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I'm thinking of buying an older civic (EF / 4th gen..I think?) or crx. I'm too worried to do anything serious to my 7th gen, so I thought I'd maybe buy an older civic and learn more about cars that way. Anyone else have an older civic? Would you say it's a good platform to learn on? I dunno what exactly I'd be looking to do...mainly fix it up, learn the basics, then move onto performance I suppose. I can probably get an old civic for $600-1.5k or so that runs, and is in decent condition. I had the opportunity to get a 90 hatchback for $600 with only 115k on it, but I passed it up . It didn't have power steering..ahwell.

 
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i personally dont think thats a good idea- you are gonna spend this money on another car, AND its mods, just to become familiar w/modding?? i'd take the chance and mod your 7th gen civic. If you want to see a nervous person who didnt know a thing about her car or mods, it's me..... i say just go slow... dont do 5 things in one month.... but just do one thing every month or so... i know you werent asking if its a good idea, but i just wanted to share my opinion

 
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i think its a great idea, you can do more with the 6thgen, 5thgen and the CRXs than you can with ours right now. Thy are more versitile, light, and easier to find parts for. YOu can drop plenty of engines into them and still have room to play with internals. I know several people that use their 7thgen as a daily driver then have an older platform as a racer car. If you got the cash flow more power to you

 
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what about 4th gen ? I don't really like the 5th gen civics that much...they look odd to me, I'd prefer a 4th gen, I like the 80's look. The CRX and the 4th gen hatches are the same basic thing though, aren't they?

and fine02civicgurl - I understand your point too, that's the main issue for me, whether or not it's a waste of money. But when I say mod..I don't mean little things like exhaust, I mean go all out, it wouldn't be good to do that to a daily driver (7th gen).

 
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i was thinking about doing the same thing, maybe getting like a 5th gen hatch. i passed a good deal on an 91 integra...damnit
theres more performance options and nobody wants to have a gutted daily driver

 
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oh ok-- i was thinking like rims and projectors-=- lol-- ur talking heavy duty stuff... ok then i changed my mind-- it's best to get practice w/THAT sort of thing instead of risking it with a new car

 
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i actually have had an 88 hatch hence the name and have a 88 crx the crx is my non daily driver since its in NJ and not exactly a good get around car..... the 03 is more reliable to drive to and from work and from NJ to FL etc....the ED is a great car light and lots of parts for it. If u have a chance get an 88 they are the lightest and if u want less hassle and a crx get an HF no sunroof and options but it still has MPFI (multi point fuel injection) and easy to do engine swaps.....DX ull need to do wiring to do eninge swaps or headswaps...but overall i love the EF next to the DC2 its my favorite....i also have a 87 crx si that i play with maybe when i get time the engine will be in with the turbo and all still needs alot of work....but any questions u got PM me any questions im sure i can help ya out

 
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Are the stock engines on the hatches and crx's decent, or would I really be looking to swap? I really don't have the tools to do a swap, I'd rather go turbo, but not if the engine isn't worth it.

 
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look at my setup in the crx. i have a 92 ls motor in it and a 93 ls tranny and it rulz! next thing i need to do is turbo it. as far as my 7thgen, i ran a 10 flat @ 73 mph in the 8th mile so i love my i/h/e, p/p/3 angle vj from gude, 3200 stall torque converter, and of course the 20x8x14 slicks on miata rims. hell, i can use them on the crx and run 9 flat in the 8th mile consistantly

 
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u can do alot with the stock d16a6 look at homemadeturbo.com abaz did alot....with my old hatch i had a d15 with d16y7 head and a bunch of mostly stock honda parts IHE si trans and did a 15.1 in the quarter on street tires....i mean u can learn alot just from reading but theyre also fun little cars check out honda-techs EF forum lots of people there too with EF info

 
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here it is

 
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heres the 7thgen with **** *** 14s (i sold my rotas a while back)

 
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It is a great idea. Between me and Crashoveride we have 4 Civics. He has the 7thgen and I have 90 HB, 85 CRX si and a 87 CRX Si. The 2 CRX's are project cars and I drive the 90 and he drives the 7thgen.
We have the 87 stripped down to the frame and doing a rebuild on it, using parts off the 85. If there is enough left over the 85 might just become a drag car with a huge engine. The 87 going to a drivable show car. I have lots of books and you can do anything you can imagine with an older civic.

If you do get one have fun with it. I can't seem to stop buying older civics. I will probaly buy another one this fall

 
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crx all the way... they are so easy to work on if you ask me, and the parts are so plentiful and many times cheap. a great thing to help out your modding if you dont know much about cars is to go to a bookstore or auto zone or something and get one of those maintenance books. those things basically tell you the general way to tear the whole car apart and put it together, with pics and are pretty easy to follow... but it could just be because i know what im doing anyways....

 
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We have 2 Civics...the 04 EX and my 97 hatch. My honest opinion? The Civic is a WONDERFUL, attractive and reliable vehicle. Do I believe in modding them heavily? No. Some people like a challenge, and others simply like to mod what they own/can afford at the present. That's just not me, but I respect other people's desire to do so

That being said, I can see the logic in buying an older one, swapping in a B16 or B18 (or even an H22) and having some fun on the autox course much more than I understand spending the money for a new or 1-2 year old 127hp (at most) vehicle, and THEN trying to swap, hack it up, etc.

I say go for it! My 97 has 123K miles on it, and I may consider spending the money for a swap once this engine gives up the ghost. I usually prefer to modify RWD V8s that pull 14 sec 1/4 miles from the factory, but this car is worth it more to ME than to sell it for $2000, you know? Anyways, it could be fun