There were huge lawsuits against pretty much all manufacturers of the wood composition siding products of the 80's and 90's. 2 of my homes in Colorado were sided with wood composition, hell 95% of the 20,000+ tract homes in Highlands Ranch, Colorado are sided with defective siding. My first house that I bought second hand that was built in 1991 was awful, in the time I lived there I replaced allot of wood trim around the window (the windows sucked too) because the siding and trim wasn't installed or caulked very well by the builder or maintained (like painted and caulked every few years) by the first owner. I sold the house, thank God the inspector for the buyer didn't mention anything although you can still drive by the house and see from the street the edge swelling and the de-lamination; but most of the homes in the neighborhood are now that way too. My second house with wood comp was built by a slightly better tract builder, but the siding by the time i sold the house a few years ago was showing signs of failure on the sides of the house that take the weather.
I can only imagine on how crappy wood comp siding must have been for folks who live in a more humid climate, that **** must have rotted right off the house.
I think some lumberyards and even the occasional Home Depot or Lowes does indeed have some old stock wood comp siding in stock. If you cannot find any of the wood comp ****, I'd reside the first couple courses as others have mentioned with a Hardie Plank type product, caulk it, paint it, and you won't be able to tell there is a patch.