Noob! Just bought 88 hatch..lots of questions

Noob! I just signed up and have been reading posts for a couple of hours, this seems like a great place for help and fun. So, I just bought an 88 hatch. It has several small dents in various places on the body, missing the left headlight assembly, hatch window is smashed to bits, no fenders, new hood but no cable, worked for an hour to try to figure out how to pop the damn hood..still can't. (I know..stupid, first car also) Lots of interior issues, cluster is good but must not be connected as none of the gauges display a damn thing. The engine is great, very clean, sounds great, no sputtering or any RPM jumps when idle. And the guy I bought it from took apart the entire left door..so..lots to do on this. BUT..it was only $60. So..basically..where should I start? I know that's a lot of information..and im sure a lot needs to be done as it has sat for a year in a garage. I REALLY appreciate any help here, as no one I know knows anything about Honda's. Thank you!

Note: I'm not a total noob with Honda's. Used to have a good friend that taught me a lot. Just no hands on..I know basics.

Just thought of something I should do first...what are some good cleaners? I would like to clean the entire engine(external), inside of car, outside of car, etc.

idk about cleaners, but if i were you i would first of all figure out how to open your hood. Is the car a 5 speed? Then u should go into the FAQ thread and look for places to get body parts or look in the classifieds for body and interior pieces. Also check your local junkyards for fenders and such. Welcome to the Forum man.

-JJ

idk about cleaners, but if i were you i would first of all figure out how to open your hood. Is the car a 5 speed? Then u should go into the FAQ thread and look for places to get body parts or look in the classifieds for body and interior pieces. Also check your local junkyards for fenders and such. Welcome to the Forum man.

-JJ

Yeah, still trying to figure out the damn hood..hoping someone here might have some good ideas. I believe it's a 4 speed. Which seemed odd to me. But I would like to do an engine swap as soon as im done with the body. Definitely going to look into junkyards, that is a very good idea. Thanks for the ideas and the welcome. :)

4 speed is the STD (standard) model with 70hp DPFI (dual point fuel injection)... to get the hood up, I've heard that you can push down on it and it'll pop enough to squeeze something thin like a screwdriver (if your finger doesn't fit) in the crevice to bump the latch sideways to unlock it... but if it's closed super tight then I doubt that would work. I believe there's a way to get it open from the bottom of the car too.

Thanks for the info, ugh..70hp.. *cough new engine cough* The hood is on tight, I am able to get a screwdriver in though, just can't seem to hit the latch to get the damn thing open. I will try again when I get home though. Hadn't tried from below. I will check that too. Thanks again!

love project cars so much fun in the begining

love project cars so much fun in the begining Yeah, that's one of the reasons I bought it. I wanted a project and shit..it was only $60. It's just crazy how much I need to learn and a little overwhelming at first. But im still excited as hell.

Thanks for the info, ugh..70hp.. *cough new engine cough*

The 70 hp isn't all that bad (40 MPG regular) but still extremely slow compared to other hondas on the road. I still have my 70hp beast in mine and all my friends make fun of me but this is what I tell them. "Even though it's slow, I like to call it an ECONO-Racer. I can beat Priuis's, Insights & Scions and still get 40 MPG." Just keep that with you till you can get a swap going. I crack myself up when I say that :lol: But it's true.

The 70 hp isn't all that bad (40 MPG regular) but still extremely slow compared to other hondas on the road. I still have my 70hp beast in mine and all my friends make fun of me but this is what I tell them. "Even though it's slow, I like to call it an ECONO-Racer. I can beat Priuis's, Insights & Scions and still get 40 MPG." Just keep that with you till you can get a swap going. I crack myself up when I say that :lol: But it's true.

Very true. lol I like that. Not sure what swap to do. I could do the "popular" B16, or B18, but im not sure what would fit without serious mod and im not sure what would be rdiculous. Any ideas?

if your looking for a bolt in engine, i would recomend the jdm d15b vtec. its off the eg4 vti. not expenssive at all, compared to the b's. they can give them a run for the money. other people in here are gonna say, y not the d16a6 or the d16z6. the reason i would chose the jdm angine is that its faster and has way less miles.
just my :2cents:.

The 70 hp isn't all that bad (40 MPG regular) but still extremely slow compared to other hondas on the road. I still have my 70hp beast in mine and all my friends make fun of me but this is what I tell them. "Even though it's slow, I like to call it an ECONO-Racer. I can beat Priuis's, Insights & Scions and still get 40 MPG." Just keep that with you till you can get a swap going. I crack myself up when I say that :lol: But it's true.

Hey you could upgrade to a d15b2 yes the b2 not the d15b1 like you have. You would have a enormous 92HP!!!!that will destroy older escorts tempos, 626's, new sicons(except Tc) def. Insights, older sentras(non-seR).. Yep well at least with 4th gens you have a major weight advantage.

Plus shaguar47 is right. You can beat the hell out of the car and still maintain GREAT GAS mileage.

Awesome, I will start looking into pricing for that. Sounds good to me. I'm guessing it uses the same mounts so I don't need to buy new motor mounts? But this means I need to find someone to install it that won't charge me up the ass..that or find a cherry picker for the motor swap. Oh, also. Got the damn hood open FINALLY last night. The oil is a little low and for some damn reason the guy that sold me this car disconnected a pipe that connects to a box that says something like "computer controlled fuel injection". It looks like the air intake, but im not certain. I still have all the parts he has removed in the trunk area. I just need a Hanes manual and a little direction to figure out if that is actually what I think.

I have a question I just thought of, since this is my first car, and im not sure what needs to be done first. What would be some good things to check for? How can I make sure my timing is correct, spark plugs are good, injectors are clean, etc? The exaust smells like it isn't burning efficiently, smells a lot like gas, not normal exaust.

Here (http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/default.htm) is a copy of the Helms manual (the best). It says it's for the 91 CRX but a lot of the info is the same. Look at the diagrams to see what hoses/vacuum lines go where. Remember you have DPFI. What codes do you have? Pull up the carpet from the passenger side floorboard area to see the blinking indicator... you'll see. You may need an O2 sensor... Bosch part from Advance Auto is good enough for $17. The dealership charges out the ass for them, which is crazy cuz I heard that Bosch makes all the sensors anyway. Oh yeah,you won't need motor mounts to swap any D series engine into your car.

Awesome! Thank you very much! Now I can get some shit done tonight. Now the only thing im paranoid about is why the hell he tore so much off of this car..

Good deals on JDM D15B-VTEC
http://usedforeignengines.com/

also look for "ask4crash" on Ebay that is his alias there

I just got my JDM today, he shipped it monday,very qwik

welcome to the forum mate, post up some pics of your ride, hope you get the hood up ok

good luck with the car :thumbsup

welcome to the forum mate, post up some pics of your ride, hope you get the hood up ok

good luck with the car :thumbsup


Thanks man! Got the damn hood up last night. Now there's 100 other question once I opened it up. heh..time to consult a manual..and anyone on here that has answers. Really wish someone lived local that I could have look at it for me. :banghead:

Good deals on JDM D15B-VTEC
http://usedforeignengines.com/

also look for "ask4crash" on Ebay that is his alias there

I just got my JDM today, he shipped it monday,very qwik

Ah, thank you. I will check it out and start pondering how to make some extra $$ to get some parts asap. :)

its good if you learn how to work on your car on your own mate, is the engine all complete??? if its not running sweet, then i would change plugs, leads, dizzy cap, and do a general service, then you wont be spending silly amounts of money on a problem which is easily solved,

glad you got the hood up. im sure if you need ANY info on here there is always at least one person who knows what they are on about ,

its good if you learn how to work on your car on your own mate, is the engine all complete??? if its not running sweet, then i would change plugs, leads, dizzy cap, and do a general service, then you wont be spending silly amounts of money on a problem which is easily solved,

glad you got the hood up. im sure if you need ANY info on here there is always at least one person who knows what they are on about ,

I definitely want to learn on my own too, just good to have help. But everyone here has been kick ass! I have no idea what a dizzy cap is..hehe..*noob* And how do I change leads? Where are they located? I feel dumb..I propably know what your talking about just not the term.

on the top of the engine you will see 4 leads, they are called plug leads, these need changing every so often, they arent usually very expensive,

now the dizzy cap is what these leads are all pluged into, its a small blakc unit on the side of the engine, is you change those to start off with and also the plugs too, it would be good to get a few mates over who know a little bit then you can also learn off them too

on the top of the engine you will see 4 leads, they are called plug leads, these need changing every so often, they arent usually very expensive,

now the dizzy cap is what these leads are all pluged into, its a small blakc unit on the side of the engine, is you change those to start off with and also the plugs too, it would be good to get a few mates over who know a little bit then you can also learn off them too

Oh, allright. I was looking at those last night after I popped the hood. How can I tell if they are good or need to be changed. They were blue and didn't look stock. May not need new ones?

you cannot tell by looking at them really , they just wear inside with mileage ,

Allright, I will check that out then. Thanks man