Junkyard Find: 1980 Honda Accord Hatchback
The American Honda Motor Company sold the first-generation Accord in the United States from 1976 through 1981, and that car brought Honda success here far beyond that achieved by motorcycles and Civics. Today's Junkyard Find is one of those early Accords, found last year in a Colorado car graveyard.
This car is much smaller than the current Accord, with a wheelbase of 93.7 inches and a curb weight of 2,129 pounds. The 2024 Accord has a 111.4-inch wheelbase and scales in at more than a half-ton heavier than its first-gen ancestor.
The Accord is now in its 11th generation, and has been available only as a four-door sedan since the 2018 model year.
For 1976 and 1977, only hatchback Accords were sold in the United States. A sedan version appeared here for 1978.
The final year for the hatchback Accord on our shores was 1989, though wagon versions were available here for the 1991 through 1996 model years.
The engine in this one is a 1.8-liter (1,751cc, to be more accurate) SOHC straight-four, rated at 72 horsepower and 94 pound-feet.
This engine is equipped with Honda's CVCC stratified-charge fuel-delivery system, which became much more complex as it changed to accommodate the stricter emissions rules of a few years later.
CVCC-equipped engines ran so clean that no catalytic converter was required on this one. Go ahead, use leaded gas!
The base transmission was a five-speed manual. The Hondamatic two- or three-speed automatic ( depending on how you define a forward transmission gear) was an option.
The burned-off paint is worse on the right side, suggesting this car sat immobile for decades in the same spot.
Honda began using six-digit odometers the year after this car was built, so we can't know its actual mileage.
There's no rust-through on the lower body, which is unusual for a Japanese car of this era. Just bad paint and surface rust.
It has air conditioning with a crooked sticker marking the A/C positions on the HVAC controls. I haven't found many of these cars with refrigerated air.
Sankyo was known for " flip clocks" during the 1970s.
It was sold new just a few miles from its final parking space.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
1980 Honda Accord in Colorado wrecking yard.
[Images: Author]
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Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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In 78, I was the proud owner of a '77 VW Rabbit Deluxe (with the clock) and a buddy got a '78 Accord hatchback. The two cars were much more similar to each other than a Rabbit/Civic comparison. We kidded each other over who had made the best deal for the best overall car. I actually liked his car more than I let on.
Finally—a TTAC article worth reading! No one show this to Tim Healy—don’t want him to feel inadequate about his own work…