I recently acquired a J35 short block and plan to use it in my 1992 Civic hatchback. I was originally planning a K24 swap, but now that I have this J35 I would love to find a way to use it. What are my best bets for getting a good AWD setup in the car using this engine? The goal of the build is to have a car that handles great and can easily keep up with modern sports cars. I don't picture the horsepower exceeding 500, and won't ever do a drag race. This car should be fun to drive on technical mountain roads with lots of low end torque to pull some tall gears, like where you stay in 3rd and 4th gear for most of your drive and just enjoy the ride. I will be putting a lot of miles on the build, as I LOVE long road trips, so I need to be sure I do everything I can to keep the car reliable and on the road. I had seen a guy that used she SH-AWD out of an Acura RL and managed to get it to work in his EG hatchback, but it sounds like he's not willing to discuss how he did it. What options do I have for making this happen?

 

Good luck getting that pig of an engine to turn. That is going to plow corners so hard in an EG.

TL SH would be your transmission. You need a computer to run the SH-AWD rear ends. Not sure what you would use there. Maybe the rear from a Pilot I think they were dumb?

 

The other guy that got the SH-AWD to work ran an AEM Infinity ECU. I'd be willing to bet a number of aftermarket ECUs could be made to work with it once you figure out the various inputs, outputs, and logic used by the program. As far as weight, the engine will add about 250 lbs to the front of the car, and the rear will gain some weight as well, though I don't know how much. Some sort of rear subframe, the rear diff and axles, and I'll also be adding a larger fuel cell and rear-mounted A/C pump (and possibly condenser, too). I'll have to wait and see how the engine will fit in the engine bay to see where the weight will sit. I imagine a RWD variation would allow the engine to sit further back against the firewall (or even cut it a bit) and the transmission weight is more towards the center of the car, so RWD would likely have a better overall weight balance. When I have time, I'll have to try out some different calculations to see what the predicted weight distribution will be.

 

Dude at that point just start with something that is already RWD or AWD. It will be cheaper, faster, and more reliable.

 

I know what you mean, but I love my little Civic. It looks great and most newer cars are full of features and crap that I don’t want. If I’m going to spend $50k on a car, it may as well be something I like.

 

I thought that too. Drove something 20 years newer but still before the touchscreen and nav ****. Amazing how good modern stuff can be, its not all a dumpster fire. I kept the Civic and left it as a 90's tuner with the B series and still drive it for fun from time to time.

I also have some real Frankenstein stuff that is an absolute blast to drive but it is a miserable thing to live with on the daily.

 

Use a k series transmission.

https://inlinepro.com/inlinepro-j2k-gen1-adapter-plate/

 

If you’re willing to spend $50K, it can be done. You’ll really want power steering if it’s a street car because I’ve had an H22 civic without power steering and it was a hassle to drive in parking lots me at low speed.
I don’t know of any bolt in kits for power steering J series 92-95 Civics but maybe you could use a J series power steering pump and adapt the hose from your Civic to it. Or use a Civic pump and make an adapter bracket to bolt onto your J series.
Overall though, I think the J series is just too much torque and weight, and you’d save a lot of money and hassle by using a K24 with a 6 speed manual, and it should have plenty of low end power in your lightweight vehicle.
Yeah the new Civics are good, and there are ways to sort through the modern electronics.
It’s good to have more than one car so daily driving isn’t an issue.
So does that adapter plate have threaded holes and that’s what the engine/transmission bolts tighten down on? It looks like it in the picture but it’s hard to see. What about the extra space the plate puts between the engine and transmission: does that create a problem with clutch engagement, or does the clutch function normally? I never experienced a hybrid engine/transmission set up. It’s very interesting though because I’m trying to decide what to do a J series car I have. Maybe it’s the solution I’m looking for myself.

 

Typically plate kits are as you say - countersunk holes with short bolts to attach the plate to the block, then threaded holes that the transmission bolts tighten down into. For the ones I've seen, they require you to run a special flywheel or spacer to account for the plate thickness or you have to mill the flange on the block or transmission bellhousing to subtract the plate thickness.

 

Thanks, I just found these, which are meant to go with the J-K set up:


J engine with K transmission parts

 

K transmissions are fragile enough. J series torque is really gonna put the hurt on a K box.

 

I thought the K series transmission can be made pretty strong with $5k or more into them for more durable parts. Aren’t K-series transmissions good for 10 or 9 second quarter mile passes in a lightweight car if they are built.?

 

More money. Anything is possible with cubic bucks.

It would be a cool project if finished but more capable than a $50k sports car?

 

Going AWD means you're going to spend money on transmission and transfer case no matter how you slice it, b or k series.

 

I feel like I'm aware there are some significant costs in a build like this, that wasn't really the point of the post. My point is to figure out how I can realistically stuff a J35 into an 1992 Civic hatchback with AWD without sacrificing handling performance. I'll be doing various things to shift some weight from the front to the rear, and weight will increase overall due to adding sound insulation, the extra drivetrain components, stereo, larger fuel cell, etc... I'd like to have a turbo sized to get into boost early and keep good power to about 5500 or even 6000 RPM. I never redline my cars and I don't do drag races, I just want something that can have a fat torque curve for 3rd/4th gear cruising on the backroads.

 

My comment was geared more towards the k series transmissions being glass comment.
I don’t know the weight differences between a k24 and the j series so I can’t comment on that and how running a j series would affect handling. Moving the battery to the rear would help a bit.
The hub City performance awd kit has provisions for a rear sway bar if you’re wanting to run one.

 

I'll likely run a rear sway bar, but not a very stiff one. I'll have as much as possible moved to the rear, including A/C compressor, battery (a nice lightweight one), and I'm going to do my best to get the A/C condenser back there as well somehow. I've got a few ideas, most of which involve lots of cutting and re-shaping the floor in the rear. Would love to use a mostly flat bottom on the car and pull air through a rear diffuser for that A/C condenser... It's all just ideas right now, I'm definitely using the J35 engine, but the rest will have to wait for legit planning once I get the car stripped down so I can start taking measurements.

 

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/ht...s-engine-swap/

I found this article searching, and maybe you’ve already seen it, but I thought it might be helpful to you. It’s 13 years old, so I’m not sure if API is still around. Maybe you’ll find at least one thing useful in it.

 

I like that you're going to be going an out of the box route. It's going to be expensive and a lot of work but it will be different.

 

**** you and literally every person on the planet that has ever said that. I already have half these parts in my garage that I’m going to have to throw away if they don’t get used, I already have the car that I so obviously don’t want to get rid of. Have you never turned a wrench before? Do you know what if feels like to have a car in your family, passed down. Or from a friend that maybe isn’t here today to see that car get back on the road. No **** it would be easier. But cheaper and faster??? You’re out of your god damned mind.

 

Nope never ever. Greasy hands are for knuckle draggers. /s

I have created and finished and sold plenty of mechanical monstrosities. Plenty of experience to say buying is cheaper than building. As far as I know we are not talking about heirloom vehicles here. We are talking about 20+ year old economy commuter cars that are going to be cut to pieces to make a toy.

Thanks for taking the time to create an account and comment.

 

You said that much nicer than I would have my friend...

Look Rookie... your very first post dug up a three year old dead thread... and you didn't add ANYTHING productive at all, just cursed and trash talked a fellow member who happens to help a LOT of people here on this forum. You on the other hand, have proven to be nothing but an instigator and a detractor so far. I would call that a bad start. If you want to turn things around, stop the negative BS and the **** talking... make a positive impact and contribute here. If not, take your hateful, angry azz back to whatever Facebook page you crawled away from.

 

do you want automatic or manual?

Manual transmission:
2009-2014 TL SH-AWD had the 6 spd manual and a J37 w/ AWD,
The only other option manual wise is to run an adpater and the CR-V/Element transmission which was reqular, non sh-awd awd and came mounted to a K series 4cyl
There wasn't any other J series equipped, manual transmission cars that were AWD other than '09-'14 SH-AWD TL.
There were Accord V6's however that had J30's and J35's with 6 speed manuals, but again, fwd.

Automatic transmission:
For automatics you could use any J series equipped awd vehicle, MDX, TL, TLX, RL, RLX, Ridgeline, Pilot etc.

In either case you will need a rear differential and one that matches the front differential ratio.
You will also need driveshaft, rear axles, you'll need to convert your rear hubs/trailing arms to driven type or buy modified ones, see here, other good stuff on this site too: Drag Cartel - AWD - 88-95 Civic - Trailing Arms.
To mount the J35 in a Civic you will need swap motor mounts and front axles.
There are other things you'll need, I cant seem to think of them now but you say you have a 92 Civic hatchback and a J35 and want AWD, which J35 do you have?
Do you have a budget?

Another badaass option would be a Subaru WRX/ WRX STi drivetrain, retain the motor being in the front of the car but keep it Honda/Acura with the J series V6,
mount it lengthwise and with a Subaru WRX/WRX STi 6 speed manual transmission and rear differential.
Theres alot to consider with this option, space in the bay, weight distribution etc. probably not too plausible but very cool idea.
Heres some photoshop of a J35 V6 with a Subaru STi drivetrain overlayed on my Prelude.