recian

Like the title says I'm thinking of getting a 3rd gen prelude, 88-89 with B20 and all the options. It's got a straight body and interior. Pretty much completely stock and well kept. A guy locally wants to trade an older rx7 i've got for it. but my biggest questions are:

What kind of aftermarket support is available on this older model and what models parts will swap over like accords maybe? I used to have a 96 accord and loved it. I know later model prelude and accords swapped over most parts. I'm curious since i'm not finding alot of new aftermarket parts or people selling parts for it.

What kind of engine swaps could I do for a decent price aside from H22? I know the car is heavy so i'm wanting to build it into the 200-250 range. (mainly since this will be my project and i want it to be faster than my 06 SeR sentra which is lightly modified) I do like what you can do with B and D series but theyre too small for this car.

What should I look for as common issues? It doesnt have AWS

OMGBBQTEHWTFDOOD

aftermarket isn't huge. most of the quality aftermarket parts come from group buys on preludepower.com

H/F is the only supported swap although a few people have done other Bs (the b20a5 is completely different from the other Bs) through custom work. If low 200s whp is your goal an H is perfect. My H swapped 91 keeps up with lightly modded evos/wrxs for what its worth.

0Steve@Spreen

I have an 88 4WS Si at home (the boy drives it) and parts are hard to come by here at the dealer. 86-89 Accord parts usually will swap (saved my a$$ when looking for a p/s reservoir). My son loves the car, but at nearly 300k on the chassis, it is time for him to find something newer (he needs a rear rack set up and the speed sensor is shot). That said, it is my favorite Prelude, it just looks the best

snobordboy

3rd gens are great looking cars, and a ton of fun. They might be heavy compared to a Civic, but they are still a pretty light car, and handle great!

Parts may be a bit tougher to come by, but can be found. The biggest issue I know of is rust, as these cars get older, they are prone to rot, and the one area that gets to be a big issue is the sunroof area. Once they rot up there, they drip into the cabin, which sucks.

If you really want to make power, either do a swap to an h22, or turbo the engine in the car.

theBB1er

JDM B20A swap is a good budget swap. $1000 for it on Hmotorsonline I believe and makes 150hp. I/E/H+tune could probably put you at 160hp according to one guy who dyno'd his set up. The best part is the whole swap just bolts right in unlike the H22 swap where you have to drop an additional 500 on motor mounts, 500 on a traction bar etc etc.

seeing as you want 200-250 you'll have to turbo it to reach that goal...so you may be better off with an H swap in the long run.

recian

I think i'm going to do some work to this engine to get it up to snuff then turbo it. The car has 220k but I've got no history on the engine. Maybe down the road i'll do a H22 setup since theyre pretty expensive swaps then like you said mounts, t/bar and then wiring it up.

recian

U mentioned the f series. I loved the f22 vtec i had. It pulled my accord faster than this preludes b20 but weighed 700 lbs more. Wouldnt it require the same mounts as the H series since their bottom ends are shaped similar. Also being aluminum itd be light but what about boosted durability? Also what could i expect to do wiring a f series? Theyre a dime a dozen around here so itd be a cheap swap. I could spend the extra cash building it.

zelseman

Unless you are just a B20A fanboy, I would just go for the H swap. A turbo'd H in a 3rd gen would fly.

recian

I love the idea of a H swap but theyre 2k + for the swap in rough shape. Thats my only turnoff lol the b20 is decent and it gets good mpg for now but i plan to build power eventually for autocross so the B will have to go

1funryd

OK let me chime on here.

88-91 Preludes weight: 2650 - 2750
So they are light.

Your questions all depends on what your goals for this chassis is.

Are you planning on keeping it for a long time or just for a season beat the hell out of it and then sell it?

B20a5: 135bhp

H22a1: 200bhp
Both in NA form no boosting.

So if you want to build the B20a5, they best bang for your dollar will be to:

1. Bore out the cylinders to B21a1 specs
2. Install B21a1 piston and rings
3. Buy some good aftermarket cams, talk to the big cam makers they can set you up.
4. Chip and tune for the new setup to pull the most power out of it.
5. Have a custom made high end header to utilize the power band that the B20a5 was build for which wash low to mid, not high.
6. Have a custom mandrel bent catback made out of 2.5" whatever material you desire.



But once that is all said and done, the best you are going to ever see out of that motor in NA form will be maybe: 160-170hp not whp.

Basically all the work you will have done which by the way will cost you the same as doing an H22 swap, will put you right at the front door of an H22 motor right out of the box.

So looking at it all, your best bang for you dollar is going to be the H22 swap.

Now if you decide to go boost, then all the above is a moot point, because boosting puts the motors in a different realm.

recian

I was reading on pp.com about turboing the B20. It's the cheapest option for power in this car. And the more reliable. Seems i wont have to deal with alot of modded parts to make the H22 fit in a car it wasnt designed to fit in. I've gota decide if it's worth building the engine and turboing it. They said you can expect 13-14s with a boosted b20. Not sure if i should put that kind of cash into the car for that. 4k+ in my 2.5 engine in my SE-R sentra would go alot longer and i could keep the lude as a nice backup car for when the sentra is down.

theBB1er

stock h22a1/h22a in a 3rd gen should in theory run high 13's

and imo all motor is the way to go in your case. more rewarding!

1funryd

Now you said Boosting is reliable????

That is very debatable. Turbo charged motors are not as reliable as a Naturally Aspirated motors.

Turbo charged motors need much more attention and maintenance and cost more to maintain especially if you drive it daily.

I know, I owned one.

On average boosted motors need to be rebuilt around 30,000 - 50,000 miles depending on use and abuse.

So you need to figure out whats it worth to you whether its NA or Turbo Charged, and my comparison between both the B20a5 and H22 swap above has noted the differences.

Its all up to you, but you did ask the quesiton so you are going to get the answers you may not like.

BastardsFA5

Ya turbo motors truly are a pain, in the sense where you need to stay on top of them and maintain everything about them. I have learned after putting a turbo on my 4 gen lude on the stock block. i like all to run all motor cars and upgrading internals. Right now i own a FA5 and working on a k24z3 low end from TSK 09+ with my k20 top end. im looking to push figures areound 270 whp and roughly 210-230 wtq. all motor no aspirations.

recian

I can live with that since this is going to be a weekend warrior / fun car. Not to mention it wont get driven far even if it is daily driven lol

3Rd_gEn_LuDE

...ignorance bro.

H swaps are great. But you're looking at 4-5k I could probably scrounge parts and get it done for 3-4k.

Boosted b20a with rebuild, turbo running on 5-7lbs with tune, same power for (I'm using my prices) 2500. Just require more maintenance.

LudeBob89

In my experience the only increase in maintenance for a boosted setup comes down to the way you put it together.
Build anything right and it will serve you well.

The H motor has it's own issues too. It's not a garantee fix and will take a fair amount of work get it sorted too.

1funryd

No it won't Bob...LoL!!!