On October 8th I traded my 1994 Integra LS Sedan for this 1992 Civic VX hatch with JDM B20B swap. I had a build thread for the Integra here, so I wanted to start one for the Civic too. This is going to be a long project and one that I hope to keep going for many years.
My first car was a Milano Red 1994 Civic Si hatchback and I have wanted to get another red hatchback ever since I sold that car. I was looking for them a few years ago and couldn’t find any worth buying at that time and ended up settling on the Integra. Now, 3 years later, I am back in a Milano Red Civic HB. The car is going to primarily be an AutoX car with hopes of doing track days in the future. I also want to keep it streetable enough to enjoy cruising around town and going to local cars and coffee events.
Mechanically, the car felt pretty strong and ran well on the hour drive home but I didn’t really push the car much to be sure I would make it to my driveway. The exhaust on the car was a 4-1 header, welded to a straight pipe, and exiting out cheap 3” piping and muffler. It was extremely loud and annoying so that’s the first thing to go. Since the whole system was welded together, I needed to pull it all off. I had put a header on the Integra and had the OEM exhaust manifold from the B18B laying around so it’s going on the B20 for now. The previous owner had installed the header with cheap bolts so I installed new manifold studs as well. The heat shield will get a fresh coat of silver paint soon to give it that OEM look.
Someone had threaded a fine thread bolt into one of the holes instead of the proper thread pitch so that needed to be cleaned up.
I had a Yonaka catback exhaust on my Integra and was really satisfied with the quality and performance so I am putting one on this car as well. They offer them in an all-black powdercoat finish now so I went with that for a more subtle look. This exhaust has a fairly large resonator and oval muffler so it should quiet things down quite a bit. I have the exhaust loosely fitted now and I am just waiting on my new catalytic converter to arrive so I can finish bolting everything up.
The previous owner didn’t know many specifics on the car but from what I can tell, its setup with a JDM B20B from a 1999 CRV. It has an A1 cable transmission from a 92-93 Integra LS that has been converted to work with the hydraulic setup in the Civic. It has a P75 ECU that is supposedly chipped but I don’t know any specifics. The O2 sensor was disconnected but it’s not showing any CEL so I’m guessing that it was bypassed which means the car is running in open loop? I know there will be many more questions as I dig deeper into this swap setup.
The suspension on the car is shot. This is something I knew I would be replacing anyway so it wasn’t a big concern. It’s currently riding on cheap coilovers with completely blown struts. The rest of the suspension components are stock which makes them 25 years old now.
I bought a complete front end kit which includes inner & out tie rod ends, upper control arms, upper & lower ball joints, and sway bar end links to help tighten up the steering on the car. I also got a set of 94-01 Integra rear LCAs so I can mount the 24mm sway bar I had on the Integra. Those will be cleaned, painted, and fitted with ES bushings before going on the car.
There is a lot of slop in the shifter so I ordered a new shifter ball seat and rubber boot to install with the Skunk2 short shifter I had in the Integra. I will also be replacing the shift bushings ASAP.
I also had an older Nardi Gara steering wheel installed in the Integra so I kept that and it is now in place in the Civic. I bought one of the billet aluminum hubs from eBay and had to do some modifying to make it work but it is in place now and looks great.
Upcoming Projects
– Clean EVERYTHING (interior, engine bay, chassis, etc.)
– Install new front suspension/steering
– Engine tune-up (plugs, wires, distributor cap/rotor, fuel filter, fluids, etc.)
– Install Skunk2 shifter
– Install OEM front strut bar
– Refurbish 94-01 Integra LCAs
Long Term Plans
– Full coilovers/suspension setup
– Interior recondition
– Bodywork/rust repair/full repaint
– Rear disc conversion/new brakes all around
– Racing seat
– Roll cage
– Jackson Racing Supercharger???
I am really looking forward to building this car but this will be the first car I’ve had that has been someone else’s project. I’m sure I’ll uncover plenty of gremlins along the way. More updates/plans coming soon!
1992 Honda Civic VX Build 