Does anyone know if a 1997 Civic HX would be a decent car for some simple bolt on's and eventual swap? Or would it just be a waste of time? I dont know much about the Vtec-E, can someone help me out?

 

it would be alright for a swap. Boltons aren't gonna make much power with that motor. Maybe do a y8 head swap.

 

yeah the hx is designed mostly for fuel economy and emissions: not performance.
ok because you spelled it properly i'm gonna assume you know how vtec itself works.

the vtec-e system uses the first stage variant of vtec. it only opens one intake valve in the low rpms (below 2500 i believe), to conserve fuel for city driving. after that, both intake valves are bound together, and open for more midrange and top end power. it only has one low cam lobe, not a higher one, like the other vtec systems. so this isn't ideal for performance, but is really good on gas around town.
if you want to find out more http://www.howstuffworks.com is good (look up vtec), and there is a few links on there that go more indepth.

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=101349

Good thread to read if you are thinking about an HX.

 

hmm... that was a good read - until that one tard chimed in and ruined it.
so the hx isn't all that bad after all... its actually better than the ex!!!

so to answer your question, yes that is a good motor to do some boltons etc to. let it breathe, especially with an intake mani from a y8.