Beneath the layers of foliage captured over several seasons under a yard full of trees is an early version of the Honda Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion or CVCC engine. The engineers at Honda managed to design an engine that made good use of combustion chamber efficiency to meet 1970’s EPA emissions standards without use of a catalytic converter. Honda achieved this feat sans then-and-still expensive electronic fuel injection systems. The CVCC engine huffed its gasoline through a regular old carburetor, seen poking through the leaves here. Before reaching the junkyard floor this little Honda Civic hatch had evidently been relegated to a stationary place to sip malt liquor. Specifically, King Kobra – a devil’s brew that holds a well-earned slot as deceptively slakey and dangerous beverage. All efficiency and engineering genius aside, don’t ever let the smooth taste fool you.
Editor’s note: this post was originally published on Junkyard Chronicle back in 2006. The car and/or parts in these images are long gone.
T’were a sad sight. My dad traded his Chevelle SS for one of those back in the early 80s. It was black and the first of several Hondas we owned. Would make for a neat project; perhaps with one of them nifty Fiat lumps making 180hp these days…