What to do with 7-8 grand

Alright, my computer messed up and this is the second time im posing this, so it might be considerably shorter. Sorry if this has already been posted 8000 times but i searched for a while and couldnt find anything that answered what im looking for, not exactly. Also, please forgive my ignorance, i know next to nothing about cars. Due to this, please know that any suggestions you make I will have to have professionally installed by a shop, I can do next to nothing car-related by myself.

Now that thats out of the way, here is my situation. I drive a 95 civic hatchback (dx i believe, bottom of the line model) with manual trans and 125k miles. It ran perfectly for the first two years ive had it but ive been having problems within the last 6 months or so. First, about 6 months ago, the muffler started to rattle (i was told it was something internal and would have to be replaced, so to cut costs, i just cut the muffler off and had a straight pipe welded on. Next, a couple months later, one of the half-shafts started to go out so i had it replaced for a few hundred, no big deal, but about three months ago the head gasket blew. While i was having it repaired, the guy replaced the thermostat, timing belt, and clutch for a grand total of 1200. It had driven fine up until yesterday when im assuming the gasket blew again. I havent had it looked at but it was having the same symptoms as before. I use this car everyday to get back and forth between college and work and was frantically looking to buy a new car because i didnt want to sink any more money into a failing car. I just found out that the work is waranteed so it wont cost me much to fix it. All this did was extend my window, i would still like to make a drastic change within the next 2 months or so, im just not rushed anymore.

Ok, after all that, i can get to my question. I have about 7500 saved up, I was looking to get another import, something with manual trans, and since im spending so much money (or atleast in relation to my budget/salary) I would like it to be a considerable upgrade to my car. I was leaning toward a late 90's integra gs-r. But a friend of mine had mentioned doing an engine swap, which is the main area that i need help in. And please forgive me for my ignorance, but im trying to find out more about it. I dont want to make the car faster but just allow it to run long enough for new mechanical problems to arise due to the age of the car. Would an engine swap make it as though I bought a car with 30-50k miles? or would it just mean that the engine would last, but other problems would arise and it wouldnt be a worthy investment. With the engine swap, i would want to go with an engine that would be fast/perfect out of the box. Because i have little/no car knowledge, i wouldnt be able to do any work/mods to the engine and more than that, i just want to make one purchase and be done with it, if i were to do any modifications, it would be within a few months of buying the engine. Keep in mind that my limited knowledge means that i would not be capable of any routine maintenence outside of an oil change and so please dont uggest any complicated setups or anything prone to wear/in need of tlc. I have done a little research on engines and assume b18c5 would be the best bet for what im looking for? I have no problem dumping the money for a new car into this one as long as it will be just as reliable (keeping in mind that some money would go towards a new paintjob and new wheels other than my 13" stock ones)

Oh, one other question, would the engine swap contain all necessary parts? or would i have to beef up anything else in the car to be able to handle the new power? Im not looking to race, just a quick daily driver

Sorry for the length guys, but i think that just about covers it.
Thanks!

As i see it you have 2 options....both of which require you stripping the engine out of your 95 DX and throwing it away then starting fresh....

1. GSR swap (96-01) and build a turbo setup on the stock engine. This would yield 300-350whp and be very streetable

2. K series swap. There is a lot of variability with this swap. They respond well to modification including turbos, superchargers and NA. A stock K20 can SAFELY make upwards of 450whp on stock internals. This swap is expensive though...

thanks for the reply, how much would labor cost on a k20a2? also, is it a direct fit into my model civic? also, would it be necessary for me to get bigger brakes to handle the extra power? if so, how much would that cost? and would it require bigger wheels for the brakes to fit? keep in mind i have NO exhaust on the car, would it be a waste of time to get the engine and not get a high performance exhaust system/highflow cat? and how much would that cost installed? Also, what would be a ballpark price for me to get the rust spots over the wheelwells fixed and a black gloss paint job. I would probably have the windows tinted at the same time. Keep in mind that this would all come out of my 7500 budget.

For 7500 you might be able to do everything you mentioned here. The engine is going to run about 4k without shipping. And since your not doing the swap yourself the shop is going to charge you, I would expect around 1500+ in labor. But that is going to be the biggest chunk. Brakes and other upgrades like an exhaust wont cost you too much. Body work will depend on where you go, and the paint can vary greatly as well depending on how good you want it.

Plus all the small upgrades you should be able to do yourself and save a little cash on labor. Just do searches here on what you plan to do and i'm sure you'll find a write up about it.

buy a honda prelude type sh much better than thats pos you currently drive

buy a honda prelude type sh much better than thats pos you currently drive

you're a retard...STFU and leave

you're a retard...STFU and leave

Thanks, but next time just let me or another mod know about inappropriate members. Try not to fight fire with fire.

Also, GRG, double posting is a no-no. Don't do it again. Thanks.