I was just wondering what everyone's opinion would be on this question. I am wondering if I should first spend some of my $$ on swapping an engine into my 94 hatch, or should I first use money to finish up my suspension work( in progress, need lca, swaybars, etc.) get some wheels/tires and fix up the tiny rust spot on the rear fenders and fix all dents etc. (I will do most the body work of course) and some interior stuff (seats) ? So performance or appearance/handling? This is a summer project that I will be posting on projects thread later anyways so if I did do the engine first, it is not a daily driver anymore.

 

Honestly, I'd say do suspension and appearance work first. Then, when you do swap, you're dealing with a rust-free body and you already have all your suspension work done.

 

alright, actually I have been reading your restoration project thread lol. Thats where I got the inspiration to repair my own body!(never done much body work besides a few dents) Do you think I should go as far as putting on the catback system as well before the swap or save that for when I really have some power under the hood? My plans are repair the little rust there is (thank god), finish up the suspension (im doing a full skunk2 setup under there) throw on some 15inch wheels/tires, lower it and align, and then mabey put on the catback system. After this work I will probally wait until July to do the swap.

 

we need more details what swap etc.

 

Why put a catback on if your not sure about your swap, or performance direction? Look at reaper had a body kit, then sold it to someone else....[sm=badidea.gif] JK

What happens midway through the swap and you decide you want a turbo setup, then your catback is waisted.... Get the body right, suspension done, and then figure what your budget is, how far you want to go with the performance. Just my two cents, but I like a good looking car, rather than a rust bucket that handles like poop but sounds like a maxed out lawnmower...

 

+1 coldnt have said it better myself

 

Yeah, I'd say wait until after the swap for a cat-back. If I remember correctly, you've said you want an h22 swap... if that's the case, the h22 header doesn't line up with the civic's exhaust, so you'd have to have custom work done to the exhaust (or have a custom cat-back fabbed up).

Also, doing the body/suspension work will give you time to become 100% sure of the engine you want. Take it from me... I'm how far into my project and I'm still not quite sure what engine I'm going with.

Just so you know, you're looking at around $4k to swap in an h22 if you do it yourself.

(and for the record, I got my body kit when I was a 16-year old ricer, thank you very much [8D] )

 

Ya I see what you guys mean about looking good first and then deciding on an engine. Actually reaper I can have someone I know off the honda-tech forums do a complete h22a swap for me for $3600(hasport mounts, steel braided clucth line adapt. etc etc.) and warranty it for 30 days and startup. Thats not bad when its including labour. This guy is well established in the Calgary area and has alot of years and swaps behind him and not just honda work either. He did an awd dual engine h22a del sol actually and its on the hondatech forums, I posted it in my other thread in engine/internal section. What do you guys honestly think about an H22a swap? Are they more reliable then say a b18c5 (the motor itself)? (this guy can do both these swaps for the same price roughly). Ill get some pics of my rust this morning, reaper or anyone else if you could look at them and tell me how much work I will need to do to repair it I would appreciate that Thanks guys for the wise advice!

 

$3600 for an h22 swap is damn good. And I was checking out that mid engine del sol.. that thing's sick!

Anyway, the motors are the same as far as reliability... they're both honda motors and they'll both last forever. Personally, I think if you can get a B18C5 swap for the same price as an h22, you should go with the c5. But remember that the h22 has a ton more torque than the ITR motor does.

There's really only one thing that made me stay away from the h22 as a DD... I was reading a post someone (with an h22 eg) made (I believe it was on EJ1 Owner's Club) saying that the axles wear out every few years due to the angle they have to sit at (assuming you keep the h-series transmission).

If you even think you might do boost, I'd say go with the b18c5... if you want to keep it N/A for sure, go with the h22 (I've seen pics of h22 eg's, and there's not much room for a turbo)

 

O good your online, lolhere i got some pics of the rust, lets see if i can post them. Hey how do you actually post a picture right on the thread? I can't get it to work, it turns out as a small box with a red x in it.[:@]

Theres the drivers side rust
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...w/DSC00355.jpg

Passanger rust
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...w/DSC00358.jpg

And a door ding I need to fix from when some *** tried to break into my car, its smaller the it looks though
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...w/DSC00361.jpg

The car itself when clean as of now
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...w/DSC00342.jpg