1991 Honda Civic Si review from North America

I have a '91 Civic Si (5-spd) with currently 160,000 miles (256,000km) on the odo. I bought it in '96, at the ripe age of 16, with only 35,000 miles (56,000km) on it. It has proved to be one very reliable, trouble-free car. My air conditioning quit about 4 years ago, and never had the money to fix it being university student and all.

Recently, I've developed the usual Honda rust-out around the rear wheel wells, which pains me. However, the rest of the body is in excellent condition. I've also replaced the exhaust system 3 times, due to rust... and part of the fuel system for the same reason.

Lately, I've also noticed that my poor car is slowly losing oil. I change my oil every 3000 miles (5000km), and towards the end of each interval, I'm finding that I have to put an extra quart in.

One quibble about my baby: I've been noticing that just after I shift (1st to 2nd and/or 2nd to 3rd), the car bucks somewhat. It's almost as if someone is pinching the fuel line, and suddenly letting go. This happens sporadically (ie. not everytime I drive the car). Of course, whenever I bring my baby to my very trusted mechanic, he cannot replicate that behavoiur. This is worrisome, as my fiancée lives in NYC, and I make the Canada-NYC trip almost every weekend. I've put 13,000 miles (20,800km) on my car since July. Any suggestions?