So, my beloved CRX has over 200k miles on it, and I think the piston rings are starting to go (eating some oil, losing some acceleration) just as R&T warned me they would years ago.

I don't want a new car. I never see other cars on the road and think that I would prefer them. I like this one; it's a two seater (no giving people rides, as a rule), it can haul plenty of stuff in the hatch, it's fast, zippy and fun to drive, easy to park, unlikely to be stolen, gets great mileage and can't be flipped under any circumstances. The only drawback, of course, being that it's something of a death trap due to the general flimsiness of construction (tinfoil may have been used).

If I replace the rings, am I just asking for the valves to go? Does it make more sense to drop a rebuilt engine in there? How much would that run me? Should I really just suck it up and buy a grown-up car (ugh)? Pumachik must know the answer!

I have a buddy with a mid-90's Prelude. He dropped in a replacement V-Tec (rebuilt, not new from Honda) for about $3K. By the time they open that puppy up, the labor and parts won't be too much different. Those puppies are squeezed in so tight, getting to the pistons and valves is akin to a rebuild in the first place.

Of course, you can always weigh the repair against a used car with less mileage. Don't know what the market is on these cars, but Hondas tend to keep their value, so expect the higher range. My Accord scored $3500 on a trade in, 10 years old, 160K miles, with noticeable body damage.

Great news: That car is popular to be re-worked by the sporty young crowd, which means that parts and engines are easy to find. You could probably find a newer engine with a lot less mileage on it at a tuning shop in your town and either buy it or trade yours in for a discount. I don't know this 100%, but my guess is it could be done for less than a grand, maybe even less. And if the rest of the car is worth keeping (rust, dents, etc) then go for it.

Those were cool cars... always kinda wanted one. Had a regular 2-door '91 civic hatch and looooved it. Traded it for an 89 yota 4wd truck, which is lots of fun in the snow.

A search for online sales, just for giggles, turned up a place that had 4, ranging from $805 to about $1,075. Searched '90, 1.6L "engine assembly."

A grand? That would be great news indeed! 3k is getting to be a strain.

This sporty young crowd, do I find them at the local honda dealership? The body is fine. It's been bumped once but the fix was ok.

No, the local dealership will:
1. Not direct you anywheres else, usually.
2. Not recommend the "sporty young" crowd's car shops in generally, either. They don't always buy factory parts, aren't "factory authorized."

Depending on where you live, this could be easy or hard to find, but they do exist all over the place. The gist of it is that hondas are the new favorite tuner cars for the under 25 crowd, just as mustangs and goats were for my dad's highschool crowd. It's not my cup of tea, but I know people who enjoy tweaking 4 cylinder cars. Sooo, whatcha wanna do is look around and see who works in "import tuning" or something along those lines. And prepare for a shop geared towards putting plastic wings and spoilers all over cars... think Fast and the Furious. BUT, they also have / can get TONS of engines, and they regularly install them, usually in the sorts of 10 / 15 year old cars that dealerships are not thrilled about working on (not much profit). So if you wanted to buy it locally, I'd start there. Otherwise, look for an engine online but prepare for nasty shipping, and then maybe have a garage you trust in town install it.

If it were me, I'd probably get the engine locally through a tuning shop, and then if they looked reputable, maybe let them do it, and if they didn't, maybe have my favorite wrench shop install it.

I was kidding about the dealership
They already look at me askance just for keeping the little guy, sigh. But thanks for the tips.

<---- off to 'pimp her ride', apparently

How come I must know the answer?! Haha, sad to say even though I work for car magazines, I still don't know that much about cars. I try to zone out all the babble about imports.

Anyway, to drop a rebuilt engine is around $3-4k, but I don't know if it's necessarily "legal." It depends on where you purchase your parts. Most aftermarket parts can be found in tuner shops... if you want, I can send you some magazines (pm me your addy) and just take a look at the ads & call around, most of those folks can help you with any questions.

You can also inquire on tuner messageboards... here's the messageboard of one of the magazines I work for: Import Tuner, but imo that board is weak. And then here's a few more links that consist of hardcore enthusiasts who can give you the rundown on anything & everything you're inquiring about...

Big Honda
Super Honda

But this website might be better for you, since it's strictly all about CRX's:
Honda CRX Performance

Hope that helps some.

There goes my productive workday. Thanks!

Found! A fellow grad student located on the web has pointed me in the direction of the local honda-engine-swapping establishment, full of carbon fiber and such. He thinks it can be done on the cheap.

There ya go! Told ya... those things are such a high comodity amongst the boyracer crowd. And several of honda's engines will fit, I do believe.

I read one of those CRX forums for a good half hour earlier, and I don't even have one. It was cool, talking about how to swap out the heads and what was involved. My redneck roots are showing.

Right on, glad you were able to find a place.

Evidently I have somewhat fewer choices as it's 1st generation, but at least I'm already fuel injected. It did take me back to my redneck roots a bit, browsing around. Ah, youth.

herbie: "you think dressin' in all black makes you cool?"

kitt: "sissy!"