Hello,

I looked at a '93 GS-R for sale yesterday. It's White with black interior. Exterior and Interior very clean.

189k on chassis, and around 90k on the '96 LS motor that was swapped in. Feels like V-TEC although the owner says it isn't...

Leather seats were swapped in, 16" Racing Hart CP-10 rims, Ground Control lowering springs, Short Shifter and a Mugen front lip.

Car needs clutch, starter and the P/W Steering and A/C were taken out during the swap. Sunroof, power locks, power windows work.

Check engine light is supposedly from an oxygen sensor and that's why it's smoking gray?

Took awhile to warm up, is that normal or that just means the thermostat might have been taken out.

Car runs strong, and he's including a Sony CD-player and all the bushing for the suspension.

Asking price is $2.5k, he went down to $1.8k today.

Is that a good price? I never owned a Honda before, I owned an '84 Jetta GL, a '92 190E 2.6, and a '94 Probe GT.

I know for sure that when the clutch starts slipping it has to be changed quick, my friends Civic CX was idling and wouldn't move in any gear soon after his clutch started slipping.

Is clutch replacement an easy job? I know not so on -91 Preludes...

Please give me some tips and what to look for, what compression numbers should I be looking at, I will go check with a friend.. Is that a good price?

Also, rebuilt title although he says because the car was stolen, not crashed.

Thanks!

Maciej

 

1. an LS motor is not VTEC. open the hood and look at the valve cover, it should just say DOHC and HONDA on it.
2. who did the swap? him or a shop? take it to a mechanic and if the guy says "no" or "why?", don't buy it. keep in mind also that this a project car most likely and there WILL be a few things wrong with it.
3.clutches are a pain and unless u have the right tools and a full day or more, pay a good shop to do it. around $300 to $350.

 

an oxygen sensor can be pretty expensive. plus the clutch needs replacement too? i would talk him down some more. also, i would check to see what code/codes it is throwing.

 

Thanks for the info, the valve cover looks like one off an LS motor, is it possible that it's an LS/V-TEC or that would mean the block would be the LS and head and valve cover would be from a B18 for example. I think I just answered my own question...

The swap was done by previous owner, he had the car for 3 weeks only, saying he works at a dealership and needs a down payment for a new car.

I think I'm ready for the wierdest stuff to go wrong after owning the cars I had. I'll check the coolant/oil today to see if there is no headgasket trouble.

It's probably easier to lift the motor out with the tranny then trying to get the tranny off by itself.. heh, probably not but close, friend has a cherry picker so that wouldn't be a problem.

Are those good motors overall? B18C right? I'm not thinking of modding anything major anytime soon, just want a nice daily driver that I can AutoX once a month.

There's alot of parts available for these cars I'm thinking... and alot of local shops and community support.

Thanks for the reply!

 

looks like you cant even tell if its an Ls motor or gsr motor. I suggest you taking someone who is knows about honda with you

 

Car runs surprisingly strong for it being an "o2"sensor. I don't have access to a code reader. Any way of getting the codes through the check engine light by connecting pins at the diagnositc plug with a paper clip?

It has o2 sensor symptoms by idling low right after starting cold and runs rich at idle, hence the grayish smoke.

Do these cars have an Idle Control Valves or all electronic?

Other o2 sensors don't work by any chance, my Mercedes took a 5.0 Mustang o2 sensor for $60 compared to $190 for one made specifically made for the Benz.

 

Felt like V-TEC to me, didn't look like one. I know what V-TEC feels like driving friends '03 RSX Type-S once..... maybe it's just Honda motors getting most of their HP at high rpms?

 

i wouldn't take the whole motor out just to change the clutch, unless ur gonna rebuild the whole motor. look at the block just right of where the tranny meets the block. it'll give u a serial number for the motor. if it's a true '96 LS, it should say B18B and then a 1 or a 5. if i rememebr correct, 1 means it's from a US car, and 5 means it's from a Japan car (or vice versa!) or look at the electrical harnesses, if they are grey, it's a Japan motor.

 

Thanks for the tips motorhead. The color of the valve cover is darkish goldish color. Is that stock?

 

did the motor look like this

or this (does not have to be red)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MDPL8706 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Car runs surprisingly strong for it being an "o2"sensor. I don't have access to a code reader. Any way of getting the codes through the check engine light by connecting pins at the diagnositc plug with a paper clip?

It has o2 sensor symptoms by idling low right after starting cold and runs rich at idle, hence the grayish smoke.

Do these cars have an Idle Control Valves or all electronic?

Other o2 sensors don't work by any chance, my Mercedes took a 5.0 Mustang o2 sensor for $60 compared to $190 for one made specifically made for the Benz.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes you can use a paper clip and then just SEARCH here to find what the code is. Also unless the valve cover says VTEC then it's not. Well unless the owner shaved teh lettering off Good luck with the car

 

Well, I'm getting the car . He's including an Exedy Clutch which we'll replace together, also has a new starter, will include some sportier cams from another Honda engine, also a ported and polished Intake Manifold that bolts right up.

For anti-theft protection he told me to take the plastic cover under dash off and padlock the knuckle for the night. That's what I'm worried about.... living in an apartment complex in a so so neighborhood.

I will have to invest into an entire audio system, speakers and all, is missing everything and find some 2G since since now with the Leather 3G seats there's not seatbelts...

Can manual seatbelts be bolted upto the car? Wouldnt seem so hard to do...

I will have pics up tomorrow

Oh, and when does the Newbie status come off.

Thanks for the help.

 

So what motor is in it? You can easily tell by .brian. post.

 

poeple told me 15days, but mine cam off in like 10 or 11.

 

sounds like you got a gs not a gs-r....

 

I checked the VIN and it's a GS-R, it has the B18 LS Motor in it though. It has wing, full factory ground effects, what else is GS-R specific other then the B17 V-TEC.

 

Is it clean or salvaged title? Paying gs-r insurance with a LS engine sux *****, but good luck on the car!

 

It's a rebuilt... I didn't find any weld marks anywhere... he says it got the title in Alabama because it was a theft recovery. Car drives straight, and yea, sucks with the insurance, I'm hoping it's not more then my old '94 Probe GT. No airbag though...

 

Me and my buddy did a clutch on a 90 Civic hatch in 5 hours.
But then again we had a lift and power tools.

Good luck with your new car.

If it would have been me, i would have not bought the car.
I dont like buying someone else's project.
Specially with a salvage title and it being a theft recovery and all.

So wat color is it?

 

Lol, I still haven't bought it, but I made up my mind that I will. Guy has power tools, and everything I can need. He says he had 13 Hondas in the past, and that seems true so far on how honest he's been with everything.

Clutch and us replacing it will be included with the $1.8k.

Not sure if I should haggle him more, he's including lots of stuff with the car.

I just won't enjoy being thought of as a GS-R and getting my *** wooped by LS's. Oh well, that's where it all begins, it should be a good reliable daily driver that I'll take to the drags sometimes, and is perfect for Auto-Xing which I enjoy.

Car is white with charcoal (ebony?) interior.