Watch this video before you buy an EF Civic 

Both the D15 and D16 are great engines. The D16Y8 is a great engine as well (don't know why whoever swapped yours didn't convert it to mpfi and you should have VTEC with that engine). They're just not "performance oriented". If you're going to buy an EF with a B-series in it in the US, then you'll have the same, if not worse, issues than what you're dealing with on yours. Reason being, someone would have swapped the B-series in the car first off and most likely beat on it because they thought it was fast. Plus B-swapping an EF takes a little more aftermarket parts and modifications to accomplish than an eg or ek. So, a lot of the times kids or what I like to call "Honda Bois" cut corners and cheap out on parts making the car a complete hooptie. You'll end up spending more money and time fixing their garbage wiring, modifications, chasing issues, etc. than it's worth if you would swap it yourself. Main issues on EF chassis is rocker rust and taillight wiring. Every EF I've owned had either of those issues or both but the taillight wiring is very easy to fix at least. Rockers, more so is just finding a shop to replace them. Other than that, extremely reliable, easy ro work on, fun to drive cars. My suggestion in buying an EF or any Honda/project car in general is buy the closest to stock as you can and do all the modifications yourself. That way there's no surprises, you can put quality parts in it and do it right the first time rather than back tracking through someone else's "build" to make it right

Mine is a 1988 STD which from what I've researched is the lightest chassis , it's now b20vtec swapped with a hydro conversion*full hydro also OBD2 chassis harness and engine harness swapped ..

I just picked up a nearly rust free 91 si. It's not perfect, but it's got a solid body, and is mechanically sorted. The only rust on it is inside the wheel well down by the rocker, but a borescope showed that's where it stops. The 1/4 panels, rockers, trunk area etc are all perfect. I paid 3k

I had some problems with my CRX not turning on after parking (turns out it had moisture under the distributor cap), but every time after sitting for a while it always started again :> We have had things broken on our Hondas, but they never left us stranded, no matter how broken. Honda´s slogan used to be "It will take you where you´re going", well that is true

D15b2 is just fine. It is reliable. The dual point setup has been fine with me owning for 10 years. It’s just very slow.

When I bought my "ef" I had no clue what I was buying and didn't know anything about the ef's. Fortunately for me it came with a d16a6 with a d16z6 head and then I done some research and realized I was kinda lucky 😃 Keep up the good videos man!😎

Nov 5th, 2023. I bought a 91 ef hatch for $1k. All stock, all original. Its gutted, but has all the interior parts. Not prime, but ehh it didnt hurt my pockets 🤷🏽‍♂️

Nothing wrong with that d16y7 .. convert it to OBD1 and you're good to go .

Just got a 91 civic a week ago all stock stick shift manual steering sat for 10 years . New battery and she fired right up . I literally know nothing about them have no idea what I’m going to do with it but im happy 👍paid $500 😮

I’m not sure where your located, but, first time viewer, I’m subbing for sure. Here in Cali, you can get these from 1,200 to anywhere to 3K

Well, my 2 cents here, if you are willing to get your hands dirty, than you can get a non running car. That's a lot, a lot cheaper. I would look at the shell firstly, than look at the engine. Personally i would avoid the carbureted version, as it doesn't have the electric fuel pump, and the lines for it, and the gas tank itself is different, not a big deal, but it's a lot easier when you already have that. Swapping mpfi is not difficult, obd1 pm28 ECUs are overrated. You can chip a pm06(si) and pmo7 ECUs fine, if you aren't planning to make a thousand hp and tune the car everyday of the week, you can get away with it. The zc dohc engine is under rated, it's a very torque engine, pared with an si or zc transmission can be very fun. I bought a rusty ed7 with blown d15b2 for 300 bucks, and with a help of a friend, swapped in a dohc zc for another 350. With some suspension mods and bucket seats, this car is very fun for the money, perfect for some canyon roads, or some weekend track days on a budget. Hoping to supercharge it some day.

Idk about 4K lol. Where I’m at you can get b swapped anything pretty much for that much. I bought me ef for $300 with a broken timing belt lol. The deals are out there you just gotta look.

Great guide 😁 i live in europe and mine is an ec9 (d14a1) . Installed bike carbs, best mod i could do... had many problems with the oem dual carbs

I'm 23 I've had 30 cars but my EF sedan has always been with me and is one of the best cars I've ever owned

Hey I found an 89 hatchback si. No ac. Do I have to buy a radiator, ac compressor etc just to add it? I’m not a guy who works on cars much but how much will it cost me if I go to the shop? I’m guessing over 1k lol.

Canadian markets also got the option for a B series Si. I got a 91 Si but with no motor, the owner told me he swapped it out cause it had a B series but I didnt believe him until I took the VIN to Honda and confirmed it, they were also disappointed like me when they found it out was just a shell. But Im looking forward to swapping a B18, F20B or K24. I just gotta wait for the right price to show up on either 3.

How about a turbo 1.5 is that stock? In the sedan version 4 door

Nice video man! Quick question, what seat mounts are you running? Just K swapped my wagon and needing a little more safety lol

I just got a d16a6 ef as well but its not running and hasnt ran in years need alot of help fixing it to be honest i dont really know anything about cars im 16 and uncle said if i fix it i can have it, i really want to fix it bad

Purchased my second "EF" 91 dx with the DPI d15 for $1,500. Just needed a Main Relay and prior to that going out they only wanted $2,500. But the going rate for these in my area (Phoenix AZ) is around 3.5k to 4.5k. If your willing to pay 7k like max suggested as a max it better be swapped with something dual cam and a clean body to boot. IMHO. . .

I have a std Ef hatch with the d15b1 and it’s never given me any problems

I got that engine no issues besides distributor, ran on track never gave up on me. 1.5L 4spd

My hatch was the “standard” model, a d15b1 and a FOUR speed manual trans. The d15b1 looks like the d15b2 but has 20 less horsepower (70). Anyway I did the MPFI swap and put a d16y7 in it with a five speed. These really aren’t that hard to work on or modify. I also had to undo some poor quality work from the previous owner but parts are cheap 🤷‍♂️

Wow, I got lucky. Just picked up a 90 with d15b. It’s not clean by any means and someone wired the engine with their teeth but I’ll make it run right. The engine has great compression

You didn't mention that there is a SI trim (Not the SIR) US version. Which includes a better Moter, sunroof and interior.

My EF rocks with the d15b2 rebuilt motor. It JUST runs. I’m swapping into a K24 soon though.

Bought mine for $500 with a y8 swap and a p28 chipped ecu full custom exhaust that doesn’t sound like a tin can dragging behind a car in a tunnel. Full aftermarket suspension down to every bushing I’d say I got pretty lucky

You might like the engine from my 1997 Del Sol Si. It Is a Sohc vtec . It has multi point fuel injection. It creates 127 horsepower. The compression is close to 10 to 1. It uses any 87 octane fuel. My car had 221,000 miles. It runs strong. I use Bosch 4 prong platinum plugs. The car start fast . I get in the low 30’s per gallon . I am a original owner. I love my car. It has a five speed manual transmission. I will keep my car forever!

i disagree about buying a ef in a project state or if it has a B or D series and mpfi swaps and everything like this is really easy to do its super simple even converting over to obd1 and you talk about the price of them and it all matters where your located i seen your in ct so any clean ef is easy worth 7/8k you kind of mis informing people the value is going up because there are not many examples of them left and the ones that are are rotted out holes in the floor rockers trunk unless you dont know what you doing with a car stay away from a project but if you want to learn its not a terrible car to go with handle amazing super light under 2000 pounds pretty much a track car from factory if your looking to just buy something thinking theres no problems or there wont be wiring gremlins or anything like that go buy a base model civic EFs are becoming collector cars and its kids like you who destroy them

One of my biggest regrets is letting my '91 Si go. It was sitting in my driveway not running for a few years and the city started harassing me about it, so I sold it to some kid who ended up chopping it up and turning it into some sort of hillbilly off road vehicle. I still have all the JDM parts I bought for it and I hope to find another one some day, but the prices on them are getting completely ridiculous.

i have an unmolested 91’ civic hatch that i bought for 2K in november. i am very lucky that i found such a unicorn

Muy buen video amigo!!! Sin embargo yo te puedo compartir mi experiencia, tengo un Civic 1991 motor D15B2, desde hace nueve años y el motor es súper confíable, la poca potencia que tiene la entrega bien y cero problemas...fácil de reparar, además el consumo de combustible del sistema DualPoint es excelente y no le envidia nada a los autos modernos en cuanto al rendimiento de combustibles. SALUDOS, ME Gustan MUCHO TUS VIDEOS.🎉

The D15B2 is well known as one of the most reliable engines ever made.

I own a 1990 EF and it came with a D16Y7 and that shit runs TITS only 187’000 miles and it’s on coils. It feel the little bumps but I’ve never had any issues with the car honestly one of my favorites I owned a 2000 DX coupe before that same engine and everything never had issues P.S. I bought my 1990 Ef for $1500 she needs a lil love on the interior but that’s about it

Would disagree on buying a swapped car. The lesson should be done your research or bring a friend who knows what to look for.

I paid $900 for my 90 Si fully stock with some imperfections

I own Ef civic with D15B2 no problems with engone... driving already 3 years, love the car end engine... the power is fine for weight rario, but im building it wit mpfi 4-2-1 exhost, and grinding /polishing head. I owned 6Hondas... Ef is the best one whot i got from honda

Got my Ef hatch a month ago for 2k running and driving with a clean body got it for a steal

I have my sight on a 1990 hatch that looks rust free (might be a miracle or something) and pretty much stock apart from a shift knob and a set of alloy wheels, costs 894k HUF which is around 2300 USD but sadly the guy selling it only mentions that it's a 1.5 16v which probably is the D15B3 or D15B4 (european market) soooo it either has hidden problems or they are that cheap in Hungary lol The video wasn't that helpful for me but that doesn't mean it's a bad video so i dropped a like 🤝🏻

I have one, been trying to restore for years, it's taking forever, lol

First thing I would of done on that car, get rid of both front seats. Second get a d16z6 vetec head, slap it on and enjoy the car.

I put an h22a in mine and its faster than an ef sir on the stock ecu 😅

You only needs a p28 wiring hardness and a new manifold with injector, and the ecu. who knows know.😅 or k24

Im gonna buy a jdm b18 swapped dx ed9 hatchback for 3k. But im pretty sure ill be able to convince him to do under 3k for it. But damn- 5k+ for a 30 year old Honda is insane. Even here in Colorado where the Honda tax is TAXING most people are pretty reasonable with the pricing.

So you say dont buy an ef thats has "Frankenstein" done to it but then say dont buy one unless its been mpfi converted or is the very rare si model d16. Id recommend for anyone new to honda that got an ef to do a b20 swap. Lowish cost for now. Doubles the tq of the si model. 50% more hp. Pretty refined swap with lots of info available on how to do it. Or buy one that has already been b swapped or d series vtec swapped. Dont get an ef as your race car/toy unles you really enjoy the styling. Parts are hard to find. K series swaps are not refined at all. B series vtec stuff is super expensive now, like more expensive than k stuff. Dc tegs, eg, and up are your best bet if you are looking for fast and cheap. Slap a k24 in and enjoy. At this point efs are classic cars with harder more expensive parts to find for them than 60s american classics.

I have one with a d15b4 being the carbie motor worse then yours 😩 and I have so much work to switch to it to efi

I’m confused with the dx and ef terminology. I thought or from my understanding was that only si’s had the ef chassis lol.

I bought my ef civic sedan for 800 with a blown water pump and my civic si for 500 with a blown head gasket. Good deals my guy.

Had a 1988 dx for so many years got it when it had 60k on it and man i miss that car but people are out of their mind they're going for like $10,000 good examples

What about the automatic versions? Are they less reliable?

That doesnt look to be a d15b2 head to me, It looks to me like its a y7 head on a b2 block

Bro you just convert them to obd1 it's very easy especially if your willing to buy a harness don't scare people away it's easy it's just time that's it

Came with a d15b1 4 speed and a d15b2 5 speed and a d16a6 5 speed

1.6l also came in dpfi that's what I have

Got a d14a1 dual carb gonna mini me it

I have a 89 ef hatch all original exept wheels

what intake is that???

I Swap the D16 for a B18

There's too much false info in this video.

Had the same engine in mine. Got me to NC and Florida back with like 50$ in gas. Only problem it gave me was the timing belt broke while I was driving it BUT since it’s a non interference engine it bent no valves. Slapped a new timing belt on and it’s been running strong as ever. You just have a shitty EF civic sad to say

D16y7 was never a dpfi always a mpfi.

Swap it ,that’s a clean hatch

If the engine is such a problem why can’t you just engine swap

I wish I seen this video a year ago 😂

The White Honda Civic Its mine. Canary island jaja see you son brothers

I have 3 of them all mint.. see videos...

ED in the US

No one buys an EF to run the stock engine tf!? 😂😂😂😂😂😂

I have a B15 B2 from Canada EH all Original and have never have had any trouble whatsoever !!!!!!! That must be an american thing EH !!!!

Buy an ef in any situation or engine. As long as its a good price. D15 engines are pretty much the same as a d16.... This is disinformation. Just mpfi swap it ..

Mechanically you sound very new to the mechanical world with statements like "honda is known for being able to turn back on if it turns off" cringe yo

I wouldn't buy a project as a daily driver. If you're buying a project, pull it apart and start from square one. 🤷🏽‍♂️

delete this and reupload it on april fools because you have no idea what you are talking about

Thanks for the clip! Just one thing which is… a bit distracting. Please stop saying “they” when you talk about a person. They is usually a plural form. Thanks