CRX Ballade B16A

**Mooro** · 08-07-2005 12:55 PM

G'day,
I'm new to the forums and my story (which seems to be a common one) is I currently own a fairly modified s13 turbo but I've just bought a house so I'm looking sell it and get something cheaper to purchase/run/insure which basically means N/A and of the N/A's honda seems to have the best options.

I was looking into a ED/EF civic CRX and converting to B16A as with a few bolt on mods I think this should be good for low 15's to high 14's quarters which should hopefully be enough to keep me entertained.

However I just found an 1985 CRX ballard for sale for $750 which has apparently already been converted to an efi civic motor. What I was wondering is how difficult would it be to fit a B16A to this car (being a very light car it should give some spirited performance). Is it something the average backyard mechanic could do or does it require a lot of fabricatino/welding etc. If you were doing this conversion yourself how much would you budget and if you payed a workshop how much would you budget (any suggestions of workshops in Perth?).

Any details you can provide on the conversion would be helpful...I realise the B16A into ED/EF has been covered but I can't find much on this conversion into a ballade.

Also in regards to the ballade other things like...
brakes. - can I ocnvert to brakes from a front cut easily (ie EG civic front discs/calipers)?

Suspension - how do these things handle and can the be made to handle well, are aftermarket shocks/springs/swaybars/strut braces/suspension bushes still available for these?

Parts - with the exception of the body shape is the car basically mechanically the same as the equivalent civic of that era meaning most parts can be sourced from the civic cos the ballades are getting pretty rare now.

Safety - I get the impression these cars would be pretty bad in an accident - is it still possible to source things like roll-cages for these or would it have to be totally custom?

**Usual Suspect** · 08-07-2005 01:36 PM

the ballade was just the original name for the crx "CRX Ballade".

Im pretty sure the engine conversion is similar to a 2nd gen conversion, but couldnt be 100%.

Suspension they handle reasonably well from stock and very good after the right suspension mods. You should be able to find a tonne of aftermarket support for the 1st gen CRX. Look at TODA AU's (Adrian) thread on modifying the b16a when u want to start modifying stuff, very very good advice.

**Mooro** · 08-07-2005 01:47 PM

Thanks mate.

I was worried about the suspension setup cos from what I understand they have a pretty basic setup, ie torsion bars etc...not even macpherson struts.
I gues they are pretty light tho so they should handle well without too much work.

Keep the info coming guys - I'm soaking up all I can about honda's. I did the same when I got my silvia - I like to know everything I can about my car before I make any decisions.

**Usual Suspect** · 08-07-2005 01:49 PM

i forgot to add try www.crxaustralia.com as the websie shows its an australia CRX forum and website.

**Mooro** · 08-07-2005 02:23 PM

Unfortunately that website is no longer active. It has a very basic forum with news and cruise info.

**mooshie** · 08-07-2005 04:27 PM

first off congrats on finding the car they are very rare these days and i have never even seen one for sale here in S.A. unless it is a complete shitter then that is a bargain! you could fit the B16 in there but would need new mounts etc. would get you almost to the 13s though even stock. you could do what i am going to do with my 3rd gen civic- buy a wrecked first gen integra and swap everything over. Brakes, suspension, seats and engine all bolt in just gotta convert to efi but using the integra stuff this should be easy. taking everything from a 1060kg car and put it into a 820kg car should make quite a diffference. For more info go to www.redpepperracing.com it is American but has a lot of good info on the 1st gen CRX and 3rd gen Civic. keep us updated if you buy the car good to see some old school on here one and a while!

**Mooro** · 08-07-2005 04:30 PM

Anyone else? Info seems ot be a bit light on for these cars...I guess there is not many around nowdays.

I also stumbled across the redpepper racing website which seems to be pretty good with a few people there doing the conversion.

I seem to remember seeing a member of these forums who has done this conversion and is running 13-14 sec quarters with it? Any ideas who it is.

Anyone reckon the ballades are going to become a bit of a classic/collectable? Or are they just going to disappear into oblivion with all the other 80's hatchbacks.

**mooshie** · 08-07-2005 04:32 PM

do a search for posts by ALLMTR too he used to have a very nice '85 civic and is a wealth of info on these cars.

**Mooro** · 08-07-2005 04:33 PM

So brakes/suspension from a 1st gen teg are a bolt in affair??

Is it possible to get aftermarket springs/shocks etc for 1st gen tegs still?

**Steer^Gimic** · 08-07-2005 06:18 PM

as far as i know front end suspension is a torsion bar setup. this was covered a couple of weeks ago in a pretty good thread full of healthy info because i was thinking of doing the same conversion.

**i_own_you** · 08-07-2005 06:26 PM

Originally Posted by Mooro

Unfortunately that website is no longer active. It has a very basic forum with news and cruise info.

hye buddy,

the website is currently being revamped
but u need to REGISTER in order to see the rest of the forum

Glad to see the ballades are still around...