Hi everyone, my son was given a dented up civic hatch that the engine runs but the clutch is out as well as some kind of bearing in the clutch. He is wanting build this little car into his first hot rod. I've had a good bit of experience with Chevy 350's with our older son but none with the 4 cyl. The existing engine (I think) is 1.5L L4-FI with a standard tranny the intake has Dual Point PGM-FI painted on it, the big question, is this engine worth messing with or should we replace it with another???? I have no idea which way to turn. We need an engine plan to start that will work with his car (1990 Civic hatch). I tried to talk to our wrecking yard about it and the guy just looked at me like I had lost my mind. His reply was, "The only thing you can put back in that car is exactly what came out of it because Honda always puts something in the way to keep you from modifying it." Any ideas or plans would be greatly appreciated. We are not in a hurry my son is only 14 so we have a couple of years to get it done.
Thanks
Woodchip

 

Woodchip - the guy at the wrecking yard is a retard.. check out the hybrid section also.. just about any honda 4 banger will fit into that car with enough time/money, it just depends on what you want to do with it.

good luck

 

So many options, and the chassis will accept almost any honda 4-cyl from 1988-2001. Couple of choices, you can do a search for almost any of these on the boards.

D-Series VTEC
JDM ZC (DOHC D-series)
B-Series (VTEC or non)
So many options...

Two most popular swaps into 88-91 Chassis' are:
DOHC ZC motor
B16A1

Cheap, easy to find, easy to swap in, good power for the money! Have fun!