D16SiHatch's new EJ6 build thread

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D16SiHatch

Active Member
So i had an opportunity a few days ago to pick up this civic on the cheap and i jumped on it. i'ts not perfect by any means, but i can't complain because i got her for only $300.

It's a 1996 civic EX. currently it has a blown engine : ( the kid said that he accidentally let it run low on oil (apparently it burned quite a bit) which lead to a rod letting loose, and a tennis ball sized hole in the bottom end that followed soon after. i don't have a pic of said carnage yet, but i will get one lol.

the good news. its basically stock and unmolested! no 5 inch tach, tribal design decals, or hacked wiring harness. the body is in pretty decent shape, albeit a little rust in the quarters which is to be expected. he just had the door locks and windows worked on recently so i'm told they all now work as they should. seems pretty clean on the inside, and it does have a/c and p/s still, which i intend to keep.

Before i start doing mods i'm going to fix the important shit thats broken, which includes but is not limited to..

-replacing the engine!
-front bumper. not sure what happened, but it looks like it was ripped off somehow and thusly has cracked it in a spot and tore out the tabs which hold it in place
-pass. side fender dented in. going to try popping it out, otherwise i'll search for a replacement.
-speedo doesn't work. either the vss is bad, or the cluster is bad.
-hood latch. its not locking into the hood like it should. haven't determined yet if its the latch that's bad, or if the cable or interior latch is stuck, etc. (fixed)
--diode in the climate control unit is bad and will most likely need replaced in order to make a/c functional. (not a huge concern right at the moment seeing as how its still cold as balls outside)



These are my plans for the car (in no particular order and subject to change)

-adjustable coilovers
-Si tails
-oem type fogs
-decent looking front lip
-flat black or charcoal 15 inch rota slips
-pioneer headunit (nothing fancy) and speakers (previous owners removed it all)
-viper 5901 w/ remote start
-least an ls, maybe somethin else. definitely going to stay n/a though. the hatch will see boost instead :p

enough talk, here's some pics. its all i have right now because at the time of bringing the car home all i had to take pics with was my friends iphone. once i start working on the car (removal of the old engine and install of the new/used one) i will get new better pics with a digital slr camera. we literally just backed the trailer into the garage seconds before taking these pics lol. the first 2 pics are what the guy sent us before going to pick up the car

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i reckon thats all i have for now. will update with more pics once i get the new motor.
 
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hmm no replies huh :( ah well, life goes on.

does anyone happen to know if the z6 block has a provision on the back of it for a knock sensor? like a part that could be drill/tapped? i couldnt find any pics of the back of a z6. at this point i can't find any good suggestions on how to properly bypass the knock, since i'm running the z6 with the y8 ecu. i'm thinking i may try tig welding a bung to the approximate spot on the block the knock would be, and then screw the sensor into place. i figure there's a fairly decent chance it might work, and if not oh well i'm screwed and the cel will be on either way lol.
 
i'm thinking i may try tig welding a bung to the approximate spot on the block the knock would be, and then screw the sensor into place. i figure there's a fairly decent chance it might work, and if not oh well i'm screwed and the cel will be on either way lol.

Yup, just add it. :D
 
well the guy came up with his z6 tonight and we took a look at it. compression and cylinder leakdown tests showed real good numbers so i thought i had my motor for sure. well after my friend listened a little closer he noticed the beginnings of a rod knock. i didnt hear it at first but after listening closely sure enough it sounded like a slight rod knock. had to listen to my own car to realize what i was hearing on the z6 wasn't normal. so anywho, i'm back on the hunt again. i hope it wont take long to find an engine, but who knows :(
 
might have just been low on oil. if thats the case the sound of the valves sounds like rod knock.
 
we checked the oil and it wasnt low. the sound was definitely from down near the crank and not coming from the valvetrain :(
 
i'm not complainin really. i just want to find an engine (that doesn't cost an arm and a leg) for the damn thing already lol. i suppose it's only been a few days... what can i say, i'm impatient i guess lol.
 
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looks like a good start for 300 bucks.
 
dayum : | well i don't need this engine to last me forever, but i'd like it to last a little while. preferably not burnin and/or leaking massive amounts of oil along the way.
 
well its been about 2 weeks, but i finally found an engine! i was stuck between buying one i knew burnt oil for $150 and rebuilding it, or buying one that was a little more expensive but was lead to believe was in good running shape. i ended up deciding on buying the more expensive one, so i hope it runs alright, and doesn't bite me in the ass later : /

i took a look at the valves through the intake and header openings and they appear quite clean and dry. checked the oil and it didn't look out of the ordinary. so these small findings are positive i guess, but only time will tell once i get it up and running.

anywhoo. it's a d16z6 and i paid $300 for it. he let me keep the alternator and distributor so i figure all and all it was a pretty good deal. bein that's its not a d16y# engine maybe i won't have to worry as much about spun bearings : | lol

here it is right as i got home. still loaded up in the pickup truck err passenger seat lol.

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and here it is in the garage after carrying the heavy bastard about 50 feet lol.

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either tomorrow or friday i will probably be bringing it up to my friends shop. soon after we'll probably go pick up the coupe so that i can get to work on this thing.
 
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sweet car, sweet build.

now get a damn camera and stop using your cell phone.
 
sweet car, sweet build.

now get a damn camera and stop using your cell phone.

haha ok ok. here's some better pics. i haven't had a chance to clean it up at all yet though. i'm going to take some engine degreaser and simple green to the whole thing before i drop it in the car.

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cam lobes appear to be in pretty good shape too

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still not half as clean as the old y8 head i had. shoulda never sold that thing : /

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Looking good! By the way I went through two y blocks probably because of the oil pump/spun rod issue. But hopefully I'll have better luck with the b7 block. Did they mention approximately how many miles on the z6 when you bought it? $300 is a pretty good deal that's how much I got my y8 for.
 
he said it had about 133k on it. by looking at it i figure that sounds about right. but ya never know, people make numbers up off the top of their heads sometimes.

i was also going to pick up this oil burning y5/y8 engine that the guy only wanted $150 for, but then i was like ehhh i don't wanna have to worry about the oiling issues. so i think i'ma hold out for now and maybe pick up another z6 and do a vitara build on it. i've already got a b-series in the hatch so i mean i don't REALLY need one in the coupe. the money it would cost to go b i could put towards building/boosting a d, plus i figure it will be easier to retain p/s and a/c if i keep the stock engine.
 
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