Getting a DX, got some major questions before I buy

[mvZx2]

Hey, a friend of mine is selling his junker dx for like $200, and I'm wondering if its worthwhile? The engine is good, but the body is in really bad shape, I mean really bad... there are rust holes all over the fenders, doors, hood, trunk, etc. I was thinking of getting some new doors, hood, etc, etc from the junkyard basically and swapping it in. Has anybody done this before and does it cost alot for the parts? What about filling the holes with bondo or welding new sheet metal and using bondo for smoothing out, etc? I don't need the body to be perfect, just enough so that I'm not embarrased to drive it around I guess. And as for an engine swap, I'm probably gonna go with a d16a6 (stock si engine). Would I be able to run it with a dx tranny and ecu? I'll probably also have to convert the dfi to multi-fi right for this also? Any suggestions would be really helpful, thanks in advance.

Danny

[Grendel]

I know on older Z cars, rust is a big cost to fix... I imagine its the same with Civics...

If you are going to be doing a motor swap, why go for a Civic with a good engine? Try to find one with a good body, but a bad engine... *shrugs*

-Grendel

[mvZx2]

But mind you the car is $200 And plus, the dx engine is pretty much worthless, unless you do a mini me, multi-fi, etc and maybe I can get close to a d16a6 power. I can get the stock si engine for cheap too.

[Grendel]

Originally posted by mvZx2
But mind you the car is $200 And plus, the dx engine is pretty much worthless, unless you do a mini me, multi-fi, etc and maybe I can get close to a d16a6 power. I can get the stock si engine for cheap too.

I see what your saying, but just how much needs to be replaced? If its stuff like the rear quarter panels... those get expensive quick...

Things like front fenders are easy to fix, you unbolt the old ones and bolt on a clean one... with rear quarters, roof, underbody, etc its quite a bit harder/expensive...

Sure its only $200, but take it to a body shop and ask em to give you an estimate on the body rust repairs... it might be a better idea (cheaper) to find a clean bodied one with a blown engine or something *shrugs*

-Grendel

[FourthGenHatch]

The rear 1/4s are the only real hard ones to replace. Stuff like fenders and hood and all that just bolt on so you can put new ones on easily. But 1/4s have to be cut and welded on.

[mvZx2]

Can I get any info on the si engine swap by any chance? For the rear 1/4 panel, I was thinking of cutting away the bad piece and welding some new sheet metal on there and using bondo and sanding to smooth things over.

[Shadowkahn]

If you're at the point where you NEED A CAR now, buy it and drive it till it falls apart on you, but don't fix the rust because you could get a clean CRX or Civic Si for much less than the price you'd pay a body shop to fix the rust properly.

If you're just thinking of getting it as a fun car, don't, because cars that rusty have all sorts of problems. If it's as rusty as you make it out to be, the rear jack points are probably nearing the point of collapse if they haven't collapsed already. Once that happens it's a PITA to change a tire. Also, cars that rusty tend to be neglected by their owners (hell, I wouldn't care about keeping a rust bucket in fighting trim myself!) so you'll probably find mechanical problems pretty quick.

also remember that the rust you see isn't all there is to the problem. There's a bunch more rust hiding under the paint that will become visible later.