EscoSi

Hey guys, I bought my US-spec Civic Si on May 1st of this year. I'm the 3rd owner. The car was basically stock with a b16a with the exception of a SRI, tuned OBD1 ECU, 2.5" straight pipe and dynomax exhaust, skunk2 lowering springs, Clutchmaster stage 3 clutch, lightened flywheel and 16" rims.

Since I bought it, I've been going through hell. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera before to document it. The one on my blackberry had stopped working.

In any case let me give you a run down of all the things that has happened since I bought the car in May till now. Many ppl have said that I should sell it, but I really love the car and want to get it to a certain point (in my mind) before I upgrade.

Here's the history:

It had previously been in an accident by the first owner who basically just slapped back on the panels and sold it without doing much body work (really eff'ed up). My bro's best friend was the unfortunate sucker that bought it. He spent the majority of his cash straightening the chassis (hours spent on the chassis machine) and repairing the frame that was bent up behind all the panels (there's still a little work to be done though). The undercarriage had started to rust to the point where the seat rails on both sides of the car had actually made a small hole (i know you're thinking to yourself at this point "and you bought this piece of ****?" but bear with me). That was repaired and its all good now. I got the car at what would be considered a steal of a deal here, much less than the valuation price. Note that to date I am yet to have any probs body-wise with the car.

The previous owner didn't really take care of the car that well engine-wise.
So basically as I bought the car I had the timing belt and tensioner, oil filter & oil, camshaft seals changed. I also had the front rotors skimmed and dropped in genuine Honda brake pads. The timing belt had not been changed in almost 3yrs and I was very surprised that it hadn't burst by then and wasn't taking any chances. It was bad to the point where the teeth from the cam gears had made impressions on the other side of the belt.

Then started my happy go lucky trip to hell.

Shortly after that at the beginning of June I was driving to Montego Bay from Kingston (its about 3-3 1/2hrs away) when suddenly the car started to overheat. Checks revealed water pouring out of the water pump. I managed to nurse the car back to Kingston with the help of a couple gallons of water and 6 hrs of driving. my mechanic at the time made checks and said the engine was fine, nothing was warped. Just needed a new water pump, head gasket and I changed the bearings for good measure. I was surprised.

Then 2 weeks later driving into Kingston from Montego Bay the engine spun bearings. Yes those brand new ones that I had just put in! I had not noticed any previous oil leaks and had actually checked the oil before beginning the drive. But when I got home sure enough I could hear the knocking sounds of a bearings death. Checks revealed a oil leak coming from either the distributor or the vtec solenoid. Not taking any chances I changed both seals in the solenoid plus the distributor seal. I also bought genuine Honda bearings and had to buy a new b16 crank and one rod for the #4 cylinder as that was also damaged, oil and filter.

Fast forward to August 2nd (day before my birthday), a friend of mine was racing at this circuit track that we have here so I was driving down to meet up with him there. Overtook a car, glanced in the rear-view and noticed a puff of white smoke, glanced down at the temp gauge and the needle was past the redline. In fact it was touching the 'H'. Instantly let off the gas and pulled to the soft shoulder just as the computer shuts down the car. Checks reveal a busted coolant hose at the back of the engine. Car wasn't starting so I had to put it on a wrecker and had it taken to a mechanic friend of mine nearby who specializes in Hondas.

Race day was still awesome btw!!! My friends stock b18c1 93 Civic hatch with Skunk2 headers, straight pipe, exhaust and cold air intake managed to out-drive a few turbo'd cars in both his classes to take 1st and 2nd place wins.

On to the headache that was to come.

The mechanic pulls apart the engine. Reveals another busted coolant hose, 3 cracked pistons, a warped head and block. In addition to that we discover that my clutch was completely done and had damaged my flywheel and pressure plate as well. I had a very limited budget at that point and had him skim the head and block, dropped in b18c pistons (horrible 9.5 compression in a b16 btw), new rings along with stock clutch, flywheel and pressure plate.

I got back the car Saturday August 7th and drove it into Kingston. Took my time to break in the rings. In fact the mechanic had recommended 500km to break in the rings. I decided not to push my luck and took my time to break in the rings up to 1700km.

Sunday morning car overheats. Another busted hose.

Monday new hose goes in. Car won't start.

Car parked till Thursday the 12th. Figure out that a wire from the starter had come off. Car starts. Driving the car to work the power steering belt and AC belt burst.

New powering steering belt goes on the car Thursday afternoon.

Friday morning, gas pedal cable bursts. Fortunately I was 5mins from a Honda parts store. New cable fitted.

Saturday August 14th, first time I'm really punching the car since the getting the car back. Car spins bearings. Turns out the mechanic didn't change the bearings when the car overheated. Says they didn't look like they needed to be changed so he didn't bother to but refuses to accept responsibility for it.

At that point I just parked the car. At that point I was on the verge of giving up but decided it was time to make a change. So I started researching ls/vtec and b20 vtec conversions.

I really wanted to go with the b20 but finding a block was extremely hard. Whereas I was able to find the LS parts with ease. I was hoping to do the conversion myself with the help of my friend but work has had me really busy so I decided to take it to a highly reputable shop here and spend the cash needed to start what I hope will be my car's new beginning.

I'm going to go and pick it up in about 30mins or so and will take some pics if I can. I plan on doing all work to it myself going forward however.

Here's what will be in there now:

B16a head (completely stock)
B16a intake manifold and tb
B18C1 block (decided not to use the LS block)
LS crank and rods
P30 B16a pistons (we have an abundance of JDM parts here as 99% are JDM models)
2.5" straight pipe plus exhaust
Completely retuned OBD1 ECU

I'll be installing an Autometer Oil Pressure Gauge next week and a short shifter that I picked up for next to nothing along with an adjustable fuel pressure regulator.

Here's the direction I'm thinking of going and need as much input as possible with it:

Port & Polished head
Ported B16 TB and port matched Intake Manifold
Headers
CTR pistons (my bro ordered a set for his 98 Acura Type R but might give me them instead)
Skunk2 valve springs and retainers
Either Type R cams, Skunk2 Pro 2 cams and gears or Buddy Club Spec 4 cams... still researching but any help would be greatly appreciated.
Maybe a fujitsubo exhaust (my bro has one on his car and it sounds amazing) or a Mugen Twin-loop.

My hp goal is 190 to 210 and I'll be happy for now. I just want to be able to run with my bro's Type R to be honest and he has a few mods on it already.

Help me out. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Any future work will be documented with pics etc. I've been wanted to start a build thread for a while, I think this is the perfect time for it. Thanks!

CrAzE191st

that is such a crazy story, i think i would have given up real fast and just sold the car, glad to see your still going at it, would love to see how this turns out

good luck with the build!

AltimaXX

That's ridiculous...props to you for having the patience to put up with that much bullshit. Just a few notes...either remove or bend for clearance the oil squirters in the C1 block...they won't clear with the LS crank/rod setup. Also, ARP rod bolts would definitely be a good idea, since you'll be spinning factory LS parts into the higher RPM.

EscoSi

Thanks, I had actually wanted to buy this car for about 2 years now and when the chance finally came I had to grab it. Plus its not in me to give up easily on anything. So lets see where this goes. It's going to be a slow build since I just forked out a ton of my savings in the past 5 months but I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks, trust me its been an unbelievable not so great learning experience. We did bend the oil squirters. I forgot to mention and you make a good point, I'm using ARP rod bolts and Clevite Main & rod bearings with thrust washers now.

bambam

Arp rod bolts are a MUST! Clearance everything out as well.

EscoSi

Here are some pics of the car that I took as it looks now.




As you can see the bonnet still needs to be re-aligned. I plan on doing that as well along with new headlights and tail lights.




Eventually I want to upgrade the rims to something real nice. Still trying to figure out what I want but I definitely want something with a polished lip. Any suggestions?

EscoSi

hey guys im sorry for not having any updates in so long. i recently started working another job to try to pay the bills and its been taking up ALL of my time. I should have some updates coming up soon tho. One question... I'm getting a deal on an ITR throttle body (US$50) from a friend of mine who has 2 of them, do I need to port match my intake manifold to 62mm before putting it on?

The LS/vtec engine is installed but I've had to be taking my time with it because it only has on a street tune but next when I get paid week, I'll be putting her on a dyno so should have some dyno sheets to post as well. I'm researching headers now and want to have one by the end of November. Would have bought it next week too but I'm getting a deal on a set of ep3r 5 lug hubs/rotors/calipers... 160 bucks aint bad right? Looking to see if i can cop some ep3r 17s as a Christmas present to myself. Also plan on starting some body work on the car and prepping it for paint by the end of November too.

Also in the works are the installation of an oil press. gauge, air/fuel and possibly water temp. have some bucket seats that i want to re-wrap and drop in soon as well. Some ppl have been telling me that this might be overkill for my current setup but I also am planning to purchase some skunk2 valve springs & retainers and dropping them in when I'm getting the head port & polished... hopefully this will be my best xmas ever!

As it regards to headers, I don't have $1200 to throw down on a full custom header. Does anyone have any experience with headers used with the LS/vtec setup that I am running?

EscoSi

Also at the moment I'm running a SRI with a K&N Filter but have been thinking about changing to a CAI... My only worry is when it rains, which it has been doing a hell of a lot of down here. Any thoughts?

I know that everything seems random and it actually is. I need to organize a plan of attack to see where I want to be going with this thing. Ideally I would want to lay down at least 180 to 200whp minimum. Any idea what I need to get there?

EscoSi

This was the B18C1 block... It was covered in oil & grease so I spent a couple hours cleaning it up before it was dropped into the car.

I wish I had had the time to do the conversion myself but work had me up and down so I had to get it done in the meantime.

EscoSi

After driving for a month on a basic stock tune my bro and i took our cars to the dyno.

Didnt get a print out of the tune but made 152whp with 125tq on the final tune. It was a little less than I was expecting however, based on restrictions currently on the car... 2 resonators, an exhaust that apparently cant handle the back pressure, stock intake and exhaust manifolds and an air filter that definitely needs to change, I should be happy.

Also realized a sound in the head. Inspections revealed the LMAs had worn down.

Picked these up for $46 from a friend of mine



Before this happened I had no idea what loss motion assemblies were but thanks to reading on honda-tech I have at least a clue. :D

EscoSi

Picked up this FPR but am not sure if I should put it on the car. I'm getting mixed feedback from ppl. Some say that if the tune is good then there's no need for an FPR, my tuner says that to him its just another thing added to the mix that can fail while from reading on honda-tech, some say it's a must have in an LS/vtec conversion.

I have no clue what to do.



But the purple inspired me. The paint for my valve cover has been ordered and is on the way. :D

supercivic00

i would do a warm air on it cuz i blow up to motors with the cai when it rains and nice si i love mine too

00Red_SiR

Rocket M22x cams would work really well in your build and give you the power range you're looking for. They are super easy to tune and broke the 200whp mark in my 1.8L. Unless you tend to submerge your car in a lot of water, and you still run all your splash shields in place, the CAI is the way to go for you. You do not need that FPR either. They are primarily used to get stock fuel injectors to flow more by incresing the fuel pressure. It's a band aid approach since the fuel volume decreases as pressure increases.

EscoSi

Thanks man... Everyone keeps asking me why I haven't sold it and moved on but I can't.

I think if I'm careful with the cai I should be ok, just dont go through a lot of water.

I'll definitely check out those cams meng... My bro doesn't seem to be budging with his ctr cams so I think I'm going to start looking into getting some on my own.

That's exactly what I heard about the FPR... that it's a band aid... I'm going to sell it and cop some lude injectors. Also heard that the h22 TB would be better to use than the ITR TB. I've been trying to buy the ITR from this guy but every time we're supposed to meet up he cops out. Last time we spoke, I had to tell him the measurement of the TB because he didn't know. I'm starting to wonder if its a genuine ITR TB.

I'm considering one of the following options: porting my b16 intake manifold or going with either the Edelbrock Victor X or Blox intake manifold. I know 2 ppl with these for sale. Not sure which way to go but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

EscoSi

I also picked up this Arospeed Short Shifter:



But am going to sell it to my younger bro who has a 1988 Turbo Starlet that he's building. A friend of mine is going to sell me his ITR shifter as a replacement.

Also copped these:



Energy Suspension Shifter Bushings!

Picked up a Hytech Replica from a friend of mine as well for about $100. It was in poor condition, rusty all over.



Am in the process of polishing it though using a tutorial I found on here.
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-acura-28/%2A%2A%2Ahow-%2A%2A%2A-polish-header-1563439/

It's coming along nicely.

EscoSi

a few other things i've picked up (i know these aren't a part of the all motor build but i'll show u anyways)



Not a brand name but I was able to get them for a steal. Going to reupholster them in black with a blue double stitch and re-stuff the sides as well.



A pair of 8" Kickers and some Sony speakers for the doors. The ones in my door are shot. The door panels are also ruined in my car but I found a pair complete with the speaker covers for $70.

I have to give a special shout out to some friends that have helped me along the way so far:



Without you guys I would have never made it through hell and back :D

tempsohc

those headers dont look like rep's.

00Red_SiR

It looks like a replica, you can see the bolt ties where the primaries slip fit into the secondaries.

Whatever you do, do not run a Victor X intake on your build. They are a poor match for anything under a screaming drag motor. I would use an ITR style of intake manifold especially if you run anything larger than ITR cams. The H TB is 60mm and the type S Tb is 62mm, the type R is 62mm so it`s either larger or the same size as the H series TB`s, so no advantage.

speedooo

Your mechanic sucks. Seriously... and you're not to bright for continually returning to him. You don't need to change bearings after overheating, you need to have the head milled and potentially have the block decked. He probably threw in some generic bearings without checking tolerances, causing rod knock. Then replaced them again on a scarred crank...

He also installed a faulty waterpump and forgot to properly reinstall your started harness.

highwhey

with what mods and engine did you produce those dyno numbers?
i'm in a similar boat, i made 153 whp and 126tq but with a b20vtec, dc headers(crushed as hell, restricting air flow), skunk 2 manifold, restricting exhaust, whale ***** intake, aem fuel rail....i was told that i might have automatic b16 cams since the torque just drops after 6500rpm and my header and exhaust combination is really bad since header is crushed and exhaust is too small. thinking of picking up those rmf replica headers and some skunk 2 cams along with some other head internals.

EscoSi

funnily enough they (at the dyno) were saying that my torque levels are similar to the b20...

i only had in the LS rods, LS Crank, p30 pistons, SRI with a clogged up Filter, 2.5" pipe with a Dynomax exhaust. There are 2 resonators on the pipe and the exhaust is definitely stifling my power. Have stock intake manifold and exhaust manifold, stock b16 cams.

highwhey

wow, well you have good numbers....you don't even have the same bolt ons as me and have less displacement and you have same power, lol.

EscoSi

wat we found is that as the vtec engagement point was lowered, the engine responded better with overall increases in tq as well as hp. at the moment its set to engage at 4500 but that extra 500 rpms made a helluva a difference.

EscoSi

I want to move this thread into the Appearance Build threads... anybody have any idea how I can get this done?

mouab18c1

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