By Kevin Megin (207.236.194.158) on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 09:24 am:

I'm interested in knowing some information about starting a project car with either a 1st or 2nd gen Civic. I live in Montreal Canada...acess to parts? is it easy? performance parts? etc ..etc..

plus...anyone have a good working 1st/2dn gen civic for sale.

VP of the Quebec Civic Club
www.clubcivicquebec.com

By tedshred (63.224.195.169) on Thursday, June 07, 2001 - 08:35 am:

Kevin, get out before it's too late. These early civics carry a virus that destroys the minds ability to save money for family and retirement, plus it makes you spend countless hours reading about the car, and staring at one thinking of modifications you can make. On top of that, the junk yard guys will start calling you by your first name.

eBay will soon be your home page.

Study the classifieds, and read everything you can here. There is so much to learn and try.

Good cars are still out there. Some have very little rust, and run great as is. Stock parts are still available, but aftermarket stuff is getting pretty tough to find.

I bought my "project" less than a year ago, and have had a blast working on it.

Good luck

By firrtree (209.102.127.112) on Monday, June 11, 2001 - 09:11 am:

These are great cars, lots of fun. I have a 79 with an 82 accord motor in it which was very easy to do and makes the car a lot of fun to drive. Get the earliest car you can because they get heavier every year. My 79 is about 200 lbs heavier than a 73, but then 73s are very hard to find. Go with a 1st gen (73 to 79) as they are classic and look so good. Anything you find will probably be pretty rough but that is why it is a "project" isn't it? You will need new paint, carpets, seats and at least a rebuild of your engine. If you have a 1200 you can use the parts out of an 80 1300 to make a nice stroker engine for a few more ponies or you can just put in anything else honda makes. Most of the engines will fit if you have the fabrication skills. Remember, newer engine=more power=more difficult to do. Since you're starting out with about 55 horsepower, any newer motor will at least double that and you don't have much weight to pull around
so you'll do very well against newer, heavier cars. One problem will be wheels. It is hard to find anything other than stock 13x5 steel wheels to fit the odd bolt pattern. I recommend the 4x100 conversion which is described on this board (do a search under wheels) to open up your wheel options and even better, get bigger brakes.

By Kevin Megin (212.117.152.146) on Wednesday, June 27, 2001 - 05:41 am:

ok, so say I wanted to get a 79..or 2nd gen. I definately plan to perform a swap after I buy it. I wouldn't want anything too big (I already have a B18c5 engine in my 95 4door), I would want it to be the easiest swap possible. What would be a good engine to put in the car? Would it be worth while to put in my old 1.5L SOHC engine from the LX? Would it fit?

I'm trying to understand what's a good swap..something that won't screw me over in handling and braking. For example: a prelude h22a engine is not worth it in a Civic unless you want to drive in a straight line..


What can I say..I love the 1st/2nd gens..