Hey what's going on. My mother recently passed away and left me 2003 honda accord 2 door I vtec 2.4L dohc which I'm assuming is the k24 engine? I'm new to hondas and pretty new to working on cars. I know the very basics but I'm not able to get the title to this car and it only has 85k miles on it. I'm wondering what would be the best honda shell to swap this engine into that's not just another accord. Any one able to give me a list of all the hondas make model and year this engine can easily fit into. And yes I've never swapped an engine before but only one way to learn right? And not looking to spend a small fortune either but a grand or 2 I can swing. Mostly for the learning experience. Any ideas or help is much appreciated.

 

Have you contacted your local probate court or sought legal advise on the matter? I'm not expert, and it's different depending on your state but i would recommend you exhaust all options and avenues for getting your name on a title for this car. you could even contact Steve Lehto at road and track magazine to see if he has any advise to offer (he does their vehicle law questions column).

K-swaps seem to be getting so popular and wide-spread now that limiting yourself to a honda application isn't necessary. MR2, Tacoma, Miata, Lotus, Ariel Atom... they show up everywhere. the point is for a honda, pick the chassis/body you like the proportions of and there's a good chance you can find a kit to mount a K-series into it. But with where you're starting, i don't think you'll be able to do this for less than $2k. that's an automatic transmission. to do an uncomplicated swap, you'll need to find a manual transmission as well as a flywheel, clutch kit and shifter. that can easily cost $1,000 alone and you still don't have axles, mounts, a chassis/shell or other incidentals which will add up quickly.

since you do have a complete, functional vehicle if the legal advise thing above doesn't work out, and you decide to stay with the auto it may be feasible to swap over EVERYTHING into a more interesting chassis with a clean title and have it function as if it were still in the accord. it would be a lot of work, but if you're careful wouldn't require much previous knowledge or skill (you could figure it out as you go)

I'm not trying to talk you out of it necessarily, just wanting to give you a realistic idea of what this sort of project will involve.

 

If the car has no lien on it, you can get the title changed into your name easily. You just have to show the DMV the death certificate and tell them you want to transfer it to your name. Depending on your state, there may be a "grace period" so you may have to wait until you are legally able to do the title transfer.
My father passed away in March of this year and my mom sold his truck to my younger cousin. He had to wait about 40 days (from death date) in order to change the title. He's in California btw....