Honda PP1 Beat Mid engine Kei car

Price: - Item location: Berkeley, California, United States
Description:

1991 Honda Beat PP1

Great little car. This one has had a recent service with a timing belt, valve adjust, oil change & new valve cover gaskets. It was repainted black in Japan, originally a red car. Has the rare Honda wheels option( that have been balanced down to 2 grams on a calibrated machine.) The ECUs fail on these due to heat from being mounted against the firewall. This ECU has been moved into the passenger compartment, and the filter capacitors have been replaced. It is apparently what the Beat shops in Japan do as standard practice for long life & reliability.

Recent alignment, turn key driver. Has a clean Virginia title. Car located in California, but don't try to title it here, the ARB won't let you. Accordingly it's for sale to a good home.Overview of the bad: Light exhaust rattle at 3200 rpm. Thought it may have been the cat, but took that off & shook it, no problems. The paint isn't perfect. It's nice & shiny, but in certain light you can see the prep work was average. The drivers mirror is a bit loose on it's mount. Solidly mounted to the car door, it's the mirror to the mount that's a bit wobbly.Some weather checking left rear fender & wind shield surround.Sure looks good in black though. Like other 25 year old Hondas, if you leave it in gear down a long hill, there is a puff of smoke when accelerating again. No smoke when running or driving. Probably valve stem seals like on my old Civic.

The VIN is 8781, but ebay won't accept that number above. The rear window is in good shape & zips up nicely. I just leave it down for better rear vision. When zipped up the car is basically water tight in the rain. A well engineered Honda convertible top mechanism.

It's an interesting little car, & I actually fit in it at 6'4", but I'm lean and used to driving an X1/9. Much roomier than a Lotus Europa inside, but has a similar feel to the steering & short throw gearshift. This thing has a magnificent tone, and a sublime crisp shift in a super close ratio gearbox. If a Honda designed mid engine car that has a factory red line of 8250 seems like a good idea to you, you won't be disappointed. If a 658cc small car doesn't fit your needs, it's at least good to know that such a thing exists. Thanks for looking .