just as easy.