a20a3 in a 78 civic!!!

[wrxdriver99]

well mostly.... it was more harder than I thought it would be, but it looks great. now I have to test fit the glass and motor assembly, and start on the body work. there are pics of the install on my link

[wrxdriver99]

well heres a little bump for my thread. I've been working somewhat steady on my car over the last two months and here's what I've got done;
-speedo, Tach, switches and dash wiring converted into original civic dash
-roof section, sunroof and roof bodywork nearing completion
-drip rails, corner lenses, antenna, chrome trim shaved
-three piece mid-wing preliminary constuction complete
-most of the bodywork on the shell is done. started the rock guard.
-Interior stripped, cleaned, primed and basecoat painted

-Engine bay;
*Three of four engine mounts made(top driverside left)
*4 of 5 notches complete(front and rear crossmembers, and both framerails) one more for top driverside to do
*had extra serpentine and vbelt grooves machined off pulley(looks super cool)

things are coming together nicley
I have posted some new pics in my link at the bottom of the page.

[speedpenguin]

Got pics?

[87lxiaccord]

that civic looks awesome i had to show my mom she used to have one back in the 80s but it was brown i almost cried when i saw that poor accord

[wrxdriver99]

Well I've done some more work on the civic and now have pics of the engine in on the new custom mounts and the wiring is almost complete.
I also just today Sprayed the first shot of primer on the body
Click on the link in my sig and take a look

[lostforawhile]

you'll be in for a shock when you see how fast that thing is,it might be closer to 300 with that setup,in the early nineties this was a popular swap for that motor in that car. I used to have a friend who raced them and I've seen several of them in that configuration.

[wrxdriver99]

you'll be in for a shock when you see how fast that thing is,it might be closer to 300 with that setup

I've seen pop cans that weigh more than this car, and I can squish a pop can pretty easy. With out the doors and fenders and motor I can pic up any side or end of the car effortlessly. I bet with all the stuff back in the car including the bigger motor it'll still only weigh 1500 lbs or less. 300 clicks an hour in a car that weighs 1500 lbs would be scary indeed

[wrxdriver99]

some more progress pics in my link.
engine is in now and final electrical work and assembly of hoses, cables, etc. now under way. I've had it turning over already and the lights, wipers etc all work. also I redid the dash as well. I completely stripped it, cleaned it and repainted it and put it all back together.

[Hazwan]

Nice! I like what you did to the dash

[wrxdriver99]

So I've been a busy little beaver....
The civic now runs, very short amounts of time with no rad and all, but runs.
The shifter linkage, fuel system, brake system, engine electrical system, and heater hoses are all hooked up.
I need to finish the rad support, the axles, and the throttle cable to be able to move it under its own power. they'll be done by the end of this weekend for sure.
I also intend to have the rest of the body work on the shell done and primed as well. unfortunately it will be staying in primer for the rest of the winter, so I will be re-assembling the civic in primer.
there are new pics in my link in my sig at the bottom. any questions please feel free to ask. I can take some extra pics of things(if possible) if you like

[RamThis]

Looks like I'm not the only one who did a sunroof-ectomy and transplant lol. Looks like we went about it two different ways though. Looks awesome!!

[Civic Accord Honda]

man that car looks awesome i love old hondas that are geting fixed up
have you joined 1stgencivic.com ? if not you really should i am a member there but have not loged on in a long time

[wrxdriver99]

so I got it Running, and made the axles, and the rad support and everything, thought it was ready to go, then when I went to move it, it started to squeal.
I can put it into gear and it moves in both directions and when I put into neutral it goes away after a minute, but if I just push in the clutch and leave it in gear it doesn't stop squealing. Pilot bearing maybe???
Also, It never made any noise before I took out the motor and transmission, and I havent separated the transmission from the motor(just a straight swap into the civic).
I've put 2 litres(quarts) of the recomended oil into the transmission and will need to top up the remainder after driving it a bit.
I did however put it into gear to tighten up the axle nut a bit, while it was up in the air, I've doen this on numerous other cars before with no problem. There was no noises or anything
I'm somewhat perplexed. are these very strong transmissions???? or did I wreck something tightening the nut

[Selfmindead]

That civic looks like its going to be alot of fun when you have it all sorted!

[speedpenguin]

Dude, you're almost done! Post up some pics.

Sorry, I can't help you. It may just be old engine noise. My car wuould make noise for a couple minutes until it started to warm up.

[1983Civicracer]

If anyone is interested I am selling my 1983 Civic Racecar on E-bay right now. It has the A-20 Race motor as pictured with the motorcycle carbs. It would slip right into an 87-89 accord and the transmission has the shorter Integra gearing. Anyone interested? If so look up 1983 Civic in the general search section of e-bay. It runs terrific.

[Legend_master]

If anyone is interested I am selling my 1983 Civic Racecar on E-bay right now. It has the A-20 Race motor as pictured with the motorcycle carbs. It would slip right into an 87-89 accord and the transmission has the shorter Integra gearing. Anyone interested? If so look up 1983 Civic in the general search section of e-bay. It runs terrific.

You should post a thread in the market place for that car. Did it really make 320HP all motor? that is amazing.

EDIT: I went ahead and made a thread for you

[MessyHonda]

man that is some serious power...that thing can run 13s i bet

[1983Civicracer]

Legend Master,
Thank you for the help with the Link, you are great! As far as if it actually producing 320 HP I am skeptical myself. I called the builder of the car John Kaufman of Kaufman Motor Sports in Atlanta and he confirmed it. It sounds a bit to good to be true. It is a VERY strong motor though.
Thanks again!
Paul

[Legend_master]

Legend Master,
Thank you for the help with the Link, you are great! As far as if it actually producing 320 HP I am skeptical myself. I called the builder of the car John Kaufman of Kaufman Motor Sports in Atlanta and he confirmed it. It sounds a bit to good to be true. It is a VERY strong motor though.
Thanks again!
Paul

awesome, if you account for the 15-20% drop between crank and wheels that would calculate to about 256 to the wheels. If it is making those kinds of numbers or anything close to that with the weight of that chassis, i bet it is fun as hell to drive.

[lostforawhile]

update on this old thread, I had found a picture of the 78 with the a20 my scanner is broke though, they changed the oil system to a dry sump and tilted the motor backwards for clearance,think rotated on it's axis to the wheels. thats the secret to getting the dam thing in the car. I'm sure the oil return system from the head to the pan was modified a lot too,the rest of the oiling system is pressurized so it doesn't care about the angle. figure on getting rid of the oil pan and rotating the engine.

[Hash_man_Se_i]

Damn... I have never seen this thread before... good thing you bumped it lost, reminded me of this car... I am pretty sure it is the OP's car as I can't see there being two of these in Alberta..

Saw this about a month and a half back at a huge outdoor car show... wierded me out, I saw and had to do a double take... Here are a couple pics I snapped.

[lostforawhile]

what they did on the one i was talking about was run the a20 with the four carbs and ran a curved pipe for each port to keep the carbs level. the egine is tilted back and the pipes curve around to the ports

[Civic Accord Honda]

i think hes on here i dont remember his username and he hasent logged in since like 2006 but he used to have a couple 3geez... looks like he repainted it but its the only one i know of with a a20a3 on 1stgencivic