Living with a Justy

[nipper]

I did not plan on my 89 Justy being a daily driver, but while waiting for Blu's steering rack issue to be resolved, I am thankful he is.

 

The modernization I have done is minimal. I added central power locks, an alarm, oil press-temp-bat gauges, auto dim mirror and a modern 4 speaker stereo.

 

The Justy has a cvt. This cvt, one of the first, operates with an electric clutch. You can feel the clutch grabbing point just like a pedal. I have had to retrain my right foot. With the CVT the transmission does most the work, not the engine. The car has an amazing acceleration from 0-25. Too may times I found myself doing 45 in a 30. Highway driving, well, it is a 3 cyl. I have yet to discover the fine balance of RPM vs MPH for best acceleration. You floor the gas pedal, rpms are in the 5600 rpm ish and the car pulls. The faster it goes the less pull there is until you start backing off the gas. You back off the gas the transmission upshifts, and you feel more pull. I was surprised it would cruise at 65 like a happy little puppy running after a frisbee. At 70 he catches the frisbee and starts to slow down. The car seems to top out at 80. It will maintain 80 uphill but dont try passing anything uphill, it isnt working at 80.

 

I cant really seem to get it to idle as smoothly as i like (possible vac leak). Idle is thready at 1000 rpm but runs great at all other times.

 

Very weird feeling sitting at a light without my foot on any pedals, sometimes I want to press a clutch pedal.

 

I have used Ds (low) in heavy traffic only for better throttle control. The car wants to do 30 mph. the slower you want to go the harder it is to modulate with the gas. 30 mph is 1800 rpm, and idle is 1000 rpm. That 800 rpm variation is tough to control at 10 mph in D.

 

Driving position is fine. It is a little upright, i dropped the steering column 3/4 of an inch (oddly that was a slotted bolt hole for the column). The car is better for my back then Blu's, but I wish it had bigger head rests. Dash can be better lit. I may replace all the bulbs and see if that helps. The interior does not feel small. I think the lack of the floor hump helps that. This is pre-drink holders, man, I didn't think I would miss those. Tons fo legroom in the front.

 

I haven t really missed AC that much, as the windows are large that roll down. rear windows flip out.

 

This handles like a go cart. The car is small and skinny and a blast in city traffic. I have problems parallel parking the Justy since the car is so thin.

 

Road noise, 1989 econobox, see statement on modern stereo.

 

Ventilation and heat are both strong. The cooling fan short cycles (Dont know why) so may be an issue in winter. Starting it hot i have flooded it a few times. I have forgotten how to hot start a car with a carb.

 

Oil consumption in 1200 miles- none

 

Gas mileage, only once, first week on the road I got 37 mpg. I get 32 mpg no matter how or where I drive it. If I do 80 all day I get 30. I drive with a lead foot 32, light foot 32 I can live with that (Blu gets 17 city, 21 mixed, 25 at 80). Takes about 3 minutes to fill up the 9 gallon tank as E is usually 6 gallons.

 

I dont even notice when I am stuck in traffic as the car is a blast to drive.

[ShawnW]

Ive got one in the shop doing a head gasket. I had done a few engine rebuilds in the past both at CCR and the dealer before but never any work IN the car.

 

Im pretty pleased with how much room there is to work. This one won't idle at all-falls flat to 0 if you let off the gas.

[nipper]

So far everything I read, when they are this old #1 issue is old carb. God knows I went through quite a lot to get one that worked.

 

Very simple pollution controls for 89 compared to a honda of the same year.