Honda Civic 1st generation

Honda
Honda Civic SB1 (1972-1977)
Civic
Production period:	1972-1979
Class :	Compact class
Body versions :	Sedan , hatchback , station wagon
Engines:	Petrol engines : 1.1–1.5 liters (40–56 kW)
Length:	3400-3760 mm
Width:	1505 mm
Height:	1325 mm
Wheelbase :	2200-2280 mm
Empty weight :	615-795 kg
Previous model	Honda Life
successor	Civic 2nd generation

The first generation of the Honda Civic was introduced in Japan in mid-1972 as the Civic 1200 . It was built until the summer of 1979 and by 1976 had a production of one million vehicles. It was a hatchback ( Hatchback also) with two, three and four doors, as well as from the spring of 1974 as a station wagon offered.

The transversely installed engine with 40 kW (54 hp) had a displacement of 1.2 l, four cylinders, an aluminum engine block and a carburetor . He drove the front wheels to . All the wheels were individually suspended on MacPherson struts - with triangular wishbones at the front, with triangular wishbones longitudinally and one wishbone at the rear. Only in Japan was the Civic RS (Road Sailing) sold with two carburettors, which had 56 kW (76 hp). A five-door variant and the station wagon were equipped with a 1.5-liter engine. A little later, Honda brought the low-emission CVCC engine to the Japanese and American vehicle markets. It thus fulfilled the US emissions standards until 1983 without the use of a catalytic converter .

Development history

Honda Civic SB2 (1977-1979)

Yoshio Nakamura , the Honda Formula 1 team manager from 1964 to 1968, was the project manager for the Honda Civic. After the sporty S800 , N360 , N600 and 1300 , the vehicle was to become a small sedan with exemplary reliability and well suited for export.

The Japanese press awarded it the title “Car of the Year”.

In Germany, the Civic was initially only sold as the Civic 1200 in the two-door version with a small trunk lid at a price of DM 7,500 and as a three-door (hatchback) at DM 7,770. In 1976 the Civic 1500 was offered as a four-door model with a small trunk lid at a price of DM 10,418. The 1st generation station wagon was not available in Germany.

Model overview

Model code	Type	Displacement	Bore × stroke	compression	kW ( PS )	Engine code	Construction year
SB1	Two- / three-door	1170 cm 3	70 × 76 mm	8.1: 1	40 (54)	EB1	07 / 1972-02 / 1977
SB1 RS	Three-door	1170 cm 3	70 × 76 mm	8.6: 1	56 (76)	EB1 RS	1974
SB2	Three- / five-door	1237 cm 3	72 × 76 mm	8.1: 1	44 (60)	EB2	02 / 1977-08 / 1979
SF	Four- / five-door	1488 cm 3	74 x 86.5 mm	8.4: 1	51 (70)	EB3	01 / 1974-07 / 1978
H-VB	Five-door (van)	1488 cm 3	74 x 86.5 mm	8.4: 1	56 (76)	EC	01 / 1974-07 / 1978
B-SC / B-SF	Three- / five-door	1238 cm 3	72 × 76 mm	7.9: 1	48 (65)	EB4 CVCC	07 / 1977-08 / 1979
E-SH / E-SG	Three- / five-door	1488 cm 3	74 x 86.5 mm	7.9: 1	55 (75)	EC2 CVCC	07 / 1977-08 / 1979

Web links

Commons : Honda Civic (1st generation)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.