Long story short, I've never even driven a Honda before other than a lawnmower and I'm getting one very soon from a friend for free. I want to know what engine/tranny etc it has in it before I get it so I can start picking up parts. All I know is that it's a 1988 Civic 2 door hatchback and that it's fuel injected. I know a significant amount about cars I'm just new to Honda's, I'm a Jeeper personally. Please let me know anything that might help me out on this. Thanx.

 

it could be a d15b2, d16a6 or d15a, here is a list of engine codes and years for honda motors. and more then likely youll end up swapping in a d16a6 (if not already equipped) or a d16z6/y8 or even a b series. theres alot that can be done to these cars.

http://www.superhonda.com/tech....html

 

It seems that almost all of those engines have the same power ratings, why would I benefit from an engine swap to get 20hp? Is the block composed of the same materials?

 

That is why I would swap something into it that is worth while instead for just gaining 20hp. Look at B series and K series for power, or a turbo for a D series. Then you will get more than 20hp

 

20hp in a Honda is a big difference. When you have a motor that makes 108hp (or less), 20hp is 20% (or more) of the availible power. If you want more, pay more, simple as that.

 

When doing an engine swap on these how much customization will be required? The only engine swaps I've done were putting a 454 into a Jeep Cherokee and putting a 350 into a Jeep CJ7. Other than new motor mounts for the new engine what will be required? Wiring harness adapters?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gumcrew2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Long story short, I've never even driven a Honda before other than a lawnmower and I'm getting one very soon from a friend for free. I want to know what engine/tranny etc it has in it before I get it so I can start picking up parts. All I know is that it's a 1988 Civic 2 door hatchback and that it's fuel injected. I know a significant amount about cars I'm just new to Honda's, I'm a Jeeper personally. Please let me know anything that might help me out on this. Thanx.</TD></TR></TABLE>

look on the block to see what motor it has. it looks like a little stamp right by the tranny.

 

well depending on what car and trim model you get...

D-series swap
no motor mount needed you can re-use your own ....
stay obd-0 as long as possible but if you got like a obd-1 or obd-2 motors in there its better to upgrade to a obd-1
if you got a dpfi you must convert to mpfi in order to ran SOHC VTEC motors and MPFI setup motors....
&gt;you can use your stock shift linkage..
&gt;you must use a cable tranny at all times.. its possible to use hydro tranny by using a conversion kit from hasport.. but in everybody's opinion including mine.. its not worth drop that much money when you can get dirt cheap d-series cable tranny (best tranny is the 89-91 (SI TRANNY) just remember shorter gears are your friend but the gas prices aren't

B-series
you must order custom engine mounts or fabricate them....
you must convert to MPFI
there is a lot more...

but you can read this link imma post here... its the EF ENGINE SWAP QUIDE compliments of MR. OGLE

http://www.ef-honda.com/main/v...9a0cd

P.S. yea upgrade of 20 HP is a plus for low income tuners... since the chassis of that car is so light approx 1800 lbs (some are less or more depending on the year and trim model) you can feel the pull difference... but if you want to get more HP the more money you got to fork out... you get what you pay for... WELCOME to HONDA TECH...

 

Do you know which model it is? Sometimes it won't even matter until you look at the engine code though, nowadays so many people swap whatever they can into these vehicles.

 

Well, I'm kinda overwhelmed by how many motors their are out there! What would you all suggest to

A: Keep my tranny as it is
B: Bolt in, no custom work, no new wiring harness
C: More HP with specs A and B

Thank you for your help, I'm just getting into these cars and everyone told me that all Honda people are just ricers with show cars and no HP, you're helping to prove them wrong.

 

if the car is running; do maint--- drive it as is for a while.... stock hondas are not the worst thing in the world

of course, a good s l e e p e r is the best of both worlds and the cops think you just have a nice grocery getter

 

If the car is an si you wont have to wire for mpfi. That is what u should hope for but if you end up with dpfi then do the multi port wiring swap after that its all pretty easy. I went with the b18a block with a b18b head. I had it completely done in 2 days and it was my first swap with a honda. It was only 30 more hp but I can really feel the diff. The best part was that the swap only ended up costing me about....nothing cuz i sold all of my old stuff and parted out the teg i got the engine from and actually made money off of it. I also recomend HCP mounts if you go with a b motor.