Widebody Or Hardbody? 1978 Honda Civic vs 1988 Nissan Desert Runner

Good morning! I hope you all enjoyed the three-day weekend. Since we’ve got a short week this week, I’m not bothering with any sort of theme; I’m just grabbing cars that look interesting or fun to write about. Expect some weird matchups, like a race-prepped economy car versus a pickup with some cool factory graphics.

On Friday, we took a look at a couple of old, inexpensive RVs, and unsurprisingly, a lot of you noped out. Those of you who did vote preferred the extra room and better condition of the Fleetwood Bounder over the funky but faded Winnebago. And apparently, Breaking Bad had something to do with some people’s choices? Maybe I should try watching that show again. I couldn’t get into it the first time.

I don’t care if the Bounder is “nicer,” I want that Winnebago. It’s just as charming as all get-out. The Bounder has no personality; it’s just an old RV like you see parked alongside so many ranch houses, and it does nothing for me. The Winnebago looks like it wants to go on an adventure.

You’d be surprised how hard it is to find cars for this column that “go together.” Often, I find one car that I really want to use, and then spend an hour or two scouring Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace looking for the perfect complement to it, before settling for something that kinda works. For this week, I’m not bothering with that; I’m just grabbing the first two things that speak to me, whatever they may be, whether or not they actually go together. Here’s the first pair.

1978 Honda Civic CVCC – $7,000

Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Mountlake Terrace, WA

Odometer reading: 167,000 miles

Operational status: “Ran when parked,” but that was many years ago

We tend to think of Japanese tuner car culture as being a 1990s thing, but it actually started much earlier than that. This first-generation Honda Civic has been modified with parts from a company called Jackson Racing, which started modifying Hondas in 1979 and is still in business today. All of the modifications on this car were done in the early 1980s, and the seller has the original receipts to prove it.

The fiberglass widebody kit is the most obvious change, but this car has also had some engine modifications. The seller just says it has been “built,” which could mean a lot of things, but the gigantic Weber carburetor is a hint that it probably puts out more than the 60 horsepower or so that it came with. It also has a five-speed gearbox with a limited-slip differential, and some suspension tuning. It hasn’t run in years, so you’ll need to do some work to bring it back to life. Or, if 1980s tuner nostalgia isn’t your thing, any number of more modern Honda engines could be dropped into this car.

I don’t think this was a full-on race car, because there’s no roll cage, but the seller says it did see some track time. The interior has been partially gutted, though. The seats and door panels have been removed. The door panels are included, but the seats are not. You’ll have to find somewhere to sit on your own. What is still in there looks pretty good, so if you wanted to make it nice inside again, it wouldn’t be too hard.

The body kit is in rough shape, but another whole set of fenders and flares is included, so you can swap them out for good ones. The rest of the body looks good, though I’m sure there’s some rust somewhere. It is a ’78 Civic, after all. The turbine wheels look cool on it, but if for some reason you don’t like them, a set of BBS-style wheels is included too. It also comes with many other parts, shop manuals, literature, and more.

1988 Nissan D21 Hardbody Desert Runner – $6,800

Engine/drivetrain: 3.0-liter OHC V6, five-speed manual, 4WD

Location: Anderson, SC

Odometer reading: 235,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Many “sporty” versions of pickup trucks are not much more than some stripes and maybe a cooler steering wheel, but once in a while, a sporty truck comes along that’s really something special. This is such a truck, the Nissan Desert Runner, a special version of the D21 “Hardbody” pickup built for one year only, in 1988. (The seller erroneously has this truck listed as a 1987 model.) Forget landscaping or construction gigs; this truck is built strictly for fun.

Power for the Desert Runner comes from Nissan’s VG30i V6, which drives all four wheels through a five-speed manual transmission and a dual-range transfer case. A limited-slip rear end is part of the package as well. This truck has a lot of miles on it, but the seller says it runs great. I believe it; we used to own a Nissan Pathfinder with this same engine and transmission that was still going strong 100,000 miles past where this one is. The biggest drawback to this drivetrain is fuel economy; I seem to remember 14 miles per gallon being typical.

The inside is in decent shape, but it’s a shame about the aftermarket speakers in the doors. I’m sure all of us of a certain age have been guilty of hacking up door panels to install speakers on one car or another. I know I have done it. The seats and dash look good, though, and the seller says everything works, which is a plus.

The Desert Runner came with a lot of special touches on the outside, including a roll bar with lights, a bed-mounted spare tire, a rack to hold a cooler in the bed, and more. Some of that stuff is missing; my guess is that someone removed the spare tire carrier and cooler rack years ago so they could use the truck bed. It also has some hideous aftermarket taillights. The original graphics are pretty faded, but they’re still recognizable, and they still look cool. Nissan only built a thousand of these trucks, and they don’t come up for sale often. This might be the best you can do if you really want one.

The “normal” versions of either of these vehicles aren’t really anything special, except that they’re old and now rare. But these two jumped out at me. Are they worth the asking prices? Maybe not to everyone, but all it takes is one person who’s willing to pay it. Assuming you had seven grand lying around and were looking for something to play with, which one of these would it be?