Darren's 1978 Honda Civic
Darren is an Automotive teacher in Calgary AlbertaIt is a 78 with a 1990 Honda Civic SI engine. This is a fast and fun car to drive. Darren grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan, graduated and moved to Winnipeg where he acquired an Industrial Arts/Technology Education Degree. (simply put a "shop teacher"). After graduation he started his 78 project.
In the summer of 2001 Darren was looking for a good teaching job. He was waiting for the perfect job. While Darren was waiting he had time for a project. It was a 1st generation civic with fuel injection. He has owned many 1st generation Honda Civics before, they were underpowered and often ran poorly due to the carburetors. Darren wanted to run a newer engine to gain access to the readily available aftermarket parts. So he decided to tackle one of the projects on his list. Some of the others on the list include a 5.0 Miata (aka Monster Miata), 5.0-4x4 ranger, 92-95 civic hatch with a GSR 1.8 dohc, and the list goes on and on. So these future projects are on hold until he comes across the perfect deal.
He finished up all the loose ends and got it running.... momentarily until the engine seized. I think the car was run upside-down to long. So there it sat, Darren was bugging Trevor to sell it to him for about 6 months. Finally he sold it to him, he wanted to see it fuel injected.
Darren: So I began the project. Back then I did not know of anyone who has attempted this feat. I knew a guy (camshaft from CWS Tuning in Regina) who did the same swap but he used Webber carburetors. I had no idea if the 89 motor would fit with the fuel injection intake manifold. Within the early stages of the project I acquired another 89 SI and 78 for parts. This was great, I could leave one 89 parts car together and use the other 89 engine for fitting purposes.
With the new addition of a 78 parts car I would now name it my practice car. I took the 89 test fit engine and hung it above the practice car. I asked myself what is it going to take to get this in? So I slowly lower the engine into the bay, if something was it the way it got torched out! With the removal of a lot of tin I got it in the engine bay. In the process I managed to break the throttle position sensor, oh well. After studying the newly shaped engine bay I decided what trimming was actually necessary. I had to notch the front and rear cross member, passenger frame rail to clear the transmission, and the drivers frame rail to clear the alternator pulley and crank pulley. 
I slit the firewall and pushed it back an inch to clear the intake manifold. In pushing back the firewall I had to remove the heater, to me this wasn’t a big deal I had no intention of driving in winter.
Now that I new what parts stayed and which ones went I could bring in the real 78 for the transformation.
Custom Battery Box
1st Generation Civic 4x100 Conversion Plus Brake Upgrade
Parts List
QTY. PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION ORIGINAL APPLICATION UNIT PRICE TOTAL AMOUNT
2 XDR80-96088 Front Brake Rotors (88-91 Civic) $22.50 $45.00
1 RAF PGD273 Front Brake Pads (88-91 civic) $39.00
1 CALCA8591 Front Brake Caliper (88-91 civic) $61.12
1 CALCA8590 Front Brake Caliper (88-91 civic) $61.12
2 BCA B36 Front Wheel Bearings (73-83 civic) $32.50 $65.00
2 Used Wagon Front Knuckles (73-79 civic)
2 Used Front Hubs (80-83 civic)
2 Used Front Caliper Brackets (88-91 civic)
2 CRS 17789 Front Inner Bearing Seal (80-83 civic) $ 5.00 $10.00
2 NAT 1952 Front Outer Bearing Seal (73-79 civic) $10.00 $20.00
2 Used Front Brake Hoses (84-? Accord)
2 Used Outer CV Joints /w axle nuts (80-83 civic)
2 MEV DX215 CV Boot Kit (80-83 civic) $15.25 $30.50
2 ? Rear Brake Drum (80-83 civic) $29.50
1 RAF 494117 Rear Brake Shoes (80-83 civic)
8 Used Wheel Studs (rear) (80-83 civic)
2 Used Dust Caps (80-83 civic)
2 Used Rear Stub Axle Nut (73-79 civic)
2 Used Rear Stub Axle Washer (73-79 civic)
2 PT A15 Rear Inner Drum Bearing (80-83 civic) $ 7.50 $15.00
2 PT A2 Rear Outer Drum Bearing (80-83 civic) $ 7.50 $15.00
2 PT 494117 Rear inner Drum Seal (80-83 civic) $ 4.50 $ 9.00
2 Rear Stub Axle Machining to accommodate 2nd gen. bearings (73-79 civic) $75.00 $150.00
2 Used Rear Drum Backing Plate /w hardware (80-83 civic)
The rear spindle size was determined by the 2nd generation civic bearings. The inside had to be sleeved and the outside had to be machined smaller. The drum backing plate had to be re-drilled to for two bolts. (two matched two didn't) The drum has to be spaced out an additional 3/16th, You have to make/modify front brake hose bracket. On the front the front seal bolts have to be ground down. (If not they will hit the hub upon rotation)
Rims are Konig Monsoons 205/40/16Rims are Konig Monsoons 205/40/16
Cold Air / Mini Ram Air
ZEX nitrous kit:
Darren has parked his car for the winter but not before he installed a ZEX nitrous kit. This is a wonderful thing making the car scary fast.
Updated pictures Painted engine compartment from spring of 2004
Special thanks to Darren for documenting and sharing this information.
Special thanks to Darren for documenting and sharing this information