I have recently joined the navy and want to rebuild my honda CRX into something very fun to drive that i can take to the track once in a while. I have many questions so bear with me please.

1) What will fit in my 1987 CRX SI.

2) Best motor in general for it? ( if it fits id like to go the LS/Vtec route. )

3) Where can i buy a B18

This is just a start and i am hoping to find some serious answers, Im fairly new at all of this. Thank you.

 

a b18 will be a heavy motor for the car and will make it a little nose heavy for tracking your best bet for a track car is a d16 maybe with a supercharger if you really want power any motor wil fit with a litle imagination and alot of money but if you are set on a b series hmotorsonline.com is a good starting point for motors they have allrightprices and a good selection and they can sell you hasport motor mounts and such with the motor good luck with everything just be ready to empty you wallet constantly but when everything is done it will be hard to get the smile off your face

 

im not particularly set on anything, i just want the best over all motor. With the research i have done i have seen that the b18 LS/vtec seems to be a great sucess to all those that put the time into it. To be honest money isnt particularly an issue unless im over paying for something. When i originally got my crx i was 16, it was my first car and i was not happy with it at all. I wanted a mustang, had my eyes set on one and then the guy sold it a day before we got him the money for it. So i settled for the CRX. Now that i have owned it for 2 years (im 18 now) and have driven other cars and had time to play with my crx. I am crazy about it and refuse to sell it esp because they seem rather hard to come by for a decent price. I paid 2g for my crx, all stock and all working with 130k miles on it. And ive realized it was well worth it. Thank you for your opinion i will definately take tonight to research what i can do with a d16. I honestly just dont want to walk away from a race thinking i could have done something else that would have been better.

 

also, im workin on getting this car moving again. There are 2 major problems with it. Maybe someone with a bit more experiance with these cars can give me a tip as to where to look. First off the brakes are shot, from what it looks like the front right and back left brakes do not apply pressure properly causing the only 2 breaks to be the front left and back right. This in turn makes my brake peddle hit the ground like it has no pressure when the brake fluid is full. The next one is an electrical issue where my car constantly kills battery's. I have already replaced the alternator. The last problem is that my car when just sitting will not idle at a steady rate, it jumps from like 900-1500 like im pumping the gas. if i can fix those, i can have my car back. Because right now i am driving a 97 ford probe and would love to drive it off a cliff ( nothing is wrong with it ) i just dont like the car its self.

 

i'd stay away from the B18 for track use. i'd run a b16a if i did a b series. better for track, more rev happy. ls/vtec, if not done properly, arent good for 20 minute track sessions.

look into a d16a from an 86-89 integra. should be plenty fun for track days. just mo.

 

What is the major difference between the B16 and the d16, i know the D16 with be tons cheaper because the b serious motor from my research are about 2g for a total swap

 

your brakes ar diagonaly split so just those two brakes applying is good news in the way of bad news start by bleeding you brakes (its a very simple process) if that does not fix the problem look for leaks or kinks in the line and the difference between a b16 and d16 is d series are single over head cam and b's are dual over head cam there are other differences but that is all that really matters and i agree on the shottiness of the ls/vtech its just not my style

 

oh and as for your battery killing problem you need to look for key off drains and bad connections it is a little more intense the bleeding brakes but none to difficult i am sure there are many people around you that will be willing to help you with both issures

 

the brakes have been bled already, that was the easy fix that i was hoping would work, and it didnt. But when i get some leave time ill check for kinks as well. Thank you very much, you have been very helpful.

 

I think you have a bad portioning valve in the brake lines.

The electrical issue is a bad circuit. Did someone change the radio or add some lights to this car? If so, look in those areas first.

The idle issue could be a couple of things. I would start by bleeding the air out of the coolant system. If that does not do it, it might be a bad Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) I would start by cleaning the electrical connector for the TPS with electrical connector spray (available at any parts store). The connector lives under the opening to the throttlebody.

The D and B series of engines are all very good and closely related. The B series has a better head design and ultimately will make more power. But the difference is not that great.

You will need to change the trasnmission when you change the engine (not a big deal), the old CRx tranny does not mate to newer engines. And changing engines will require some wiring work to make the new ECU work in the old car.

The stock motor can make a ton of power, but it requires some clever (and old-fashioned) mechanical work. It is easier for most people to drop in a new engine/transmission.

go to http://www.redpepperracing.com for the best web site devoted to the old school CRX. There are some serving Military on that site as well.

Contact member "84b18" who is a SeaBee and has a B series in one of his two old CRXs.

Scott

 

Here's my take on the swaps......


First....since you have some brake issues, save some grief. Get some rebuilt front 1st gen integra calipers (86-89) and then bring your old CRX ones for the core charge....they won't know the difference. Should be $100 for the 2. Spend the $24 for 2 new integra rotors. Voila....upgraded front brakes.

On the engine swaps....A D16 from a first gen integra is by far the easiest and cheapest. Use the engine/tranny from the first gen integra. (86-87) brown top has the same vac advance as your car, so it's a drop in with an ECU plug in and you're about done. Use the Integra axles and swap the spindles with the integra. The (88-89) black top has a little more power but uses an electronic advance, so there's more wiring changes to do.

A B series swap can be done. Some hints. The GSR intake will definatly not fit without cutting the firewall. A B16 VTEC motor (B16A) will fit as will a non-VTEC B18A1 from a 2nd gen integra. Both will require the spindles from a 1st gen integra and the integra (or B16) axles. Total wiring redo, so be aware of that. Motor mounts are around, but I don't think anyone makes them anymore so you'll have to find some that are left over from a swap that never happened. They show up on ebay sometimes.

A B series is going to be far more expensive but if you have a lot of time for the car to be down and want to punish yourself, you can do it. Using a B16 VTEC head and a GSR block gives you basically an integra type R motor for about 210hp or so. These rev more than a D series as well. I'm doing this (regretfully, now) and it's a lot of work and way expensive. I wish I just left the D15 in there and suffered with grinding my way from 2-3-4. Oh well.

redpepperracing will have tons of info on 1st gen CRX's. I got my swap mounts from someone over there (traded for 5 boxes of integra parts) :D

jack

 

d-series,b-series and k-series will fit.you gotta make it happen.gl

 

Browntop ZC+86-89 Integra tranny+ Integra mounts/spindles/knuckles/front brakes+ 92-95 Civic Greddy Turbo kit= fast car.

 

I have a JDM ZC powered 87 CRX and have thought of engine swaps too. I have the brown top DOHC ZC in there factory. I had the same motor in my first fast Honda, a 1986 1G Integra. These motors are great, and keep the weight/balance of the car spot on. They also drop straight in and pretty much plug and play so if you are new to it thats the go I rekon.

I am in Australia, you can buy the Integras here complete for about $300.00 at the side of the road unregistered but still running fine. Then you get bigger brakes and sometimes 4 wheel disc, ECU, driveshafts the lot. Even the seats go in if thats your thing.

James

 

if that is the case then i hate australia

 

The surging at idle is a bad idle air control valve, or IACV. The fix for this is replace throttle body assembly. Pretty expensive. For a motor about to get pulled, I'd just live with it; it won't hurt anything, just annoying.

 

Build the stock engine unless it threw a rod or something. I know where you can get a 87 CRX Si trans w/Quaife LSD.

 

also check out jdmcars.com they are in VA as well and sell good motors. you woulnt need to pay for shipping if you pick it up

 

Just picked up an 87 Si with no motor, so I'm in the same boat on motor choices....

 

The first swapped honda I ever road in was an 86HF with a brown top it.

My vote goes exceedingly towards this choice.

If you get power hungry you can always try to turbo it, but the gearing and weight really make for a good time even with just the basic i/h/e

 

i have a 87 si also, picked it up for $500, all broken motor mounts. it has a dohc zc and a cg tranny with midshaft out of a 87 integra. its a pretty easy swap. i mean not nearly as much power as a b18 but its much much cheaper. all i have is bigger injectors intake exhaust headers, and it surprizes alot of people. other then that hasport makes mounts to put a bseries in one. i wish to one day put a stock type r in mine.

 

Personally I would pick up a JDM dohc ZC for it, use an integra tranny and axles and convert the front brakes to brakes from an 89+ Si civic and use the 89 integra ECU. My civic that I just got rid of had a dohc ZC in it, it was an 90 body with that engine and a stock Si tranny and that thing was fast. Your CRX should fly and will still retain a good weight distribution.