let me start off by saying HELLO! and giving everyone here props on a great informative site!

background:
i bought a theft recovered 2000 Civic EX Coupe a few months ago for a daily commuter from an auction yard and the vehicle turned out to be a theft/FLOOD vehicle. Needless to say, I really don't want to spend the time/money to repair it so I've decided on buying the following vehicle:

2000 Civic DX

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From what I've "heard" the complete front end of my EX Coupe will fit on the above hatch as well as the interior parts (except the rear panels).

Here are the q's:

1: is it true I can use the EX door panels and wire the vehicle to have power windows/locks/mirrors? If so, how?
2. i also need to remove certain items from my EX to get power steering on the Hatch? what parts?
3. i want to do an engine swap on the hatch (since it already doesn't have a motor) and have heard a million different ideas. My goal is to spend the less amount of money for the most amount of power (1/4 mile) "i know, that's what everyone wants!" As you can probably tell, I deal with a lot SALVAGE vehicles, so finding engine/parts really isn't an issue, I just want to know which is the best route to go to get a high 11's-12 sec. hatch. My friends have made the following recommendations, but I would like to hear from those that have already done the swap or have actually had first hand experience with engine swap.

a. type r motor (heard it really isn't the best for my goal)
b. rsx type s motor (heard the price for install and parts isn't the best bang for the $)
c. ls bottom gsr head (leaning towards this one)
d. crv bottom gsr head (leaning towards this one too)
e. 97+ prelude swap (not too fond of this one either)

well those are the recommendations i have had so far and i'm leaning towards C or D, but really want to get everyone's input and any further recommendations. I don't mind running a turbo, if it would get me to my goal, but I don't want any major reliability issues either. Please let me know what you guys/girls think is the best route to go. I don't want a vehicle just for racing, but something that can hold it's on against other vehicles on the road.

ps. in your reply's, please use vehicle models and years instead of techinical words (ie. H22, B18, etc...) because I am clueless when it comes to imports. feel free to make any recommendations!

 

First of all, good luck with the project. As for the engine, I'd reccomend getting a GSR motor. I've read some articles about it and most of them agree that this one is the best (out of the ones from your list) engine for forced induction, i.e. turbo, supercharger. You will definately need either one to run 11s-12sec. Type R on the other hand is probably one of the best N/A engines out there. GSR motor is better for Forced induction, because it has a lower compression ratio than type-r, and it's less expensive, and much easier to find. The money you save on the motor could go toward a turbo or something. If you really want to get serious, you will want to change some of the engine's internals, such as cams, pistons, rods, sleeve, just to name a few. Don't know much about the other setups, but type-s motor would be expensive to buy and fit. GSR bottom is stronger than the LS one, plus it's easier and cheaper to obtain one motor, rather than using a bottom from one engine, and head from another. I would think that using a CRV bottom is not a very good idea, because of the above mentioned reasons, and simply because CRV is an SUV, therefore, the bottm is not designed to provide conditions for rapid acceleration. Using a prelude engine (i think there's two types) may not be a bad idea, but I could imagine a lot of fitment issues, but otherwise, the H22 engine on '97+ Preludes is pretty good; It's pushing around 200hp and about 150ft/lbs of torque, which should make your car run a quarter mile somewhere around 13 sec, depending on how your car is setup.

 

from your post, I'm taking it that you think the GSR is the best route to go due to the easiness of getting one motor over 2, but let's say if the cost is the same, would you still stay with the GSR or LS"R"? any other input?

 

lsr is a waste. its a little cheaper than gsr, but the bottom end is not zero balanced like the gsr is. it will not like reving over 8k rpm very long. in my opinion, the only time you should ever consider ls-vtec, is on an integra ls. i mean, the motors in there, why swap the whole thing? but if you are doing a swap, dont do the ls-vtec. cr-vtec is a little different because its 2.0 L, i mean, they make a 1.8 vtec from the factory. the few CCs of displacement that the ls has over the gsr isnt worth the longetivity issues. the gsr also has oil squirters to lube/cool the pistons, as well as a big main girdle to brace the bottom. if i was going to make a drag car, i would either go h22, or build a b20b for boost, and maybe vtec. as for type-r, its a great motor, but if you are thinking about FI, dont bother, its a waste of money. if you want NA, then its a decent start(though gsr is more cost effective). And type s, not cost effective AT ALL. the mounts are like 700 bucks alone. as for the other Qs, yes you can add the PW and PS. everything should be on the ex. for PS, i think all you need is the rack and the pump and lines. do it while the motors out. though i dont like power steering, i like feeling the road. personally, i'd put in the PS rack, and cap off the holes for the lines. then you'd have good ratios, but no PS flutter at high speeds. but thats just me. however you do it. good luck, and come back with any more questons you have.

 

sacicons: " i would either go h22, or build a b20b for boost, and maybe vtec."
h22 is a 97+ Prelude? what's a b20b? sorry, i'm new.... and when you say maby v-tec are you stating that i should go with either of the suggested motors and add v-tec?

thanks for the suggestions

 

sorry, let me explain. h22 is 93+ prelude motor. theyalso had the h23, but it is non-vtec and the h22 is vtec. vtec head swaps
(b and h-series) are not a pretty business. they have some extreme reliability issues. so i think people should avoid them. but if i were building an all-out drag race motor, i would consider a b20b, which is from the 96-98 crv, and fully build it to handle high boost. then i would toy with the notion of going with a vtec headswap.

 

thanks for the clarification! concerning the h22 motor, what years are a good choice. and about the CRV motor, what if i'm not trying to make a all-out drag car, but a daily driven car the can hit low 12's when neccessary? i do not plan on ever taking it to the strip, but just want to be able to handle stock high performance vehicles like the WRX STI, EVO VIII, M3's etc...

 

though i hold to the fact that street racing is bad, i'd suggest an h22 from a 97+ prelude. it will make the swap easier. then a small (50-80) shot of nitrous. though a word of warning, the h22 swap has its problems. the swap is not nearly as easy as a b-series swap. it is heavier than a b-series motor. and the way it sits in a civic engine bay, it sits farther forward than a b or d, making the car even more nose heavy, this can cause moderate to severe understeer under hard driving. if you do the h22, spend the extra money on the LSD equipped tranny.

 

I agree with sacicons all around. While the H22 is quite the heavy package (you'll want to go for a suspension upgrade: think Tokico Illuminas), it will undoubtedly give you the most buildable bang for your buck. You will have to have some minor welding and cutting done to accomodate the tranny, but if you do it yourself or get someone who knows what they're doing, you can ensure that they won't chop it too bad. An added bonus is that you can often come acros complete swaps for less than you would be paying for a B18C or B16A (depending on where you live, of course). Well, good luck with the project.

 

Also, I dont' know what the weight difference is between 4G and 6G hatches, but a 4G/H22 can run 12.5's like it ain't no thing [sm=smiley4.gif]