ComposiMo

Another K20-R CRX is born


This is my first foray into a K-series CRX swap, so i'm learning step-by-step... and believe me, there is a ton of little things that need to be dealt with on this swap. First and foremost, like any swap, make sure all the parts are there before you start... with the K stuff, since some of it is still 'custom' with manufacturers, sometimes getting the parts you need in a timely manner isn't all that easy. lol.

Anyway, so here is what we are starting with... a baby-crap green CRX, with a fairly healthy GSR swap already in it. The motor has 13:1 compression, RMF header, and a hogged out intake manifold. The car is running a ZDyne GOLD for tuning, and really is a fun little car to drive.... but he wants more






The new hotness... a JDM K20A Type-R




First order of business was to completely remove the old engine, and strip the engine bay. The owner of the car is wanting to repaint the car a very nice Hunter Green in the future, and so while we have everything out right now, we're going to completely redo the engine bay for him, and that way he won't have to mess with it when it is time to redo the rest of the car.




With everything out, we also decided to remove any unnecessary bracketry, and cover up any unecessary holes in the engine bay... sort of a 'mild engine bay shave', without a complete wire-tuck. Also, we started installing/welding the timing chain-side bracket that is supplied in the HASport Mount Kit we are using. The instructions say that you just have to weld the rosette welds, but we went ahead and welded al the way around. Better safe than sorry... besides, once painted, the weld is easier to make look nice than a big gap between the mount and framerail.








The job also requires "banging in the rear crossmember for clearance"... so instead of sledging away at the car, we notched the rear crossmember, folded the edges into each other, and seam-welded it back together. Came out fairly nice




And here is the engine bay right before it left for paint




While the car was at the body shop, we had them completely remove all of the stock seam sealer, and refinish the car with all new sealer. They completely sanded it down, and repainted it with base-coat and clear-coat in a beautiful black finish. Unfortunately this makes pictures tough to take, because light won't reflect off of it very well, but it'll look beautiful with the Hunter Green paint job when it gets done.

Now we're going to skip ahead a bit, because unfortunately the memory card that was being used sort of crashed for some reason, and we haven't been able to get the pics off of it

So now the motor is in the car. Everything pretty much lines up perfectly, and if you have a lift, the car slides right over the motor with absolutely no isses at all. Fits easier than a B practically... lol!








Couple of things noticed at this point: Make sure your belts are on before the motor goes into the car. It is a lot easier to figure out the routing. Also, make sure you have the alternator relocated somehow, or the headlight bucket modified. I didn't like the idea of cutting the fresh new engine bay headlight housing, so we relocated the alternator.






Also, it is kinda hard to see in this pic, but make SURE that you have everything done to this motor before you put it into the car... because to pull the head on this motor, or mess with anything under the timing chain cover, basically will mean pulling the motor. The area between the shock tower and the timing chain cover is extremely close. At minimum here, you'll have set the motor on a dolly, unhook all the mounts, pull it forward 1.5" or so, and then shift it over another couple of inches to be able to clear the car... you can then leave a lot hooked up this way, but it is a LOT of extra work just to pull the head, or replace a timing chain.




The Header being used is a DTR Fab 4-1 Merge Collector Header. This is a very nice piece... it sure is a tight fit though. To pull the header, the engine has to come out of the car basically (or at least completely unhooked, and pulled forward a couple of inches).






Also installed, is a full Ingalls Camber Kit. Using Balljoints in the front, and the forged adjustable link for the rear, this car will have great camber, and be really easy to align.




During the process, the prop valve was also replaced, and new brake lines added. While we had them out, it was fairly easy to modify them, but you can see how the prop valve was mounted here... fairly simple, and definitely out of the way.




Next item up for change, is the shifter box area. It was decided that the car should look stock from the inside, so we trimmed out the center console area, and boxed it in with steel. Created a new floor for the shifter, and now the shifter will have a place to go, and fit completely underneath the stock console plastic.






Also on the 'modification list', is the radiator. The aluminum radiator in the car would barely fit, even moved all the way over to one side. The upper hose was still coming out right at the throttle body. So, instead of off-setting it, we decided it'd be better to just center it, and reposition the top hose position. So, i cut, welded, and voila! Also, we decided that for the cleaner look, it'd be cool to mount the radiator using its lower mounting holes... so now it is in place, and barely moves with no upper braces... looks a LOT better.






Here is the car as it sat waiting for a fuel rail to complete the system...








This has been a fun but also a loooong swap... but it's worth it. Definitely need to be ready for almost anything when doing this swap... and unless you have good fabrication abilities, and a welder, you'd be a bit hard-pressed to do this properly in your driveway.

Anyway, i'll update this more once we get it tuned and to a track


K-RX... The ultimate swap



Modified by ComposiMo at 11:36 PM 9/22/2006

nowentaquit

I can't wait to see more!

SRCRX

clean

Bastion

Nice swap, nasty colour

ktp1798

Very nice...

Chase

Hell yea man!!! Thats cool that u took alot of good shots. i love the progress pics!! The motor looks great in there!!!

rmnS2K

some day one of those will sit under the hoo of my crx.

jdmazm

sickkkkkkk...

coolhandluke

iTrader: (2)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nowentaquit &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I can't wait to see more!</TD></TR></TABLE>

rukawa1one

wow that is a really good job, it looks like u guys took ur time and didnt half *** it like some other k swaps i've been seeing around on these boards

Driven

clean...

one question...
why a black engine bay? probably the worst color to have it... next to dirty, oily, and black?

Boosted Chemist

iTrader: (1)

nice clean swap, i like the attention to detail.

eskimo_usd

awesome pics

ComposiMo

Thanks guys! Also, i want to send a special shout-out to Jason Buss, who is the new lead mechanic at the shop (just started working for us a few weeks ago), who has done an awesome job on much of the mechanicals, and helping set up some of the fabrication of the swap. I wish i had the time to do it all by myself, but i don't ... he is the other side of that "we" word i use in the write-up


Bastion: Yea, i agree... lol. Dunno if you read it or not, but the car is being repainted later in a dark Hunter Green more than likely... not sure yet, but it won't be this lima-bean-green for too much longer.


rukawa1one: Well, we don't do a LOT of customer work here at the shop, but the work that we DO do, is as top-notch as we can make it. It is up to the customer to decide if that is worth paying for... i do refuse to do certain jobs all the time, simply because the owner isn't wanting to do things 'right'. Thankfully, we have some very discerning customers who are tired of a lot of the "just get it done and out the door" kind of work that they've gotten elsewhere... and more and more are finding out about the kind of work we do every day


Driven: Asthetics... yea, its not theb est color, but it does allow the engine to show more. In this case, the rest of the car is being repainted Hunter Green on hte outside, with black interior, and engine bay... should be a nice mix, and the car should really stand out when done.

Akiraboy

great job man, pretty extensive & well explained. I'd like to post this @ my site for everyone to see.

Boosted Chemist

iTrader: (1)

post pic of it when you get it finished in hunter green, i was thinking of going a dark green and ive yet to see a hunter green crx

TrackSpeedRacing

lookin good

Race Egr

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TrackSpeedRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lookin good </TD></TR></TABLE>

CRX_DOHC_ZC

one word: DAMN!!!!

Rywire

John, clean swap bro!


I have a parts list and how to as well, thats still kinda in the making, so between these I think a novice can make this swap happen.

I like the shifter area idea, looks nice, any pix of the finished product?
Ryan

SoClose

just another honda beast . .

cbp_crx

car looks great

ComposiMo

Akiraboy: YEa, thats fine... feel free to post it over there. If you need or want me to expand more, or me actually post it there for you, let me know

Boosted: Yea, i think it'll look -really- good. It prolly won't be that shade of green for a little while, but i'll definitely post it up when it happens. I could photoshop it though.. hehe.

Ryan: Thanks! Yea, if you want to work together to generate an inclusive thing, let me know. I'll be glad to donate my info to the cause if you need it to create a very detailed and involved K how-to PM me if you want to talk more about it.

SoClose: Oooohhhh yeeeeaaa.... a beast it is

Dave_Civic

Nice clean swap!
what kinda numbers do u expect on the quater mile with this beast??

XJamesX

mmmmm... looks good John. Always doing great work.

-James-