Fourth-gen Civic fan? ...well have I
sorta-maybe-kinda got something for you!
...
..no.. nope...
...
In a much-loved model generation that sported everything from the desirable B16-VTEC-powered SiR Civic and CRX, through to the quirky commuter goodness that IS the Shuttle... here's the dreary half-English second cousin: the beige cardigan; the vanilla; the musical composition comprising an instrument accompanied by an orchestra: it's Honda's Concerto.
..and this
specific crimson May-1989 MA2 Honda Concerto EXi hatchback...
...a luxurious Civic-based hatch-only offering that hit the Australian market in late 1988. These were actually built in both Japan (as with the crimson
machiiine above) and the UK (..Rover badges and all..) through its six-or-so year production run. There were both hatch and sedan body styles, and a variety of engines driving through the front or all wheels..
Australia? Well we were looking at those D16-powered, front-drive, hatchbacks only...
..but hey, NASA technology right? You'd bloody hope so, at what was ~$28,000AUD in its day!
Spotted this oh-so-close-199,704km (~124k mi) example at the wreckers a month or two ago. Relatively complete, original, unmolested.. appropriately worn for its age: the poor thing looking to have had a fairly gentle life for the most part. A minor punch in the eye seems to have been responsible for bringing 27years of Honda-ing to a grinding halt... and here it was; sitting in the back of a wrecking yard in Campbellfield.. rain getting inside through windows likely broken by kids blindly hurling rocks over the fence at night...
Fresh tyres supporting evidence this changed hands not long before the mishap.
..and as always, Honda deserves a PROPER pat on the back for these true-directional alloys. No doubt a detail that is painfully underappreciated...
The D16A6/D16Z2 single-cam 1.6litre four. Fuel injection not to be overlooked, when a standard local Civic was breathing through a couple carbs at best...
Power windows, velour and ohhhh... that near-continuous strip of woodgrain...
The original owner and service info, the air-conditioner warranty manual (a >$1700 option mind you!), and the manual for the original-fit Pioneer KE-8003ZH AM/FM/cassette headunit.
Someone had already made a bit of a mess of the centre console / HVAC area of the dash, but I actually came across one of these headunits in
another wrecker ED (EF, 'fourth-gen') Civic in recent times....
..urgh..
would've been a nice idea to have grabbed both that headunit (for you know..
one day..) and the owners manual booklet to match, but eh. Ship's sailed, and I'm not into sailing...
...no. it's for the best.. I'm not a car-parts-hoarder I swear...!
..and on that note, I'll leave this one here. Done.
The dark red Honda Concerto: the
crimson cardigan. Off to warm car-heaven in style...
Oh dear... I would kill for that radio unit, rear muflaps and specially that rear center panel. Concertos in Europe were built by the Rover group, and despite they look quite similar, they are in fact quite different (door panels are different, rear bumper, rear center panel, front headlights... even the suspension was different).
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for keeping this page updated, I really love to come here and read your stories about all these japanese cars.
..thanks for reading!
DeleteIf you're actually after some Australian-market Concerto parts, I'd say you'd have luck contacting Honda-specific dismantles out here. I would be VERY surprised if there was much demand for any of these bits locally...