ok, i got a 91 civic si a couple of months ago. replaced tranny, clutch, cooling system, and brakes.

now it keeps eating the alternator, which is a PITA to get to in the worst kind of way. what is my issue, most likely? could it be my stereo (Single 10" RF pushing about 200 watts)? either way it's in the shop right now and i miss my baby.

next, i want to do an engine swap, as the D16A6 is old, and eats oil. I was thinking of a ZC, but am unsure. should i go with a D16A6, but rebuild it and throw on some boost, or what? i am interested in Autocrossing (which i have done in this car, and i plan on it again), and i am also a full time college student, so my budget is limited to about $1200-1600 realistically, but anything i can save on the engine can go into other things that i'd like to see

finally, i got a shorty shifter, and i now want to cut it down and put the shifter closer to the boot it keeps coming out of. is this a decent idea, and i have seen some cars where the shifter itself was not taperred, as mine is, it would be a pain to re-thread to the original size in a thicker radius. is there any way to re-use my original shift ****, yet get it down some?