Cal Club Autocross Forums

I may have the opportunity to buy a '91 CRX si. The big hitch is it has no engine or tranny. Okay...it also has no seats. Or stereo. Or HVAC controls. Or speakers. Okay, the damned thing looks like it was partially stripped. It does have a nice suspension (from what I could see) and no body or structural damage.

My first question is this: If I put a replacement stock engine/trans in it and bought some aftermarket seats and fixed the HVAC and some other stuff, would I be able to run it in G stock or SK2?

Second question is would it be worth it? I'd be getting it for $500. I'd look it as a long-term project that I'd eventually run in STS2. If I'm getting a car with a clean title and good bones, is it worth shelling out the money for a brand new engine and trans and cleaning it up from there, or is this baby too far gone?

The Kirky drag seat I use in the honda is pretty big guy friendly and dirt cheap.
There is a factory radio delete option, so no speakers are radio needed. I think you can still get the radio delete plate.

You'd need to pull the HVAC controls off a junker car for stock or STS2. That car could be had I believe without A/C. The Civic Si's can be.

It doesn't take a lot to go STS2 racing in a CRX. I paid under a $1000 to my door for the Koni SPSS3 shocks most use. Add simply coilover sleeves and springs.'

A lot of the parts like the header and intake and sways an be found cheap on eBay. Most of the work is pretty easy. And the formula is well known. You can certainly do it in stages.

You can get Falken Hanabi rims from Edgeracing.com for like $92 a piece and they are super light. Get tires from them and they will mount and send lugs. Killer deal.

On the current 195's we use, the 15x7 is just fine. You DO NOT need 7.5's for them. Just see Yeoh and Flores.

Somehow, I knew you'd be the first to answer ;)

Thanks, Steve!

How much do the Falken wheels weigh? Brian Goodwin's shop carries a nice selection of light 15" wheels.

The Falken Hanabi's are listed at like 11.5lbs I think. But Yeoh/Flores and I both got sets that weigh in under 10lbs. The Miata Spec wheels can't be too light can they? Maybe that's why Falken claims their wheels are heavier???

You simply cannot get close to that price and weight combo. Period. I've done the homework.

The flaken wheels are a good deal, but I love me some Enkei RPF-1. Only 15x7 but 9lbs is good, more than 2x the flakens is not good.

FALKENS, Seb, Falkens.

That was on purpose...Ekstrand did it first and I thought it was funny.

Spec Miata wheels have to weigh 13lbs.

I imagine that China has a bit of a quality control problem, so they list them as heavier. I just know that my friend Tim Herron's Falken wheels are noticeably heavier (with tires) than my SSRs, as well as the Kosei T1S' that I used to have (no longer have the car).

Steve Ekstrand wrote:The Falken Hanabi's are listed at like 11.5lbs I think. But Yeoh/Flores and I both got sets that weigh in under 10lbs. The Miata Spec wheels can't be too light can they? Maybe that's why Falken claims their wheels are heavier???

You simply cannot get close to that price and weight combo. Period. I've done the homework.

You mean the stock wheels? Depends on size and style. The 90-93 14s are about 11.5 lbs. the 94-97 14s are 10.5 to 11. The 14" BBS that came on the 93 LE are 10. The 15" BBS that came on the 95 M are 10.5. The normall Miata 15 is typically 12 lbs. Most of the Mazda factory wheels are made by Enkei.

If you mean Spec Miata wheels, they have a porky minimum weight, 13 lbs.

Sebastian Rios wrote:That was on purpose...Ekstrand did it first and I thought it was funny.

I don't do stock Bob.... Gesh.

I was talking about one thing and one thing only and that is prep for STS/STS2.

That would mean 15x7, 15x7.5, 16x7, or 16x7.5 wheels on a CRX. Nothing else is relevant.

I'm glad there are comparable deals on 14x5.5 rims in Qingdao, but I'm not that interested!!!

If you need a motor and tranny....."Ive got a guy" that actually building them to stock for local STS racers...let me know if your interested...as far as wheels Hanabi's are the way to go since the next best thing cost more then double the car you are getting...

Lots of "us" STS racers have done our homework per say so the more questions you ask the more answers we give....kinda dont answer unless asked...

So get it say goodbye to your comfortable drive home in A/c and fork for the trailer and truck that Seb and Extrand has or be bad ass and drive the STS beast to and from every event...truly giving meaning to STREET TOURING!!!

Welcome to the ST world

Jason

Steve Ekstrand wrote:I don't do stock Bob.... Gesh.

I was talking about one thing and one thing only and that is prep for STS/STS2.

That would mean 15x7, 15x7.5, 16x7, or 16x7.5 wheels on a CRX. Nothing else is relevant.

I'm glad there are comparable deals on 14x5.5 rims in Qingdao, but I'm not that interested!!!

I couldn't tell if Miata Spec meant Spec Miata. :mrt:

So get it say goodbye to your comfortable drive home in A/c and fork for the trailer and truck that Seb and Extrand has or be bad ass and drive the STS beast to and from every event...truly giving meaning to STREET TOURING!!!

LOL. Thanks, Jason. I'm still haggling with the guy, so it's not a sure thing. He seems to think it has more value than I do.

Steve Ekstrand wrote:There is a factory radio delete option, so no speakers are radio needed. I think you can still get the radio delete plate.

You'd need to pull the HVAC controls off a junker car for stock or STS2. That car could be had I believe without A/C. The Civic Si's can be.
.

Am pretty sure that neither is legit. IIRC, 90/91 CRX Si comes stock with both A/C and (a pathetic) 4-speaker Stereo/Cassette, so stock should require both and OEM seats. (which are quite nice, BTW) STS2 is a whole 'nother story for that car...it *might* be competitive in the right hands. No radio was available in most of the lower Civic/CRX models - not sure about the CRX HF.

I was a pretty sad camper watching my '90 go away on a rollback - it was all of 5 miles away from throwing the #1 rod but I was happy getting $500 for the corpse. There's a LOT of little things that usually need fixing on these cars, and the suspension kinda blows. If you can find one, an '88 Si is a much better starting point because the rear suspension has geometry that's far more friendly to handling and it weighs about 200lbs less. The 89-91 cars have a redesign that added tremendous understeer because so many of the '88's got crashed way too soon. The 90-91 cars add enormous side impact beams to the doors and quarters as well as seat belts that are >25lbs heavier.

Wow, that's very specific. Thanks, Larry!

Larry Andrews wrote:

Steve Ekstrand wrote:There is a factory radio delete option, so no speakers are radio needed. I think you can still get the radio delete plate.

You'd need to pull the HVAC controls off a junker car for stock or STS2. That car could be had I believe without A/C. The Civic Si's can be.
.

Am pretty sure that neither is legit. IIRC, 90/91 CRX Si comes stock with both A/C and (a pathetic) 4-speaker Stereo/Cassette, so stock should require both and OEM seats. (which are quite nice, BTW) STS2 is a whole 'nother story for that car...it *might* be competitive in the right hands. No radio was available in most of the lower Civic/CRX models - not sure about the CRX HF.

I was a pretty sad camper watching my '90 go away on a rollback - it was all of 5 miles away from throwing the #1 rod but I was happy getting $500 for the corpse. There's a LOT of little things that usually need fixing on these cars, and the suspension kinda blows. If you can find one, an '88 Si is a much better starting point because the rear suspension has geometry that's far more friendly to handling and it weighs about 200lbs less. The 89-91 cars have a redesign that added tremendous understeer because so many of the '88's got crashed way too soon. The 90-91 cars add enormous side impact beams to the doors and quarters as well as seat belts that are >25lbs heavier.

If the '91's came standard with AC, then there are a few Nationals competitors who are running illegal.

I don't think Honda started putting AC in at the factory until they started making cars here in the US. Same with the stereo on the Civic and CRX.
Here is the closest I could find to a brochure for a '91 CRX. As for weight, you'll note that the guy who finished 4th last year was in a '91 CRX that still had AC, stereo, and the factory battery (among others things). Had he not had a co-driver who over-drove the car and overheated the tires, he would likely have done better (his first runs were his fastest both days).

A/C might have been a dealer installed option on the imported Hondas. It was on a few years of the Miata, including '94. Then it went port or factory.

David - I don't know if A/C was an option on the 90/91 Civic SI, but I'm pretty sure that it was standard on the CRX Si. There isn't mention of A/C on the brochure for any CRX model so I could very well be wrong...but that's what I remember from when I bought a '91 Civic DX new - and we did pay for the A/C install. I drooled over the CRX brochures, but bought the last '91 Civic off the lot late on New Year's Eve at a huge discount. That car was made in Canada, if it matters. In that context, I could understand if A/C was optional. That car definitely did come with the radio blanking plate - I still have it.

The CRX Si was the 'upscale' version of the small car platform and had all the niceties, IIRC. It has been quite a while though and I ain't gettin any younger or smarter.

EDIT: Forgot that the 90/91 CRX Si also has rear disc brakes. And need to correct that the heavier seat belts are on 89-91 models, not just the last two years.

Trust me....

When I researched this for the Civic, I also saw info on the CRX.

On ALL 1988-1991 Civics and CRX, the radio and A/C were not standard. They were options. That included both Made in Japan and Made in Canada versions.