Synglea

I'm pretty new to the honda world, my last import was a mitsubishi eclipse gsx and I loved the car but it was my daily driver and the more I did to it the less streetable it became. I bought this civic dx a few months ago and I love it but it has 200,000 miles on it and I'm not sure how much time the motor has left. I want to get another engine and do a mild build-up nothing crazy I don't want to get into any fuel management upgrades just something that will run stronger than stock. I'm also considering just doing a vtec swap or 1.8 swap.
Just looking for suggestions. Fire away thanks

ZenkaiRacer

If you just want a reliable daily with more get up and go then the d series I would just swap a B18 or B20 in with basic bolt ons. This keeps things cheap as well.

Tons of room to grow in the power department later if you wanted to as well.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

d series you spend 5-6k and you end up with about 130-150whp and still get smoked by a lot of cars

that's how much a stock b16 makes with some boltons

it all depends how much money can you spend.

give us a number the top limit of how much can you spend ?

b18b can be found for about 500-800 bucks
b20 can be found for about same price but has more torque
b18c1 can be found for 900-2500
b18c5 can be found for 2000-4500
jdm b18c 3000-5000
plus you will need following:
b series shift linkage
b series axles
bigger radiator(full size or aluminum quad core half size)
b series harness vtec r not whatever you pick
chipped ecu(crome, Neptune, hondata)
b series header (stock header sucks unless its jdm ITR)

Synglea

This is not a race car and I don't plan on spending too much money the only things I plan on doing is rebuilding a motor to make it new and maybe some easy bolt ons like I already did an ex header and I also have an ex intake manny I might want to do some porting and polishing but other than that just new internals and maybe a bigger bump stick

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

trust me thats how it starts bro.
its never"rebuild only"

i started with a 1200 dollar budget in mind and a rebuild only

12000 dollars later and a blown engine.... im already planning for next one

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

start with a better engine and you will get better end results.

at least get a single cam vtec or jdm b20b.

i just bought a jdm b20b for 700 bucks from a store. they are not that expensive...

Synglea

Oh I know how it works thats why I have my mustang and im also restoring a 78 f150 and its got a 500 horse v8. this civic is going to be strictly an a to b car im trying to avoid having to replace the trans and do wiring harnesses and all that other crap cause thats where ill get into trouble cause then it becomes another project I don't have time for.

jimbo slice

If all you want is a rebuild then do it. If you want to add some bolt-ons for the hell of it, go for it. The single cam isn't the best for racing , especially the 96-00 d16's, but they are great for economy driving. You can pick and choose stock single cam parts to have a decently responsive, OEM rebuilt single cam that will be a little more fun to drive. It won't be a fast car unless you look more toward the aftermarket for parts, but it can still make more power than what Honda gave it.

Using a stock y7 block and a stock y8 head with I/H/E the car made 125whp on a Mustang dyno. These engines make 127 flywheel horsepower. Doesn't mean this car is super dooper fast but it's peppier than before. THAT was the goal for this car. And still get 32mpg.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

instead of rebuilding this engine. buy a y8 long block
the vtec engine gets better gas mileage

and the jdm d series can be had for pretty cheap. about same money you gonna dump into this one you can find a y8 long block or whatever they are in jdm land.

jimbo slice

Y7 and Y8 blocks are identical. No need to source a long block when a head swap will net the same results. Also, considering cost of used engines vs stock rebuild kits , it's less expensive to rebuild your existing engine rather than buying another used engine. That only applies if your current engine is still healthy. If you've spun a bearing or something else more severe then a used engine is a better option at that point.

At least for me it's less expensive to rebuild than purchase another used engine. I also would rather pay for new parts than used parts.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

jdm engines are OEM all of ot

you can try those ebay "cheap" rebuild kits i tried 3 times before i learned what others been telling me...

alot of jdm engines are very low mileage and maintained by a shop not by a backyard mechanic.

you buy the engine and sell your long block to make up the cost.

at the end it will be same cost to you plus alot of saved time and headache

because its never a simple rebuild once you start pulling it apart u usually find more damage than you thought initially.

jimbo slice

If the engine is running fine but has 200k like the OP described, what else would you find wrong? If there was something severely wrong it wouldn't be a running engine now would it.

I have used the ebay kits with mild succes. But only on a stock engine being used for stock purposes. Try and use them on an engine you plan to abuse isn't the way to go, but that isn't the purpose of his newly aquired civic. And I'm only talking about gasket quality. Bearing manufacturer in my experience isn't as important as oil clearance. Gasket manufacturer is different and Honda gaskets and seals are by far superior. No arguement there.

Time frame on stock rebuild doesn't have to take forever like a fully built engine being used for 9,000 rpm. What most people on this site fail to realize is the quality of OEM Honda parts, even after 200k miles of service. Rarely do cranks NEED micro polishing, balancing or any other procedure done if it came out of a running engine without issues. The same can be said of block, rods and pistons. Most of the time what has worn past service limits are parts designed to be worn down over time, IE bearings, belts, pumps gaskets and seals.

So utilizing that scenario where an engine just needs to be freshened up ,the cost and time frame would be less than an engine swap. No need for machine work, no need for uber expensive go-fast parts from Brand-x,y,z.. Nope. Just a good mechanic who has proper tools for the job. I've done this several times and with parts I've spent $300-$400 on bearings rings and gaskets, plus timing belt, water pump and oil pump. That's almost half of a used JDM engine and now we have an engine with new parts that have 0 miles rather than 30,000.

If you shop around wisely and price match when you can the total cost of a stock rebuild can be very inexpensive. I don't use the word cheap because that implys inferior quality, however inexpensive means just that. Less coin for the same end result.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

u looking for suggestions but then argue when people give you suggestions.
if you already set on rebuilding it why ask?

jimbo slice

Lol. You are mistaking me for the OP. I'm not trying to argue with you. Just expressing my point of view.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

lol yea i did

thehatchninja

You don't have to spend a lot on a SOHC to make good power, and it's really not that hard to beat stockish b-series swaps. I don't know why people think it costs so much. Raver is regurgitating a lot of the myths that surround the SOHC. Here is an example.
http://www.d-series.org/forums/natur...all-motor.html

If I were to build a y7 on a budget I would do P29 pistons (Nippon kit on ebay ~$100); y8 intake valvesprings used on all valves (free or cheap); Delta 272 cam regrind ($125ish); y8 intake manifold/tb ($50ish); ebay header/exhaust (??), and a GOOD tune($??-400).