78 civic a20a1 swap

[woosahhh]

Hi, i'm interested in what you're doing to the old 78 civic... I have a '79 civic cvcc wagon I've begun restoring and I'm trying to find a replacement engine with a bit more umph to it as a direct or slight modify. I also want to replace the old 4sp with a 5sp. what tips can you offer me. I also want to lower the little guy a little. any ideas on what to do re: leaf springs and front coils?

[cvcc_wagon]

motor with a little more umph would be the 80-83 accord/80-82 prelude motor. not much more power but a little. the prelude/accord motors came with a 5 speed manual and 3 speed auto so that would take care of your 4 speed problem as well. the 5 speed has a lower final drive so some find it a little sluggish, i ran with one in my second gen wagon and found it to be alright for daily driving and it got good mileage on the highway. the desirable tranny is the 1980 civic 5 speed as it has a high final drive and close ratio gears, any of the civic 5 speeds have the higher final drive but the gear ratios differ some. in a series of unfortunate events (too many to type) i ended up having to run with a 4 speed from my 78 wagon in my civic and i really liked it, on the highway it rev'd high and limited my top speeds however for round town stuff it was nice and peppy with the higher final drive ratio. only the second gen motors (80-83) will bolt in with little or no modifications.
the primary motor mounts are identical on the second gen motors however the tranny side mounts are a little different, in your first gen there is a rod going from the head to the firewall, on the second gen motors this is replaced with a triangular mount off the tranny with a rod in a slightly different location. with a little backyard engineering and perhaps a friend with a welder you should be able to come up with a workable solution.

as for lowering, cheep and easy: cut front springs and put a 2" block under the axle beam in the rear. the front struts are going to be stiff and the rear shocks are going to blow so you may have to find a generic replacement to prevent this.

this is all just really brief off the top of my head and there are dozens of things i'm forgetting and am simply not well versed in, a good site for more specific questions is http://www.1stgencivic.com/forum/index.php

[zxdriver99]

well heres a little bump for my thread. I've been working somewhat steady on my car over the last two months and here's what I've got done;
-speedo, Tach, switches and dash wiring converted into original civic dash
-roof section, sunroof and roof bodywork nearing completion
-drip rails, corner lenses, antenna, chrome trim shaved
-three piece mid-wing preliminary constuction complete
-most of the bodywork on the shell is done. started the rock guard.
-Interior stripped, cleaned, primed and basecoat painted

-Engine bay;
*Three of four engine mounts made(top driverside left)
*4 of 5 notches complete(front and rear crossmembers, and both framerails) one more for top driverside to do
*had extra serpentine and vbelt grooves machined off pulley(looks super cool)

things are coming together nicley
I have posted some new pics in my link at the bottom of the page.

[zxdriver99]

been working on my car new pics on my link
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/wrx...cd.jpg&.src=ph

[lxndr]

WOW!

Nice job!

[cvcc_wagon]

looking good

[BLU CIVIC]

anymore progress...

[zxdriver99]

There has been lots of progress, but I will do an official update tomorrow and hope fully add some pics. my sig contains a link with some new pics since my last update(only a few).
Oh by the way it runs now, needs rad and axles to drive and finishing bodywork, paint and reassembly.

[zxdriver99]

So I've been a busy little beaver....
The civic now runs, very short amounts of time with no rad and all, but runs.
The shifter linkage, fuel system, brake system, engine electrical system, and heater hoses are all hooked up.
I need to finish the rad support, the axles, and the throttle cable to be able to move it under its own power. they'll be done by the end of this weekend for sure.
I also intend to have the rest of the body work on the shell done and primed as well. unfortunately it will be staying in primer for the rest of the winter, so I will be re-assembling the civic in primer.
there are new pics in my link in my sig at the bottom. any questions please feel free to ask. I can take some extra pics of things(if possible) if you like