Knoxor

Hey there, I just bought a 93 del sol from a friend of mine for 300$ it's a fixer upper (passenger fender destroyed, den on passenger door and panel, quarter panels are rusty) I'm thinking it's going to be about $500 at most if I go an expensive route to fix all the aesthetic issues. And about $500 to 800$ to get it to look the way I'd like. I've got that budget down ish... But now I'm looking at engines....

I want a daily driver car but Also something fun somewhere around 200-300hp my budget for project is about 4000, maybe 5 if things go nicely.. ;P 1000-1500 of that into making it look fancy. (Not crazy fast and furious, clean and like and this include rims. Maybe alittle more to for suspension and paint job. Havn't worked thoughts prices quite yet.

I've been looking at maybe putting a b16 in it (not sure what's in it now but it's pretty old and undoubtedly a d-series.) I see here running about $2000 which I think I can do and I was thinking getting it with a manual tranny and doing a auto to manual swap, but I dunno if it's worth it yet.

So I feel like after the fancy looks and I get my b16 in there for 2000$ about I'll be left with about 1000$ to throw at the engine I hear from research the intake, headers and exhaust is a must and cheap and will get me to about 200hp, and if I wanted to hit 300 what would I need? Maybe a cheap turbo something light, at like 7-8-9psi!?! This is my first car owned, I havn't done much auto work other than my high school auto classes, so I'm really just in this to learn and have fun!

So if you could, though me some suggestions. What engine to get if you think b16 isn't a bang for you buck deal and if I should go turbo or not just whatever you can think of would be great, I mean the cheaper the better my budget is 4000$ but if I could do it in 3000 that would be amazing, you know...! So thanks a lot!

B_Swapped93

lol 200 on a 1.6 with merely an intake exhaust and a header is laughable, there was a thread with a dyno sheet... had alot more and only put 170down. Be happy if you make 160 with that, I was happy to hit 198/131 with a 11.5:1 (w/tuner2 cams) gsr I put together last year and that was about 3K of components/tune. Turboing it is the only cheap power option when it comes to 1.6-1.8L applications, if you skip the bodywork you could swap a b18b(non-vtec) and turbo that for around 3K. That's assuming you don't cheap out especially on the tuning portion expect $400+ for a proper tune. Buying used will help cut the cost down but you'll be taking some risk with used parts.

you could hit the 200whp mark easily with a turbo 1.8/1.6 set up for around 3.3.5K new parts only or less used but with more risk.

Knoxor

Well thanksman, I mean i guess swapping a 1.6 (assuming it's cheaper)(Also I like b16's because I hear they rev higher) andturboing it would be a sweet option for about 3k then 1k for some minimal body fixes.

HondaPartsHero

Don't bother if your staying auto

visiblystealthy

iTrader: (1)

Your budget/plans do not correlate with each other....

B_Swapped93

feels the same down low like a d series seriously has 3-4ft lbs more tq which you couldn't even feel, heck even that 11.5:1 gsr I had felt kind slow down low and that was with 131tq. a b18c1 and a b16a2 share the same redline only b16 that revs higher is a b16b, but for the price may as well get a 98+ ITR engine

Knoxor

Should I just pop another d-series in here like I'm really want to make this car work, and the engine inside it is pretty old and beat up (runs well though obv) like I want to make it look clean which with a quick fix on the dents with bondo and a new fender can't be to much, and a new engine I don't see going over 4000. I pretty newbie like I said but if it's really not worth it I'll get a fender, bondo it and make some cash. But I would love to get this at least somewhere nice.. At least a new stock engine and body work. But I never really was a honda guy but I like 'em enough to appreciate this car. So I don't know where to start with engine and mods to grab a nice 200hp. Plus I'm only 20 and this is my first car on my name.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Do you have a Del Sol S, or SI? There's a big difference. If you have an S, don't even bother with the motor in it. Given your budget, swap a B18B1 (LS) motor and transmission in, turbo it, and make 250-300 easily and safely. If you have an SI, you'll have a D16Z6, and you can just manual swap the transmission, toss a turbo on that, and make 200 easily and safely.

Either way, for your goals and price range, you will absolutely need a standard transmission, and you absolutely will need boost. A B18C5 (ITR motor) could easily get you to 200, but that would be WAY out of your budget.

cbaber

It would be smart to forget about the motor for now. You said it runs fine, so it it ain't broke don't fix it. It's automatic, and that's not cool. And it's even more not cool to have a swapped car that is rusty and looks like ****.

So fix the exterior first. Weld in new patch panels for the rear fenders. Fix all the dents, buy new door and fender if you can't repair the damage easily. After you get the body straight paint it. By that point your budget is gone, but you have a clean Del Sol that can be the start of a nice project. After the body is nice you can look at motor swaps. There is nothing worse than a shitty looking car that has a B16 swap. Nice engine + rusty beater = rusty beater. The car is only as strong as its weakest link.

There is a big difference between 200hp and 300hp. Decide which one you want, there is no such thing as 200-300hp. 200hp is obtainable without boost, 300hp is not (for a reasonable budget) so you will need to turbo which sets in completely different considerations for swaps than a 200hp goal. For a simple, fast 200hp swap nothing beats the value of the H22/F20B. You can buy a B16 and spend tons of $$$ on it and it will still not beat a stock H22 because it has no torque. If you want to go B series get a B18C or build a B20 VTEC to get 200 hp.

Knoxor

Yeah like that sounds smart... I guess 200hp would do me well, save me some cash. And the body work is much more important to me. Also I have no clue, it have no badges other than dealer badges and I have no idea what engine is in it or how to tell but my best guess is it's not an si. But now after all my body fixes are done, I guess realistically about 3k... What the cheapest and or best bang for the buck plan for grabbing a good 200hp assuming my car isn't si (which I'm sure it's not) I am a turbo fan but I also put turbo and cheap the furthest away from each other. I got a plan now, just for making it pretty. But not I just want to work out my end game so I'm ready. Ps again thanks a lot, lots of good info.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

On the front of the engine, to the left near where the transmission clutch housing bolts to the block, there should be a small (roughly 3"x3") flat part. It's probably coated in gunk and crap. Clean it off with some degreaser and a rag, and your engine code should be stamped on it.

It should be either a D15B7, or a D16Z6.

Regardless of which motor it is, you absolutely must swap a standard transmission in. An OEM automatic (autotragic, automagic) transmission will absolutely **** itself with any kind of added power. There are aftermarket auto options out there, but long story short, you're looking WAY out of your price range. We're talking five digits, and that's just for the transmission unit. You'll still be paying out the nose for the necessary fabrication to make it work.

The ideal transmission would come from a Del Sol SI, 92-95 Civic SI, or 96-00 Civic EX. They'll have the best gear ratios to give you the most bang for your buck.

As for engines, I lightly went over this, but it's worth mentioning that if you have an S (D15B7), a D16Z6 would be a direct swap-in. All you would have to do is replace the motor and ECU, and run a couple wires for VTEC, which is all stupidly simple. The Z6 really is the ideal D series motor for boost.

Knoxor

So I stubbed away at the tag only to see "d16z6" appear before my eyes, I was a very happy man until I took a step back and looked at the engine and bay... I mean what a messs, believe me it's ugly. But with some elbow grease and maybe some new parts it's an option,

but then there always the fact that, I know as much about engines as high school could teach me, I have 0 experience, now knowing honda the engine is fine, but what do I know right... Maybe take 'er in for a check? See what's up

Then if she's good I might need to maybe rebuild it!? While I'm prettying it up, nice and fancy or at least something (might be a good idea to do something when putting a turbo in) and let's say I turbo it to about 225-250 what do I need, what am I looking at for cost?!

Oh yeah and I need that tranny swap which I've looked into already myself, there a few websites with part lists and such and I could always come back here and check it out. Still need a new ecu for that I think... And boom that sounds good to me...!

Haha what do you think I feel pretty set now on 4k (if I can do a 2k turbo) I've got 2k left for body shiny fancy stuuffffss (ooooooo s2000 seats!?) lol but in all seriousness what do ya think!?

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

$2000 for a turbo setup is definitely feasable, if you do a LOT of learning and piece together a kit yourself. Head over to the Forced Induction section, and read the FAQ sticky there. As for the transmission swap, read the FAQ sticky in this section - it's covered there. Just remember that you'll need the shift linkage from a Del Sol - the Civic and Integra linkages aren't the right length.

You can easily and safely pull 200, 220 tops from the motor, if it's healthy. Figuring out if it's healthy enough for it is your next step, and that's easily done with a compression test. A how-to for that can also be found in the FAQ sticky.

Knoxor

Woo woo, wow dude thanks a lot I guess I can but my engines swapping worries to rest and start researching some turbos, and such, and maybe take it down to a friend of mine for a compression test or at,east see what it's all about on here. 200-220 with a nice choo choo every time I shift is good for me especially after the new fenders on, it gloss back and has some shiny black crystal lights...! :D

I'll still keep posted here for abit if anyone has anything else they wanna input but you'll defiantly see me in about a month asking something elllse about my sol! Woo

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

There's nothing wrong with you turning this into your build thread