What to do with a low mile unicorn?

Hi GRM.  So i sold my 944 Turbo(good riddance) to purchase a car, that in my mind, is a unicorn.  It a red 1988 CRX Si with 12,800 kms on it.(just under 8000 miles for non-canadians) It still wears the orig. tires.(No I wont drive on them, thanks)

I bought it because the opportunity came up.  I'm a huge CRX fan, having owned 4 previously and I even co-founded Red Pepper Racing because of my love for the 1G CRX.  I'm a big time Honda guy and have owned over 20 Hondas in one form or another.  I couldn't pass this car up, it was too awesome and the while not cheap was priced far below market value.  Now the question is:

What do I do with it? 

I'm getting opinions from all sides, heck my brother messages me once a day telling me to sell it and get back into Porsches.  Some say keep it and put in a bubble waiting for a pay day to come.  Some say sell TODAY, like right now and get all I can.  The problem is I'm a car guy that likes to mod and drive cars.  I'm 46 years old, but I'm like a teenager when it comes to cars.  The lower the better, got to have nice wheels, period correct mods and all that.  The car has a couple of issues, the worst being that the exhaust is starting to rust from the inside out.  Honda will no longer sell you an OEM exhaust which was my first choice so I bought an HKS system which is as close to stock as I could find(in my price range).

I would like to do a few minor, easily reversible mods but man am I getting grief for it.

EDIT: The engine bay was undercoated by mistake at the dealership in 1988 which is why it's black.  Yes I'm going to try and remove it. :-)

What does GRM say?

Here's some pics:

Do the reversible mods and save the OEM parts.  It's your car, you bought it, enjoy it your way.  

Saving it is kind of like saving your wife for the next guy......   you won't enjoy that.  

In reply to johnnytorque :

If you want to own a modified car, I suggest you sell this one and use the proceeds to buy one better suited to cut up and modify

Ex owner of 91 crx. Kept stock 6 years. Then greddy turbo, JDM rear seats to make it 4 seater. Blitz 01 wheels 

I say your car, keep it, enjoy it 

I have sold many cars I regretted, and these days paying top dollar on forums to get the stock ones back. 
 

keep it and enjoy it . Don't listen to others. Listen to yourself 

I dunno. I support mods that make it better. Get some good shocks and springs (konis and ground control seem to be particularly popular) and b16 swap it.  I don’t think well executed mods will devalue it, but will make it far more enjoyable. 

In reply to Indy-Guy :

I have no desire to cut up and modify.  Just some very easy, reversible mods. 

This seems to be a common thought in my friend group.  SELL IT then go out and find one to modify.  The problem is, find a nice CRX! I don't want rust or issues.  This car cost what CRX's on BAT are selling for with 130000 miles on them.  

I love AnthonyGS's response: Saving it is kind of like saving your wife for the next guy......

So true, so very true.

I guess I know in my heart I want to use the car, but trying to do it without regret might be tough. But who knows, it may be worth triple in 10 or 20 years or worth nothing because fuel is banned. 

I had a really nice CRX that I sold in 2009 and I'm so happy to have one back in my life, and it's so nice it makes me giddy, I just wish I could do what I want with it, guilt free.

No modifications that aren't reversible, and save the original parts.  Then drive it - even if you put on another 50,000 miles, it will still be a low mileage car.

I had friends tell me "find another to modify" which I don't understand 

I want the cleanest lowest mileage. All my mods are reversible always. I don't want to "get another" one to save this one

but that's just my .02

then again i spent too many years "saving them" "keeping miles off" 

gonna be dead soon. Cant take the money with me. Only the memories of the good cars and how I enjoyed it 

changed my perspective. Now I drive even my "low mile" toys and enjoy them all. Mod them, put them back to stock when I sell them 

good luck 

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Love this answer, thanks.  

"I just wish I could do what I want with it, guilt free. "

Go right ahead you have my complete approval !!!!

Ages ago my brother bought a 914 from the original owner with less than 20k miles and absolutely no rust anywhere. The car went through many mods including some small body modifications that I considered questionable. It was used as a HPDE car for years by both of us. I bought the car from him when he upgraded to a 944 turbo. I have enjoyed the hell out of that car and although its value is going up I know it will never change my economic status if I sell it. I don't have any regrets except for not putting a 911 motor in while they were " cheap".

I say enjoy it just keep it out of the snow/ salt.

Man, enjoy it. It’s your car, you clearly like it. Let yourself love owning it and driving it, whatever that looks like.

Guilt is a weapon against the self to promote meeting the needs of others. Leave the guilt for someone else. Meet your needs.

CyberEric said:

 

Guilt is a weapon against the self to promote meeting the needs of others. 

Wow, one of the best statements made on this forum!!! Literally saved your words. Bravo. Well said. Thumbs way up! 

Slam it, box fenders, ebay turbo, big wing, huge lip out front, 20" wheels with rubber band tires, fart can exhaust. Bondo on the hood.  Leave the fenders in primer.

CyberEric said:

Man, enjoy it. It’s your car, you clearly like it. Let yourself love owning it and driving it, whatever that looks like.

Guilt is a weapon against the self to promote meeting the needs of others. Leave the guilt for someone else. Meet your needs.

Absolutely love that.  Thanks.

Cars were not meant to sit in a shop or garage wasting away slowly to the ravages of time, the tinworm, and dry rot. Drive the ever-berkeleying wheels off that E36 M3!

I'd go with your plan, enjoy it with bolt on mods, and keep it clean and rust free.

In my view the dealer added undercoat has already "ruined" it, or at least made it non-original.

In the immortal words of Rick Nelson:

You can't please everybody

You gotta please yourself 

ripped from Garden Party

Drive it.

Honda has a few of these in their museum already, they don't need another.

Make an appearance at Radwood if you get a chance.

johnnytorque said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Love this answer, thanks.  

And it is exactly what you should do.  You should also keep us all up to date so we can enjoy the journey.

I've started thinking a lot about this kind if thing.  I think the two guys enjoying their cars most are the one guy with 400k + on his 04 996 anniversary edition and the guy with 800k + on his C5 Vette.  

Ok, biased answer, I maybe kinda have a thing for the 2nd gen CRX, and might have owned eight of them, with one still hanging around...

1. Stock CRXs are beyond rare. The value of an unmolested crx is just going up, but might be approaching its height. I am looking for a decent one under 5k, and have come up empty. Ive seen ones like yours go for 4x that on ebay.

2. Halfassed modded CRXs are 1-2k tops, all day long, with no rust and some go fast bits. Nobody will ever shame you for dericing a civic. Soso, decent modded, ones are about 3-5k

3. You will never, ever, put it back to stock. The mods are worth it, but calling it reversible is just playing mind games. You will need rear LCA's to fit aftermarket shocks, or be limited to a few rare and expensive options. Aftermarket arms will change the toe-in a bit which is unique to that year. Mots of single-year parts on the 88 too, doors got pockets thanks to lack of side impact bars and door mounted seatbelts added in 89 and 90. The interior plastics are the early greenish black formula that requires extra care in UV and can get crumbly if abused. These parts are getting rare, so do keep or sell them of removed. Don't forget most people convert to the rear disk brakes from the 90-91, which also requires a different prop valve. And you will want to do bushings and shocks. It adds up, and then you just have yet another modded honda for the price.

4. Conclusion? Buy a different crx to modify, sell (or keep, if funds allow) the unicorn. You will love the incremental upgrades. The value lost in changing the low mile one only makes sense if you want a period correct crx to drive the value off, which is fun, but not swaped level of fun. For the cost of the unicorn, you could have 2 or 3 tastefully modded hondas with more power, and less stress over occasional dings and/or bad mods. 

Whatever you do, enjoy it, its yours. If we cared so much, we would buy them all up and put them in museums. Ignore the haters. 

In reply to Nugi :

Ok, Nugi.  I appreciate the CRX love in your response. I will respond to your numbered answers.

1. Agreed, except I'm in Canada.  A decent one here is $10K plus, IF, and only if, you can actually find one.  Good luck with that.  Yes, I could bring one from the USA, I don't want to.

2. Again, not a chance.  1K-2K!! In cali maybe, here in rusty ol' Canada, C'est Impossible!

3.I refuse to do aftermarket rear LCA's, Progress sells Coilovers that will work with the eye mount, no biggie. No need to do any other mods because no track and it really drives well as is, just needs more lowering. No need for rear discs either, what for? As for UV.  It lives in my garage under a car cover, not so worried about that.

4. I owned a fully modded track CRX already.  And it was the ultra-rare, Canada only Special edition(1 of 250).  Compared to what I would have to spend to make a CRX look as good as the unicorn, it would cost much more than what I paid.

Veilside.