Is the 1999 Honda civic a good and easy project car?

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mr_lab_rat@reddit

Yes, tons of options available.

Other cars I would recommend: 4th gen Golf, e46 BMW. Both about the same age as the Civic.

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

I like the old bmws there pretty cool but I feel like doing a jdm car would be a bit easier with the engine. I might be wrong but Japanese engines are pretty simple while German engines are more complex and have a lot of parts I might be wrong. But I’m pretty obsessed with the 90’s jdm cars and stuff and they look pretty cool.

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v70rforlife@reddit

E46 by no means is a difficult car to deal with but things just wear out so much quicker due to tolerances IMO. I’m constantly fixing/replacing things, and although I enjoy every second, it is never ending. When it’s sorted (rarely) it’s truly an incredible driving experience.

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mr_lab_rat@reddit

I had an e46 project that involved engine swap. While I had it out I replaced every oil seal and all hard plastic cooling pipes attached to the block. So when I put it back together it had pretty much all preventative maintenance items refreshed.

I then drove the car for 7 years with just oil changes. It was like owning a new car (it had 150k miles)

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v70rforlife@reddit

Yeah I mean you did it all in one “session” which of course is great. I’m on this rotating schedule of suspension -> oil seals -> rubber -> mounts -> cooling -> power steering -> fuel system -> tires -> brakes and so on. It’s generally spaced out every 6-12 months that I do an overhaul of some kind but it feels more often 🤣

Not to mention redoing the lighting assemblies, paint corrections, interior headliners, seatbelt assemblies, etc. It can get stupid if you really go after it but that’s my own issue.

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mr_lab_rat@reddit

Yeah, I can se how that would be tiring. My two month project was intense but very rewarding

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v70rforlife@reddit

Yours looks great too.

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mr_lab_rat@reddit

That’s a lot of front tire :)

Mine was a supercharged sleeper build.

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newcarscent104@reddit

Good? Yes.

Easy? Sort of (read below)

While doing just a bout anything is much more simple than on other cars (looking at you, Euro dudes) you do have to keep in mind that this is a quarter century old platform with tech from the 80's and will therefore need a lot more maintenance than something modern.

I've been a Honda fanatic and have been working on them professionally for about 15 years now, having owned about a dozen Civics and built 4 EKs of my own as well as countless customer cars. They have timing belts that need servicing, valves that need adjusting, distributors with aging components, ECUs that like to fry themselves, and replacement parts for them are only getting harder to find. You can also bet that you'll need to replace every single bushing on the car, which is no small task.

If tinkering, dialing stuff in, and really getting intimate with your car is what you're after, absolutely go with a 6th gen Civic, it's a wonderful platform that takes well to many different types of use.

If you're looking for more of the "buy, bolt on, enjoy" type of ownership, definitely look for something more modern.

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GrahamD89@reddit

Bushings, timing belts, valve adjustment, etc, is all easy stuff, and par for the course with any project car

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Big-Calligrapher-281@reddit

It's been a long time since I've read so much garbage from a self appointed expert. You either don't really know 90s hondas or modern euros

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Redacted_Addict69@reddit

It is undoubtedly the most commonly modified car in history. If you're gonna mod it do it right though. Make it unique and your own and put effort into it. That's what the 2000's car scene was about.

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Squire_Toast@reddit

These cars are like Legos. You can swap basically any Honda single or dual cam engine from the 80s, 90s, 00's. Even the wiring is somewhat interchangeable between engines. Standalone kits are stupid simple on these as well. Turbo, N/A, nitrous. it's all bolt on basically. One of the easiest cars on the planet to work on. Chassis, suspension, body, interior, is all simple too.

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SxpxrTrxxpxr@reddit

The EF, EG, EK generation of Civics are great and easy.

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buckyworld@reddit

Here’s my ‘99 !

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Competitive_Fault879@reddit

Honestly this is one of the best project cars to start out with, they’re cheap and easy to modify with an insane amount of aftermarket parts. On top of that you’ll find that you can almost interchange parts between every generation of Honda with small modification or even no modification at all. Take my 91 accord for example, I did a 5 lug swap using Honda prelude rear hubs, Acura rsx rear calipers and rotors, Acura TL front spindles and hubs, Acura RL 4 piston calipers and Nissan 350z brembo front rotors 🤣 and that’s just scratching the surface of what you can do with these things

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punkassjim@reddit

I’m a VW guy whose ‘97 GTI has a parts list that spans various models of VW Corrado/Jetta/Passat/Eos and Audi A3/TT from 1993-2008. Just wanted to wave from the euro side, fellow nerd! 👋🏼

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Competitive_Fault879@reddit

Hell yeah dude that’s so sick 😆 I love cars you can piece together like legos

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

That’s cool as hell

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smthngeneric@reddit

Yes

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

I’ve been looking at a whole different bunch of cars and this one is the cheapest to buy stock so I’ll think I’ll go with this one

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Ajpeterson@reddit

Buy the nicest cleanest most stock example you can.

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Tuques@reddit

Easy to work on yes. But the amount of money you'd need to put into it to make it good, would be more than enough to just get an actually good base to start with.

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UnbelievableDingo@reddit

1000% ‼️

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YagerD@reddit

Yes

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stevens_hats@reddit

My first major project car was a 92 civic hatch. B18 swaps from the Integra were very common back in the day. With some practice you could have the engine out in about an hour.

Try to find one without rust - mechanical things are all simple to fix or replace, but rust will kill them.

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Toto_nemisis@reddit

That generation of civic was like Legos. It was easy to find parts.

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HtmlHonda@reddit

Yes, I purchased one last year to drive as a winter beater. I've put a lot of work into it since.

Parts are cheap and they're very easy to work on. I've done everything myself using hand tools in my small apartment garage.

In one day I replaced the steering rack, both rod ends, power steering pump, both ps hoses, the belts, idler pulley and both motor mounts. All that cost me about $300.

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RCMike_CHS@reddit

Impressive!

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HtmlHonda@reddit

I'd kiss those Honda engineers on the forehead if I could.

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MisterMasterCyIinder@reddit

When you're starting out and having to learn everything all at once, it's a good idea to keep things simple.

With project cars, IMO, that means something cheap and popular. A 90's Civic is a great choice. Practically everything that ever could be done with one of these has been done, is documented on Youtube or a number of car forums, and drop-in parts are available from a bunch of sources.

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tehlurkingnoob@reddit

These are great first cars and very beginner friendly. Parts are cheap and plentiful and there is a ton of aftermarket stuff available.

The only negative thing I would bring up about them is that they are incredibly easy to steal so please protect yourself and your car in that regard.

I scooped up a lowish mileage EM1 SIR a few years ago for $1600 CAD.

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

That looks tuff. Also I would put a tracker and stuff in my car and I would probably replace the key and ignition to those modern ones that don’t start unless the key is near or in the car.

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bluenosesutherland@reddit

Easier method, just put a kill switch somewhere.

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

That’s also good

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Hey_Coffee_Guy@reddit

Kill switch is a good path, otherwise any crackhead with a screwdriver can have your car. It may not prevent damage to the switch and column if someone tries, but disabling the ignition will prevent it from being gone in sixty seconds.

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Zaggle_RACiNG@reddit

Short answer: Yes Long answer: Yeeeeeeees

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Carbonbuildup@reddit

I had a 2001 SiR (Canadian) B16 on konis and ground control and miss it daily. For reference I now have a GT3 and think the SiR was equally engaging to drive.

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olsonheimers@reddit

Absolutely. And I have a friend that just restored his to the first image. Looks JUST like it. Used to have the lambo doors, painted interior… brought it back to stock.

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G-T-R-F-R-E-A-K-1-7@reddit

One of the best you could choose if you can stomach the 90s tax

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jimbofranks@reddit

Put a GPS tracker in it along with an air tag. The thieves find the AirTag and don’t look for the tracker.

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Skrakeon@reddit

Yeah bro

Not everyone’s cup of tea here but I haven’t changed the wheels to black yet after painting it orange. Turbo but no vtec as it’s not a true si

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curiousbydesign@reddit

Absolutely. And have fun!

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GoodLunchHaveFries@reddit

10/10 choice. Cheap parts, easy to work on, gigantic aftermarket… market.

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

I’m happy I found something thats cheap and I was originally going to do a 1995 Mitsubishi eclipse but I think the prices are going up and a 1999 Honda would be easier to work on and cheaper to buy.

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DC2-@reddit

Yes, a civic is a great choice. Insane amounts of info about them online. Couldn’t do much better than this honestly.

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

Yeah and there’s also a bunch of aftermarket parts which is pretty nice

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DC2-@reddit

Yup, just go OEM for certain things. Especially the weird piddly stuff. Shifter cable? OEM. Tensioner spring? OEM.

But 99% people scream OEM when it’s not exactly necessary. Just balance when it is from when it isn’t.

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

Yeah I’m trying to keep it at a bit of a budget since I’m young but im probably just going to build this in a few years and my dad is pretty experienced when it comes to this stuff so I’m sure he could teach me about this stuff and help me with this

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DC2-@reddit

I’m also young, budgets tight. It’s awesome you have someone who can help! I’m figuring it out on my own. Lots of reading. Tons.

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

Yeah I just got accepted into the career center for industrial maintenance but I was originally going to go in for car mechanics but it was full so it’s kind of unfortunate. But at least there’s tons of videos showing how to do all this stuff.

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Siege9929@reddit

Auto mechanics generally get paid shit and it wrecks your body. Industrial maintenance is a great career, and then you get to keep car stuff as a hobby instead of burning out on it as a job.

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Firm_Inevitable839@reddit (OP)

Yeah I wasn’t sure if I I needed to mention this but I realized auto mechanics don’t get paid very well ( I don’t know how ) so I was going to go in for power lines since it’s a good money maker for this stuff and I would have cars as a side hobby but that ended being full to I applied a bit late. But good thing is that the career center has night classes for adults so after highschool I can take career center again for powerlines. Then I will be specialized in both trades which can get me a good well paying job for this.

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smellyelderberries@reddit

If it broke while driving, how screwed am I? 6-10: OEM or better 1-5: whatever's cheaper lol

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DC2-@reddit

Yknow what. I’ll legitimately think this way for some things in my future 😂

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smellyelderberries@reddit

It's served me well and I hope it treats you even better!!

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MountainServe@reddit

I had 2 of these myself, and honestly its pretty fun learning experience if you are new, and its pretty fun with the wide avaliabilities of mods. There is also a plentiful supply of information build and repairs, but due to age finding a clean one is also pretty hard nowadays without much overhaul. However the current price on the market comparative to something more modern also makes it very debatable since its old, but something more modern might be less of a headache. You do not want something elses botch project thats for sure and there is a plentiful amount of these out there.

EM1 and EK9

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