Paranoid Parents

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

preluderjs

Senior Member
I'm 17 and I am supposed to be getting another car soon w/ about 17k. I think I want a B16 or B18(ls/t or n/a c1, most likely n/a route) into a 6g hatch but my parents are terrified of doing an engine swap. How could I convince them it would still make a good, reliable daily driver? I tried saying swaps are always done and insurance would be so much cheaper than my alternative. My alternative is a 5g prelude that I would eventually want to put a t3/t04e turbo onto (hence all the ?'s I've asked about this set-up but I dunno if anyones noticed). I like the lude but I know its heavy (not much I think can do bout that or else it would be my 1st choice) and needs more power but I know putting a turbo on that is a bitch because of the build-up and it doesnt help that I live in cali if I do get the turbo. Any suggestions on how to convince them or on which car to get would help a lot. Thanx.

p.s.: low 13's would be nice in either car to own the ricers around here but I'm more into handling too.
 
6g hatch?

get a usdm itr motor. be done with it.

as for reliability- it runs races- it runs integras just fine... it would be the same in your hatch
 
Is the 6th gen civic looked down on or what? ;)

And those ITR's are super expensive so that is why I was thinking b18c1 and then saving to work on that.
 
dude, a type R motor is nice, b/c its totally worked outa the box. and u only need to upgrade if ur going huge boost. but i agree its alot of money, id go with the b18c1 if u have the $$ for it. its a great engine and great for daily driving. it will smoke the pants off your turbo prelude and all the ricers where u live.
 
Originally posted by SleEPeR_CRX@Jan 15 2003, 10:33 AM
dude, a type R motor is nice, b/c its totally worked outa the box. and u only need to upgrade if ur going huge boost. but i agree its alot of money, id go with the b18c1 if u have the $$ for it. its a great engine and great for daily driving. it will smoke the pants off your turbo prelude and all the ricers where u live.

wtf.. boost an itr? that's an oxymoron.
 
As far as conviencing your parent to let you swap just explain it to them in terms they can understand.Explain that it ins't uncharted territory,and that the motor comes in the car in other counties anyway.If all else fails just save up the money and spend a day at the shop,they'll never know.
 
you live in cali, sweet well if I were you i would stay N/A smog and refs are hard enough to pass with out a turbo. If i were you, tell your parents this will be a learning experiece for you. Tell this will teach you all about cars and how to work on them, and later on in life this will prevent you from blowing cash at a mechanic. Make sure you research your emissions laws before you start your project, and good luck.
 
going with the saving tons of cash and learning shit, do this, call up a shop and ask them how much it would cost you to do rear brakes (if you have drums) it will normally be like 200 or so. then go up to murays/autozone other place like that and ask them how much for the parts for this kind of stuff. Most like $80. Same with tune ups, oil changes, thermostat r and r, shit like that. Now share with your parents, the markup with repairs are all over the car and doing an engine swap will teach you alot of shit that can be used and almost any car.
 
Im not sure what they might be thinking as far as engine swaping goes. Maybe they just dont like the idea, or don't know enough about it. If i were you I know I'd like to do a swap too. But, I can tell you what they're thinking insurance wise. ANY engine, lets call it engine B, that you swap into car A means that engine A is no longer in car A(duh!). Insurance companies do their automotive ratings based on the STOCK car. That means original engine, body, interior, etc. Most other things you dont register, like stereo is installed and generally covered. SO, if you change the engine, you kinda void your insurance(in most cases). So, lets say you go out and get in a car accident, maybe it's not even your fauly(lets hope it's not) and the car gets totaled. Insurance adjusters will go over the car, EVEN the engine codes to be thorough. Their book says a 1998 Civic DX hatch back comes with XXXX engine. They see B18C on the block. BAM...your screwed. They can claim that your modifications to the vehicle were unregisterd, and they can't determine if it was a factor in the accidet(even if its not your fault). They can then deny coverage, drop you, your parents, and ruin your insurace record for at least 3 years. Shitty. No Joke either. I checked all this out with multiple insurance companies to make sure it was standard, and sadly it is(bastards).

Now, I'm not saying this is gonna happen, but if it DID(and you almost never know when an accidents coming until right before it does) you could potentially be paying out the ass for the damage to your car, maybe someone elses, possilbe lawsuits, raised rates with whatever company, and maybe Joe Metro for a while.

Just food for thought. I'm not saying don't do it..I probably would, but i drive cars for a living and have a perfect record. But it would happen to anyone.

Good luck!

Rob
 
The insurance thing is true,unfortunatly in the states,the civic didn't come with that motor,so you don't have the stance on the subject with the insurance that we do in Europe.Talk to them andd explian that you need to change out the motor for whatever reason,And see if a stronger motor will fly with their coverage.
 
So about the insurance thing.... if u do swap, you have to notify your insurance that u made a change? will the price raise? or will they not accept the swap period..
 
show mom and dad that you are taking the initiative to research this and that you are not leaving any holes in the process. do what the other guys are telling you call around to different insurace companies, as well as your current provider. Also what part of Cali do you live in???
Peace...
 
I'm in San Diego. Thanx for the suggestions, I think I have a good argument for getting the hatch now and hopefully I wont have to fall back on the prelude. Damn, only if the prelude lost a couple pounds....

And where is a good place to buy a healthy ITR engine?
 
Originally posted by RS1@Jan 15 2003, 05:54 PM
So about the insurance thing.... if u do swap, you have to notify your insurance that u made a change? will the price raise? or will they not accept the swap period..

Well, its kinda of a double edged sword. If you do notify, they may cover the vehicle under something along the lines of a "custom car/gray market" style of coverage. This could be a little more or a LOT more. Or you could do what most sensible people do. TELL THEM NOTHING. Just don't do anything stupid to get them looking at you, or your car. Its reasonable to say that 85-90% of the time they never even have an idea, maybe even more than that. They may choose not to cover the vehicle at all, or on a very limited basis(maybe just liability, forgoeing theft, colision, etc).

This is one of the many reasons I hate insurance companies. They rate you on the type of car you drive, your gender(my cousin, the same age, 3 tickets, 4 accidents, owned a Honda, now a 98 A4 sedan, still pays far less than i do with a perfect record...ah the justice), and your record.

Anyway. Everyone should always check with AS MANY insurance companies as they can. Just suggest that you might do a swap(if you tell them anything). Never tell them its already been done, cause then all they see is $$.

Rob
 
insurance- dont bother telling them.

basically, the only reason why you would tell them would be to insure the car for a higer amount than the market rate. so if it gets stolen or crashed- you maybe fucked out of some cash.
its your choice
 
Originally posted by pissedoffsol@Jan 16 2003, 09:17 AM
insurance- dont bother telling them.

basically, the only reason why you would tell them would be to insure the car for a higer amount than the market rate. so if it gets stolen or crashed- you maybe fucked out of some cash.
its your choice

The only problem with that though is if you get into a wreck,even if it isn't your fault the insurance company (one again depending on the company) can say they won't pay.It has happened to several people here,someone rear ended this one guy and he got totally fucked because of it,no medical,no car,nothing.
 
Back
Top