Woodyhfd
Woodyhfd GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
6/2/08 5:11 p.m.

It's been a while since I've owned a Civic and my expertise is limited to 91 and earlier cars.

I found a good deal on a 2000 5 speed DX hatch. Are these a good base to build upon? Anything to look out for? It has about 80k miles on it and appears stock.

MCarp22
MCarp22 New Reader
6/2/08 6:04 p.m.

Those are an awesome chassis. If you're familiar with the older ones, there's not a lot different from what i understand. Throw a VTEC twincam and some disc brakes on there and it'll be a riot.

gamby
gamby SuperDork
6/2/08 6:57 p.m.
Woodyhfd wrote: I I found a good deal on a 2000 5 speed DX hatch. Are these a good base to build upon?

YES. YES. YES.

LIMITLESS aftermarket, GREAT handling, still a lightweight platform. Even w/ the stock motor, it'll be fun w/ some quality supension mods.

Practical as all hell, too. Jump on it if it's a good deal. Just be sure to look into some decent theft deterrent.

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
6/2/08 7:38 p.m.

buy it...

I have a 96 and it holds an incredible amount of stuff inside and is pretty fun. I'm looking into suspension mods right now.

Pinche_Chingadera
Pinche_Chingadera
6/2/08 9:04 p.m.

The y7 engine that in it isn't that bad. I had that same engine in my 92 hatch and boosted it at 14psi for until it finally spun a bearing but still ran for 3 more months after that. I just didn't go over 3k. lol. There's boat loads of suspension choices for Civics. They don't make them like this anymore.

GlennS
GlennS Reader
6/3/08 12:33 a.m.

make sure its not stolen

ww
ww Dork
6/3/08 12:54 a.m.

Pretty much any Civic prior to 2005 is under 2500lbs or close to it depending on your options, so, you'll get rewarded even more for doing the upgrades.

You didn't tell us what you plan to do with it...

I'm on my 3rd one now as a daily driver and it gets 34 to 36 mpg, has 146k on the odometer and passes smog like no other.

integraguy
integraguy New Reader
6/3/08 7:23 a.m.

Your 2000 DX sounds like a '96 CX hatch I'm looking at here. In this case, it's got 87,000 miles on it, NO power robbing accessories except A/C (power steering only came with automatic that year) and it even has little 13 inch wheels/tires. My hangup? The dealership that's selling it wants 5K for it, which I think is a bit steep...especially since Edmunds "suggests" this car has a TMV of $3,500. But my plan would be to drop a B18 in it, or maybe something even bigger, if the budget can stretch for it.

ww
ww Dork
6/3/08 7:09 p.m.

Integraguy, K24 is your friend...

integraguy
integraguy New Reader
6/4/08 6:58 a.m.

I realize nearly any Honda engine ever produced (except for a V6) "might" fit in a '96 CX, but the budget and the ability to retain A/C would be the 2 biggest factors in the purchase of this car. BTW, it's still for sale, so I'm going to discuss the $$ of a conversion with my Honda "guru" this morning...if i can get ahold of him.

cxhb
cxhb New Reader
6/4/08 2:29 p.m.

i drive a 2000 CX hatchback, i have a B16 engine swap with no power steering (never came with it, i believe the DX did) and i did retain A/C with the motor swap (previous owner had A/C installed with old motor) all it requires to keep AC is a new compressor bracket and lines, both can be sourced from a 99 00 civic si. their fun, but if you are going to swap to a B-series motor, the drivers side engine mount likes to give out so buying an aftermarket mount (at least the drivers side) wouldnt be a bad idea. some other things are needed for the swap if you want to go that direction. like previously said they are great all around, hold tons of stuff, and any part you can think of for it is out there. any questions just ask.

cxhb
cxhb New Reader
6/4/08 2:32 p.m.

then again keeping the stock d series motor isnt a bad idea with gas prices the way they are.

93celicaGT2
93celicaGT2 New Reader
6/4/08 5:05 p.m.

Boosted B16 with an LS tranny would get monster gas mileage.

As for mounts, i recommend Innovative Billet mounts for added vibrations and stiffness.

carguy123
carguy123 Reader
6/4/08 5:18 p.m.

The D series is unburstable up to about 200,000 miles. It gets great gas mileage and has pretty decent power. Plus there are all kinds of mods avail able cheap. You can even turbo it on the cheap.

Woodyhfd
Woodyhfd GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
6/4/08 8:13 p.m.

It's kind of a moot point now. I looked at the car twice and had scheduled a test drive for Thursday night but somebody beat me to it. One owner, silver DX hatch, 5 speed, no power steering or a/c, 86k for $4000.

Honestly, I hadn't even been looking for another car but I drove by it on Memorial Day and it was still there a week later. It looked really nice and the guy wasn't advertising it anywhere, just parked it on the side of the road with a sign on it.

It brought back memories of the 89 Si that I bought new and put almost 300,000 miles on.

I removed the a/c from my Miata so I figured that it wouldn't be hard to add it back on to a Civic.

So, I guess I'm half heartedly keeping my eyes open for an unmodified Civic to modify.

Or a Lotus.

integraguy
integraguy New Reader
6/5/08 2:36 p.m.

The '96 CX I was talking about here, has also sold. If you take a few days "to think it over" with low and not so low mileage gas sippers for sale....you will lose out. Glad I don't really need a small(er) economy car...yet.

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