Hello all, Joel from Jersey, age 42 now. Loved the 90s Hondas always wanted a 96-00 EK to play with and I'm looking to buy one now. My past Hondas include an 87 Integra ported and polished high compression all motor that was a blast to drive, a 90 CRX Si and an 89 CRX Si with engine swaps, and a 96 Prelude Si with all the bolt-ons. So now I'm back, having had 2 kids and driven an SUV for 12 years... I'm ready to find that 96-00 EK hatch... I'll take any words of advice. I'm sure you somewhat younger guys have experience and are more in the game than I have been for years.

So where do I start? 1996 thru 2000 Civic EK hatch... Any models to avoid? Give me the cliff notes on a 96-00 EK hatch purchase. I'll take it from there and you can follow along on this later in life journey if you want. I'm excited to get back into something I have a passion for. I remember talking to Larry Widmer way back when, TOO from Endyn down in Texas. That guy had passion for this stuff. I want to get back in it and do it right. Help me out guys! And a pleasure to be back...

-turbokidcrx

 

Welcome to H-T and welcome back to the Honda game! I too (30) was out of the Honda game for a few years and now I've come back full-force! Also, I too ended up in an EK hatch, a relatively low-mileage, one-owner DX 5speed. Man, do I love this car!

Check out my build thread if you'd like to follow along with my Hatch Journey!
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...hatch-3315269/

 

Thanks LiteraCola! I want a 5-speed DX hatch as well, wanted to make sure there were no major drawbacks to any particular trim level, ie CX lacking things, 98-99 DX having bells and whistles I would wish I had. If all the 96-00's are suited well for a swap and tuning then I won't be too particular. I would imagine it will be quite a bit easier to swap out the engine and trans if the car is already stick! I really do feel like I'm starting over bit I am excited to do so!!

 

I'm anxious to have the 5 day waiting period go by so I can post a WTB post!! The diff went on my 03 4Runner and it's a $2.5K repair so I'm thinking of selling it for what I can (3-4K hopefully) and start getting back in the game ASAP.

 

Hahahaha bells and whistles? In a DX? Mine came with a radio and..... nothing else. Manual locks, windows and mirrors... luckily it has AC and PS. But not much in the way of amenities! As far as swaps go, check out the Swap Guide in the EG/EK section. Very useful information on swaps, including the wiring and whatnot.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...-vtec-2987229/