49 replies to this topic

[150DollarRacer]

Hello all. Last week I purchased my first honda. Its a 1987(according to the emissions sticker under the hood) Civic. Its got the 1.5L carbed engine. 4 doors, and about 200,000 miles on it.





I bought it for 150 bucks for an event in the spring. Our local car club has an scca sanctioned event where we run a 2 mile autocross on an old airstrip and we have started a "beater" class. under 800 bucks including mods is the only rule.

So I hope to learn lots about what I can do with this car in 6 months for super cheap!

So with that in mind, I have some questions:

Can an EFI engine be swapped over for cheap? What would be needed?
Any cheap suspension mods? Will a different cars springs fit on this car?
Any other ideas?

Hope to have a good time here. Thanks.

~Adrian

[JDN14]

nice find! welcome and may i suggest suspension and tires rather than engine. That helped my auto-x out a TON!

id personally start with some eibach springs and a set of KYB shocks/struts.
If you look hard for tires you can find em cheap

Edited by JDN169, 17 November 2003 - 02:29 PM.

[agreziv86E-AS]

are you allowed to remove any parts for less weight? if so toss the interior/ps pump/spare/jack/hubcaps /anything and everything in trunk/sound deadening material/horn/center console oh yeah and the entire a/c system including all that blower crap under the dash.IF YOU CANT DO THIS....then disregard that and just buy a header (used online) a dynomax/magnaflow/blah,blah...and throw a 2inch exhaust....get springs and torsion bars off a civic wagon....cut springs a bit for a bit more drop (not too much)..........HTH

[nivek2002]

YEAH! another sedan clan member - awesome price too. I autoX'd my sedan this whole past season and loved it, even though mine is an Auto - I would focus completely on suspension as a Fuel Injected Swap would probly be to much money and way to much of a hassle. Maybe if you can find a cheap Weber 34/36 downdraft carb and adaptor plate, that would provide a well needed boost in HP.

Maybe some 24-27 mm T-bars 200$
Rear Coilovers 160$
new dampers probly around 200-300$
and then some good R compounds would round it out nicely.

here are some action shots of my Sedan w/ 4 blown shocks




Kevin

[Davidov]

Oh the possibilities.

YEAH! another sedan clan member

Ah yes, our numbers are growing.

[nivek2002]

oh and BTW Adrian - I would blur out that certain white car in the background of you picture -

[agreziv86E-AS]

oh and BTW Adrian - I would blur out that certain white car in the background of you picture - 

HAHA......why all the hate on these cars? just wondering thats all.........

[rpr]

oh and BTW Adrian - I would blur out that certain white car in the background of you picture - 

HAHA......why all the hate on these cars? just wondering thats all.........

Hoo boy, don't get me started...

[87X]

dont ask.. but anyways if your interested nobody has offered me for my KYB GR-2's im selling, PM Me with an offer if you want them, CRX/Hatch struts fit the sedan dont they?? i think so..

[nivek2002]

Yeah - they do

[rally25rs]

If you wanted to do a fuel injection swap, I'd recomend getting an entire 89 teg. I got one for $300... they arent rare or expensive. You can swap the entire engin/trans, front wiring, rear axle (disks) front brakes, seats, steering wheel, ECU... I'm not exactly clear on the details, but I know there is something different with the fuel tank/fuel pump stuff, so you may need to do some rigging there. Not sure if the Si hatch fueltank would bolt into a sedan, but if it does, I have an extra one.

However, if your purpose is a dedicated auto-x car, tires and suspension! Get some used r-compounds and put them on steels if you are really on a budget. You can prob find some locally (ask at a local road course) or check on http://www.improvedtouring.com in the classifieds.

Have fun!

-Jeff

[E-AT_me]

good luck with that!! sounds like a fun/interesting project!! i like the way your local autocross club thinks, too!

[PacerRacerGirl]

I love it! Tell us more about the challenge, I think I want to propose the same to my club.

What I would do is get a cheap set of 15x5.5 VW wheels, (They're pretty lightweight) and some 205/60/13 Victoracers (used would be best, I might be willing to part with mine...) a set of shocks, (KYB or Tokiko Blue if you're looking on the cheap) lower the front torsion bars as far as they can safely go. Then you're ready to run with the best possible PAX. (Your car would be in HS) This is of course assuming you are using PAX to handicap your cars with.

If it's a free-for all, then do all of the above plus weld the rear swaybar in place, find a cheap aftermarket bar to add to the rear. Get some 4wd wagon springs, cut them down (they're longer than yours) and put the torsion bars in from the same wagon. (They're slightly stiffer than yours) Disconnect your front swaybar.
The guys can tell you how to get more power out of the engine.

Welcome and good luck!

[nivek2002]

I personnally would not turn the t bars down, that would just KILL the limited travel the front already has. But hey, I was always to scared to actually try it

Kevin

[PacerRacerGirl]

The real reason to turn the torsion bars to the lowest setting is that it increases your negative camber ... which is a very good thing in autocross. I went from +.3 deg to -1.4 on the right front wheel and from -.02 deg to -1.6 on the right. With skinny tires on the car you can see the difference. (And feel it when you drive it)

It shouldn't decrease your front travel more than .5 inch. The tradeoff for camber is totally worth it.