Good morning! Today I’m taking a little personal trip down memory lane, since I happened to have found vehicles very similar to ones I owned back in the ’90s. These are both considerably more expensive than the ones I had, but they’re also in better condition – in one case, a lot better.
Yesterday we looked at a couple of GM vehicles with their engines in the wrong end. I figured the Corvair was going to win, and I was right. Everybody seems to love a good Corvair, especially one with two doors and a manual transmission, and that definitely looks like a good one.
I have to agree. I have a thing for Fieros as well, but if that one was my choice, I think I’d talk them down a lot, or keep shopping. It’s mechanically fine, but it looks awful. However, I think the dark areas are just the plastic showing through thin spots in the paint, not mildew, as some of you thought.
I spent most of the 1990s absolutely flat broke, and with no credit to speak of, for reasons that were only partly my fault. As a result, I bought cheap crappy cars for cash, drove them until something catastrophic happened, and then bought something else. I went through at least a dozen cars between 1994 and 1998. One was a 1984 Honda Accord, and another was a 1983 Nissan/Datsun 720 pickup. Maybe that’s why these caught my eye today. Let’s check them out.
1985 Honda Accord – $3,200
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Beaverton, OR
Odometer reading: 140,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
In 1995, I paid $800 for a 1984 Accord that looked just like this one, except it was maroon. It was rusty, but it was the best-running car I found by far, so I chose to live with the rust. A year and a half later, a rear brake line rusted through, and I nearly rear-ended someone. I carefully drove it to a shop to have the brake line replaced, and they couldn’t even put it on a lift, because the rocker panels were so rotted out. I reluctantly took it to the junkyard and got $100 for it. It ran flawlessly on the way there.
This one runs very well, too, it sounds like. This generation of Accord had a 1.8-liter four, with Honda’s CVCC design featuring three valves per cylinder, and an unusual three-barrel carburetor. It drives the front wheels through a slick-shifting five-speed manual. The engine and transmission are in great shape, and the radiator is new. It does have a leak in the power steering system that should be addressed, but until you get it fixed, you can just keep adding fluid. It wouldn’t be the first time someone just kept feeding a car vital fluids instead of fixing something.
This is a little fancier than my Accord was; I think mine had cruise control as well, but I know it had crank windows. It’s in good shape inside, and it has a decent aftermarket stereo. The seller says neither the heat nor the air conditioning works, but the fan still blows. I have a feeling that it’s a problem with the controls, rather than both the heater core and A/C system failing at once. That’s the first thing I’d check, anyway.
The seller describes it as having “very little rust,” which isn’t none, but I doubt there has been a rust-free second-generation Accord in decades. The paint is nice and shiny still, and except for a little blemish above one headlight, I don’t see anything wrong with it at all.
1985 Nissan 720 Pickup – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: San Jose, CA
Odometer reading: 125,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
In 1994, in Duluth, Minnesota, in the dead of winter, I found mysef in need of a new car, after doing something really stupid to a VW Golf that I really liked. I went to a used car lot on a bitterly cold day and asked what they had for cheap. The salesman directed me to an enormous Oldsmobile Toronado that wouldn’t start. While he was finding a set of jumper cables, I asked about a beat-up little blue Datsun pickup that was half-buried in the snow. He gave me the keys, I got in, and it started up on the first try. I put it in gear, and it pulled itself out of the snowbank like it wasn’t even there. I bought it on the spot.
The earliest 720 series trucks were powered by the old L-series engine, but this one (like mine) uses the newer NAPS-Z four-cylinder, with two spark plugs per cylinder. Annoyingly, for anyone trying to do a tune-up on one, the spark plugs on the intake side of the head are different from the plugs on the exhaust side. Lucky for you, this one just had a tune-up, along with a new starter, radiator, and shocks all around. It runs and drives great.
This is a fancier 720 than mine was, with cloth bucket seats and a center armrest. I made do with a blue vinyl bench seat. It’s in decent shape, but the driver’s seat upholstery is dirty, and it looks like the door pull is missing on the passenger’s side. This is the only view of the interior we get, so I can’t give you any more information than that.
It’s not pretty outside; it’s a patchwork of junkyard replacement panels, and not all of them are straight anymore, either. But at least it’s not rusty, and it has a nice bedliner. The windshield has a pretty big spiderweb crack in it, but the seller says they’re in the process of getting it replaced, and it will be taken care of before sale.
I don’t miss being broke and having to drive shitty cars, but I do feel like those days were training for this job, in a way. It gave me an appreciation for simple, cheap machines and for those who work hard to keep them on the road, whether out of necessity or stubbornness. These two have quite a lot of life left in them, if you treat them right, and I can tell you from experience that they’re both pretty good machines to drive. Which one grabs you?
I still miss the Nissan 720 4×4 Custom Cab I sold back in 2019. Mine had a much more boring interior with no center armrest and black vinyl seats. I like this one, it even has the same aftermarket rear bumper as mine.
If the seller is replacing the windshield then it’s good for me. I could see myself getting it resprayed in the near future if everything keeps working down the road.
The bunch of new parts and no power steering leak like mine sealed the deal. These trucks are stupid simple anyway, probably more than carb’d Hondas like these with the vacuum line spaghetti under the hood and timing belt.
Accord for me. I have no need for a bad version of a Harlequin pickup truck.
But having said that, both of these are overpriced for what they are. If the seller wants that much for that old Accord, then at the very least the heat should work and the power steering should not be leaking.
To me, both of these are $2000 vehicles at most.
One of my mother’s favorite sayings is “you made your bed, now lie in it.” But, I haven’t had a pickup for nine years so I couldn’t comply. Nissan 720 because I dig small trucks and it will make mom happy, too.
Cane to say both. And was pleasently surprised to have the option.
I was going to pick the much nicer Accord, until I saw the seats of that Datsun … err … Nissan. But then you gave me a both choice! Hell yeah, for less than $6k, I can have TWO great little machines.
Yeah. Makes me a bit sad I only have a one-car garage.
Too many things wrong with the Accord at that price, I’d take one of those things broken, but not; no heat, no ac, and the powersterring leaks…
The biggest problem with the 720 is the windsheld, and the seller is getting that fixed, so it’s both cheaper and requires less immediate work.
Finally, I already have 2 four-door manual Hondas in the driveway, and no trucks, Datusn it is!
I just had to go with both today, glad the option was available.
I want the Accord because it’s all one color and that color is blue – inside and out.
That Accord is tempting…but contrary to popular belief….Portland gets more rain than Seattle (43″/yr vs 38″/yr). Rust is the traditional enemy of these 2nd gen Accords and hopes and prayers are no remedy.
San Jose…gets a paltry 14″/yr.
That Nissan is likely the winner for the pick-up truck beater we all need…and fairly easy to repair whatever may go wrong. The multi color exterior is an interesting feature…no need to fix.
And Portland also gets more ice. I don’t know if they use salt down there. Up here (Seattle-ish), they mostly use sand, into which pebbles big enough to mess with your windshield and the front of the hood of your car are a factor.
I don’t have to drive anywhere around anymore on a daily basis. The sand does make it a bit sketchy on a nice day after a snow event on a motorcycle. I had the front wheel washout on a Suzuki V-Strom and broke a couple of ribs, my helmet and the clutch handle on a lovely day in January, 16 years ago. It’s so weird that I can remember every second of that now.
Oh sure. TODAY we get the “both” choice. Yesterday was the day that really needed it!
Duluth in 1994, that is cold. I know several people who taught themselves how to drive a manual transmission in Duluth. The hills with stop signs are trial by fire. I still miss Hacienda Del Sol
Both today! That Accord is the nicest I’ve seen since the’80s (Hondas rusted quick in PA) and may be the nicest left on the road period. Love me the scruffy little pickup though.
I’m picking the Nissan because I’m picturing the snake pit of vacuum hoses connected to that Honda carburetor.
Happy to see that both option today.
My dad had one of these Accords at one point. It ran and drove just fine but had 2 weird quirks. First, the clutch was backwards, I should say the clutch feeling was backwards. The pedal gave no pressure off the floorboard and the first half of travel was basically nothing then it suddenly tensed up and started to engage in the last half of travel. It drove fine and my left leg always figure it out after a while but then when I would get back in my car I would stall it until my left leg reset for normal clutches again.
The other quirk was the brakes, the car stopped just fine and had plenty of pressure any time you stomped on the brake pedal, However, if you were sitting at a light holding one foot on the brake you’d notice it slowly sinking. Let off the pedal and stomp on it again and it’d be fine until it started sinking again. Pinhole in a diaphragm somewhere? No idea, it was a $500 car and it wasn’t mine so I never dug into it.
Honda, please!
I do want a small truck like this for doing truck things and was 100% prepared to vote for it, but this one has a salvage title; that’s a dealbreaker for me. 🙁
The Honda is definitely An Car but there is value in that, and it could be a nice Radwood ride if someone were so inclined.
Is the branded title really a big deal for a vehicle this old and cheap? It would not have taken much to total this truck if the damage was recent. I would want to confirm the salvage title is not from a recent flood, but the mismatched panels suggest this was collision damage. As long as this truck is structurally sound, I don’t think the branded title is a problem.
It certainly can be if you want to insure the vehicle, which is required for registration in some places. A salvage title generally means the car was written off by an insurance company, so other companies can be reluctant (or refuse) to insure it.
But the salient point is this: I do not want a salvage title; I want all of my vehicles to have clean titles. That’s why I said it is a dealbreaker for me. If you’re happy with it, then by all means help yourself. 🙂
“If you’re happy with it, then by all means help yourself.”
I probably would buy this truck if it were closer. I also presume this truck has a rebuilt title since it appears to be currently registered. My insurance company will insure a rebuilt title, at least for liability (while I don’t mind branded titles, I probably wouldn’t buy one that is expensive enough to warrant full coverage).
Although, if your requirement is only clean title vehicles, that is great. I would encourage all people to not consider cars with branded titles. If no one else wants salvage/rebuilt title cars, that just means they are cheaper for me!
😀
I have a couple of motorcycles that are missing titles, and since the changes happened to the Vermont program there isn’t a lot I can do with them. This has left me a little salty on the title issue, hence the plan to deal only in cleanly-titled bikes from now on.
Maybe the title on today’s truck is Rebuilt rather than Salvage – that would be a little better. That’s the magic of CL, though – it could be almost anything 🙂
I think ‘Both’ is the right choice here as together they’re still within ‘fuck it’ money range, with caveats:
1) Neither of these is ‘best in class’ or honestly super interesting in their respective categories. They’re not investments and not going to turn heads, even at a rad show. This is 100% ‘sure I’ll have another.’
2) Both of these have crash safety akin to a trash compactor using modern standards. And, dailying a 40yr old car is just a waiting game on what breaks next (and possibly makes you miss work/a birthday party/uncle jimbo’s handgun gender reveal). This, to me, makes them not great choices for a daily.
That said they’d still be a hoot for occasional non-essential use, including small truck things.
The ‘both’ thing is what I always did when dailying beaters: 2 tagged & insured so I could work on one —with the inevitable broken bolts & other surprises—and have the other to get to work Monday if I ran out of wrenching skills
At those prices, you’d be crazy not to get both! Seriously, if they were within a few hours’ drive of either, I would be on my way.
K-swap and turbo that Accord and have an amazing sleeper to race for pinks on Friday night!
Blue interiors …. brown interiors …… the good ol’ days
You didn’t have to sell them off! Collect your service records and exchange plate numbers. Guess you didn’t need them, though. Now they’re just some cars that you used to own.
Is it wrong that I sang that as I read it?
Nope, that’s exactly right.
Apparently that song is getting a small resurgence thanks to teen meme mashups. My 14yo was shocked that I had heard of it. “This younger generation thinks they invented everything” –every older generation
I feel like the Honda would make a nice budget hobbyist car, and I am a sucker for cars with blue interiors.
I like pickup trucks, so the Nissan gets my vote. I would paint the doors and fenders to match the bed and cab, but other than that, I would drive it as is. It’s not perfect, but it is presentable. I also like the brown interior.
I’m not very interested in owning an ’80s Accord, but I appreciate that this one is in good condition. I do, however, really like the blue interior. I find myself marveling at the interiors of a lot of old cars featured on shitbox showdown. In 2025 it is easy to forget there was once a time when most cars weren’t monochromatic inside and out.
That’s about $1600 in today money. $1600 for an 11-year-old Honda would be amazing. Then again even in Wisconsin there’s no way a modern Honda would be as rusty as yours was in only 11-13 years!
I’m amazed at how old cars were basically worthless once they were 10-15 years old. My first car was a 14-year-old Cadillac I paid $1200 for (~$2,400 in today’s dollars); that car was $21k new ($65k in today money) and only had 75k miles when I bought it. New cars in 2025 may be expensive, but at least you can reasonably expect them to not be worthless heaps of junk in 10 years.
The longevity of modern cars is astounding. I daily an 11 year old car with nearly 250000 miles and think nothing of it. I’d drive it across the country tomorrow if needed. When young most 10 year old cars with 60k were on their last legs.
I paid $500 for a 14 year old Ford with 53k at 16. Got a year or so out of it before the engine spun a bearing and the rust became untenable.
Agreed. The 1960-1980s card I owned when young were all dead or dying by 10 years/100K miles.
Yep, late ’70s domestic malaise era junk. 100 miles of vacuum hoses and an obstinate carb. Voltage regulators and starter relays were consumables I kept spares of in the glovebox.
My grandmother gave me her lat 60s Galaxie and I think I needed to do starter, points, condenser, plugs, belts and hoses every year. The windows did not roll down. I had to pull the glass out of the door and set the window in the back seat if I was going to go to a drive thru.
I don’t need two ancient piles taking up precious garage/driveway space. I’ll take the little pickup.
The Accord is hitting my own personal nostalgia button too hard to ignore.