I am going to look at a B16B longblock, transmission and axles this weekend and was hoping I could get some pointers for what to look out for to make sure it's an original B16B

The block is stamped B16B with a serial number below it. I believe the head should be PR3-X. Any other markings to look for? Looks like an aftermarket fuel rail and a fuel pressure gauge. The previous owner was running boost so I'm not sure what the condition of the engine is. I plan to get it rebuilt anyway, so I'm not overly worried but I am hoping it wasn't boosted to oblivion.

I've attached the pictures I received.

 

Zip the valve cover off and check out the valve springs (Should be dual valve springs Intake and Exhaust). That doesn't make it definitive but will be another point toward legitimacy. Trans has the LSD stamp. That is a good sign. Yank off the axles and make sure it does have an LSD. That is also easy.

Just google how to identify a b16b head. The bottom end is legit. You should rebuild either way.

 

This.
4bar map sensor and upgraded injectorsrail/fpr. God knows what the thing has been through. I sure as hell wouldnt pay "JDM importer" prices for it when its clearly in "boy racer" condition

 

yeah it definitely had a rough life and I'm a little concerned, but I negotiated to $2300 for everything shown in the pictures if I do end up buying it. I saw a similar changeover (granted it included harness and ECU) online for $5500 from importers. I'm very new to Honda's but I thought $2300 for everything was reasonable. If I am wrong there then I am ok with being told so.

 

No, I think considering the price and growing rarity of b-swaps these days it's worth taking a risk. You can complete a nice rebuild for $1k or less and then it would be an even better deal.

 

thanks, those were my thoughts as well. I can't imagine there are a ton of B16B's left. If I do buy it it'll be going in a 97 hatch that I just bought a week ago. Originally the plan was a turbo kit or a B20 build. I just happened to see this listed not too far from me and thought it would be a neat swap.

 

I did buy the swap. The head looked really clean under the valve cover and the markings all appear to be correct. There is some green paint behind the distributor so I believe it's an original head. The serial number is still on the transmission but I'm not sure if I can look that up anywhere, I'm going to search and see what I can find. I got it on the stand today but the stand is kind of sketchy so a buddy is bringing over one of his good stands for me tomorrow. I'll swap it over tomorrow and then start tearing down this week.

Kid I bought it from was a nice guy. Helped us get it in the truck and answered all the questions I had. He even gave me some OEM coolant and transmission fluid he had laying around. He said he was running a basemap on S300 with upped fuel pressure and had the wastegate set to 7psi. The oil was really clean and there's a ton of soot by the exhaust manifold so if anything it looks like it was running rich. Hopefully it never leaned out.

He had the oil pan tapped so I was looking to buy a new one. I found spoon pans but they're $350+. I can use an OEM B18C/1/5 oil pan for this, correct?

 

I opened it up today. I may just roll with it... do new gaskets, hoses and cross my fingers. No sludge anywhere. Nothing in the oil pickup besides a tiny bit of silicone. I think the head has already been done. It's cleaner than the block. Some carbon buildup on the pistons and valves but besides that it looks pretty good to me. Car was pig rich though. Spark plugs were totally black.

 

The first thing I did when I got my B16B cams (other than mic them up with my caliper) was to check to make sure they really were CTR cams. They should look like the ones below:

 

thank you, they do seem to be the correct cams as well. Feeling pretty good about the buy so far. Still 50/50 on whether or not I want to rebuild the bottom end.

 

Well, you can do it now, or roll the dice and maybe have a healthy engine or end up having to pull the motor again for a rebuild. Might get lucky, but it would suck to have a catastrophic failure like a bearing issue that could have been addressed. I think one thing you should consider is that these motors are becoming increasingly rare and should be treated as such.

 

yeah I will probably end up getting it done just for the peace of mind. I am just trying to convince myself I should save the money and buy a real Toda header lol

Since we never got the engine here, is my machine shop going to have any issues finding parts for a rebuild? I was thinking about that this afternoon

 

You should source all the parts for them. If you are okay with dropping some more money, send it to someone like Mike Laskey down in Riverside, CA. He just did my B18C, but with aftermarket rods and pistons, in November and that baby is purring pretty right now. He might be able to get you a lower rate if you use OE-style pistons and the stock rods.

 

Unfortunately shipping to california will make it prohibitively expensive.

​​​​as far as main bearings, rod bearings and thrust washers go I should be able to use B18C or B18C5 parts, yes? If that's the case I'm assuming it will not be that bad finding everything since we did get the B18C5 in the US. I'm operating under the impression that I essentially have a B18C, just with a different crank, rods, and pistons.

 

A lot depends on if Honda is discontinuing those parts.

I know on the old D series, much of the bearings are being discontinued and after market doesn't get remotely as close to spec as OEM. The B series was bought a lot more so Honda may still be making the parts due to higher sales unlike the grocery getter motors which are almost never rebuilt except maybe the Z6.

 

I just called my local acura dealer and he said they still have rod bearings, gasket kits, etc. He said there are about 20 different main bearings and about 75% of them are still available.

So as long as I can use ITR parts on the B16B and my rods and crank are good, I think I'll be ok.

 

It might not be. Probably $1-200 bucks. You're just sending the block. My biggest fear in your situation would be ruining the crank and then the nightmare of sourcing another. There were no GSR cranks available when I was looking a few months ago. Fortunately Laskey had one. I imagine the b16b crank will be even harder to find.

 

it would be a good excuse for a spoon stroker kit if the crank is bad. it looks like they still pop up every once in a while. but I'm hoping I don't have to go that direction.

do you know if laskey sells a rebuild kit that I could have my machinist use? I might give them a call at some point today to find out but wasn't sure if that was something you discussed with them

 

I doubt it but you never know. Give him a ring.

 

I ended up speaking with 4piston and he did confirm that things like rod bearings, main bearings, etc. are shared with the B18C. I'm dropping it off at my machinist tomorrow and he's going to take a look. If he doesn't want to touch it for some reason I'll definitely give those guys a call or end up sending it out to 4piston. The more I think about it, the less chances I want to take.