I already have one hatch, but found another one local that i believe is a steal.
Its a 89 SI with 169k miles on it. The interior is in PERFECT shape. The windshield has a small crack in it going from the passenger side top corner to the passenger side, its about a 1X1 crack, and does not go all the way through. It has CRX rims on it. Has a small piece of rust on the passneger back 1/4 thats not all the way through. The driver side door has a small part of rust where the paint is scrapped, but its surface rust only, no hole or anything, and i took a tooth brush the the rust came off. The front driver side strut needs replaced (i believe, driver side sits a little lower than passenger side). Car drives fine, and has brand new tires on it. I can get the car for 900, and then I would do a b16 swap in it. Is this a good deal? Ive checked everything on it mechanically, the exhaust needs replaced which i would replace with the swap, along with balljoints. Other than those i have found nothing wrong with the car except the AC does not work the best but that would come out too. Also, he has all maintence records. The car has been "crashed" before which broke a rocker arm, and bent the origional rim. It slightly bent the frame but the frame WAS fixed by a local body shop whom I trust and have taken cars there before.

Cons:
small rust
bent frame once upon a time
high miles on chassis
needs new struts and balljoint

Pros: perfect interior
near perfect exterior
cheap
runs perfect
I could fix it and do a swap relatively easy.

 

I would tell the guy to down another 100 bucks or so. I bought my 91 civic w/ 163,000 on it for $950. the water pump was bad but i had an extra one. Now it has 194,000 and all I've had to do is routine maintenance. My suspension and alignment is starting to go though. And I would be kind of fishy w/ the whole wreck thing. My friend has a 94' h/b and slid off the exit ramp into a ditch. he fucked his front bumper but didn't realize any suspension problems from the start. He has now replaced both wheel bearings and a ball joint has brand new axles, rotors and pads and still has riding problems. But it doesn't sound like a bad deal, not a steal though.

 

To me it doesnt sound like a bad deal, but I dont really see the point in making a project car out of something that has been previously wrecked. I would probably just wait for a nice shell to come along.

 

well, the wreck really isnt bad, it didnt do any frame damage or anything. I took the car to a friend who works at the honda dealership, we put it up and looked, we couldn't see anything or any signs of it. I am going to pick it up tomorrow and probably drop a LS in it. Went out to the strip and hungout with a couple of friends who have hatches, rode in one with h22, one with a b16, adn one with LSvtec, the LSvtec felt nice, had a nice pull and everything. A lot more torque than the b16 i have in my other one. The h22 was nice...but he said it was a PITA.