L-Civic ('91 Civic DX Sedan)

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Caljank

Member
Howdy,
I'm hoping this is in the correct place. If it's not I am very sorry.

My 1991 Civic DX Sedan.
Chopped into a mini truck.

I got this car in October of 2015. It was a friend's project that was gifted to me when he suddenly decided to move out of state.

When I got L-Civic it was wide open to the world. It had 212k miles on the original D15B2 and 5 speed transmission.

My friend cut the top, and removed the steel where the tail lights mount, and he threw away the tail lights. He had some small trailer lights kinda setup, but they didn't have reverse lights. He tried to brace the body with some galvanized pipe and 1" steel electrical conduit.

The very first thing I did was to let it sit for 6 months and try to figure out what to do with it. I knew nothing about Hondas. I decided the vehicle was scary. The top moved from side to side with the lightest push. The gap at the top of the rear doors was gone. All of the wires rear of the driver's seat were tangled into the most colorful rats nest I've ever seen.

I googled wiring diagrams. I looked into roll bars. I ended up getting out my test light and started to work out what was what and noted it all on paper. I found an affordable roll bar kit on Jegs, worked overtime and started selling plasma. This is where it all began. My roll bar arrived and it sat. I'd never welded before and this was not a bolt-in kit. So, I waited and talked to people I know about learning and using there welder to do the job. June 2016 my best friend's dad came up from Colorado for a job here was on. He brought his wire feed and I learned to weld. We jacked up the center of the car to restore the proper gap in the doors. He taught me to weld on the doors, after those were welded closed. He showed me about measuring, cutting and notching the tubing on the roll bar. I got it mostly put in before his job took him back to Colorado. After that I spoke with an old boss (he runs a body shop) and traded some jobs around his shop for time and consumables with his Mig welder. My roll bar was completed October 2016.

I pulled the door panels and applied heat to the back side of them, and molded them to fit around the roll bar support that went to the floor pan in the front.

In the meantime I had to do something about my lack of good tail lights. My original plan was to find another EF Sedan, pull the tail lights and cut out the sheet metal where they mount, then put it all back into mine. Civics in general are not common in my area (You could fit all of the people in the state of Wyoming into Denver and have room to spare) and the cowboys out here like pickup trucks and SUVs .

I went looking elsewhere for other options. I found another set of trailer lights on a Chinese website that were big, bright and LEDs.

Between October 2016 and July 2017 I didn't get much accomplished. I did manage to get the tail lights in, and made it street legal (just barely). I got it insured and plated so that I could drive between my place and my old boss' shop. I did buy two 4'x8' sheets of 16 gauge steel, and I may have used a hood box to trace the shape for the back wall (I can't remember when I did this).

In August 2017 the family car died and I decided I should drive a beater and avoid putting 320 miles per work week on the family vehicle. So, L-Civic became a daily driver. I'd only driven it 2 miles at a time before so, I had no idea how poorly it had been maintained by it's previous owners. Between August and October I replaced the fuel pump. Several fuel filters. The main relay. The cap and rotor, plugs and wires. And of course an oil change.

Since then I've been driving. The cab is now 97% enclosed. I was goneg some HX rims and I bought new tires. I've replaced 75% of the front suspension, and now the engine and transmission have just over 233k miles. All the while the engine has used a quart of oil per 1000 miles. I started looking for a wrecked car to pull a motor with fewer miles on it to swap into L-Civic.

September 2018 I found a '98 Civic LX Sedan that still ran and had hit a deer. I snagged said vehicle for $200.

This is what brings me here to Honda Swap. I will be swapping the D16Y7 into my car. I bought a Y8 manifold. I found someone to make me a conversion harness for the engine that adds mpfi and let's me keep all of the OBD2 components. It plugs into the body harness and adds the appropriate wires. Also it came with an obd0 to obd1 ecu jumper. I plan to find a p06 ecu to make it run.

I believe a have everything else I needed to do the swap. The 98 Civic has an auto transmission, I am keeping my DX 5 speed. I believe I can keep my d15b2 flywheel to use on the d16 block. I am currently reading as much as I can about this swap.

I expect it to go fairly smoothe. I've done engine replacements before when I worked at the body shop.

I know many of you do not appreciate my engine choice, that's okay. I'm looking to keep fuel economy. The price was right. This gives me the opportunity to do things I like to the daily I love.

Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Roasts too.

When I figure out pictures I'll post them (assuming this novel doesn't get deleted for being in the wrong place).

https://goo.gl/photos/hDf2ZkeEup95CVoX7
 
you literally on the computer just drag the file into the comment box to attach it and no you have to do more than that to do the swap you need a dpfi to mpfi conversion harness then most simple way would be to do a obd0 to obd1 conversion harness and run the y7 on obd1 electronics... tbh IMO waste of time for little to no power gain and in a beer can, Welcome To Hondaswap ! and yes post some pictures of the car im sure its fun to hoon in
 
Well there's something you don't see every day! Have you weighed this thing? Curious as to how much lighter it is with the roof, etc. removed.
 
that's interesting. i thought only jettas were converted to UTEs. you certainly saved it and improved it.
 
btw the biggest performance gain for $$$ would be just doing the dpfi to mpfi conversion , then if you want to swap it from there do a bseries on the cheap the $$$ IMO to do a insignificant power difference swap isnt worth it IMO , Monotech on ebay sells a custom dpfi to mpfi harness for like $200 then you only have to buy a ecu and intake to match
 
Lol, this allot more reaction than I expected.

That said I did expect dilbeckskate to chime in. To you: I get that you are about putting power under the hood. I understand and respect that.

My donor car was cheap. And I'm stripping it and selling parts on ebay. I will be scrapping the rusty shell. When I'm done the engine will have essentially been free, which is what my overtime and plasma selling budget likes.

I know that my choice is probably your least favorite. You've made that clear in just about every swap post I've seen where someone mentions the D16Y7. But it will serve my purposes.

I'll add photos when I get home. Till then there is a link to Google photos with my build pictures in my original post.

I actually got mono to make me a custom harness for my conversion. It lets me keep the OBD2 components. Adds mpfi. And converts body harness to obd1. It's pretty slick.

Matts96HB: I have not weighed it. I'd be interested to know that too. All said and done with my roll bar it's probably not going to be lighter over all. But, it's light in the back and is fun to drive on dirt roads.

TurboMirage: It's become my favorite car. There are a few EF Sedan Ute conversions I've seen on Google, even a CRX one. This car is already more fun than I have ever expected it to be.

Quick question: when I mate my cable 5 speed to this engine can I keep the flywheel and clutch from the d15b2? Or do I need one from a d16 (donor car is an automatic)? I do plan to buy a new clutch, just want to buy the correct one.
 
im not saying its bad ,,, if you pretty much got it for free fkn send it but id do it correctly and buy a already done dpfi to mpfi harness and then a obd0 to obd1 jumper harness and run it on obd1 and reuse your cable transmission , but then you have more in the harness and ecu than the whole car but if its worth it then do it (im the dumbass thats almost $10k into a d-series in their 79 civic pissing money in the wind and blowing back at me)
 
im not saying its bad ,,, if you pretty much got it for free fkn send it but id do it correctly and buy a already done dpfi to mpfi harness and then a obd0 to obd1 jumper harness and run it on obd1 and reuse your cable transmission , but then you have more in the harness and ecu than the whole car but if its worth it then do it (im the dumbass thats almost $10k into a d-series in their 79 civic pissing money in the wind and blowing back at me)

Dude,

I am mpfi swapping.

I have a premade swap harness in my garage made by Mono Pena (monotech).

I like your passion. If you dislike the vehicle you have, take steps to move into something else. Car guys deserve to like the car they choose to pour into.

Go to my original post, at the bottom is a link. Look at what I started with. It was a chopped, cobbled. It was ugly, I was told it sometimes didn't start.

I understand what I have and what it will be when I'm done. It's a dpfi 90hp turd now. It will be an mpfi 110hp turd after the swap. But it's mine, as I have made it. I am by no means stuck with this Civic, I choose this Civic everytime I turn the key.
 
Gonna try to attach from my phone
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Apparent success!
 
Before pictures

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The PVC pipe is the conduit I ran the tail light wires through.
 
this is really cool. Not sure how safe it is-- but really cool.

Would love to see this finished off and cleaned up. It's a bit 'ratty' at the moment.
 
Just when I think I've seen it all. Sweet project.

To answer your question, all D series flywheels bolt up the same so it will work.
 
Just when I think I've seen it all. Sweet project.

To answer your question, all D series flywheels bolt up the same so it will work.
FALSE lol you still see alot of starter bulge differences etc and totally different mounts etc you really kinda have 84-87 88 89-91 -92+ if you want to get silly with it they all bolt up the same but spline/clutch/flywheel/starter/mounting changes alot
 
I may have just gotten lucky with my CRX then, I believe the lightweight flywheel I ordered was listed for 88-00 Civics and it fit my d15b2 with a cable HF transmission with no issues
 
I may have just gotten lucky with my CRX then, I believe the lightweight flywheel I ordered was listed for 88-00 Civics and it fit my d15b2 with a cable HF transmission with no issues
yea generally as the flywheel stands its 89-00 but they say 88 for some gd reason, same example its 88-00 dseries fuel rail but on 90% of them you have to have them machined to work properly
 
yea, its still rough and far from completed. I try to tackle what seems the most pressing at the current time. Squaring up the bed, and body work are on the list, but they are down toward the bottom right now.

As for "Safe" I'd say that I think its as stable as the sedan was. it has no more flex in it than you'd notice in any other car. Its like a completely different car from when I got it. It flexed and wobbled going slow.
Unless you are talking about the chance of cutting yourself on jagged sheet metal and getting tetanus. that is quite possible.

The whole fly-wheel question is still about a s clear as mud. I'll just have to see how it lines up when the time comes.
 
well, the flywheels on rock auto seem to be the same (same numbers) so I'm gonna stick with what i have so long as it doesnt look terribly over heated when I pull it apart.
 
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