Sorry if this has already been posted 8000 times but i searched for a while and couldnt find anything that answered what im looking for, not exactly. Also, please forgive my ignorance, i know next to nothing about cars. Due to this, please know that any suggestions you make I will have to have professionally installed by a shop, I can do next to nothing car-related by myself.

Now that thats out of the way, here is my situation. I drive a 95 civic hatchback (dx i believe, bottom of the line model) with manual trans and 125k miles. It ran perfectly for the first two years ive had it but ive been having problems within the last 6 months or so. First, about 6 months ago, the muffler started to rattle (i was told it was something internal and would have to be replaced, so to cut costs, i just cut the muffler off and had a straight pipe welded on. Next, a couple months later, one of the half-shafts started to go out so i had it replaced for a few hundred, no big deal, but about three months ago the head gasket blew. While i was having it repaired, the guy replaced the thermostat, timing belt, and clutch for a grand total of 1200. It had driven fine up until yesterday when im assuming the gasket blew again. I havent had it looked at but it was having the same symptoms as before. I use this car everyday to get back and forth between college and work and was frantically looking to buy a new car because i didnt want to sink any more money into a failing car. I just found out that the work is waranteed so it wont cost me much to fix it. All this did was extend my window, i would still like to make a drastic change within the next 2 months or so, im just not rushed anymore.

Ok, after all that, i can get to my question. I have about 7500 saved up, I was looking to get another import, something with manual trans, and since im spending so much money (or atleast in relation to my budget/salary) I would like it to be a considerable upgrade to my car. I was leaning toward a late 90's integra gs-r. But a friend of mine had mentioned doing an engine swap, which is the main area that i need help in. And please forgive me for my ignorance, but im trying to find out more about it. I dont want to make the car faster but just allow it to run long enough for new mechanical problems to arise due to the age of the car. Would an engine swap make it as though I bought a car with 30-50k miles? or would it just mean that the engine would last, but other problems would arise and it wouldnt be a worthy investment. With the engine swap, i would want to go with an engine that would be fast/perfect out of the box. Because i have little/no car knowledge, i wouldnt be able to do any work/mods to the engine and more than that, i just want to make one purchase and be done with it, if i were to do any modifications, it would be within a few months of buying the engine. Keep in mind that my limited knowledge means that i would not be capable of any routine maintenence outside of an oil change and so please dont uggest any complicated setups or anything prone to wear/in need of tlc. I have done a little research on engines and assume b18c5 or k20a2 would be the best bet for what im looking for? I have no problem dumping the money for a new car into this one as long as it will be just as reliable (keeping in mind that some money would go towards a new paintjob and new wheels other than my 13" stock ones)

Oh, one other question, would the engine swap contain all necessary parts? or would i have to beef up anything else in the car to be able to handle the new power? Im not looking to race, just a quick daily driver

Sorry for the length guys, but i think that just about covers it.
Thanks!

 

I know what you need. Buy a front clip from japan with B16, and have a shop swap the motor and the suspensions, wiring ect. to your civic. That would be your best bet if you dont want to run into any big problems later on.


K20/b18c5 would be nice, but every thief would be all over your car.

Thats my .02 cents hope they help (dont spend all your money into your car you might need it for more inportant things later on)

 

The repeated blowing of your head-gasket is likely because the head is warped. That needs to be re-surfaced by a machine shop. That's not too expensive to do, cause if you don't do that you'll keep blowing head-gaskets..

Anyways, I'd go with a b18c5: B-series swaps on your car is far less expensive than a k-series swap. You may need the money you'll save for the swap to pay for labor, buy new parts for the engine, etc.. The b18's are very reliable and will last forever. However, if you do a swap you'll need to purchase a new water pump, timing belt, etc... Plus the b18c5 puts out ~ 190HP. An "engine swap" won't make the car as if the car you have now is practically brand new. It largely depends on the condition of the motor that you purchased for the swap, the condition of your car: eg. tranny, frame of car, clutch, pressure plate, etc.. If the motor and the rest of your car is in good condition, then you should be fine. You don't need to "beef" up any parts of your car unless you spray or turbo your car, which it looks like you def. wont be doing any of those, you're fine!

GL

 

wow...well easiest way to explain this is to throw in a ITR motor (b18c5). Get it installed by a rep. shop. Getting it installed should cost you $300-$500 depending on your search. the total i'd figure from just that would be roughly 5k or so...roughly...That price can drop if you can find a ITR motor in your area in the classifieds. 5k is considering you will not touch the car at all and you'll be ordering the motor from a rep shop to have it installed.

with the other $2500 you have left, i would invest that in a nice set of 15inch rims with good tires. I"d recommend 99-00 civic si rims or 98-01 gsr blades. Cost is around $450

Throw on a suspension, something like Ground Control coilovers and kyb agx's...total cost would be $610-$650 or so for the suspension. With the money left over, buy a autolock and good DEI alarm with stealth install.

 

For a reputable shop to do the install, it will cost far more than $300 bucks.

Plus, he doesn't want to do anything else to his engine or car after the "swap".. But a car alarm is highly advised!

 

what ever rout you go, Put as much securety as posible.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ke98248 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">For a reputable shop to do the install, it will cost far more than $300 bucks.

Plus, he doesn't want to do anything else to his engine or car after the "swap".. But a car alarm is highly advised!</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've been quoted $300 from a shop in socal...though that was 2 years ago though...but i did say $300-$500..haha...