trailerrails

I recently picked up my first Honda. I got this car to build into something I can take to the track and maybe do a little rally racing.
I know, not the best car for rally racing but I like having something different and beginner class of rally racing requires a 2wd non turbo car.
I am coming from the rockcrawling jeep end of things, so having to fabricate suspension parts and a roll cage is right up my alley.
I selected this car because it is rust free and the shell is in pretty good shape. The motor is the stock 1.5 with an auto tranny, I was not too worried about this because I knew I'd be swapping them anyway. It is a 4 door 1993 Civic DX.
My questions are: after doing a bit of searching I see a lot of conflicting info on engine swaps, what motor/tranny combo do you think would be the best swap. I am looking for a strong reliable setup. I am not looking to have to build the motor out too much. I was looking at the v6 motor but am worried about upsetting the balance of the car with a heavy motor up front.
Also, just like anyone else, I am looking at trying to do this on the cheep because if I get into rally racing, once I get enough seat time, I will be moving up to a 4wd turbo car (and probaly moving on to some subaru forums, sorry).

rick_rabies

b18c is nice size and not too heavy. easy swap. dime a dozen and you dont have to cut out a hole in the floor and cut off motor mount brackets. 4dr ftw
if any one tells you you cant rally race a civic have their post deleted

trailerrails

I have been reading the FAQ sections for the past few days, trying to make heads or tails of all the different swaps. I liked the Civic because I knew there was a lot you could do with the car but I never imagined there would be this many different swaps. I am trying to decipher all the honda terminology, that is interesting.

There is a lot of info out there on the different motors, but I am not finding much info on what motors came in what cars or how to identify the motors when junk yard searching. Does anyone have any info on that?

civic_driver

The motor name should be on the motor itself; e.g. if you're looking at a B18C1 motor it should be stamped on the motor itself. They are easy to identify.

As far as which motor came out of which car, you can find out here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_D_engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_B_engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_H_engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_F_engine

trailerrails

Wow, the b18c seems like a sweet motor. nearly 200hp and a limited slip diff in the 5 speed tranny. So the only way to get one of those motors is to get one from one of those companies importing motors from Japan?

rick_rabies

no they are all over the place here. check www.craigslist.com
you could also do a b18a or b18b (LS) alot of torque but no vtec
only some in Japan had lsd. they aer $400 for cheap lsd you could put in

trailerrails

This motor sounds pretty nice.

B18C (Type R)

* VTEC
* Found in:
o JDM Honda Integra Type R
+ Rev-limit: 8600 rpm
+ Power: 148 kW (201 PS; 198 bhp) @ 8500 rpm & 134 ft·lbf (182 N·m) @ 7500 rpm
+ Transmission Type: 5-speed standard with LSD
+ Displacement: 1,797 cc (109.7 cu in)
+ Compression: 11:0:1
+ Bore: 81 mm (3.189 in)
+ Stroke: 87.2 mm (3.433 in)
+ Rod Length: 137.9 mm (5.429 in)
+ Rod/Stroke Ratio: 1.58
+ Transmission: s80 (96specR w/helical LSD)s80 (98specR w/helical LSD)
+ VTEC Engagement @ 5700 RPM

rick_rabies

sure does sound nice but $4300..if you could afford it do it. very good motors

trailerrails

Yea, that does not really fall into the cheep category. I might have to save some pennies for a bit to get that setup.

Vindicator9000

Best power/$$ ratio is the B18C1-4 (popularly called the gsr). You can get them imported from Japan, or from any US Acura Integra GSR. 170-175 HP, and you can get a complete swap for around $2000 if you really try hard. They tend to go for around $3000+shipping from hmotors and the like, but I got mine from h-t marketplace for $2000.

The B18 numbering scheme is a little confusing. B18a and B18b are non-vtec DOHC engines with around 145 HP. The B18C1, 2, 3, and 4 are all various versions of the DOHC vtec engine found in the US Integra GSR. We only received the B18C1 in the US, but you can find imported versions of the same engine with other numbers following. I believe all of the Japanese engines had no numeric suffix, and were just labeled B18C. All variants of this engine are 170-180HP depending on specific engine, year, country, etc. There are a few people on h-t that have B18C4s from Australia or England, but it's essentially the same engine.

The B18C5 (also called the B18C in Japan) is the US Integra Type R engine. That's the 200HP sooooper expensive variant.

The GSR engine, IMO, is a waaay better buy than $4000 for a B18C Type R. That's like an extra 2 grand for 15 more HP.

trailerrails

I will have to do a bit of junk yard scouring around here and see if I can come up with something.

bigweave2

The B18C is a dime a dozen? where?

Put in a SOHC vtec motor or an LS. The b-series transmission is getting expensive tho. You could probably find a complete SOHC vtec motor cheaper than doin a mini-me. Lol. The good thing about the B18c swap. You could sell for what you paid for it and put the d-series back in the civic when you buy your new car.

rick_rabies

[QUOTE=bigweave2;39320122]The B18C is a dime a dozen? where?

here, theres alot in chicagos craigslist all the time, thats where i got mine, my friend just bought one the other week. and there were recently 2 more.
dime a dozen i guess depending on where you live

trailerrails

[QUOTE=rick_rabies;39323978]Yea, I did a craigslist search here and neighboring CL's and turned up nothing. Do you want to ship me something? I'll make it worth your while.

trailerrails

That is not a bad idea, just keep my old motor and tranny and put them back in.