Sleepr DSM

For all intents and purposes, from an under the hood perspective, is a Del Sol a Civic? What are the significant differences mechanically? If any?

I bought a 1997 Honda Del Sol SI, SOHC. The current motor and manual transmission has 88k miles. It runs well.

I'm trying to find a template, a pattern to follow, to swap in a motor and transmission to produce between 225 and 250 whp. Years ago I owned an Integra Type R for a few months and loved the car. That smooth shifting transmission and high revving engine was so much fun. The Del Sol may never be that refined, but I'm aiming in that direction, with more power.

I have a budget of about 5k. I don't' want to reinvent the wheel. I'm looking for a guide who has mapped out this kind of thing already.

Is it really just a civic under the hood.. and so pick any one of dozens of builds to model my own after?

Thanks for any advice.

NVturbo

....are you serious? It's actually a Ford Focus with Honda emblems.

Sleepr DSM

Serious? Yes. Ignorant? Yes. Asking questions? Yes.

civic402lx

I don't see how 5k going to get you 250whp swap.

Sleepr DSM

What do you believe is a realistic whp goal for a naturally aspirated project?

So another thread told me its a Civic EG under the hood. I can start searching those projects. Are there any structural differences in the car that make the project different from a Civic EG? In other words, are ALL the parts used in a Civic going to work in a Del Sol, (assuming a manual transmission and typical honda 4 cylinder?

tony_2018

What gave you the conclusion that 5k will get your 250whp if you couldn't even figure out what is needed and require a complete guide/how to/holdmyhandcuz?

94 Civic Si

I think this person is genuine.

Personally I am jelly they found a '97 del Sol Si w/ only 88k on the clock. Hopefully it is clean.

OP, I would suggest searching and reading threads in here about the nuances of the del Sol vs. EG Civic before you commit to any changes.

AFAIK, you should be able to stuff that B18C + tranny that you loved so much in your ITR into the del Sol. But learn all you can first, it will cost you less time and $ in teh long run...

Sleepr DSM

civic402lx

Just the jdm itr 98+spec complete swap from hmotorsonline goes for around 5k shipped. Even with that, you will need to source axles because the jdm itr are 36mm and not the 32mm. So that will put ya over 5k. Then you need to add the fluids. The motor mounts. The harness which are around $400 for a premade, custom harness. Yes you can opt for the oem harness but need modification, adding extra plugs and what not. Dont know how comfortable you are with wirings.
then custom exhaust. Whether you want stock or aftermarket radiator. Are you going to run oem ecu or chipped, then tuning and dyno time.. $100-$150/hr on dyno..so you are looking for atleast 7k or more. This also mean you are doing all the work yourself. Pulling the old motor and swapping over the new one. Even with all that work it may put you close to 200whp. I said close, how close? Dont know. It adds up quickly.. this is just one example. Im sure there are other swap that may be lower cost but you gotta do more homework on those..

I, myself, like the jdm itr 98+ spec. That would be MY ideal swap for me if i have the extra money to do so. Im not looking for mad hp. Simple bolt on mods. Staying NA and simple.. just something for myself to enjoy. Not looking for street creds or to impress anyone.

i think you should read and research further before deciding. See what other have done and what they paid..

94 Civic Si

No worries mate!

Check out this thread - lots of content here: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...tions-1998336/