mjohnson161

Looking for someone that might have attempted this before me. I've done a little searching but would like to get even more feedback. I have an 07 civic ex sedan with 220k on the clock and a very clunky auto transmission that sometimes has a pop when in reverse. My coworker decided it would be fun to see how his 06/07(?) civic si coupe would do against a jersey barrier in the snow storm the other night and well the civic lost that battle. His $hitty insurance company wants to give him 500$ for the car since it is 10 years old/160k on the clock and only had liability coverage. The complete front end/engine/tranny subframe/axles, etc. are intact. He was about to pull the trigger and just take the 500 from the insurance but i stepped in and bought it instead. I was thinking I will at least part the rest out and make my money back and maybe keep the wheels for my civic but this got me thinking.....

if I have a complete donor car to swap in the engine and tranny from, what could go wrong? I have worked on many a vehicles and have pulled engines, replaced head gaskets on larger v8's, off-road vehicle suspension systems, forced induction systems(dsm cars)....but this will be my first complete engine swap out. I will have all the parts i would need off the donor car so what other problems might i run into? obviously its not a direct fit, anyone try this before?

ezone

Complete donor car = go for it LOL

IF you have to go through inspection or emissions testing, the SI+manual powertrain not matching your vehicles VIN might present issues though.