[Project of Opportunity]

I had been searching for an S13 240SX as a side project in conjunction with my MKIV Supra. During my search, I stumbled onto a ’89 CRX that had been sitting for quite some time. Why did a FWD car catch my eye over a RWD car? They’re two different cars entirely! Well, it was a rare Y-49 Barbados Yellow Si. To top it off, it was 15 minutes away, included a B20 Vtec engine on the side, and it was $1,500.

Once I arrived on scene I knew I was going to buy it. It is pretty rare to find a CRX that is one color and not dented to hell. Additionally, it was bone stock with the exception of a Pioneer radio. Most importantly was that it was rust free! The owner told me it had been sitting for five years, and he and his wife lost interest in it. I looked in the engine bay, “Why did it sit for so long?”, staring at the D16 engine with its intake manifold removed. He said one day it stopped starting, so I took that with a grain of salt. In any case, I knew it was a bargain and didn’t negotiate—handed over the cash and towed it home.

First order of business was to remove the old D16A6 engine. Surprisingly it would sell for $300 even with a scored cylinder and bum piston. Apparently the big ticket items for the setup was the Si transmission and the MPFI intake manifold with its injectors, etc.

It didn’t take long to remove the engine. Once it was out, I power washed and degreased the bay. Any engine you take second-hand/used should be pulled apart to determine its true condition. Compression tests are typically a good sign of health, but last thing you want is to install an engine and hear rod knock on start up. To my amazement, other than a couple stripped threads, this engine was in decent shape.

The engine would be rebuilt with OEM rods and pistons, but the combo was tied together with ARP hardware and ACL bearings. There was no high aspirations for an ultra build… I just wanted to hear Vtec in a CRX. Head was finished off with Skunk2 springs and retainers with OEM GSR cams.

Score! Reading the VIN on the gearbox off the Vtec engine, I would realize the transmission was a hydro version from a ’99 GSR Acura Integra. At this point, I had a bit of positive equity overall in the project. Not to mention, all the gears and syncros looked fantastic. Unfortunately, no surprise-LSD was found but that would just be getting greedy.

The engine was complete, and the trans was mated using an OEM-spec clutch. The whole thing became a combination of OBD-0, OBD-1, and OBD-2 components to go into a pre-OBD car. With many companies offering patch & conversion harnesses these days, it made the swap a breeze in comparison to the 90’s era of Honda engine swaps. The only hard-wiring involved was the OBD-2 distributor to work on the OBD-0 harness.

Dropping the engine into the CRX was effortless and it fit like a glove. It started on the first turn of the key! The first test drive it did not overheat, there was no smoking out the exhaust, and all gears engaged without fuss. The hard part was done, and it was time to turn attention to the suspension.

Every bit of the suspension had to be replaced: blown shocks, worn springs, brittle bushings, torn boots, and a loose steering rack. Everything would be replaced with a combination of spherical and urethane bushings. The rack received new inner & outer tie rods, internal bushing, and teeth greasing.

In addition to the suspension, the brakes were also replaced on all four corners. The original Si brakes had severely rusted rotors and seized caliper pistons. Corrado 11″ fronts and GSR rears all with SS lines; finished off with M-Factory lower arms and a beefy sway bar. The Si wheels no longer fit over the larger brakes, and replica Slipstreams would be ordered with Accelera tires. Finally, I could do the interior!

The interior was trashed as it became the previous owner’s parts storage area. There were light hints of cat piss, and the dash was cracked all over–so, the entire interior came out. Every dash harness was intact, thankfully.

The cabin was vacuumed and degreased. Acorns, coins & dollar bills, paper clips, chap stick, and old fuses, littered in all the crevices. It took a solid day to clean, but it was worth the effort. Finding a complete interior was going to be to a chore, especially if it was going to be clean and free of tears.

As it would happen, a minty-CRX was listed in Tallahassee, FL, which was three hours away. That CRX did not run, and the owner had it for 25 years. He was ready to leave the scene entirely and wanted a good hobbyist to take over ownership. It was a USDM CRX converted to EDM specs which included the interior. After a day drive, I had that minty-CRX and used its interior to complete the Y-49. The results, as the pictures above would show, was exactly the look I had pictured.

In the end, I sold the donor CRX to an enthusiast in New Jersey. Everything I sold from that car helped me stay within the realm of a true “budget build.” Total project cost was $4500, and it took me one full year to complete. Of the engines I’ve built across 4G63T, 2JZGTE, and B20Vtec, the Honda motor was the more difficult to date. And, believe it or not, the CRX has been second most fun to drive next to my previous 2004 WRX STi. Had I not purchased this CRX, it would’ve been an opportunity missed of a fun project.