so in august i'm gonna be goin to UTI, and so ive decided i need a completely bullet proof DD for the two years im there, and im not one for driving a slow car, so im selling my current 85 camaro project and my 91 talon TSi AWD daily in favor of a hybrid hatch.
i'm looking for decent low end torque for around town driving, but also a decent amount of high RPM highway power (and somthing at least faster then my stock talon TSi as far as quickness is concerned). so i was thinking just a simple B18 build, but a local honda guy suggested a B20/vtec motor build. so if i was to build one, it wouldnt be a stock swap, i would want to put some slightly aggressive cams in it and maybe raise the CR a little bit. does this sound like i'm headed in the right direction for a simple, reliable DD/highway cruiser? and what cams/pistons would someone reccomend for me to use?
oh BTW i am most likely buying a friends EG hatch and using that, if not i'll use either an EF hatch or a CRX. and i will have about $2,000 to put into the motor swap (including everything, motor, trans, anything i need to swap it in)
i am new to hondas, so any help would be appriciated.
thanks, Adam

 

2000 will probably get you a full b16 swap with all parts if you're lucky. That in a EG is alright i guess...

 

B16 is out of the question, not enough torque for me... it will at least be an LS/vtec if i can't afford a B20

 

Well, out of the OEM build swaps factoring price and reliability the B20 vtec would be my last choice. The problem is your budget. That will source you your main parts (maybe) but once you factor in new head gasket, seals, t-belt, water pump, exhaust, yadda yadda, your way over 2 grand. If you can swing another grand in there my advice to you would be to source a JDM GSR complete swap from H-motors, drop it in a hatch and call it a day. This will be a pretty fast daily, take a ton of hard driving in stride, and have total stock Honda reliability with easy room to grow later on down the road when you can afford to upgrade.

If you are looking to truely build a swap that meets your goals, even with OEM parts, it will also factor in machine work and more. As a margin of reference I am building a GSR swap right now that I didn't pay anything for but needed to be rebuilt....by the time I am done with the few purchases I will have to make (all at wholesale as a business owner and a hookup at Acura for my OEM), and building it myself I will have spent your budget...maybe a little under. Compatabile exhaust work, ECU, axles, harness, intermediate shaft, and other things have to be considered over the top of your parts purchases. The engine and tranny rebuild won't run me much, it's everything else.

 

he's totally right, i suggest you save up more. My friend was selling a complete obd1 gsr swap

that included original p72 ecu/ wiring harness/ complete motor/tranny top to bottom w/ axles/ shift linkage for 2,500

sometimes you should just wait and find good deals.

 

yea i would agree with the GSR, they have alot of potential, more than a b16. and for your budget, it seems to fit. im currently buildin up my b16 for school too.(i start august 8th at UTI) but i most likely wont get it in and runnin till fall

 

Ls-vtec in a EF or CRX will be nice since they are so light. But like stated before, it takes money to build a car to be really reliable, especially something like a b20/vtec. And considering your budget, its almost impossible. With a lil more money, you can build a nice oem Ls-vtec...that or a b16 on nitrous. But it prolly will take a lil more than 2,000 so expect to go over budget.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B16EKruger &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yea i would agree with the GSR, they have alot of potential, more than a b16. and for your budget, it seems to fit. im currently buildin up my b16 for school too.(i start august 8th at UTI) but i most likely wont get it in and runnin till fall </TD></TR></TABLE>

are you gonna be going to the exton campus? maybe i'll see ya around. i start august 29th.

and as far as budget goes, i was talking to another guy today at an autocross and he said pretty much a basic LS swap with a B16 tranny and simple bolt ons (intake, header/full exhaust) would prolly be what im looking for, and i could always build up a vtec head later when i have more money. but then we started talking about his current car and he said i could build somthing a little nastier then a swapped honda for not much more.... so if i can save up around 4k including car i have a new project otherwise its deffinatly honda.

but thanks for the invice guys, the more i thought about it too the more i realized i wouldnt be able to pull off the crv/vtec. he also said if i could do a straight B20 without mods to think about that two. so right now i have a ton of directions to go in. we'll see what happens...
thanks, Adam

 

yea im goin to exton, im takin the automotive w/ the ford FACT. if you do decide to go w/ honda, we should meet up in school.

 

OT, I have worked for both. Ford pays way better hands down, and of course there is no shortage of work...because thier engineers could **** up a wet dream. Whatever you do, just avoid landing in Heavy Engine if you can once you get out. Good luck to both of you, it's getting tougher every year.

 

I think it would be best to buy a swapped hatch already if you could, i've seen some for super cheap.


LS with a nice clutch, light flywheel, i/h/e, cams in a light civic would be really nice

 

Your stock D-series plus a T25 or T28 turbo, ebay intercooler, stock DSM injectors, the hack.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TiresmokinHONDA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
i'm looking for decent low end torque for around town driving, but also a decent amount of high RPM highway power (and somthing at least faster then my stock talon TSi as far as quickness is concerned). </TD></TR></TABLE>

i say build a high compression d16z6/ y8 or a studded good-condition d16z6 with a greddy kit @ 5-6 psi (1200 on Ebay)

cheap, reliable and quick