tofu4u82

Hey guys, im considering dropping a gsr motor into my snail slow 4 door automatic 99 Civic LX and was most likely going to purchase the gsr package from hmotorsonline. I was wondering if you boys would know what other things I would need or some complications I might run into, like if I would have to get a custom exhaust to fit in the setup or stuff like that. Sorry, im as big a noob as it gets to cars. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Andy

Custom exhaust is going to be one issue you need to deal with. Since your car is an LX, the cat is mounted directly to a stumpy exhaust manifold so that the cat is directly infront of the engine. This is good for emissions as the cat gets up to tempurature faster, but horrible for power as you can't have a full sized exhaust manifold. Any B-series exhaust manifold, aftermarket or stock, will need a cat that's located under the car, where they normally are. If your planning to remain OBD II compliant, your best bet would probably be a '99-'00 (probably 96+, but I can't say for sure) Civic EX cat.

Another much bigger issue is transmition, your starting with an automatic and swapping in a manual. It's not impossible to do, but it's a lot more work. You'll need to find a new manual pedal assembly (for the clutch pedal), the clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder along with all the hardlines and softlines that connect the two. If you want it to look right, you'll also need the center console from a manual along with gauge cluster (clusters not critical, the PRND321 lights just won't work, looks funny though). I'm not sure about EK ('96+ Civic's) but the earlier EG's ('92-'95) required a custom upper tranny mount as the bracket welded to the passanger side frame rail was different. The EK tranny mount is a little different design, so I'm not sure what will work (like I said, never worked on one).

Aside from that, you should be pretty good, but I'll be honest with you. Your probably a lot better off selling your car and buying a manual version to save yourself a ton of headaches and money. If you don't want to, your probably going to need to find a wrecked parts car to grab everything from. There are probably more small issues too (for example, making your reverse lights work) but the big issue is the auto/manual conversion.

tofu4u82

Yea, I was thinking about selling it, but I practically stole the car for $1,500. But anyways, Im kinda excited about having a 4 door sleeper. No one ever suspects the 4 door.

Andy

How'd you get a '99 Civic for $1500? That's a pretty damn good deal. If your willing to put in the work, it can be done, but your probably better off starting with a manual in the first place.

tofu4u82

My dad used to work at Honda and some fool wanted to sell his Civic to buy a different car. I dont know what the guy was thinking, but because of some minor front end damage he decided to sell the car for that much.

Andy

Hmm? Must have only thought it was worth that much? I'd still suggest you sell it and buy a manual to start a buildup with, save yourself a lot of headaches.