Tony,
I can help you with a few things:
Tach - yes...any aftermarket tach will work...The dizzy has two wires coming out of it and a plug nearby, the BLUE wire gives you the signal to tap into the tach. I have a pic of how I did mine if you are interested.
The dash wires could be a poor connection of the gauge pod connector. Mine did this in the mid 90's. Remove the screws in the top of the gauge pod (using a stubby screwdriver since they are up by the windshield, and remove the cover...there is a plug that needs cleaning up there..that fixed mine. It is unlikely all the bulbs are out. Do any other lights work in the dash (i.e., climate control, etc..)?
If you have the 4-speed standard, most mods are not going to give you much in the way of HP gains. Exhaust mods and straight pipes may hurt this motor even worse, since you would remove all backpressure. You are kicking about 70HP to the crank, and the motor has been detuned for economy. There are things you can do, but the best bang for the buck would be a different motor and transmission (all of the 5-speeds, except the CRX HF transmission would be geared better)...engine swaps into 88-91 Civics are pretty common and there are a variety of motors to put into it, and many resources to help with what you need and wiring, etc..I'll leave it at that for now since that could be a whole other thread...I would recommend reading this-->
Click here! if you are interested in some ideas about engines that could pep up your STD Civic.
Tranny Oil - use regular 10w-30 (I would recommend synthetic) - the drain bolt is a bolt that uses a 3/8" socket driver (with no socket) to open it. Look for a recessed square that a 3/8" drive would fit in, in a bolt on the bottom portion of the tranny That might help you locate it. The fill I think is a regular bolt, and you fill the tranny with oil just up to where it flows out of the fill hole and that is the correct amount.
Good Luck and welcome to the board.
- Hope this Helps!
