Hey there everybody. I'm real juiced to say that I am starting to restore my 91 Hatch
The engine's shot, and I'm looking for a good reliable, but fun swap. I'm not looking to race or anything, but would like a nice solid starter that will give my civ a good strong base to build on later. I'll never race it or anything, cause I'm not ready to meet God yet, (cause even if I won, my wife would kill me)
So, any suggestions about a good solid engine to drop in that'll give me a little over 100 hp so I can just straight up ENJOY my ride.
Also, it's a 5 speed, and we're obviously gonna get a new clutch while we're in there, but what about a tranny? Is it a good idea to look into a new tranny as well?

 

B18C5 is a pretty good motor, around 175HP its pricy though.

 

You are a prime candidate for a DOHC ZC swap. It's a direct bolt in (same tranny, same clutch, same axles) and runs around 137 ATC. Depending on what version of the hatch you have, you may have to rewire it for MPFI, but that's really not that hard. After that, you just need an ECU from an 88-89 Integra 5 speed and you're good to go. The best part? The engine should only run you about $550-$600.

 

Hey thanks Kappa
That sounds pretty good. I like the price tag too. Nuthin like simplicity to get you goin, eh?
I 'ppreciate the help.
I'm loving checking out all the posts on the forum, it's a cool place to learn about a new hobby.

 

Welcome to HCF and good luck with the swap. Let us know how you make out.

 

Hey guys
Looks like I'm going with a rebuild of the original engine. I have a buddy who's going
to help me out.
Is there anything that we can do during a rebuild that might result in more fun (power)
that's not too extreme or expensive that we might as well do while we're in there?
I don't want it to affect the reliability either, as this is going to be a daily driver for a long time. (We hope)
I really don't know much about a rebuild, so any suggestions would be great. I'm
not talking a racing cam or anything... just a little boost here or there?
Thanks

 

i just did a swap in to a 91 civic hatchback. i installed a d16z6 and got rid of my original d15. i picked the motor and tranny up on ebay for 700 shipped. had to buy ecu 180.00 shipped for racing modified plug and play, you can get a factory one for about 70, had to buy wiring harness about 150.00 and had to buy resistor box to run the mpfi, which was about 70.00 shipped overnite. so thats about 850.00 youre lookin at to swap to a good motor with around 125 horses. now if you go this route make sure you get a japan motor, its almost always a better deal since they usually have about 30,000 or so miles on them. i regret buying the motor i did now. i started out thinking it would be a simple 700.00 swap. then i ended up buying about 1500.00 in extras. while it has been fun getting all these new parts and installing them.... for what i have invested so far i could have bought the b18 and a couple minor mods and produced about the same ponies. live and learn. the b series motors are dual overhead cam, and most of the d series are single overhead. also if you swap make sure u get a vtec. a little research on ebay will give you an idea of what you will spend on a motor, they have a pretty good selection of japan motors.

 

While we're on the topic, is there an easy way to tell if an engine really is a Japanese engine? Just so that someone doesn't pull an engine from a car in America and advertise it as Japanese.

 

yes very easy. just reference the vin number. i think u can do this on kellybluebook.com but there are other places on the net too to check it out. but the vin will tell you where it was made, sold and all that other good stuff