first gen civic ?

[HONDWARE]

alright im thinkin about buying a frist gen civic after seeing a sevral nice ones coming into my work and the price of fuel going up i think its time to get a 4 cyl car

questions i have are

engine swops ? i dont want huge power just somthing efi i would like dohc but it seems the d16 singal cam engine is the easyest swop

has any one done this conversion and how hard is it as i dont want somthing i have to cut and shut things just a simple bolt in bolt out swop or mybe just some custom mounts or somthing simple

i work for honda and can get honda parts cheap and 2nd hand parts cheaper lol so it will be all done on a tight budget as my other car is geting built (cressida 1jzgte manual)

[michael_antoi]

hey man, a lot of people gonna tell u this, so i'll be the first.

use the search option, i'm looking into doing something like this myself and theres a lot of information out there on Ozhonda.

if u cant find what u want, try:

www.hondaswap.com
www.honda-tech.com

[Setanta]

My choice: Go the SOHC VTEC motor for 130bhp and EFi. The CRVTEC B20/B16 hybrid might work with some panal masaging - it's been done with the 2G. Legalities on the later would require some investigation.

As a parts person, appreciate that it's getting harder to locate stuff for the 1gen.

For a bolt in (minor top mount mod) go with the 1335cc out of a 2gen. The SOHC EW motors from the 3 gens need mounts modifications as do most others unless you drop in a 1G Accord motor (popular swap in the US in the '80s) but it requires a 1500 1G chassis not a 1200. I've seen 2.0 pre-1990 accord and 'lude motors swapped in - but the weight distribution shifts badly making the car ungainly (cast iron blocks vs alloy blocks). Hence the thought that the SOHC VTEC is THE best option, especially as the turbo kits made for their donor cars can be modified to suit the 1Gs chassis. Even NA, from an 1170cc/1225cc 50-55bhp to 130bhp... that's a huge, RELIABLE swap.

Otherwise get a City turbo motor or one of the bolt-on draw-through carb turbo kits.

Best I saw NA from one of my worked 1G Civics was 58KW ATFW (1335 crank, 73mm goldwing pistons, twin Dell 'Orto carbs, Mugen R1 cam, headers (I miss my Jackson Racing/Bassini headers), 10.5:1 compression ratio + RS1200 5 speed gearbox. McChook's dad went even better with his full Mugen quad carb motor.

[HONDWARE]

what i found out was the d series engine was the best swop in the serch function i want to goto efi and not realy any mods after that so yeah

[Spunkymonkey]

My choice: Go the SOHC VTEC motor for 130bhp and EFi. The CRVTEC B20/B16 hybrid might work with some panal masaging - it's been done with the 2G. Legalities on the later would require some investigation.



I'm just thinking that I don't think driving a frankie in a 1st gen would be that safe lol.....handling wasn't one of the best things on my sisters 1st gen all those years ago lol....but then again...chopped springs hahaha :D

good luck finding a city turbo motor if you go that way...but like Pete said...the main downside to working on a car like that is parts....and finding one in good condition now...Pete should know he was looking for one for ages....

hmmm...reminds me of the good old days. :)

[HONDWARE]

what you mean parts as in mech parts or pannel parts ? or like after market suspension and so on ??

also how hard is it to drop in a d series engine into these ? alot of custom parts or is it just mounts ? or do people make kits ?

[CTR Coupe]

what you mean parts as in mech parts or pannel parts ? or like after market suspension and so on ??

also how hard is it to drop in a d series engine into these ? alot of custom parts or is it just mounts ? or do people make kits ?
I would think they are talking about standard parts. Both panels and mechanical parts, these are 30 year old cars now and are becoming quite rare to find many standard parts. Some companies might be making some replica parts for restore jobs but I’m not familia with the Honda classic car industry

[Spunkymonkey]

what you mean parts as in mech parts or pannel parts ? or like after market suspension and so on ??

also how hard is it to drop in a d series engine into these ? alot of custom parts or is it just mounts ? or do people make kits ?

yes both. It will be very hard for you to find parts when you need them as the cars are about 25 - 30 years old. I'm not sure about dropping a D series engine. You might have to do some work on the panels...

the 1st gen civics have a very small engine bay...even when you do a straight swap with a city turbo motor, there isn't much space left lol....

as for aftermarket suspension parts etc...you'll probably find yourself in the same boat....there aren't that many 1st gen civics left running, I mean its rare to even see a 2nd gen. The last few years the 3rd gens have been slowly disappearing too. So finding places that stock parts for these will be pretty hard, especially if your looking for performance parts.

Check out the nsw honda club site, sometimes you find people have some odds and ends there.

[Setanta]

D series SOHC fits in just as nicely as the EW2s do - it's just mount mods.

[HONDWARE]

well i work for a honda dealership and i have rang some of the wreckers who we deal with and 1 out of the 3 said he has got one but its his project car so i guess im out but i do know of 2 frist gens setting in a rear yard of a pannel shop and 1 in the front of a panel shop

might have to put this project aside if parts are so hard to get