zredalert95

Hi everyone!

I'm new, so please bear with me. I just crashed my 1997 Subaru Impreza on July 4th, so because i need a car with good gas mileage (and because i was flat broke), i just bought a 1993 Honda del Sol with the d16z6 in it for 350 bucks. it has 269,909 on the odometer, almost completely original. my problem is that in know nothing about Hondas, and i still want to learn and build it up, it'll be my little project after struts, a new radiator fan, an o2 sensor, an oil change, an air filter, some Seafoam, and a little body work, she'll be ready to go. the guy apparently put on headers, an intake (which looks ancient to me), 2 rear speakers, and an exhaust tip. so here is what i really want to know. what can i do to this car (on the very cheap side) that will make her fly? i also was wondering what the smallest turbo i could put in would be, and a price on that job.

19crx93

nice car good luck!

Noel L Eguia

Small turbo is still kinda pricy.
2.0L could be found under 500 easily.
But my advice.
Lower it.

zredalert95

thanks guys. im going to be a little more delayed in messing with it, i just went out to start it, and its smoking frame under the hood and the tail pipe :/

EJeff8

^You probably just blew a head gasket.

And there is no "small, cheap" turbo. You buy a turbo and set the boost with a wastegate spring. If it has the original D series, bolt ons are useless, don't waste money on them. A total turbo job could be about $1,000 new if installed yourself. $400 or so used. A NX kit can be bought new for $400 (my preference) or do a swap with a cheap engine and build it (H22A ;D)

Good luck, I'm still trying to restore my '00 Y8 Coupe.

AGENT_47

Put new internals if you plan on keeping the D16Z6 but after you buy all the parts you might be able to find a GSR B18C for cheap . Also look for a driver's side rear fender

Nichelson_Performance

ooooo major honda cancer but for 270,000 miles it's allowed to have some
i'd start by lowering it, some decent wheels, and definetely body work. i wouldn't go putting boost to that high mileage Dseries, she is probably a little tired

as far as cheap small turbos, 14b's can be found relatively cheap under 100 bucks, but it's the other stuff that adds up....intercooler and piping, fuel injectors, fuel pump, downpipe, and of course the tune

if you want quick cheap power, do a LS turbo or just throw a B20 in it, then when the funds come around later on, top either one of them off with a vtec head

ccloudc

i will suggest you to fix up the body first. to be honest. if you can't go fast, you still got the look. just think about when you drive down the street with your top open =P.

once you got the body work out then you can start making her fly .

Solster

what good is it to fly if you have no wings and the fuselage is falling off. LOL

but if you want to turbo get a spare Z6 put in some vitara pistons and get a turbo kit.

zredalert95

ok, so now i have another question. any pointers on a DIY headgasket job? because thats why its smoking, burning coolant like crazy...

Krut

Honestly with that many miles on the motor and the blown headgasket, and your desire for a bit more power i say pick up a LS motor it will drop right in, you can find them very cheap these days, to me it wouldn't be worth the time to replace the headgasket on it id just step up to a better motor.

Solster

True but in 93 thay ony had 2 motors for the Del sol The D15 and the D16Z6.

So if he wants to keep it cheap and EZ for now i say just get a D16Z6 and put it back on the road.

if he gets and onther motor say B16 or B18 he will need to find Mounts, ECU and if it is a 5-Speed he will need the shift bars for the 95-97 Del Sol Vtec body that had the Stock B16 as the bars are not the same I know i have a Set and there about 1 1/2 inches longer then the D16 Shift bars.

I say get a Cheap motor from a Junk yard put it on the road and keep the old one and rebiuld it for a Turbo set up. this way you can take your time and Not be rushed and **** up some thing trying to learn in a hurry.

Krut

Yep that's a good option too, totally depends on how much money he wants to throw at it right now

Solster

forgot to ask does it have rear disc breaks or drum if it has drums look for the 1x2" flat spot on the block where the trans and Motor meet and make sure the motor code stamped in the block is d16z6 and not a d15 if it is a d16 and has rear drums you will NEED to make sure it has the right ECM as i have seen ppl around here put the D16 in a del sol that had a D15 and never tuch the ECM this will make the motor run lean and blow Head gaskets all the time. i sugest you get a Repair manual for it as it will tell you where to find the ECM. (it's under the carpet on the passenger side kick panel.


The label on the left of the pic is the id for the ECM it you have a D16Z6 motor you need to have a P28 ECM or some other ECM that is Chiped for the D16Z6


Chiped ECM



also you can tell if it is a D16Z6 by the Spark plug location it shold look like this



if your plug wire are on the back of the valve cover (closer to the intack the motor is a D15)

zredalert95

well, my issue is that i'm flat broke. i was trying to bring this car to college, partially for fun and partially for gas mileage, but it looks like my 89 Oldsmobile will be taking over that job. this was a kind of hypothetical thread, just to get ideas. but the more i take it apart, the more i learn about how much help it actually needs. I suspect its going to need an entire new brake system (4 wheel disc by the way) because the rear rotors are thin, warped, and rusty, and the rear calipers are frozen shut. i haven't looked at the fronts yet, but they seem to work, so i'm praying. i'll take more pics of it for you guys, and i appreciate all of your ideas

EDIT: would putting a D16y8 headgasket in cause an issue? i want slightly more compression.

tstchatch

swap
swap
swap.

i picked up my del sol with 200+k miles and headgasket blew in a week. go ls all the way and part it together for youself
b18a1-$100
ls tranny-$100-150
ecu-maybe $50 tops
b18b1 intake manifold-$35
shift linkage from b series del sol-$182 new, $50 used
obd1 ls dizzy-$50
mounts- you will only need the driver side mount from and 94-01 integra and the T bracket-$40 for both
misc goods-$150

b18b1 swap (94-01 integra) is anywhere from 500-1000 depending on location and mileage...

zredalert95

that actually sounds like a really good idea, but at this exact moment, due to a bunch of accident charges, i think i'm gonna do the head gasket, just to get her running right again, although after i start working in college, i really do like that idea! oh the symptoms of being 17 :/

zredalert95

never mind. i found similar motors for 300 bucks, i just have to save. i also found a rear brake kit for 100 bucks, which i desperately need

AGENT_47

Well if your still around in 6 months I'm selling my D16Z6 ,it's my daily driver right now with only 49k original miles all stock. I purchased the car from my mother in 2003 she is the original owner. It only had 27k miles on it when I purchased it, so you can see the car doesn't get beat on every year.

I'm getting a B18C/custom turbo by LHT in winter or first of the year and I'll have my d16z6 pulled at that time.

The engine is mint no leaks, I take good care of it, run full synthetic every 5k miles or so.

zredalert95

what are you getting rid of it for? and its a del sol?

EDIT: or did you mean just the motor?

EJeff8

^It's a Z6, doesn't have to be straight stock from a Del Sol to work. 92-95 civics ran the exact same engine as well.

zredalert95

yea, i thought you ment the entire car for a sec. im tired lol

visormurp

Since you got the car for next to nothing and it sounds as if you've got another engine lined up, look at getting the rusted panel replace or fixed before building...imo.

zredalert95

yea, i think me and some buddys are going to try and weld some sheet metal where the cancer is, at least as a temporary fix. and idk, i cant say i have a motor lined up because i dont have the tools to do an engine swap, and i still cant afford the motor. im a very hypothetical person i suppose, but if i save up a grand or two, i can fix it all.

EJeff8

^If you save up a grand or two, you could buy a better Del Sol. You have a lot of options to work with so try to weigh them all, you obviously have time. And an engine swap isn't really as hard to do or requires as many special tools as you think. You just need an engine crane, some WD - 40, a breaker bar and some sockets really. It's just time consuming if you don't have a full empty week to just kill on the swap.