Learn me 92-00 Honda Civic parts interchangeability (also Integra)

Building my 95 Civic EX for the 2000 challenge and learning everything I can about swapping parts, but most of the Honda forums are just full of "use the search function, noob" and when you search there's no answers.  But I'm interested in what I can get from a junkyard to upgrade this car for cheap, since I know older civics are kinda legendary for how swappable everything was.

But here's what I've learned:  I have the D16Z6 SOHC VTEC engine.  The A1/P29 factory pistons drop right in and give a big bump to compression.  With the Z6, I already have the best factory intake manifold for my engine, although some people have swapped on a stock B16/B18 throttle body.  I'm interested in that if I can find an old integra at a junk yard.  Also rear Integra disc brakes and I think trailing arms bolt right on, that would be a nice upgrade over my rear drums.  Integras and Del Sols have a larger radiator, good for track days later on.  Also Integra rear sway bar.  I don't believe there are any factory cam upgrades, aftermarket only.  

Does anyone else have any tips/info they can throw my way?  Any other upgrades from other cars?  I don't have the knowledge (or budget, or space) to even consider an engine swap at this time, though if I keep the car then down the road it'll get a B series.  Currently I'm running I/H/E (exhaust on the way) and shopping for suspension.  Interior is stripped behind the front seats, next big project is to remove the sunroof and replace with lexan.  Anything in particular I should keep an eye open for at local junkyards?  I'm brand new to Hondas so I'd appreciate any information.

Look for Integra GSR brakes and master cylinder for bolt-on big brakes.  Also the rear trailing arms from same car, or a Civic with ABS (rare) to get rear brake disc conversion.  (Rear brakes are the same between the Integra and Civic w/ABS.)

CRX radiator will net you a fill-width radiator.  

If the Z6 is really nice, selling the Z6 and transmission may net you enough recoup enough to piece together a B-swap.  

If you could get a cheap/low-mileage B20Z out of a CRV and find a cheap b-series trans that needs syncros or something else that is fixable, that's still going to be the best route to go faster vs souping up the Z6.  You could drop a line in the marketplace with a high price, given that the Z6 is able to be seen/heard/driven, then pull it out if you get the right offer.

On our Lemons car we tossed swaybars years ago, in favor of stiff enough suspension to be effective on the race track.  

Z6 runs great but has 261k miles, not sure how much I could get for that.  You're right though, if I sold that I could probably come close to financing a cheap swap.  Especially a junkyard swap.  My biggest issue is I don't really have the room or equipment to do a swap, nor do I know anyone around here that's really good with Hondas.  I ain't gots no Honda buddies.  If I did, I'd try to piece together a B20 bottom end with a ported B18 head.  I didn't know about the ABS rear brakes, thanks for that!

Tyler H (Forum Supporter) said:

 or a Civic with ABS (rare) to get rear brake disc conversion.  (Rear brakes are the same between the Integra and Civic w/ABS.)

Quick question: If the rear brakes are the same between those two, then if I grab the rear ABS brakes from a civic I'll need to get the trailing arm as well, correct?

I think the Y8 is the best intake manifold for the D-series at least from what I remember and you can throw a B-series throttle body on. But honestly I wouldn't spend to much on trying to get N/A power out of that motor. Tuning is easy and cheap via chipping a P28 ECU which that car should have. If you decide to do that, swap the caps on the ECU board as a preventive measure. 

You can sometimes score a Type R Integra rear sway bar for cheap. I think my JDM one cost $80. The JDM ones are 1mm larger. You are probably going to want get the subframe reinforcement plates if you add a rear sway bar.

Make sure to check for cracks on the plastic end tanks of radiators.

Take a look at the trailing arm bushings. Those seem to fail.

infinitenexus said:

Tyler H (Forum Supporter) said:

 or a Civic with ABS (rare) to get rear brake disc conversion.  (Rear brakes are the same between the Integra and Civic w/ABS.)

Quick question: If the rear brakes are the same between those two, then if I grab the rear ABS brakes from a civic I'll need to get the trailing arm as well, correct?

If you find them in the junkyard, I would just take the whole trailing arms/ upright / hub assembly.  It may be that the trailing arms are the same, but I would just drag the whole assembly out of the yard -- including the parking brake cables, brake hoses, etc.  That way you know you have all the bits and pieces.  

OK, where do I start.  I've been playing with these for 20 years and have built plenty.  Some thoughts that come to mind:

D16Y8 intake manifold is the best of the D manifolds.  I can confirm a B18 throttle body bolts to it and that it fits your Z6 head.  You will need to port match the manifold as the TB is bigger than the hole in the manifold, there is plenty of material to remove.  Look for a manual transmission TB from an Integra. 

All the suspension between the 92-95 Civic and 94-01 Integra will interchange.  As has been said, rear discs are good from an ease of use standpoint, but provide no actual braking improvement back there and the drums are a bit lighter.  I still swapped all of mine to discs as I don't like drums, but for a challenge car keep the drums. You need the trailing arms, hubs, brake parts, and e-brake cables. 

Front suspension: the Integra knuckes have bigger brakes, wheel bearings, and hubs, all of which are good on track, non of which is necessary for the challenge. 

Rear suspension: the integra rear bar is only like 14mm, it is almost not worth it.  Just look for a used 22mm or so rear bar, but it MUST have some sort of reinforcement on the subframe, otherwise it WILL tear.  Getting the rear roll stiffness up is important to get it to handle well. 

Here's a great resource for figuring out how the stock motor bits all plug and play together: https://www.zealautowerks.com/dseries.html 

If you are actually building a motor then there are a ton of other tips that I can share.  

Thanks for the tips, guys!  The wife and I went to two junkyards today. We didn’t really find much useful (new spark plug wire loom, wooo) but I did find a 98 Civic with GSR rims on it. And wouldn’t you know it, all of my weight on the lug nuts wouldn’t get them to budge. Dang. 

As to the Y8 manifold, from what I’ve read it’s a tiny bit better than the Z6, but it’s not a direct swap, there’s some changes and adaptations that need to be made. I’ll keep the Z6 manifold. 

Sonic, thanks for the heads up on sway bar reinforcement. I don’t have the ability to weld so that’s probably out. Hopefully I can simply get stiffer rear springs. We’re hitting another junkyard tomorrow and if they have a 92-95 EX, I’ll be grabbing the intake manifold and cylinder head to port in my shed. Does a B series throttle body bolt up to the Z6 intake manifold as well, with some porting?  If I go this route I’ll grab a pair of A1 pistons as well  

And sadly, no integras  were found in any junkyards. My search continues. I did find a 98 Civic with rear discs. I may go back and get them in case I keep this car for some HPDE in the future but I figured for autocrossing I wouldn’t need them.  Glad you posted that they aren’t a huge deal 

Good luck! When I had a Civic, any Integra I saw in a junkyard had been stripped to the bones before I could get there.

An EM1 Civic (99-00 Si) will also have rear discs for later use. But they are probably even more rare than an Integra.

In reply to infinitenexus :

Some big ass fender washers on the backside of the subframe also work.  The stiffer your springs are the less it matters.  If you go with no rear sway you need rear springs high enough rate that most off the shelf shocks won't be able to control them.  
 

Baltimore is only 2 hours or so from me, I could weld something in if you wanted to make the drive. 

Awesome, thanks for the offer!  I might take you up on that to weld in some small rust patches in the back wheel arches.  That's the only thing that's really "wrong" with the car.  Now let's see if I can find a big rear sway bar for an affordable price!  So far no luck.  I'm searching through LKQ and looks like one near me has a 95 EX, so hopefully the engine is intact tomorrow morning so I can snag the intake manifold and the cylinder head.  Fingers crossed.  With LKQ's prices, I should even be able to fit both of those in the challenge budget with room to spare.