Most car enthusiasts I know have a project vehicle in their possession. You know exactly what I am talking about; that half-disassembled heap in the garage, that ride under the car cover in your driveway, that jalopy leaking oil parked out front ... you get the idea.
As we get older we see the need for a certain level of comfort in one's daily driver. Driving to work is bad enough, at least you can do it in air conditioned comfort in a car you don't have to worry about breaking down.
It's not like in the olden days when you were 18 and just happy to have a car, period, unconcerned with the mismatching hood/door/trunk and side window that won't roll down. Not wanting to completely sell out by rolling in your Lexus GS, however, you still have that itch to own a racecar. A completely non-practical cop-magnet that is just damn fun to drive. This is where project cars come into the picture.
Unless you are loaded, many of us do not have a lot of extra money to spend on our project vehicle between the mortgage payment and student loans. The key is to build a weekend warrior that won't drain your wallet. It is a shame to have a project car sitting in front of your house that doesn't run (granted I am 100 percent guilty on this account four cars over). The best of both worlds is to have a car you can actually enjoy and not have to spend a small fortune to build it.
My latest cheap project car came to me in the form of a beat up 1988 Civic Wagovan. A friend was moving to Japan and had to unload his beloved Civic. I was right there to swoop it up and provide it with a loving new home. My buddy was willing to give me his Civic complete with Progress coil-overs and front and rear camber kit, GReddy exhaust, A'PEXi V-AFC and Rev Speed meter, Momo steering wheel, Defi oil pressure gauge and a brand new Panasonic CD player all for only $400. Who can pass up a deal like that? Well, of course with any great deal there is always a catch. My buddy sold the engine to another buyer and part of the deal was that I remove the engine for him. I didn't care much about losing the motor since I already had plans in store for the Wagovan.
My goal for the Wagovan (it's not a wagon, it's not a van - it's a Wagovan!) was to drop a B-series engine in it and take it to the track on the weekends. It is a 100 percent sleeper. It is so ugly that my wife refuses to ride in it. I see this as potential for competitors to underestimate my Wagovan and me blowing them away on the corners. It doesn't take a lot of power to get a mean track vehicle. A built engine, good suspension and some driving skill can get you far on the track. It doesn't take buying a WRX for $25K; let me spank your WRX with my $2,500 Civic, thank you very much. Cheap n' ugly-not good for girls, but good for racecars.
The B-series swap has long been the source of power for many a project car and has never gone out of style. Such a swap is a relatively cheap way to make a lot of power. In our case, a fine little weekend warrior to tool around in. What has changed over the years is how easy it is to make such a swap happen.
Back in 1990 my brother, Nee Choo, was the first individual to swap an Integra engine into a 1988 Honda Civic DX. In fifteen years the swap is the same but yet so much has changed since then. When the first swaps took place people had to manufacture new motor mounts and hook-ups for the engine. It was one big pain in the butt and loads of fabrication work.
Nowadays companies sell ready-made kits with all of the bolt-ons needed to make the swap. One of the premier companies to offer theses engine swap kits is HASport. Have a 1984 Honda CRX and you want to swap a B-series in it? They have a kit. Want to swap a H22 in your 1992 Civic? No problem. With almost any Honda and any engine combination possible HASport probably carries a kit for it.
We opted to use HASport's complete B-series engine mount kit with shift linkage. The kit comes with three engine mounts; the front tranny mount is no longer used. The mounts can be ordered in three different urethane stiffnesses: street, street/track or full race. The days of cutting the factory Integra shift linkage and shortening it are gone. The new HASport linkage is constructed in the same stamped steel fashion as the factory but is made to the correct lengths for precise shifts.
I have been cruising the Wagovan to and from work and I love it. I get people checking the car out every now and then. And I am sure they are wondering why this heap is on the road but I don't care. This is my baby. I know I am not going to get any girls in it but then again I'm married. So what is to come of the Wagovan? If I can pry my brother's finger off his K24 block don't be surprised to see a K-series in this puppy in the future.