hi im new to the fourms and im buying a 90 civic hatch std. it runs great for 300k mile car but eventually i want to swap in a d16z6 and 5 speed from a 93 civic ex all i want to know is how difficult will the swap be and how much will it cost i want to keep it on the cheap cause im refreshing the z6 and im a broke highschool kid
thanks

Edit: i should have said before that i have a parts car with the engine,trans, ecm, and most of the misc. parts. what ever money i have is being spent inside the engine its just basiclly swaping the engine and trans in

 

It's as straight forward a swap as removing and replacing your existing engine. You will however need to figure out how you want to wire and control VTEC. The tranny can be swapped as well but that's not as straight forward. Read up on the difference between hydraulic and cable actuated transmissions to see what the difference. Last, if you are cheap, broke, in high school, etc. don't bother doing anything like this. Save up your money and just maintain the car until you can actually AFFORD to PLAY.

 

I would sell the Z6 and buy an SI transmission... here is why..

the "more expensive" easy way:
z6 longblock = $300
P28 = $100
wiring conversion OBD0 DPFI to OBD1 MPFI vtec = $400 if you can find someone to do it for you, rywire?
use the stock cable trans = free
mpfi manifold, injector resistor box(if obd1 injectors are not used) = $100
z6 distributor = $150
-----------------------------------------
$1050 == not cheap...

the cheapest way possible.. note: cheap = hardest
z6 longblock = $300
P28 = $100
wiring conversion OBD0 DPFI to OBD1 MPFI vtec = DIY = cost of soldering iron, many hours of pouring over conversion diagrams, troubleshooting, car being down
use the stock cable trans = free
mpfi manifold, injector resistor box(if obd1 injectors are not used) = $100
z6 distributor = $150
--------------------------------
$650 == not cheap


Both these scenarios do not fit the "cheap" paradigm. IF you want things to be cheaper and substantially easier, you might sell the car and buy an SI or HF or EX 4door. then the wiring conversion is straightforward and the manifold/injector resistor box aren't needed because you will already have them to re-use. you might also be able to get into a pre-swapped car if you look hard enough.

Suffice it to say that, as 24ten said, its not cheap..

lets say you have $150 to work with.. here is what you should do: scour honda tech for someone selling a 90-91 Cable d series SI transmission and swap that in. that will get you a 5th gear, a 4.25 final drive, and will not suck as bad as the 4 speed. that right there is the biggest bang for your buck. I promise you will be more happy with that than going through a z6 swap with no money. It has to be a 90-91 though, and it has to be SI. anything else and it will cost you more.. Then, if you can sell the z6 to someone for like $400, save up and buy a cable d series 4.9 final drive for the transmission from Kiwi at special projects motorsports.. with that, you don't so much need 130 hp..