92 civic, options?
 

so just started driving and my parents let me have our old family car, its a 92 civic but its the 4 door version. its reliable and everything and runs fine but i want to eventually go for more performance and fun ;)
so i guess my question is: is it worth it to engine swap/all that stuff on my current car to get performance boosts, or sell it and buy another car? if i do sell it how much do you think i'd get it for? its pretty clean but has minor cosmetic problems on top of the left wheel but other than that no dents etc and engine is still strong
also if buying another car i'm looking for another civic but hatchback or crx, what year/version should i look for? obviously within the price range that i can sell this civic for, maybe + a few hundred or so

shitload of questions but thanks

there is nothing wrong with the a 92 civic 4dr. what grade model do you have? the civic had quite a few selection ..

i owned a 93 si hatch, 99 dx se hatch , and currently have an 02 sir hatch. the newer one would be much more refined compared to them. and i think it is the only one that comes standard with air con if that helps..

civics from the 90's are prone to rust, and usually start from the rear quarters. depending on what generation you want.. price range vary.. the last civic hatch was in 05 and they are usually seen in the low teens.

a 92 4dr EG would sell for something between $1500-$2500 at most i would say. if you look hard enough (and have the patience) there actually are civics/crx's (88-91) that are rust free and the price point is less than what you would get for your 4dr if you sold it.

example:

$800 rust free
http://www.vancouvercivics.com/forum....php?tid=95858

a little inspiration if you plan on keeping your sedan:

http://www.vancouvercivics.com/forum....php?tid=95211


in my opinion, choose the body type and year you like the most and start from there.

Thanks John :thumbsup: lol

^ i was also going to post my friend's EG sedan but the pics are no longer hosted lol. it was the metallic brown 4dr EG, remember?

was his name Jackie or something? that was MY inspiration lol, i think its up on 604racings site

edit: nvm, their archives dont go back for enough :(

thanks for the input guys
and spoon that sedan thread you posted is pretty inspirational haha
i think i've got the dx 92 sedan, where do you guys think i should start with performance wise upgrades? i'm not too into the cosmetic stuff, kind of want to head towards the sleeper car. i'm guessing engine swap? i dont really know much about this stuff but i want to learn :thumbsup:

Is it auto or stick? What colour? Any options like p/w, pdl, a/c? Mileage?

its auto but yeah i am looking into a tranny swap.. or sell it and buy manual car. it has power door locks but not working at this time, no power windows, does have ac, and 286k on it at the moment. oh and its the dark gray color.

Weird, I thought all the LX's with pdl also had p/w - unless your pdl is aftermarket.

The reason for all the questions is cause I was hoping yours was loaded (as mine is) with an auto, since they're easier to sell. Mine's a 5 spd, sedan, dk. blue, grey interior, lower mileage but still needs the motor replaced(rings). I'm about to throw about $500 into it to install another motor w/ new timing belt, water pump, and some other stuff. I was thinking along the lines of some sort of trade.

IMO if you're planning on swapping the tranny and possibly the motor, just sell yours and go with the body style and colour you really want, that's already a 5 spd. At least that way you can do all the other stuff you want to do (lower, mags, cat-back) and enjoy it while you save up for or the right motor comes along.

ah yeah the power door locks are aftermarket. i'm open to the idea of a trade of some sort, got any pics + further details? i'll try to get pics up too if you're interested! if not i might be looking into a hatchback or something, maybe the 4th generation instead of 5th. still really just exploring options here haha

yes! jacky's car was the best 4dr eg i've ever seen lol. quality parts!

well if you want a sleeper, start with suspension/brake upgrades and/or engine swap first. depending on what you want for power/torque there are a lot of engines that will fit into your car.

if it were me, i'd sell the auto and buy a manual unless you are okay with paying for someone to swap it to manual.

can you list the options for me about the engine swapthat will fit into my car? haha like i said i dont really know that much, according to wikipedia i have the d15b7... other than that i dont know much.
thanks!

Pretty much any 4 cylinder motor from '88+, just depends how much you want to spend. Most commonly, D and B series motors from Integras or JDM Civics.

when it comes to swaps, it's all about preference and budget. Believe me, my car (the one spoon posted) is also currently waiting for an engine swap. ANYTHING is better than a fucking shitty d15b7, they're like lawnmower engines. (hence my signature)

haha well are turbos worth putting on if i'm not planning on doing shit like track and stuff? i heard from some people that turbos are really only useful if you're actually racing on track or long distances.. i just want something with more power than the shitty stock engine, but also cheap(ish), what engine should i look at? and how much is it + labor?

well if you want cheap engine upgrade you could do a D16Z6 or D16Y8. it's the 127hp Si engine from 92-95 and 96-00 civics. if you're looking for some good torque you'll want to go with a B18A/B18B, these are engines from 94-01 integra LS/RS.

if you're willing to spend the money B16A2 (160hp, 99-00 Civic SiR), B18C1 (160hp, 94-01 Integra GSR), B18C5 (197hp, 97-01 Integra Type R).

hell, you could use prelude engines too if you want (H22 etc)

well i looked up some stuff and decided to go with the d16z6. do i buy the engine myself and find a shop to do it for me, or will a shop have the engine too? like i said i really dont know too much. also if you guys know of any good shops who are honest and reasonable (cheap) rates and does the job well, let me know! thaanks

this engine (D16Z6) was found in the 92-95 civic si's.. SOHC vtec..

imo, it is not a huge upgrade from your engine, but good 'stock replacement' option. most of them are pretty high mileage these days and if you are going this direction, the D16Y8 is found in the 96-00 Civic si which pumps a whopping 2more hp that the Z6.

if you are really going to go to the performance side.. a B series engine would be ideal. even the base B18b would be better than the D16z6,

the D16z6 are not worth much, i sold mine, just the engine for 200 bucks.. and it took me a long time to sell it

eh well it'll do for me.. say i pick up one of the d16 engines for $200, how much is labor gonna cost? (estimate)
and if i want to add a medium quality turbo in the future how much is that also? keep in mind i'm not ballin out of control

you should start calling the sponsors .. these swaps should take a day or so max for they are fairly common. there are a few b18's for sale on the buysell forum in the 200 range as well

I love the enthusiasm! lol, but before you get a head of yourself, you really need to decide if the 4dr you have now, is what you really want. I'm all for a 4dr sleeper, in fact, that's part of the reason I did a motor swap, etc, into my 1.6EL. Sometimes it's fun to go against the grain.

Then again, there are a million reasons to grab yourself a hatch if you decide to sell your current ride, and get something else. This way you can get a 5spd, and not worry about doing an auto --> manual swap, which is a waste of money really. Start with an ideal of platform as you can. 5spd, rust free, no accidents, etc.

The D16z6 swap isn't a bad motor to swap in, but it really isn't much faster than the crappy stock D15. On a side note, what made you decide on the D16z6? If I remember correctly, the D16y8 is usually the better choice?

Don't discount the B series motors as a swap option as well. Although they cost a bit more, they can be the better choice. We don't know what you're using this car for. Is it your daily driver? Or just a weekend slut car that you rip around in on sunny days/weekends?

Ok, I'll stop rambling on, as I could babble all day about this. Check out some websites and start reading. Research, research, research! Asking questions is cool, but you have to remember that there have been a ton of people before you, asking the same questions. So you might get a lot of your general questions answered before you even have to ask them :D

www.hondaswap.com

www.honda-tech.com

These 2 sites are a good start :thumbsup:

yeah thats true i'm actually trying to sell my car now (its on revscene ;) ). i definitely dont mind getting a EF hatch 5speed which will probably be cheaper than how much i sell this car for, right? so then i'll have some exta money to put in it! and this gonna be my daily driver.
well i picked the d16z6 cause apparently its pretty cheap and like i said, money IS a factor here.. but if the B series is that much better, i might try and save up and get that instead..
thanks for the sites and the advice! :)

dont go building your car based on cheap... that usually can only lead to bad things

build yourself a quality ride around your budget

with honda so many parts are interchangeable so keep that in mind

I have to admit - I felt so young reading the posts by the OP. :D