Would you guys trust a swapped CRX?

now that i'm starting school again i need to replace my current DD with more mpgs and no payments. i need something reliable, easy to work on, FUN to drive, and preferably a little different than what ive owned before.

so i'm looking at CRXs as ive always wanted one and why not now. theyre only getting older. so why is it that they all seem to find the worst owners ever?

anyway, there's only a couple clean, mostly stock CRXs with ads in legible english that ive come across, but lots of what look to be E36 M3ty swap cars. would the GRM crowd trust a swapped car? (other than GRM's CRX i'm a month late on) how can i tell if a swap is correctly done? should i just stay away from any ad with jdm yo garbage anywhere near it? there was one mentioning hasport mounts/linkages which iirc are good parts, yes? anyone selling a nice clean crx without nostrils on the hood?

To me the issue is not how the swap was done, or what parts were put on it, but how that implies the car was driven. In a lot of ways, jobs (even big ones) done in a driveway are done with a lot more care than Bubba with his bigass air ratchet and impact gun in a shop changing an engine "professionally".

I get a sense of how a car was treated, and how the work was done, not by any "telltale sign" but just by spending as much time as possible with the owner talking about the thing, and letting them drive me around in it. I test drove a lightly modded DSM once i thought would be ok because the car was very tastefully done and the owner was older and worked at a metal fab shop.. The owner took me out in it, and immediately stomped the gas, and mercilessly jammed it through all gears while bouncing it off the rev limiter every time. He turns to me and goes "See its pretty fast, huh". I was out of there in a hurry.

I guess the point is that, to me, trying to get to know the seller and what they're like and how they've driven the car, is more important that what mods have been done. That even includes fart can CRXs from kids (I just bought one and its worked out great so far...)

The only swapped Honda I've bought was one that I helped swap the engine into (in a driveway, BTW).

If the swap is a birdsnest of wires, run. You can tell if it's half-assed. Start it up (drive it if possible) and see how it idles/vibrates/stutters/clunks. See if the check engine light comes on with all the other idiot lights when the key is turned.

If it looks factory, then at least it's a start...

Man, you just missed GRM's CRX. Sold about a month ago.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/1988-honda-crx-hf/crx-sale/

I'd be much more concerned about rust, especially in Massachusetts. Most of these cars had serious rust showing up in the rockers and rear arches by the mid to late 90's.

It's hard to mess up a Honda swap. If they knew enough to swap it, chances are they knew enough to do it right, or had a buddy or two help them that knew enough.

It'll be pretty obvious if it's a basket case.

In reply to WilberM3:

I just went through the same thing. Seems like there's more swapped CRX's than not!
I ultimately ruled them out, my thinking being that if I wanted an engine swap I wanted to do it myself, so I would know where the engine came from and how the swap was done.
I ended up finding a relatively stock vehicle, but it's not getting any easier. I had to go to Florida from Ohio for mine. I guess my advice would be stay stock, but if you do consider a swapped car, look at how the rest of the car is done and you'll get an idea of how well the swap was done. I found that cheap swapped cars were junk and correctly swapped cars weren't cheap.

i just came across a rather clean 91 si that has what he's calling a mini-me head swap. he says its just a vtec head on a stock block for a bit more power and no extra weight. plus its only about 10 miles from where i'll be today. good to know about the swaps being almost idiot proof... if not taste-proof. i think i'll stay away mostly unless it looks especially good as i just dont want to waste my time getting to feel out a bunch of ricers or un-do any mods later, especially body stuff.

are there any hidden places to check for rust? he says its been a winter virgin thus far so i'm hoping that helps tremendously.

The weakest place for rust is in the rear quarters behind the wheelwell. Look at that area very carefully. This is caused in part by the design of the sheetmetal in that area, but can also be caused by clogged and leaking sunroof drains. They can also rust under the wheel well lip moulding, and behind the plastic rocker covers. If you can, try to get a look at the back side of the rocker flange where the outer rocker meets the floorboard. That is sometimes a good indicator if there is rust behind the plastic rocker covers. If the car actually is a winter virgin, then rust should be non-exisitant of minimal. A look at some of the un-painted underside components should tell you if he's telling the truth or not. Good luck.

WilberM3 wrote: i just came across a rather clean 91 si that has what he's calling a mini-me head swap. he says its just a vtec head on a stock block for a bit more power and no extra weight. plus its only about 10 miles from where i'll be today. good to know about the swaps being almost idiot proof... if not taste-proof. i think i'll stay away mostly unless it looks especially good as i just dont want to waste my time getting to feel out a bunch of ricers or un-do any mods later, especially body stuff. are there any hidden places to check for rust? he says its been a winter virgin thus far so i'm hoping that helps tremendously.

"Mini-Me" isn't really a whole motor swap. The wiring changes aren't much, and there's thousands of complete write-ups all over the internet. Any moron can do it, and do it well.

It's also a huge waste of time, and the only good it does it enable you to tell your friends that you have Vtec.

If you can do a head gasket, you can do a mini-me. No red flags there, it's just so easy to do without screwing it up.

The main places to check for rust are the same as any Honda. They all seem to rust where the rear wheel arch meets the rear bumper, as Honda cleverly designed a sand/salt/mud shelf in this area that holds moisture perfectly. Same goes for the very bottom of the front of the wheel arch, and where the side trim attaches to the rear quarter panel.

CRX's are also somewhat notorious for developing tears in the rear subframe (where the lower control arms and sway bar mounts). This is usually just on cars that have had massive rear sway bars, but it's worth sticking your head under the rear bumper to do a quick visual.

Rust: Rear fenders, Rear bumper supports, Rocker Panels, Sunroof

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: t's also a huge waste of time, and the only good it does it enable you to tell your friends that you have Vtec.

Erm, wrong.

Stock CRX Si D16A6 is 108hp, the vtec equipped D16Z6 and D16Y8 both put out 127. The head from either car on the CRX block also boosts compression so you're looking at a healthy 20hp bump.

http://www.zealautowerks.com/dseries.html

Neat tool for all the different Honda engine combinations.

I bought a swapped Civic. Well not a major swap. It has the SOHC VTEC ZC. Basically the same as the Z6. And it runs like a top. The guy also replaced all the gaskets and the timing belt on it. But he also had a garage full of beautifully restored American cars so I knew he wasn't an idiot.

DaveEstey wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: t's also a huge waste of time, and the only good it does it enable you to tell your friends that you have Vtec.

Erm, wrong. Stock CRX Si D16A6 is 108hp, the vtec equipped D16Z6 and D16Y8 both put out 127. The head from either car on the CRX block also boosts compression so you're looking at a healthy 20hp bump. http://www.zealautowerks.com/dseries.html Neat tool for all the different Honda engine combinations.

I should clarify... i just personally believe (and we all know about opinions) that the money would be better spent elsewhere. It's more work than i would want to do for 20hp.

But that's just me personally. I wouldn't DO the swap, but i would buy one that had it done.

I agree with most people here. Just make sure the swap was done right, and get a feel for the person who did it.

But another bad place for rust, on the first gen CRXs is where the panard bar mounts to the "frame". I've had 2 that were rusted out there. It basically keeps your rear wheels under the car when not rotted. If you can push the rear of the car side to side and the wheels come out from under the wheel wells, run away, or expect to get into some serious welding.

In reply to HappyJack:

He's looking at a 2nd gen with an entirely different suspension.

Again, run from a wiring rat's nest. Check for the normal stuff. Oil leaks, etc. Also, how someone treats the paint and the carpet says a lot about how religious they are on maintenance and generally 'doing things right.'

BUT...every ass-hat and their brother (including me and my brother) has a berkeleying swapped honda. IMHO, for a driver, unless we're talking K-series swap, all it's going to get you is a 14 second car instead of a 16 second car, and worse gas mileage. You won't win any races, you'll get confused at the parts store, and again, addressing your main concern, you didn't do the swap yourself, so who knows what kind of ethnic engineering went on.

Be patient, and wait for something like this to pop up closer to you...or send me a check and I'll go grab it for you. $2800 (Buddy looked at it and said it's rust-free and clean as it looks, btw. Needs a windshield.)

Oh, and you're a fag if you don't like 1st gens. Here's another one in ATL. I'm probably an idiot for not grabbing it today:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/2167913031.html

Didn't you hear, you can't say (uh, write) the 3 letter "F" word anymore. They banned a song in Canada due to that kind of language, dude.

BTW, 1st gens are a real kick in the pants. I've owned 4 of them. But my old bones couldn't take one as a DD anymore. I'm suffering enough with my 2nd gen. Think I'll give it to my boys...

Am I weird for liking the EF Civic more then the CRX?

In reply to poopshovel:

14s are child's play. 13s and 12s aren't that hard to hit even WITHOUT a K-series. Hell, even keep it n/a.

I think the only things id care about are:

Wiring. The wiring has to be clean because i dont enjoy fixing other people's wiring.

Motor: the condition of the motor has to be as good as id want in any other kind of car.

What did they strip: If they took out the a/c i'll be annoyed, because its god damn texas here.

Bodywork: expensive and annoying to REALLY fix.

bad speller - No, I have a couple friends that do also. In fact, to drive I also like it better. The longer wheelbase makes it ride better, the smaller rear hatch makes it more rigid, and it's a lot more practical. It also handles much more predictably on track. No, you're not weird.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: In reply to poopshovel: 14s are child's play. 13s and 12s aren't that hard to hit even WITHOUT a K-series. Hell, even keep it n/a.

I ran high 13's with a turbo on my D16 and an otherwise totally stock engine, and it wasn't built for drag racing. Duplicating my setup can be done much cheaper than most engine swaps.