Yes I'm aware there's probably a ton of posts about this, I've spent about 2-3 weeks or so researching everything including existing posts on this forum for re-building my engine. I just want a couple sets of eyes to overlook these parts and tell if there's any major issues they see right of the bat and a few other questions. I have a full shop and have always worked on my own cars, but I've never rebuilt an engine. If I'm a moron and missed some rule of the forum go ahead and tell me.

I've bought a 97' Integra GS with rod knock. I'm assuming its spun a bearing. I got it for super cheap with low mileage and no rust, its exactly what I was looking for. If I can, I'd like to rebuild the engine first with good internals, and then later on next year turbo it and upgrade a few other things. My goal is 325-ish HP, from what I've read, most of these parts should be good to 400+. If you think I'm good to less or more than that, let me know.

First step is lifting the engine and fully disassembling. If the crank is bad, I'll have it resurfaced. Same goes for the cylinders if they have bad scoring or are ovaled. If not I'll just hone them.

First step of the build:
Honda OEM or similar Water pump, Oil pump, and whole engine gasket set, timing belt.
ARP headstuds
Brian Crower Springs and retainers
This set of Nippon Pistons, Pins and SCAT rods: Nippon Racing JDM Turbo Honda B-Series Pistons Piston Kit with SCAT Rods (B18A, B18B, LS Block)
ACL bearings
New engine + transmission mounts

So a couple questions with this so far. Those pistons and rods will change the compression from 9.2.10 to 9.23.10. I would prefer to not have to convert from OBD2 to OBD1 and tune the car at this stage if I don't have to. Do you think changing from 9.2 to 9.23 will affect it that much with a stock ECU, would it be drivable? At this time it will still be the stock injectors. I'm not intending on changing the cams if I don't have to, but I've heard if you change your compression ratio you might. Would that only be for massive changes, ie 9.2.10 to 10.5.10? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

If so far that's all sounds possible, these would be my next steps:
Bosch 650 or 750CC injectors
DW200 fuel pump
OBD2 to 1 harness, compatible ECU (more on this below)
Turbo, intercooler, downpipe, blowoff valve, boost gauge and controller etc.

I'll either source a turbo kit, or build one myself later on down the road once I get that far. Once I have an OBD1 harness and ECU, how do I go about tuning or preparing for a tune at a dyno? Should I get an s300 system from Hondata or are there alternatives?

I know this is a lot of questions, so thank you in advance for any help you can offer!

 

Since these engines are 30 years old and you know yours has seen damage, I'd do at least a .25mm overbore on the sleeves regardless just to get them nice and perfectly round again, unless you know your engine is low mileage and there's no scoring at all on the walls.
Gates water pump and timing belt kits are good.
OEM oil pumps are still attainable, personally I'm going to be attempting to use an ACL Orbit pump on my current build.
Check to make sure the head is 100% flat, if not get it resurfaced. I'd suggest using a JE Pro Seal headgasket, or really any other quality MLS style gasket that's OEM thickness.

That very slight compression bump is unlikely to require a retune, however when you go turbo you absolutely will need to either get a Hondata S300 installed with an OBD1 ECU and conversion harness, or look into one of these newer "Link" ECUs (this is what I wish I had done rather than invested in a P28+S300).
Stock cams are 100% fine. In fact you really never have to upgrade the cams, there's just different applications where you could potentially be leaving a lot of power on the table if you don't. In your case, stock cams will be fine.

Go-Autoworks is the last (reputable) company that makes full bolt on turbo kits for these cars. If you intend to piece one together, I would at least highly recommend getting the manifold + downpipe as a combo, since those are typically the two pieces that would require the most intense fabrication and are most susceptible to misalignment issues if not built with each other in mind. If that makes sense.

Make sure you also get new stem seals for the head, you can likely re-use your keepers. You'll want to at least do a DIY valve lap, and make sure the seats themselves still have a bit of meat on them. Again, we don't know the mileage on the engine or what work may have been done on it previously, but over time and through repeated valve jobs, the seats start to wear away.

To me everything else looks good and well planned. Don't forget you'll also need at least a modestly upgraded clutch/pressure plate.

 

Awesome, thanks for your input. It has 140k km on it so about 86k miles, that's ones of the reasons I bought it. The previous owner said he just installed a 7lb flywheel and stage 3 clutch recently, but ill probably crack it open to make sure it looks decent.
What are some of the newer Link ECU's, can you point me in the right direction?

 

86K miles is definitely very low, especially considering how old these engines are. You could likely get away with just doing a hone as you mentioned assuming there's no gouges or scoring on the walls.

Link ECU - https://dealers.linkecu.com/products...in-ecus-honda/

@ls joker Would probably have more info, as he's running one.

 

Your plan is fine and Chance has given good advice. The only thing I'll add is that if your crank is bad, do not have it turned unless you plan to have it re-nitrided as well. It will probably be cheaper to find a good OEM crank to replace your damaged crank with.

Jumping from 9.20 to 9.23 in compression will not make any noticeable difference in the tune.

To prepare for the dyno, have the tuner you plan to use send you a base map to use to either drive the car to the tuner or better yet, to load it onto a trailer to haul to the tuner. The base map should be set up for the correct injectors and MAP sensor at a minimum. You should not be getting into boost before being tuned, so the stock map should be fine as long as the injectors and MAP sensor are scaled properly.

 

I totally agree here. I don't know about a replacement crankshaft being cheaper, but you simply do not turn a Honda/Acura crankshaft. OP, Plan on finding a replacement.

 

I agree with all of thee above. I would get rid of the 7lbs flywheel aswell, a 12lbs flywheel wouldnt fall out of boost as much.

I have not purchased the link ecu yet. I was just doin homework, gettin all my ducks in a row prior. Before committing to haltech or something else. You can find more info and specs by looking into the link g4x ecu on their site. Same spec are built on the plug n play models from what my tuner tells me.