Just bought a 99 Civic EX for my 16 y/o daughter as a replacement for the beater Camry she finally killed. This is my first Honda, I mainly joined to learn about them so I can work on it. I come from Mazda performance, I own a supercharged 2000 Miata that is my DD and playtoy. I do all the mechanical work on it, so I'm no stranger to the underside of a car or engine bay.

Sticking the motor in sideways sort of confuses me, though, so I'll be asking the best way to do things based on a transverse mounted powertrain. The basic nuts'n'bolts stuff I have a pretty good handle on.

About the Honda: it's a 99 EX, two door, automatic, has the 1.6 VTEC engine. The trans is original to the car, but the engine is a transplant. Car has 235K+, engine about 155K. The seller buys these cars and fixes them up to resell, all he does is Honda. The workmanship under the hood was very neat and clean, and I was impressed by his knowledge of the arcane Honda-specific stuff. He's also known by a co-worker of mine, who says he's a stand-up guy, so I trust he's being straight about the car.
It runs quietly, has good power, doesn't smoke, the tranny doesn't slip and shifts briskly. A/C is cold, heat will fry your legs.

Any words of wisdom from the ranks of Civic lovers here? Things to look out for, common problems, etc?

 

Congrats buddy on your new Civic, ride it in good health.



Tevida