| 1990 Civic STD - Exhaust Notes
Hey HT, I’ve been subscribing for years now, and I continue to love the evolution of the magazine. You guys are doing a great job. I’ve recently acquired a ’90 Civic STD. I love the car but am really struggling with the 70hp. I am working on getting the car swapped over to MPFI and a five-speed Si tranny. I’ve been searching all over for information on doing a mini-me swap but have only found conflicting information. Is it possible to do a mini-me swap on a D15B1 motor? If so, what issues will I be facing that will need to be addressed? Thank you for your insight.
Ben
I agree with you that you need a bit more power under the hood. Just passing traffic on the highway would be a challenge! Converting to a VTEC engine with four injectors and five speeds will totally transform your car. Of course, you can put a Z6 head on a D15B1 block, that is no problem. The biggest issue here is there is no OBD0 ECU with the proper mapping for that setup. I highly recommend using a Z6 ECU or any chipped OBD-I ECU. Rywire.com sells the wiring necessary to make this job a simple task. Make sure you use all your OEM mounts, clutch, axles, flywheel, and any other accessories from your OEM setup. A few Z6 parts will be needed, however. Use the head gasket from the Z6 as well as the timing belt and water pump. Basically you’re changing the head, distributor, and intake manifold. If you decide to upgrade to the Si tranny, be sure you know what year it is, as the clutch discs may be a different size or spline count. Good luck!
I have an ’89 CRX with a B18A1 bored to a 2.0L. The engine runs great, but I want to go H series. The question is, how bad is the handling with the H series? Is it really as bad as people say? I love the way my CRX handles right now and don’t want to lose it, but if the H swap isn’t as bad as people say, I would consider doing it. Will it be worth it, or should I just stay with my B series and mod it?
Anonymous
If you have a decent set of shocks and springs with more aggressive spring rates, you will be fine! I think a bigger issue is hood clearance and axle alignment (with the H trans). I would personally build the B series in a CRX chassis. Or at minimum, I would use a B-series transmission on the H engine. Look at the fastest Hondas in the world today—some are B series! There are three to five guys hovering around 9 seconds (all-motor) with B, K, and F-series engines. It really doesn’t matter what engine you choose, build it up and the sky is the limit. You have a great foundation already, why not build on it?
Just got an ’87 Civic hatch 1.3 auto, and I love the car but hate the performance. Does the transmission bolt up to a 1.6L engine?
Dave
| 1990 Civic STD - Exhaust Notes
Dave, to be honest, I would do one of two things: Sell this one and get an Si. You will get more than just the more powerful fuel-injected engine, you will get nicer interior, better wheels, and a few external body upgrades! Or tear the stock engine out of there, as well as the gas tank and wire harness, and convert everything over to Si. Simply changing the transmission will be a lot of work and only a very slight upgrade. I know this might be a tough thing to hear if you love your car, but I have to be completely honest.
I have a simple question for you. I have a ’90 CRX DX and I’m swapping in a ’95 GS-R with Skunk2 and Edelbrock parts, as well as a GS-R tranny. What wire harnesses are available for this? Also, is there a plug-and-play jumper harness to run an AP1 S2K cluster in a CRX?
Seth/correctional facility
I noticed you wrote this from prison. I hope you didn’t get caught street racing or worse!
If you’re swapping in a GS-R tranny and you’re looking for a wiring harness, you should check out the Rywire.com mil-spec harnesses. This way one brand-new harness takes care of any DPFI conversion and/or OBD-I changeover. It’s an all-inclusive harness that is custom made for your setup. The less expensive way to go is doing the DPFI to MPFI conversion on your OEM harness, and adding a Rywire OBD-0-OBD-I ECU and subharness conversion. I suggest the full harness, as there is nothing better than a fresh new tucked harness.
| 1990 Civic STD - Exhaust Notes
Regarding the S2K cluster, unfortunately I can’t get the mating plugs to the CRX cluster harness, thus making a “plug-and-play” setup impossible. I’ve always just hardwired those in the past, and don’t forget that you’ll need the speed converter and temp gauge converter as well.
(Also, if you were locked up for something serious like murder, please don’t put me on your hit list if you don’t like my reply, LOL!)