Best diagnostic place to look for rust, I think, is on the top of the inner wings (fenders). Also check the front lower valance where the wings bolt on. If these areas are really crusty or have been bodged over then you could be in for a protracted project. Check out the car generally for signs of patching as well as rust.

Personally, I don't rate the Haynes manuals at all. I've got over twenty different manuals for these cars and I think the best are the ones from Honda themselves. I like to suppliment them with parts books too. If you can, have a look on e-bay. There's usually a good selection of stuff on offer.

Good luck with your project! : )

By scholzj (67.171.200.238) on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 10:51 am:

I know that Jacob is also tall and I think that he is planing on mounting his seat back against where the rear seat used to be. I on the other hand don't have that problem being that I am only 5'6"
Jeremy

By Jonathan (66.252.173.251) on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 05:36 am:

You should fit. I'm 6'5", and I can fit in mine. It is a tight fit, though. I may run into trouble with getting my left foot off the clutch when I swap the Hondamatic for a 5-speed, but I'll take care of that when I get to that point.

The 1st gen Civics are unibody, check the door, trunk and hood gaps to see if they're straight. If the gaps are all straight and even, then it's a good bet the rest of the car is straight as well.

Search on this board for Justin March's Wagon, or look in the March issue of Super Street. That'll show some good pictures of a engine swap.

When buying a 1st gen, look for as little rust as possible. The cleaner the shell you start with, the easier your project will be.

By Chaffneue (Chaffneue) (64.180.112.150) on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 11:42 pm:

Intro---------

Hey Everyone, I'm new and I'm looking for a First gen in Victoria, BC.. I'm just getting into it all. My mum had a crappy green 81 Civic sedan for years, and I kind of like the way they drive, even stock. The first gen style just really grabs me and I plan on doing some serious work on one. It's all hypothetical right now, but if fortune strikes, I hope to have a nice little car like some of the ones I've seen on here. I ordered a haynes manual from amazon a few days ago just to see what I'm getting into. Right now I'm sticking to vintage scooters which are also great toys to work on.

http://www.scoot.net/gallery/bbs/DSC00037sml.jpg

I've got some hypothetical questions:

-I'm about 6'4 and 250 lbs.. will I fit in this car? hehe I fit in the old civic okay.. but these look smaller.

-Are 1st gen bodies monocoque? any good tips to see if a frame is twisted?

-I heard from an autocross friend of mine that mostly works on 510s, that one could put some kind of acura motor in these things and still look stock.. any truth to this?

-What should I look for when buying a 1st gen civic?

Urethane Stuff--------------

Just in case you guys might be interested, there's this fantastic guy in California who can do up just about anything in urethane, metal, rubber or plastic (motor mounts, springs, lenses etc.). You'd have to send him a sample of the stuff you wanted duplicated, but it might save you some serious postage from overseas. The great thing is there's a tiny setup cost as he does mostly one offs, and anything he does gets saved so other people can use it for their cars. I've seen his work and it's unbelievable. Check him out at http://www.claussstudios.com/ .