We previously spotted this car at Irvine Cars and Coffee and now it’s turned up for sale. A quick look at the images guarantees this is the same one, so we know it has driven within the last year. This may be the greatest temptation to appear on eBay all year, and it waited for New Year’s Eve!
The ad text below gives all the details, so we don’t need to add much except to say we absolutely love this car! These coupes are very, very rare. The only question is: what’s it worth in this condition? Your humble host is certainly tempted at this price!
Click for eBay ad
Costa Mesa, CA
$9,500 with no bids and no reserve
Posted by CG
02/19/2014 update: SOLD for $11,979.76 with 9 bids
What a stunner! Having stood next to this exact car before, ‘small’ doesn’t begin to describe it.
This period photo is excellent!
Great from any angle…
Interior is surprisingly nice and a great, sport design.
Hatch adds a bit of practicality to this pint-sized beast.
Oops, where’s the engine??
Hey, there it is!
Here’s our picture from Cars and Coffee (May 26, 2012)!
Ad text:
Offered at auction is a two owner Left hand Drive 1968 Honda S800 Coupe sports car with 15000 original miles. This car represents the final version of the early Honda S-series production. About 8yrs ago I bought this Honda S800 from the original owner. He bought the Honda new while stationed in Okinawa and brought it home with him when he returned to Central California. The Honda was a common sight at the auto-x events held in the Fresno, CA area for several years. And to give it more of a competition look he painted the S800 the same shade of orange as his Boss Mustang tow car (see pics).
At some point the Honda was parked and sat for 25yrs plus (ran when parked right?) when I came along. I dragged the Coupe home and it then sat for several years waiting for its turn in the project rotation. Finally the time came to get the Honda back on the road. Here is a list of work done in preparation for making it drivable again.
Renewed the Brake and clutch hydraulic systems, including master cylinders, calipers, wheel cylinders, clutch slave cylinder and installed steel braided brake flex lines.
Re-cored the radiator and replaced hoses, overhauled water pump.
Replaced fuel pump, cleaned out the fuel tank and fuel lines, overhauled carburetors (see note below).
Replaced clutch disk.
Installed Sherwood Garage stainless steel center muffler (also have Coupe tail pipes).
Installed Sherwood Garage AVO shocks front and rear.
Finally the S800 was registered, running and back on the road. I enjoyed driving the Honda and took it to a few local shows. Everything was great and that is when things go bad right? Oil started leaking from the engine. It looked to be coming from the head gasket area on the exhaust side of the engine. So the engine was pulled and disassembled to diagnose the source of the leak. Turned out to be an oil passage o-ring near the front of the engine had failed. This o-ring sits between the engine case and forward cylinder sleeves. It will require complete engine teardown to reseal and reassemble. Other than new o-rings, gaskets and seals I don’t believe any further parts will be needed.
So that is as far as I got. Partially disassembled the engine about 6 months ago and stalled on the project.
The good:
Pretty darn straight all original sheet metal (only rust I have found is very small amount on hatch near hinge). Just about everything is included, no missing hard to find bits (will require a gasket set). Was running and driving only a few months ago. Currently registered and licensed in California. Numbers matching car.
The not so good:
Engine is partially torn down and will require further disassembly. Nothing is broken, stuck or seized. Just needs to be completely resealed. While the tired orange Mustang paint job gives the Honda some character it really deserves a fresh coat of factory white. This Honda left Japan without a heater and the previous owner had a generic unit installed. Unfortunately this resulted in a huge ugly hole in the firewall on the passenger’s side. Also needs new carpeting and weather stripping throughout.
Other stuff …
Carbs: the final generation of S-series carbs which are correct for this car (M-type) can be extremely difficult to set up correctly. Rather than fight with the later carbs I picked up a set of earlier RHD Carbs which the engine ran wonderfully on. Included with the Honda are both sets of carbs. The original LHD late style and the early RHD set along with both LHD and RHD accelerator cables.
Wheels: Did you notice the Honda is sitting on S600 wheels? Those are included with the sale. There is also a set of S800 wheels that have been widened to 5.5in wide and powder coated gloss black along with a nearly perfect set of S800 hub caps. Sorry no S600 hubcaps.
This is a 45yr old car and without a doubt it going to need some attention here and there. On the other hand this is one of the most solid and complete Honda S-series I have seen in the past 20yrs.
Just in case this car ends up on BAT. Only a knucklehead would want to drop a V8 stick motor in this rare example of Japanese automotive history.
Sold as is where is. No warranty implied or given. Transport expenses and arrangements are the responsibility of the winning bidder. Needs to be paid for in full within three days of the close of auction.