Last August we reported that former F1 driver Takuma Sato was going to be taking part in the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique driving a first-gen Honda Civic RS. The historic rally only allows cars that participated in the race between 1977 and 1986, and the Civic is the only Honda eligible. Students at the Honda Technical College restored two Civics to enter in the race.
Honda has released a video showing how students restored the two cars. According to students, the cars had significant rust, so they were stripped down to the shell, repaired, and repainted. Each subsystem — the engine, transmission, carburetor, suspension, brakes, electrical — were painstakingly rebuilt. Roll cages and sway bars were added for safety and stability.
Upon completion, the students took them on a shakedown run to Hokkaido and met up with Takuma Sato for some test runs. Sato will be driving the Civics for over 3000km (1864 miles) in Monte Carlo, a time-speed-distance rally. That race is happening right now over a span of seven days, from February 1-7. You can follow the race live at the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique website.
