Right now my DD is a Cherokee 4x4. It's dead reliable and the space/4 wheel drive is nice but the 15mpg is not. I normally don't care for the whole civic/accord mafia running around with loud exhausts but the other day I saw a really clean eg civic on (fake?) Work Meister wheels. It looked really good and I would definitely drive something like that for a DD. So my questions is, are the Civics with b16 or b18 swaps a) reliable and b) quick enoigh to be worth the cost?

 

It all depends on what you get. Is it reliable? Just as reliable as any other honda as long as its not a hacked up swap. Is it it quick enough to worth it? Yet again it depends on what you get. I have a buddy with a ITR swapped EG and another buddy with a k20 swapped EG and they run circles around me.

 

Agreed. reliablility depends on where the motor comes from and who does the swap. im a few payments away from paying off the s2k, as soon as thats done eg w/ b18 here i come.

 

I don't think fwd is ever worth the cost, but thats just me.

If you're thinking about cwapping a Jeep for a Civic, how does speed factor in? If you're looking for a decent car with mpg and some space, a Civic is a decent choice. You might want to look at an Impreza RS too.

 

I like the RS but they seem a little hard to find.

 

Very good choice. Find one.

 

I've been anti-FWD for such a long time but I'm beginning to see that they're quite under-rated. FWD definitely has its disadvantages but it has proven its abilities against RWD and AWD. Where's that video of that Civic Type R spanking S2000's.

 

So, what's your point?

 

All enthusiast cars that you buy used will typically be thrashed on, so let's save the reliability discussion for later.
For about 3-6 grand, you could find an barred (comes with smog legal decal) EG with some kind of B series already swapped in, and price will reflect what variation of the b series is in it. Typically the car will already have some goodies with it as well. So all things considered, you get a car that will get well over 30mpg, practical to do costco trips in, and you could still have a good time at the track.
Now comes to the FWD. Honestly, FWD is inferior to RWD and AWD, but when comparing cars that are equipped with fwd vs. rwd/awd, the fwd cars tend to be lighter and that in itself is its advantage. EG civics (and most other popular hondas of the 90s and late 80s) are extremely light- a fully dressed EG weighs in at about 2200lbs. Miata and Elise aside, what rwd or awd car comes close to that, especially when you factor in that the civic is a fully useable DD type car.
So in short, I believe that they are worth it, but it really is unfortunate that this capable car's image has been completely diluted with ricers; I remember a time when having a clean, tastefully dressed and modded up EG was respectable.

 

plan to have alot of the hi gas milage swap out with the new engine.