Rep Power: 0

So, first up, a few things that are important, I think.

First of all, my main vehicle is a motorcycle. A Yamaha XT225. 73.2mpg, city. Love it. But it means my practical and affordable to drive vehicle is filled.
Second, budget for the car (Excluding mods) is "under $2k" or realistically, $1200-1700, depending.
Third, this WILL BE A DRIFT PROJECT CAR AND DAILY DRIVER.
The kind where you put more than it's worth into it until the blood, sweat and tears are worth more in US dollars than the car itself.

I don't know if this forum, which seems to have mostly stock Civics displayed, takes kindly to DiY modders and mod enthusiasts.

Based on an article I read elsewhere, I was pointed to either the '94-95 Civic Hatchback, though I can only find '93 Hatches on Craigslist.
I did, however, find a pretty clean '94 Civic EX (Two door coupe) in a absolutely horrible colour.

The main thing is availability of parts for upgrade, second is sideways abilities. Must be manual. I really don't like automatics. They feel awkward. Comes with riding motorcycles since I was five.
I don't know what I plan on doing with the engine. I might just put a 2jz or a 7mgte in it and put a bigger turbo on that and leave all else stock. Or keep doing "one more tweak" until it's a 1000hp monster that my insurance agent would cry himself to sleep over.
But the suspension will definitely need to be reworked to drift properly.
Body will probably need to stay stock due to it being a drift car and tracks have walls sometimes.
Tires, brakes, and weight reduction...

If I get a hatch, it should be white. The kid who parks next to me has a white one, so making us accidentally get into each others cars is a bonus.
****, maybe he'll sell it?

Whatever, not enough sleep, too much words.

tl;dr What old Civic for modding into a drifter / tasteful ricer?

 
Rep Power: 519

The Civic body might be the least of the worries.
If you are going to make it rear wheel drive (for drifting) then anything goes. All you really need is a somewhat clean shell because everything else important will come from something else.

After all that cash outlay, paint will seem cheap by comparison.

[autostream]http://autostream.com/ibcivicforums/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=643&t ransactionid=1381288784-98214246123&posted_by=_www.civicforums.com&youtube _video_id=bfR_Ztug9N0[/autostream]





^^^This is the wallpaper on my laptop at work.

 
Rep Power: 0

...Why is the forum posting things backwards...?

Anywhore, paint was a low priority. I have some friends who can do amazing things with rattle cans, and when you aren't doing a gloss coat, you can do matte rattle cans pretty well.

It was my understanding that the older Civics were rear-wheel drive?
Maybe I'm confusing the RX-7 or the MX-5 or something...
My second choice would be an RX-7, but the rotary puts me off pretty significantly. I barely know how a rotary works in theory, let alone modding one.
Also there are zero RX-7's in the Kansas City area for sale, it would seem.
There's an '85 AE86 for $2250, but it's pretty beat up.
There's an '89 Supra, but it's non-turbo and automatic.

 
Rep Power: 519

Somewhere in the "USER CP" area you can change that setting.

We have a detailer that can make the rattle can job look like a thousand dollar paint job. Dude can truly shine a turd.



AFAIK, never.
They DID build an AWD Civic though.
Those both were, so was the GLC into the early 80s, and 626 up until about 82. I kinda liked the RWD 626 back then, but they rusted out fast here.
I spent 10 years in a Mazda dealer.... I was the top dog there, and even though I know well how it all works, I still can't explain to another person how they got the triangle shaped piston to walk around the oblong circle. LOL
Unreliable gas hogs anyway, IMO. Stuff a V8 in it.
Hell, stuff a V8 into the Miata. We had 2 Monster Miatas at that dealer. The one that a Doctor owned got all the bugs worked out (Monster Motorsports left quite a few issues that needed corrected and re-engineered) and aluminum heads and LSD in it. 400+HP made it a whole lot of fun to drive!


I've seen pics of the Honda S2000 drivetrain in a Mazda B2000. That looked like fun too!

 
Rep Power: 0

It's not quite a $1k job, but it's probably a $400-500 job.

Perhaps the drift article was recommending the AWD Civic with the fronts disabled while on the track and the rear LSD, or whatever the AWD equivalent is, welded? Speculation, seeing as I can't find anything substantial on it.
Which year and edition was AWD? I couldn't find which ones, specifically. Just that it was "FWD and AWD" with no further elaboration.

Eh, I wouldn't do a V8. Love the way they shake the car while they idle, but most just waste too much power. The rest are too expensive for me. A straight six would be preferable.

Oh dear. Look what I found.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/4101466177.html
Too bad it's out of my budget.

 
Rep Power: 519

Doubt it. The AWD was a FWD with a tiny TINY transfer unit added to it and tiny rear diff.
Look under a CR-V or Element sometime, it's pretty similar.

In the US, 87-91 5 door wagons, I think. Other countries may have had more choices.

From a post elsewhere on the web:
It's not 4wd like EVO VIII or WRX STI Imprezna 4wd.

The 4wd system of the SW wagon had like a 80% front, 20% back 4wd system, there's a video on streetifre or youtube of a buy doing a burnout while tied to a tree. As you can see the rear tires are barely spinning.

It's not a 4wd system designed for performance, it's a 4wd system designed for soccer moms who get stuck in a little bit of snow. And obviously, since they haven't used it since 91, it didn't work out too well.


Can you translate?

http://www.hondaoldies.de/Korbmacher...hnik/rt4wd.htm


Ooh! It's already RWD with an ungodly high redline.

 
Rep Power: 0

Here's a '97 Dodge Stealth Twin-Turbo for $2200.
Had an engine replacement with that from a 3000GT, and it's incomplete, but everything is there.
That might not be horrible, especially if I plan on popping out the suspension and brakes anyways.

Edit: ****, the 3000GT is AWD too.

 
Rep Power: 0

After looking at some other threads for budget drifters, it looks like my current income and life plans can't support a drift car financially just yet.
Seeing as I don't want to sell it, I'd rather have a modded Civic now and buy / make a drift car later.
I've been wanting to put a 2jz Turbo in a Sand Rail, but I imagine I could make a drift chassis just as easily as a sand rail chassis.
Whatever. Those details are a problem for future me.

Anyways, which Civic for a tasteful ricer?
The hatch would be nice for audio reasons, and if I'm not drifting, the weight balance concerns are invalid.
But the coupe can be found for a little cheaper and, IIRC, is lighter, stock.
I do plan on doing some weight reduction to it.