Just trying to get an idea, crossing from domestic to civic

well i'm planning on getting a civic when i get to my first duty station. i have a 92 mustang right now, but i want something that gets better gas mileage! but i also plan on playin with the civic. so far i want to mix n match a diff block and diff head than the stock one in the car i get. the goal is to have more torque than hp and to keep it n/a and try to get it to a decent 1/4 mile time. i prolly won't take it to the drag strip except to get an idea of how it performs, mostly i just wanna be able to stop light race if ever.

so what is the advice you guys can pass along? where to start? also i wanna keep it cheap. i am lookin into getting a 92-94 hatch civic base model so that insurane is down but also because the emission controls are after 94. or so i read. and i know that the K series motors are out n all so shouldn't the D, B, and H series motors be cheaper? and i still wanna keep it under 2 litres. i plan on doing headers, porting, full exhaust, intake, injectors, tranny, suspension, etc etc etc, pretty much the whole works.

ok so no one is gonna pass along some advice??

A 92-95 hatch sounds like a good base, its really light. You should be able to find one for 2-3k with a bunch of miles on it. You could swap in a B18b1, which you can find for 1-2k, and go ls/vtec, this would probably be one of your cheaper options, or you could also swap in a b18c1, which will run about 3-4k.

are there any good sites specific to these cars?? that's what i am trying to get ahold of are some sites that give good and lots of info on those specific cars.

Yes there are sites that are specific........... www.automotiveforums.com
I'd say read up here. As far as your emission assumption goes, I don't know exactly what you mean by 94+. There is no difference in any of the years 92-95. They are all the same, OBDI. Just because the new K series engine I out, it does not drop the price on the previous series seeing as the K series is so different from prior, popular chassis. The K series is a pain in the ass to swap therefore not in as much demand as prior engine series. My advice to you is, if all you want is power when you need it, to just stick to a B series swap. The price is still up there and will be for a long time due to demand so just save up.

yea i've been reading, didn't know much bout the rod ratio thing, but i'm looking to mix n match to make a frank motor, prolly with a b series block, and prolly use a vtec block since it needs the oil squirters?? but i'm looking to stay under 2 litres and hit 12's or better N/A. DOHC vtec also. i didn't remember when teh last year was for obd1 so that's why i said 92-94. but basically i'm looking to keep it a daily driver that is not made to have power at high end. i'm looking to build it to have peak torque around 3000-4000 with it still having about 70% of it's torque around 2750 or so rpms. any ideas??

umm just bringing this back tryin to get an answer.

I know you're coming from a domestic car and building an import, so it's a little different, 2750-3000rpm is really low in a honda motor, why are you looking to make your power at so low an rpm in a motor that was made to (generally) rev higher then most?

reason being is that i want it to retain daily driveability. honda's don't have much power to them to start with and what little power they have is like you mentioned, in the high rev range. i know i will not be getting max power out of the engine by building it to have peak power in the 2.75k-3.5k range but since this will be a daily driver i will be shifting right around 3k maybe a bit more depending on the load, terrain, etc. so i would like to see at least 75% of my power in that shifting range or slightly higher.

and on a personal note, i guess i am still wanting to keep some domestic traits around. i guess you could say i'm trying to make a domestic honda! not cool to most people but then agian if we were all the same it would suck!

so to not try and waste your guys' time by having you answer every little question, i was hoping some people could give me links to good learning sites. i know forums are a usefull source of info, but i've also learned they are more problem/task specific which i will not run into untill i actually get the car. i would just like to learn more in depth about each of the motors used in the honda cars, the physical compatability of the car to the different motors, etc etc, and a BIG also would be handling/suspension info for these cars.

one thing for the mustang i have is putting in the IRS from a latest gen. mustang cobra instead of the solid axle. my driving style is more rally/autocross oriented but also some stop light racing.

another thing is that when this is all said and done i would like it to be a car that can be respected by the majority of import owners that hate domestics along with being respected by domestic owners that hate imports AND hate 4 bangers. but i'm not doing soley for that purpose of respect, i'm just trying to give insight into what my plans and desires are.

btw, i appreciate all the help and info and advice etc that you guys have shared and will hopefully keep sharing.

oh and one easy thing that you guys could possibly do is just give me the links to all the sites you have bookmarked about these 92-95 civics that you thought were important/good learning material enough to save as a favorite.

if you want to make torque and don't care about high rpm hp then forget vtec... you won't be needing that

How about swapping in a crv motor as is... no head swap. yes, it is a 2 liter engine but that is proy about the most torque you are going to get out of an NA 4 cyl Honda. Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention that you need to change the intake manifold. The stock one is too tall.