got ripped need help

before i tell my story i want to add a little disclaimer i am totally new to the game of tuning and i dont really know what i am talking about ok so here it is

This winter my first car died it was a crappy ford tarus it made me hate cars and i had very little interest in them, but then as i was shopping around for something really cheap cause i had no money at all i came across a 1990 crx and i thought it was cool and even though i didnt really care about cars that much they had always been one of my favorites along with cj-7's (go figure). So anyway i test drove it on two seperate occasions and it seemed to drive well enough and the price was right (got it down to 1700) and it was an si according to the rear right panel and the dealer and as i did more research i started to get excited to have this car and thought hey i could do some good stuff with this. So i bought the car and after a few days i started to go look at stuff and much to my dismay i seem to have bought an hf so as you can imagine i am pretty pissed ,but as i dont really have any other choice i am going to do what i can with this car first is it even worth doing anything without an engine swap and if there is what would you guys recommend. To top it all off this car seems to be an electrical nightmare it has died twice since i have had it the first time i just replaced a fuse charged the battery and off i went. The second time it died it wasnt come back so easy and pretty much every time i start it i have to jump it. I have checked the battery the alternator and checked for a drain, there is no drain and the battery and alternator are fine. The car will start right up with a jump generally my neighbor who is a mechanic was helping me out and he said chances are its a relay that doesnt close off or some other intermittent drain. Thanks a ton to anyone who reads that whole thing gives me any kind of advice. Its much appreciated.

IMO I wouldn't even trick out a SI without a swap. The good thing about an HF is there lighter. Just put a si motor in it if you dont wanna spend too much but you, wanna trick it hard put a b16 in there. Sorry for your mech probs cant help ya out.

Well you could probably sue for lemon law. If you are that mad you may want to look into it.

Does your crx have a power sunroof? Does it have Si panels? Maybe the dude just swaped a hf motor in it at some point? Its still mpfi, so its not too bad. And dont be so mad about not having an si motor, they really arent that quick, but have some potential. On a plus side, the hf is the lightest model. Look on your block under your dizzy and look for an engine code. d16a6 is an si and d15b is HF.

i am pretty sure its the hf it has the 1.5 liter engine and drums in the back but i think it might be ok cause its still fun enough to drive, but if this is fun i wanna drive an si how much would gettin just an d16a cost me cause maybe i could swing that by the summer. if not i will just make it a ricer mobile that would be kinda funny

Man you didnt answer my question. Does it have a power sliding sun roof? He could have easily swapped the motor out of it. My 89 Si hatch has drum rear. You could pick up a d16 real cheap, like 500 for motor and tranny.

if you got this from a dealer they are required to fix any problems with it for upto 3 months from the time of purchase free of charge.

not if he bought it as is no warranty

no sun roof im thinkin about a d16 or maybe a zc but do you know how much it would be for installation as i dont think i have the tools to swap an engine

They still should have some coverage for a dumb seller. Consult someone high up in the dealer and tell them that there salesman doesnt know anything about the cars he is selling. Im sure they would cut you a break and give you some cash back.

My 89 Si hatch has drum rear.

even though ur si had rear drums shouldn't mean that his crx si wouldn't. the crx si came with rear brake discs standard

the dealership was hardly a dealer i just didnt know what to call it really cause i guess thats technicaly what it was but the guy had six cars and it was the shittiest place in the world mikes motors and mike was the only employee i guess i learned a valuable lesson about car buying

ps today for fun we hooked up my bass amp (2x15) into a bass head that was 210 watts into my car it was really really loud but having a huge cabinet messed up the handling real bad so i think it would be a once in a while thing cause its really funny to see this car that is two seats then the rest is totally this huge box i will try to get pics

even though ur si had rear drums shouldn't mean that his crx si wouldn't. the crx si came with rear brake discs standard

the only Si CRX with rear disc's was the 91, all the others had drum.

the only Si CRX with rear disc's was the 91, all the others had drum.

jeez i feel like a dumass...
i was under the impression both 90 and 91 crx si had rear discs

i don't know but i know i just scored another crx the begining of fall, its a 90 on the title and door badge but it has the 91 style narrow door trim and disc brakes ( my 2cd 90 with disc) so it just depends on the production date, second half of 90 production seem to have the disc but it could have been special ordered stock from the factory i suppose. i depends on where you are erastus, but the zc motor will generally run u about 550.00 the d16 si will be dirt cheap and ditrect swap minus the ecu, probably around 350 to 500 but like i said depends on where you are in the states. labor will run u any where from 400.00 to 800.00 i bet unless you use mikes auto,lol sorry couldn't resist.

haha its quite alright i thought i would get worse than that but maybe i should call up mikey get him to recify this situation or at least help me out that bitch and if it is going to cost as much for installation as the engine i guess its time for me to learn how to swap engines one more question though would it be possible to get an si tranny and put that in first and then get probably a zc in a few months just to spread the cost out as well as make it a little less daunting task

Yeah you could get an si tranny. You will noticed a big gain in acceleration, since the Si trans is geared so much closer.

wish i was closer bro i'd help a brother out,lol hybrid is definetly right about the tranny, i got a few of em kickin around too, but it'll probably be cheaper for you to get one locally, but for sh$ts and giggles let me know when your ready how much they are going to charge you for one, it might be worth your while depending on the price. are you machanically inclined because swaping those two motors is really pretty basic, i mean it will be a bitch for a newbie but its relatively by the book. hey good luck regardless erastus

i think i will be able to handle the swap but it will have to wait until summer when i have cash but for right now where should i look for a tranny a junkyard or something like that and if tahts your recommendation what cars should i look in/how do i check the condition of the transimission

yeah just get online even and go to the yellow pages, look up salvage yards/ junk yards in your area, its pretty hard to see if a tranny will be in good working condition but most salvage yards will give you a garantee if its bad of some sort just ask first before you buy, but its always safe to crack the filler hole bolt and get your finger wet, make sure the fluid doesn't smell burnt, you'll know right away what i mean try smelling some clean motor oil, its pretty much odorless, thats what u use for tranny fluid. as far as cars, look for any 88-91 crx si or civic si. they are pretty common so it shouldn't be to hard to locate one, good luck if you have any questions or need help with ideas let me know.

actually i was thinking erastus, i'm betting if you start looking now you could find a crx si for a few hundred dollors that actually ran well if you start getting the local papers and your local swape quides and trading posts, this is all i do, i actually make thousands of dollars just finding honda's that need work and fix them to sell again, of course i have all of the tools and a garage to work in, but i bet you could find a rex that say the body is just rusting away for dirt cheap in someones back yard or in the paper as i said. thats an idea for you to really consider, then you'll have everything you need for half the money if you keep your eyes open or get lucky either way, just remember either a civic si 2dr or 4dr i doesn't matter they will all work for you.

thats good thinkin i am startin to look around but this area is seriously devoid of junkyards there are a few u-wrench it deals so i am going to check those some weekend and start to call around to the junkyards if i can find any but i am going to start lookin for a crx i think as well just for fun cause fixing stuff is fun haha