I purchased an 89DX hatchback about2 months ago. It has 236K miles on it.

This morning on my way to work the engine blew. The car looks nice and everything else is good on this car. I work in the automotive industry, I have air tools, and have extensive auto repair knowledge. My question is, what engine can I put in this car ie. what years and engine sizes are compatable with this car. It had a 1.5.

 

Are you looking for speed or just another cheap motor that will get you from point a to point b. Because pretty much any engine that honda makes will fit in this car. So in other words whats your over all plans for this car.

 

Its my work car. I use it for pizza delivery and I haul tools in it. I just want it to run.

 

The best engines to put in on a small budget and are practically bolt on would be a SOHC ZC engine which is just like the stock 1.6L Si engine but has a bit more kick, also since you have a DX its probably a DPFI and you would need to convert it to a MPFI or a little more wiring and you can pop in a DOHC ZC for a couple hundred more. Then you could move up to a B16A engine which can get pretty expensive around 2 grand for everything you will need to make it fit.

 

I might be buying a 90 with a 1.6. Will I have any issues with putting this in place of the 89 1.5?

 

well if you got another vehicle i dont see any problem with the motor fiting...
that way ya have a full wiring and computer and everything to swap over preaty easily!

best thing to do is just look at everything on the two cars... the motor mounts, the gaues, main wire harness conections. and if they all look the same you should be golden!
or just fix whats wrong on the 90 and rock it.... use your old car for a parts car to swap anything that may be bad

id post over in the engine section.... might get a quicker response since its more motor people that look at that forum. just dont post the same thing on every forum.LOL they dont like that.....

from the looks of most the engine codes most motors where mixed like 88-91
http://www.geocities.com/honda_club_egypt/engines.htm

so ya should be good to go. might have to swap the wiring harness and computuer for that motor to be right BUT it should slap right into it no problems......

 

with proper ECU, harness & transmission, any D series motor. should even swap right on the mounts, no issues

 

From what I understand, the body on the 90 is not worth saving. I'll look at it tommorow morning and see exactly with what I'm dealing with. Thanks for the input everyone.

 

ya..... all depends on the body! i had a 84crx had a great motor and tranny BUT carb was bad... replaced it and was gonna title it and drive it BUT i found out why it sold so cheap when i looked under it! the body was preaty much GONE under it!!!!! im shocked the torsion bars held the car up! i was gonna fix it up but then was like... O MAN to much work for a turd so i sold it for a parts car.

 

The car I am buying is a 90 with a 1.5. It looks like crap, but it runs great. Looks like a have a project for next weekend -woohoo!!