My New 1988 Honda Civic DX. Where should I start?

[Salulu68]

Hello All!
I just bought a 1988 Honda Civic Dx for $1500. It runs great and has about 304k miles on it. I wanted to do an engine swap on it. I am not looking to go crazy and start street racing or anything but it would be nice to enhance the car. I would like to build it up to about 200hp, if that at possible. My questions about this would be:
1.) What would be the best way to start.
2.)What kind of engine should I look for along with a transmission.
3.)What businesses should I go through.
Any suggestions would be Very helpful.
Thank you very much.

 

[Salulu68]

My 1988 Honda Civic DX!

http://imageshack.us/a/img9/3978/ijg9.jpg

 

[Ganyon2]

Not sure if its possible, but you could do a b18c5 type r swap, but it would be a few thousand.

 

[Salulu68]

Thanks for the tip!

I'll look into the specs of that engine. This entire process has involved so much research already. This is going to be my first Honda project car. This car has been in my family for years and I would like to see it restored and revitalized. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.
I just bought these wheels and was thinking about mounting them on the car.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[R3dline]

Pic no worky. Clean ass Ef tho

 

[Salulu68]

Wheels

Joustmeister
17"x7
13lbs.
+40 off set

Supposedly these are the last set that were available. They say they're supposed to be rare. What Do you guys think?

 

[rustycivic2000]

Personally, 17s are much to big for the car. Stick with 15s, or 16s at the most.



Car looks to be pretty clean though.

 

[Salulu68]

I Figured.

I figured these wheels might be too big for this car. I would like to see how they look on it though. Even though I probably won't use them on this car I couldn't pass up the wheels. I liked them way too much.

 

[Failsafe88]

I like 17s on 4th gen expecially old crxs

 

[SpeedTechnik]

I like 17s on 4th gen expecially old crxs

I don't go past 15 or 16's either. I have seen 17s on crxs though. Some look really good, others seem out of place. Guess it all just depends.

As far as engine swaps go it would all depend on what you are willing to do and your financial budget. So what are they? How much research have you done on the matter and what are you considering? Since this is your first time though *taking into account what you said im assuming you are mechanically savvy but first time doing a big job* you can stick with a d series swap -- specifically a 4th gen d16zc dohc non vetc. these engines make about 130 hp at the most if they are N/A. Place forced induction into the picture and you will be fine and in the 200s. You can go with a zc transmission or you can go with a 92+ hydraulic d series tranny. As far as doing business goes, it depends on how much you are willing to spend but always make sure you are buying from a reputable source.