Hi, everyone, I have a 1991 Civic Wagovan 1.5L FWD. While I'm disappointed that its the front wheel drive variant of an awesomely unique car, it does open up possibilities for an engine swap because I don't have to keep the transmission. My friend is a bit of a Honda guru who has a collection of civics and he thinks I should go to a pull and pay place and get a GSR drivetrain. What do y'all think? I'm planning on eventually turboing whatever I get, but I'm not looking for insane power, just enough where it's quick and mildly sporty. Thanks for any and all input!

 

(titles like this usually turn me away, but you seem to have a reasonable scope and expectation for your project so i'll bite.)

based on the plans you've described, upgrading from current engine (D15B2) with the intent of adding a turbo in the future for a solid, streetable amount of power, i recommend a D16Z6 swap.

the GSR motors are pretty great. a solid foundation, good power "out of the box" and plenty of support for upgrading. the disadvantages i see are size; it's physically bigger than the D16Z6, leaving less room for turbo bits. also, it's very different from your current engine. the D16Z6 is in the same engine family and for the most part just bolts in place. you won't need to buy mount kit to get it in. that will save some money to use later for turbo kit and tuning.

I've done this swap on my brother's 1990 wagon. we gave it a decent flowing exhaust but left it stock. there are few cars i've had more fun driving. it won't win many races but it'll put a smile on your face every time you drive it.

 

Thanks so much for the reply. My friend has an AWD wago and is doing a z6 swap. He just dropped about $3k in internal components and will be turboing it also. I was just curious if there would be any other engines that would be good fits. Thanks for your input!