mickrider

Ok so there is a little story involved with this. BTW I am new to the forum so if I get out of line I am sure you mods will take pleasure in realigning me.
My girlfriend has a busted a$$ 1992 Honda civic hatch back. She has love this car for well years I guess. Is unwilling just to push it into a grave some where and unwilling to sell it for parts. Down side is well its her only car and I am getting tired of loosing my brand new truck every day when she goes to work. Long and short of it is I have to pay to fix it. Being as i am pretty mechanically inclinded I figured why not save and do it my self.
Here in lies my problem. i know nothing about these japanese cars. I ride and fix the bikes and I can do some pretty cool stuff with a 2005 dodge ram hemi. But little cars confuse me.
On to the car. body damage through out. I will repair. Engine #1 burnt oil real bad is pretty much dead if not completely. Engine #2 has a effed up crank shaft and possibly only fireing on 3 cyclinders. I am going to dismantle the engines and see if they are salvageable. If not and well I am leaning to it, I am going to need to find a new used motor with as low miles as possible. I am hoping that maybe you all can help me as far as good places to buy engines that kind of crap.
Also her dream is to have a modded out "street racer" type car. She can't drive for ish so no worries about her racing it. I would just like to fix this POS of hers and give her, her dream car.
So any insight on this year make and model would be helpful. I am new to imports and google is a pain in my a$$. So here I am.
Thanks guys/gals

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Really? Is there a problem with her paying to fix up her own car? If yuou need a new engine try HMO.
http://hmotorsonline.com/shop/

mickrider

She is broke. Like everyone else these days. I on the other hand am not so rather then have her drive my 30,000 dollar truck every where and short of buying here a new car. Yes I am going to be a nice guy and take care of it.
Thank you for the web site

Tofu2.3Vtec

you can make it a nice car without making it super street fast.

you said you would fix the body which is good, maybe add some front type R lips and rear lips for the underbumper.

get some LS or GSR Fat Fives or 2000 Civic Si rims. you can polish them to look nice

As for the engine. if you just want it to be reliable and not super fast. just find her another civic engine. D16 is a decent engine, you can get a 92-95 civic si vtec engine which will have good reliability and good performance. if you want to make it faster then finding a B16a or a B18c which is a dohc vtec motor and she will be flying down the road.

mickrider

if I put a b in it then i would have to figure out how to remap it. dumb it down a bit. She just got a speeding ticket in my truck today..... Thats my fault, she has a lead foot and I gave her the keys to my 5.7L hemi with a super charger.
thank you tofu. very good advice.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

FAQs. There's a a lot of info in there regarding swaps.

hondaOchibi7

From wut ur telling us she doent need a B lol just swap in a single cam (non vtec) (d16y7) since she has a lead foot if u give her vtec... well jus don't give her vtec lmao. She should be satisfied with a single w/ intake and exhaust (cat back)

turbodcxbro

iTrader: (1)

Real simple... search around for one of the hundred engine importers and pick up a good low mileage D16 SOHC (cheap and bolts right in). Do the body work/paint. Add wheels and other non-rice items and shes happy. Doesn't matter if its a Honda or a Jag, its a car with an engine and if your a mechanic its no different than anything else with a motor.

Since you're not into the Honda thing, stay away from B swaps, ECU reprogramming and wiring harness mess, too much trouble.

Libertariat

Do what you like but I'd recommend you leave the exterior mostly stock. Body kits are typically made of cheap materials, don't fit well, and don't hold paint well either. They also get damaged much more easily than the OEM equivalents and often hang lower and are just naturally more exposed to the elements. Dust/rocks/curbs/parking spot stop blocks.

Get a fresh d15b7 in there, a shorter geared ex/si transmission and get the body straight with a decent paint job. A good local body shopp should be able to get most of the dings and stuff out and paint the car the original color for $1500 or so. Get a good suspension like Progress CS-II with the 350/250 rates or Koni/Ground control with the OTS rates (380/240 IIRC)

Get here some 15" rotas or something and some moderately sticky tires like Nitto Neo gens, or get some real summer tires and she'll have a ton of fun. Some OEM swaybars should be really cheap too.

I think you could make the car a lot of fun and a clean car for ~$3500-4500 even if you paid a shop to do the engine install.

That said, I think you're stupid for spending this kind of money on a girl you aren't even engaged to. But there's my advice and my subjective opinion on your personal spending habits.

mickrider

LOL the engagement is coming. kinda need the ring first. gold smith said something like a month..... The ring turned out to be rather expensive. As does anything custom made. Some men buy their women roses, some expensive jewlery, being as i have spent thousands of dollars on jewlery and an engagement ring as well as hundreds of dollars on designer purses, shoes, and other accessories. I have chosen for my next gift to her to be the car of her dreams.
I won't need a body shop because, well i attended wyoming technical institute and got myself a degree in collision refinishing. I custom paint motorcycles for a living.... Paint and body handled.
As far as my spending habits go........ well I have the money to spend. I am not doing the build myself just to save money. Although saving where ever possible is nice. I am doing it because I find this stuff fun. The more I learn the better off I am.
I also look at it like this. If i build this car for even 5 grand. the body work and paint work alone will be a marketing success. It will be a billboard for my buisness. SO 5k for a custom painted moving billboard. thats cheap bro.
So again thank you all for your input, advice, and opinions, reguarding the topic at hand and, ofcorse your concern for my relationship as well as my financial well being.