[SirKeats]

so i'm looking to get something that gets better millage for my commute to work every day (30 miles each way roughly... mostly highway).

i was looking at metros, but they seem to be skyrocketing in price around here as of late.

that said, i'm now looking to civics. i've found two options and was hoping y'all could provide advice/feedback:

option 1: 1985 CRX hatchback. hasn't been run for the past two years due to blown head gasket. there's no title for it at the moment either (not sure how huge of a hassle that would be). anyway, it's clean otherwise (body and such). guy is asking $150 bucks for the thing.

option 2: 1991 civic hatchback (not sure the diff between crx and non-crx hatchback). has 200K plus miles on it but runs fine. needs a throw out bearing, new intake seal (leaking some water), and some brake work. otherwise it's very clean (body wise). guy's asking $1500 obo. (what's the base mpg on these anyway btw... can't seem to find online?)

if i wanted to spend around $2000-$3000, which would be the best option here. i could drop an engine and tranny in the CRX, but not sure if i could come in on budget after labor costs (i don't have tools needed to put in an engine or tranny). but i can make budget... seems this might be the way to go as i could get the HFI (d15z1 ???) engine and isn't there some tranny for these that's awesome for mpg too?? thinking this might be the cheapest way to get a super efficient commuter for the least $$$.

option 2, obviously, requires some, but much less work. however, doubt i could get as much mpg out of it.

thoughts??