Need Guidance, Dream Build Ideas, Trying to be a Great Dad

clbnksysdad

New Member
Hi. I'm sorry to post this here but I need help. I'm not a Civic guy, (i would love to do something twin v6 or with a rotary)but when my son sees any civic he gets excited(and a 4 cylinder is safer). He's always talking JDM, stanced, hellaflush, etc. He's 14 and gets his permit in November. His mom and I are having a baby and I want to find something we can work on to stay close and teach him about cars.

I want to get him a 96-00 civic sedan shell. I want the sedan just so he doesn't drive like an idiot. I need guidance on the engine. B series? K series? Some other series I don't know about? What should I do on suspension? I have no problem buying an engine and rebuilding it myself. Still want to balance budget and performance. Trying to avoid the 5 color civic with the fart can and steelies.
 

RonJ

Banned
What's the budget?

Turbo a VTEC D16Y8 in a coupe or hatchback - manual not auto transmission. This build would require professional tuning. Why build him a car he's not excited about?
 


xxBLOOD88SHOTxx

Surge Master
Registered VIP
clbnksysdad said:
Hi. I'm sorry to post this here but I need help. I'm not a Civic guy, (i would love to do something twin v6 or with a rotary)but when my son sees any civic he gets excited(and a 4 cylinder is safer). He's always talking JDM, stanced, hellaflush, etc. He's 14 and gets his permit in November. His mom and I are having a baby and I want to find something we can work on to stay close and teach him about cars.

I want to get him a 96-00 civic sedan shell. I want the sedan just so he doesn't drive like an idiot. I need guidance on the engine. B series? K series? Some other series I don't know about? What should I do on suspension? I have no problem buying an engine and rebuilding it myself. Still want to balance budget and performance. Trying to avoid the 5 color civic with the fart can and steelies.
Click to expand...
He is a teenager, this is going to happen no matter what you put him in.

We can better help you if you have a budget in mind, and what kind of mechanical aptitude you have.
 

clbnksysdad

New Member
I'm definitely going manual. I'm very mechanicly inclined. I do not let anyone else touch my cars on anything other than tires because they never do as good. Know my way around a 2.7 TT and bought my rx-8 not running and got it going. I'm just saying putting 250 horses in it is safer than putting 400. Budget will be revolving. Let's start at 4000 but it will go up.
 


clbnksysdad

New Member
He'd be happy with it slammed and stanced stock, but I want to get one dead and swap an engine in. Don't have a power goal. Just trying to help him learn. There's too many kids driving around on daddy's money. I'll pay for the parts, but he is going to help put everything together.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

clbnksysdad

New Member
I want to put an engine in that will make him smile and let him brag but not get him killed. He watches a blog of a guy with a crx with a b16 swapped in and he thinks its the greatest thing ever. I want to drop it but don't want to stance it due to traction loss. Want to stay na for the time being. Let him have some fun with the sound. And I'm going to overhaul the braking system myself.

And cat delete with an exhaust that doesn't sound like crap
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Wreckless Hype

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
A Civic with a decent engine can get you in trouble pretty easily. I had a hatch with a GSR (B18) 1.8L that is, and it was fun, I tore ass all over the place because I was 18 and got all sorts of tickets. It's going to happen, that's just facts. You want NA, decent power, build a GSR or something. They make pretty good power. There's tons of options. B16 would probably work also, a GSR would probably pull a sedan a little better.
 

clbnksysdad

New Member
Thanks for the feedback. The guide looks great. I've got my homework for the night now. I know what its like putting a teenager on the road. Trust me it wasn't that long ago I was driving like a idiot and shooting bottle rockets out the windows. I just want him to appreciate his car and respect his power. He has a go-kart for around the house and I harp on him about safety for when he's on the road.

Thank you. I'm always telling him wider tires and he thinks they should all ride on edge. The sedan part is mostly his mom. The hatch is more about weight or wheelbase?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

xxBLOOD88SHOTxx

Surge Master
Registered VIP
If you want an engine to swap in just to have the swap experience, then a b series is the way to go.

Then, if you want a build that actually opens the engine up, go with an LSVTEC (a b18a/b bottom end with a b16/b18c head) or a B20VTEC( b20b/z bottom end with a b16/b18c head). Simple build really.

b16 or b18c transmission

Peppy, but it will take him a min to get to certain death speeds.
 

CCFM563

New Member
I'm just getting back into the Honda game after years myself. I have a 1997 Civic Lx sedan I picked up for 1500 with 215k on it. It runs great and the interior was in great shape. It also came with some upgraded speakers and a head unit. I cleaned up the pain, did the head lights, re-tinted a window, and put a new blower motor resistor in. I maybe have $1800 into it now.
Although I am not a teenager, I am a dad and that's why the sedan. I do have similar goals though. My plan is to put in a decent suspension like, Koni shocks and Tein springs this will be around $500-600 and you will need a camber kit as well maybe another $100.00. I also got a set of Civic HX wheels for $150.00
I then plan to swap in a JDM B20 this is a motor with about 140hp and 135 tq: I'm sure most of the purists will tell you this motor is crap and slow however street racing or track days are not my intention. The B20 is reliable and runs on regular pump gas (87 oct). I simple want a little boost in power and the reliability of a newer motor.
The entire swap can be done right for around $2100-2500.00 with a motor that has about 45k on it.
The car will be reliable, have low operating cost, and not cost a fortune to do. For around $4500-5000.00 he could have a very clean, lowered, fun to drive civic sedan. You could always turbo the non-vtec DOHC down the road too, although some may tell you to get the the B18b or LS motor (very close to a B20 but holds boost better...I've been told)

Generating a reliable 230-240 Hp will start to break that $4000.00 budget very quickly. Finding a "shell" with a blown motor is harder than you think and can still fetch $600-700.00 depending on condition.

LS/Vtec, B20/Vtec will generate 200-240hp all motor but can be expensive to build right and you loose some of that Honda built, long term, reliability. Remember too all V-tec motors will run on premium fuel and who ever mentioned staying away from the stanced look (it will tear up the car, be expensive, and eat up tires). If you lower it keep it around 2 inches and get a camber kit and good alignment (trust me from experience).


I hope this helps.
 

xxBLOOD88SHOTxx

Surge Master
Registered VIP
CCFM563 said:
I'm just getting back into the Honda game after years myself. I have a 1997 Civic Lx sedan I picked up for 1500 with 215k on it. It runs great and the interior was in great shape. It also came with some upgraded speakers and a head unit. I cleaned up the pain, did the head lights, re-tinted a window, and put a new blower motor resistor in. I maybe have $1800 into it now.
Although I am not a teenager, I am a dad and that's why the sedan. I do have similar goals though. My plan is to put in a decent suspension like, Koni shocks and Tein springs this will be around $500-600 and you will need a camber kit as well maybe another $100.00. I also got a set of Civic HX wheels for $150.00
I then plan to swap in a JDM B20 this is a motor with about 140hp and 135 tq: I'm sure most of the purists will tell you this motor is crap and slow however street racing or track days are not my intention. The B20 is reliable and runs on regular pump gas (87 oct). I simple want a little boost in power and the reliability of a newer motor.
The entire swap can be done right for around $2100-2500.00 with a motor that has about 45k on it.
The car will be reliable, have low operating cost, and not cost a fortune to do. For around $4500-5000.00 he could have a very clean, lowered, fun to drive civic sedan. You could always turbo the non-vtec DOHC down the road too, although some may tell you to get the the B18b or LS motor (very close to a B20 but holds boost better...I've been told)

Generating a reliable 230-240 Hp will start to break that $4000.00 budget very quickly. Finding a "shell" with a blown motor is harder than you think and can still fetch $600-700.00 depending on condition.

LS/Vtec, B20/Vtec will generate 200-240hp all motor but can be expensive to build right and you loose some of that Honda built, long term, reliability. Remember too all V-tec motors will run on premium fuel and who ever mentioned staying away from the stanced look (it will tear up the car, be expensive, and eat up tires). If you lower it keep it around 2 inches and get a camber kit and good alignment (trust me from experience).


I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
The "purists" you're talking to are idiots

Shouldn't cost that much to get a b20 into an ek sedan

Handles boost just as well as an B18a/b
 

CCFM563

New Member
xxBLOOD88SHOTxx said:
The "purists" you're talking to are idiots

Shouldn't cost that much to get a b20 into an ek sedan

Handles boost just as well as an B18a/b
Click to expand...
LOL I agree. I just think its great how some people think a motor is crap because it does not make 300hp out the box.
What should it cost to do a B20 Swap? I just based it on what I saw on hmotorsonline. If you know a better more affordable option I'd love to know!
 

xxBLOOD88SHOTxx

Surge Master
Registered VIP
Well you're in Florida, there are plenty of JDM importers down there so shipping shouldn't be bad, or none at all if you go get it

The trans is going to be the second biggest expense, what like 600?

Yeah I guess it could cost you that much having to convert to OBD 1 and getting a chipped ecu.

Damn I'm glad I don't drive a civic lol
 

laserbeak

New Member
Im Doing a a 00 coupe with a stock gsr, intake headers and highflow cat n exhaust now!... this exact setup, no tune n stock ecu, netted me a 14.4@94.6mph in an old setup I did before I got the hp bug and did my turbo integra setup after, lol... a mid to low 14 second car (when driven right)...30mpg..with a nice drop... nothing stanced... but a nice drop.. think H&R sport springs and a decent wheel/tire combo.. is A LOT of car for a young buck like your son... I ran that 14.4 when I was 19 years old.. now this was considered faster 10 years ago.. But.. trust me.. he will enjoy the crap out of the car...It will be peppy and he will enjoy revvin it out toe 8200 once n awhile.. and you can choose the right parts together, read up..buy together.. keep him involved..and i mean shoot there is a gsr motor and tranny on my local craigslist for 1400$ right now.. then get a 06-00 EX MANUAL shell for like 1000-1500 and the wiring wont be a huge deal either. then with the left over money can go for hoses...mount...brackets..wires..throttle cables and the other lil stuff.. and Especially if your mechanically inclined like you say, you can save a TON doing it together.. not to mention everyone here is a big help and tons of DIY walk throughs... and if you need anything hit me up.. I JUST did this exact swap...was my second time. and i got alot of advice to give hahah.. specially to make things easier... So good luck.. and like blood said earlier... you can always get a b20 bottom end .. some cams..do a fat b20 vtec setup.. make 210-220whp...(265hp @crank).. and then you'd be into mid to low 13's.. and even mabey a 12.9 with the right tires.. and who cant respect that? especially being a teenager!... but It great to see a dad like yourself keeping the kids involved... keeping the honda bug going =)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Top