Tuning a 1980 Civic

Well, im trying to figure out what upgrades I can get the best bang for my buck. I know you can put a webber in this little 1.3L. Also right now im redoing the WHOLE interior cause the panels were falling off the doors. Im gonna be cutting some sheet metal into the shape and then carpeting over in, and new carpet in the whole car. Im also reupholstering the seats. The exterior im gonna be building a hood from fiberglastwith a scoop built in, and i might wind up doing the fenders in FG to. IDEAS NEEDED!

Thx Matt

well you've got the 1980 EJ1 engine which according to the specs is more powerful than the 81-83 EJ1

EJ1 1.3 8V SOHC 3bbl Carb 1335 68hp@5000rpm 77tq@3000rpm '80 Civic (USA)
EJ1 1.3 8V SOHC 3bbl Carb 1335 60hp@5500rpm 68tq@4000rpm '81-'83 Civic (USA)

i assume that is because the early one is a non-CVCC head which is a good thing. basically it's the old 1200 with a stroker crank. i don't really know much about these engines, you can do the standard stuff like port and polish, header and exhaust but anything more than that i don't know. your best bet is to search around http://www.civic1200.com/discus/
there are lots of knowledgeable people over there.

You can use sheet metal to make new door panels if you want to but I use what is sometimes refered to as waterboard. This is a wood panel that is about 3/16" thick and treated for water resistance. You can usually find it at upholstery supply warehouses or check with your local trim shop (automotive upholsterer). The reason I use this is because it's cheap, resists water and is easy to cut. To mount this to your doors, you will need to get some automotive door clip fasteners (auveo clips), they are essentially a metal spring clip that fits into a hole that you drill in your door. You can also go to your local auto supply and pick up a package of plastic door clips, these should work fine for what you're doing. After you have these parts you can make a pattern of your door using cardboard, I usually cut out a rough shape then glue on some smaller pieces of cardboard in order to pattern the finer details. From here you can transfer the pattern onto your board then cut out the shape. Drill some holes around the perimiter for the door clips and then drill a corresponding hole in your door. Install the clips in your new door panel and then cover it with whatever you want. I would use a 1/8" closed cell foam, glued to the door panel first for a little padding. to do this you will need to rough up the surface of the foam by hand using 80-100 grit sandpaper, in order to allow the glue to adhere to it. Then all you need to do is cover your panel with vinyl, fabric or whatever you want to use. Use a high strength adhesive! I usually use a landau top adhesive or something similar, 3M 90 might work if you can't find anything else, but definitely do not use 3M 74 or 77 because these adhesives will not hold under high heat conditions!

The same upholstery supply warehouse or trim shop should also be able to sell you a molded carpet kit for your car for about $150, and they should also be able to supply you with a headliner (if you need it). These carpet kits are pretty easy for a novice to handle and you should be able to install it in a couple of hours.

If you have trouble finding any of these items let me know and I can probably ship them to you.

Also check here for a few fiberglass ideas.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=157603

Thanks for everyones help, it put me in the right direction...now just a little time and ill put smoe links to some pics up later.

sweet, i always like to see other 2G Honda's