I've always built mustangs for the most part but interested in how fast some of the imports are.
I found an '87 Honda crx which is super clean but know almost nothing about them.
I see a lot of the available mods are for 88 and up.
What do I need to know about them?
I love performance and love working on my own stuff.
I do want this for a street/strip car.
It is a stick car and hf I believe.

 

Carburetor, right?
Not much aftermarket support for the 87 and older.
To get any performance on the strip, you are going to need an engine swap.
Just to prep the chassis to bring up even being able to run a newer fuel injected engine, the typical route is to source a complete engine and ECU/dash harness as well as a fuel tank from an 88~91 CRX.
Personally, if it's not too late, just find an 88~91 to start with.

 

I think 4drEF gave you good advice. If it's that original it would be worth more to the right buyer. Throw up some pics for us to oogle plz

 

To do a fi swap you need all the fi stuff from 1 gen si. fuel lines everything.. You can buy mounts and axles for a b series into the 1g crx 84-87 civic. You can also modify axles instead of buying from hasport. 1 g integra stuff will swap over. including the engine d16a1 but again youll need the fuel lines from si crx or civic. integra possiby work but dont quote me. also Portal - Red Pepper Racing just read lots of info. most people throw a weber carb on this car and do vacuum delete upgrade
This car is made for 50mpg if you like the 1g better i would sell and buy the si with fi already to make easier to swap. or just get a newer model 2g 88-91 like dude said with fi already. and/or keep it for gas mileage.
theres an 85 si at the yard by me. theyre out there.

 

buy a 2nd gen. Parts are much more plentiful.

There are a lot of parts out there for 1st gens, but they are costly and you have to actually search for them. 1st gens are super light compared to 2nd.

Nothing off of a 2nd gen car will help you. Wiring, gas tank etc. 4drEF doesn't know what he's talking about.