[jfrolang]

You should definitely buy it, it sounds like it'll be a fun project. We'll definitely help you out along the way, working out the inevitable issues and helping you get the best bang for your buck. Don't worry about haters, that's not what this site is about, we try to minimize that as much as possible.

Oh yeah, welcome.

 

[jfrolang]

How much money you need to spend is hugely variational. I really can't even estimate it. Let us know what your goals are for this car.

A 'good' hp level is dependant on how fast you want to go, and the weight of the car plays a factor here too. If you're going to leave it stripped, you might be satisfied with 130 or so hp, or you could be like Bart and want 200+ hp in the lightest car you can get. I'm happy right now at ~170 hp with a full interior and sound system. It's good for high 14s on the quarter, or should be anyway.

There are really quite a few options in the way of engine swaps, and as long as you're not in Cali, most of them are easily smoggable. Downest is putting together a swap article, it's still in prototype stage but it's a sticky in the modification forum.

Maximum hp is relative. The most I would want in a streetable car is probably 250. I drove Jonny Black's car about 2 weeks ago, he's in the 250-260 range, and I really wouldn't want any more than that at all. It's very fast for road use. For a drag-only car you could see 400 or 500, but that's hardly cheap. Reliability becomes an issue at those levels too.

I think that any of the brand-name off the shelf catback exhausts sound great. These have prices that are occasionally scoffed at however. I paid $480 for my DC Sports. Thermal R&D and GReddy make exhausts in this range too. A custom exhaust from a local shop can still sound real good if you use a few resonators, and it'll be a bunch cheaper.

I've never heard anyone say the throttle is too sensitive on our cars. You can adjust the throttle cable, but I don't know if that would fix it for you. the dx engine you have needs to go though, so don't worry about it too much.

Honda didn't offer power steering on the CRX on this continent, and I think almost all of us prefer it that way. It is true that you can retrofit it from an 88-91 Civic, but you honestly don't need it. Adding power steering fluid won't help, because there's nowhere to put it. :lol:

 

[jfrolang]

manumatics don't count. :lol:

Since you're in Cali, you're legally bound to only USDM engine swaps. You can't do JDM swaps, and you can't do head swaps. (Some people in Cali do anyway, but you have to get creative or know the right emissions refs.)

Does this CRX have any rust?

 

[jfrolang]

That engine will be legal in Cali. Rust is a problem on most CRXs these days, and pics are certainly welcome.

 

[jfrolang]

Pick it up. It needs work, but the body is straight and I don't see any rust. There's potential there, and we'd love to see it realized.

 

[jfrolang]

My thoughts on your list:

-Get new seats.
-What's wrong with the ignition?
-Get the factory pieces for the rear interior, and a black door panel too.
-Polishing headers? The only way that would give you more power is if you do it on the inside, which would be terribly difficult. You only have one header too. So go with an aftermarket header on the B18 you're putting in and you'll be set.
-If you're going turbo you won't need a header, polished or otherwise. I assume that's a more long-term goal though.
-Go with all new suspension, you'll be happier. Downest has an excellent suspension sticky in the modification forum.
-the only new taillights you should get is the 90-91 factory lights. Aftermarket tails are junk.
-It looks like you've got cruise control in there. Personally, I'd yank it.

 

[jfrolang]

Your best bet with the ignition will probably be to replace the whole unit. This would mean you'd have a different key than the doors, so hopefully you can get the door lock cylinders from the same car. Another advantage to this is that a potential theif can't just copy down your VIN and get his shady hookup at the dealer to cut a key for your car.

The LS engine is a B18. 1990-93 Integras came with a B18A1, 94-01 tegs had a B18B1. In Honda engine codes, The first letter represents the engine "family" in this case B-series. The two-digit number represents the displacement, in this case 1.8 liters. Anything after that indicates a "sub-model" of that engine code. You can learn more in the modification forum, where Downest has his engine swap guide.

More bang for the buck on header vs. turbo? A header is a simple bolt-on affair in the range of $300 with the benefit of around 5-10 hp. A turbo is big power and will require much much more. For starters, you'll have to tap your oil pan to run oil to the turbo, go with larger fuel injectors and possibly a larger fuel pump to get sufficient fuel flow, engine management to control the huge new amount of air getting to the engine, etc. You can piece together a cheap turbo setup for around $1k, but to do it "right" is more in the range of 4 thousand and up. My advice is to stick with a header for now until you better understand what you'll need for turbo.

The cruise control just looks ugly in there! I've never been a fan of it either. Cruise is an excuse to not be paying attention, imo. I'd rather be completely in charge of my car for every second it's on the road.