"New" 1989 Integra

[unholymaker]

So I am going to be coming into the ownership of a 1989 Integra with 200K+ miles on it. I currently own a 1996 Honda Civic with i am still trying to complete with over 10 grand in the engine. The integra is going to be my daily driver, but since I am a speed freak, I want to know what is currently possible with this type of car. I owned a stock 1992 integra with i totaled, my sister owned a 01 gsr which she totaled, and now she has a 98 4door ls. I have only worked on the 01 and 98 integra, so i don't know much about the earlier models. My questions are:

1) What kind of power options do I have? Is it possible (aka not impossibly hard) to throw in a bigger engine? Could i ebay turbo a bunch of d16's to their deaths? I have rebuilt an entire h22 pretty much by myself so Tech knowledge wont be that big of a deal and I can get all the tools i need. ALSO i do laugh at honda's with exhausts.. so im not that interested in putting a fart can on unless it has the power to back it up. Power steering is optional and my other honda doesn't have AC so that's not a must either...

2) Suspension! Cutting the springs is not an option. Is there anything specific with this generation that i should know about? any good cheap lowering kits made for this car? does it need one? I don't want to be on the ground, but lowered cars done right just handle soo much better, and with me and my sisters record with totally integras it is kind of important.

3)General problems? anything particular come to mind with these years? It has a little bit of rust here and there but otherwise the body looks clean. Any tips?

THANK YOU in advance. Help me make this cheap pos last and last well....

 

[89teggie]

u can swap in a b16 without too much hassle, or turbo the d16a1. the 89's have electronic ignition advance, and came with i believe 118hp factory. u can turbo the d16a1 and run about 8 or 9 pounds on the stock internals and u should be ok. cheap power adders would be cold air intake, header and about 2 inch exhaust, 2.5 inch if u go turbo or nitrous. u can pick up an ebay turbo kit with everything u need on ebay for around 600, or just shop around and find someone selling one. u can get an intake manifold pretty cheap, and a slightly bigger bored throttle body somewhat cheap, and gain power. if u build the motor, a stroker kit wouldnt be a bad idea if u got the money, and slightly port/polish the head. i've seen some racing cams for the d16a1's, and get some adjustable cam gears.

to lower the car, there are no springs up front, just struts and a tortion bar. u can crank the tortion bar(graveyardhippie has a sticky on how to do it) to lower the front, then get some springs for the back. i believe u can get the coil springs off of a g2 integra's rear coilovers and they'll work.

as far as problems, i really dont know, i didnt have my integra maybe 2 months before i ripped her apart and started rebuilding. lol. it had 253k miles when i pulled the motor. it burnt more oil than gas, smoked like a tar kettle, and the clutch, flywheel, and pressure plate were gone. but she ran good considering. haha.

but yeah man, just read some of these forums on here on g1 tegs, and check out kind motorsports for performance parts, and autoanything for stock parts. good luck bro

 

[phatintegra]

the biggest issue I seen on the 89 teg or somthing that old. Look under the vehicle and see if the floor board is rusted if it is stay away from it or your going to spend $$$ on replacing it.

Was looking at a Gen1 few years back because I was thinking to drop a K motor. When I saw underneath the vehicle it was a rust nightmare.

 

[89teggie]

if there is rust in the floor boards, and it isnt too major, it aint bad to fix if u have a welder. just cut out the rusted area, and weld in new sheet metal. but if its real bad, your up the creek.

 

[graveyardhippie]

also, if you're familiar with the h to b kits, or h to d kits from bisimoto, i emailed him a while back and said for the right price he'd make a kit to bolt into the g1's. i just didnt have the cash for all that once i started looking into it, and then there's the hood clearance problem. it would end up like when people put the v6 in a civic.

 

[mirrorimg]

So I am going to be coming into the ownership of a 1989 Integra with 200K+ miles on it. I currently own a 1996 Honda Civic with i am still trying to complete with over 10 grand in the engine. The integra is going to be my daily driver, but since I am a speed freak, I want to know what is currently possible with this type of car. I owned a stock 1992 integra with i totaled, my sister owned a 01 gsr which she totaled, and now she has a 98 4door ls. I have only worked on the 01 and 98 integra, so i don't know much about the earlier models. My questions are:

1) What kind of power options do I have? Is it possible (aka not impossibly hard) to throw in a bigger engine? Could i ebay turbo a bunch of d16's to their deaths? I have rebuilt an entire h22 pretty much by myself so Tech knowledge wont be that big of a deal and I can get all the tools i need. ALSO i do laugh at honda's with exhausts.. so im not that interested in putting a fart can on unless it has the power to back it up. Power steering is optional and my other honda doesn't have AC so that's not a must either...

I cried a little.

I understand modifying the car, but its your DD. You arent supposed to go overboard with the DD because you have another toy you are spending money on.

 

[89teggie]

yeah, i agree with mirrorimg, if the car is your daily driver, dont go too overboard, cause when u get into serious mods, the car is gonna have some down time. my integra was my daily driver, but i still have a newer truck to drive when its down. it sucks gas though, so i'm gonna be glad to have my car up and running again.

 

[unholymaker]

alright well i got the car, its actually a 90 with a few less then i thought miles on it. this means that i will not be joining the gen1 society and you can close/delete this thread! sorry.