Yeah, I finally gave in. I've owned several cars so far in my short 9 years of driving, including but not limited to a few Mazda RX-7's, a turbo Miata, several Sentra's including a couple SE-R's, etc, etc. Needless to say it's been exciting. I've never really been a Honda "hater". (except for a few obnoxious ones around here)

This one pretty much fell in my lap, so I snagged it up. Figured it was time for something different. A friend of mine traded his street bike for this car and a 1992 Si, drove it a few times, then sold it to me for $1,300. Have lots of plans, but because of the diverse range of engines available for my choosing, I have no idea what to do under the hood. Obviously money is a factor, so no K20 swaps will be happening. (although it would be nice)

1996 EK hatch. It already has suspension mods (drop zones!?) wheels, header and exhaust (LOUD) and it's been completely gutted and re-painted. Let me know what you think, and any ideas as to what I should do under the hood is appreciated.

(sorry for the long read!)

 

Good start, def get an intake!

 

you want to stay n/a or go turbo ?

 

congratulations she looks really nice! i would go for a b series swap to start off because of ease and availability. once u get something with a bit more power i guarantee youll enjoy driving it

 

now thats what you call a good buy for 1300

 

Dang. I wish my start car was that clean and the price for the fact.
But B series would be the way to go IMO

 

I was thinking B Series, including a B20/Vtec setup. But since those engines don't like to be revved high I lost interest. So I may just go with the simple B16 swap. Now just have to find one within my budget. I wouldn't mind staying N/A, but it would be nice to go turbo as well. Which motors are good for boost?

 

Looks like a great start!!! I used to have the same car I am trying to decide if that car used to be black, or someone just painted under the hood? The seats in your car are from a 92-95 civic, just so you know.
As far as engine, i choose the crv B20Z route.....it was awesome and went like hell!

 

Looks like a very clean start. I think the bay was painted but it could be other way around was black then painted. and hood replaced because look at the factory sticker under the hood. I'd do a ls swap swap with a gsr or b16 trans and a ls 5th gear for short gears down low and good freeway 5th. Ls has plenty of low end and will be a day and night difference. The ls swap should'nt run you more then 500-900 if you can install your self. The trans build and finding a gsr/b16 in good condition will run you 300-900 depending on if you build it your self. Then just save up and do a b16 head. ls/vtecs like to rev and produce pretty good amounts of power especally in a hatch.

 

What's your definition of high?

What's your plans with the car?

 

h22 swap u can get them from $1850 complete at www.tigerjapanese.com...

 

Nice clean looking Hatch. Don't care for the gutted look but that's just me. Good luck with it. I would also invest in security. Stealth alarm install, etc.

 

Thats a good buy for 1300. I would invest on some decent coilovers, wheels, and tires. From there u should know what swap u want and everything else just comes naturally.

 

How much are you ready to spend?

If you're not interested in spending $2K on a B or H swap, here's my suggestion:

d16y8 head/intake manifold swap... maybe $150
d16y8 transmission swap... maybe $200
turbo/tune... anywhere from $800 to whatever

You'll be spanking B series all day for less money. The nice thing about the mini-me setup is that it adds a decent amount of power for not a lot of money. IMO it's the thing to do if you're planning to go turbo D later.

 

My definition of high is anything over 7k really. Plans are to mostly do autocrosses and track days. (we have a small track) And a lot of canyon running.

Don't really need the security around here. I live in a small town and Honda's just don't get stolen. Plus I have a garage. (hardly anything gets stolen around here anyway)

The drop zone stuff is coming off in favor of a Tokico Illumina and Ground Control setup. Any suggestions on sway bars?

The whole mini-me thing is probably the way I will go. Gives me a decent amount of power for not much money. I would really like to focus most of my attention on the suspension. Would it be worth it to have the local machine shop do a port/polish and port match on the head before I put it on?

 

First of all TigerJapanese sucks, But indeed the H22 swap does not. I picked up a 100% complete H22 swapp including Hasport mounts, Axles, Harness, M2B4 LSD Trans. All I had to get was the shifter cables and a few misc parts like belts etc. I paid $1820 dropped off at my door.

Let me tell you, The torque of the H22 is like no other Honda B/D-series motor. I have had them all ranging from my 91 si D16a6-(Built Ls/vtec) The H22 just impresses me over them all. This thing pulls in 5th. Hits 120 in 4th gear (which is speed governed) Haven't been able to get into 5th. (But it is a street/daily driver) no need for that crap. I may get it chipped out one day.

pulls 350z's etc. And to all, I do not want to hear about the weight difference. This is not a dabate thread, just trying to inform him and not to discard the H22 swap. You can get them just as cheap as a GSR swap, because they are not as highly sought over.

Just throwing it out there, good luck, but if you buy a motor go through H-motorsonline they are legit and CLEAN motors. The only thing that sucks is shipping.

Good luck

 

i hurd that for the h22 i got a h22a n my eg lovin everyday

 

Check D-series.org for some engine stuff. As far as suspension goes, You will notice a world of difference between koni's and tokicos. The adjustment on the koni's actually feels like its adjusting. for other related suspension bits, Hardrace makes some pretty nice products that will work on your car. If you plan on doing autocross though the single most important part of the equation is a good set of tires, so keep that in mind.

 

Thanks for the tip on the Koni's. As far as tires, looking at running a set of the new Hankook RS3's. How wide of a tire can I put on this thing? It's running 215's right now, and looks like there's enough room for at least a 225.

 

I like the Konis a lot too. I've got the reds, which don't have on-the-fly adjustment, but they're considerably cheaper than the yellows. They are still adjustable, but you have to take them off of the car to do it. The damping range doesn't go as high as the yellows, but is enough for 90% of Civic setups. They ride very good, and are reasonably priced.

 

Been reading up on B20's and think I may just go with a B20Z swap. I'd like the extra torque and don't really need all that much power. My SE-R that I have right now is rated at 145hp and only has an intake and a header, and it gets up and goes. So thinking the same amount of power in a lighter Civic would serve me very well. Now to find one...

 

The B20Z is a great engine. I have a B18B1 in my EJ1 right now which is basically the same as the B20 but just a 1.8L. Its a fun engine, not high revving but the low end power is fun. My buddy had my current LS in his gutted EG hatch and pulled it out and swapped in a B20Z, I then bought the LS off him. I rode in his hatch after he swapped in the B20Z and that thing pulled very nice. Other thing I like about both the B18B1 and B20Z is 2nd gear starts, no need for 1st unless your on a hill.

I wish I would have went ahead and grabbed a B20Z instead of the LS, but then again I got the LS for a good price and new it was in good shape and taken care of.

 

mite as well do a b20 vtec, or a lsvtec all u need after the swap is a lsvtec kit and a gsr or b16 head, id do a b18 ls swap

 

May do that later. Just the swap for now will be fine.

 

As 1st hand experience with many engine swaps, both vtec and non, i will tell you that the B20Z is one of the very best swaps out there for the cash, period!

I had that one in my hatch, it really did hold it's own! Many people confuse it with the B20B, but the newer version was "under rated"! The newer gen had more compression, good intake manifold design, knock sensor, better cams and was more rev happy! I had so much power, even running an LS tranny, that at "any" speed in 1st gear, i could just smoke the tires with anymore than half throttle....not messing with the clutch. Even guys with gsr swaps in their hatches would never pass me by, the engine really goes at all rpm up till 7800rpm...it's more rev happy than people think, or have never actually experienced one.