New to civics

Well, i think a prelude motor might be a little much for your car, since it is real heavy and the 82 civic (or any civic) is not properly designed in the front end to handle a prelude motor - i.e. to heavy.

The easiest swaps to find are B series honda motors. B18A and B18B come from Integra ls/rs/gs modles, and have 140 hp and are non-vtec motors - all the rest of the ones im bout to list are VTEC motors. The B16A comes from a honda civic Del Sol VTEC and has 160 horsepower - this same motor can also be found in the 99-00 Civic SI (or overseas like mine). The B18C1 comes from an integra GSR, and has 170 horsepower. The B18C5 is the pride and joy of all honda motors, it is a built version of the B18C1 straight from the factory and has 195 horsepower.
**no matter what anybody tells you, these are the easiest honda motors to find, and the ones with the most aftermarked accessories.**

The best thing about hondas is that all the heads and blocks are interchangable with these motors - so you can take a type R head and put it on a B18a or B18b block to make some serious power.