I hit up the FAQ's in this section and seasrched; hopefully i didnt over look something. but wondering is there is the possibility of BAR'ing a b series in a 4th gen civic. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

Which motor do you have?

For a 4th gen civic, you can BAR B16A, B17A, B18A/B/C (except for type R), H22A from years 88-95. JDM or USDM doesn't matter as long as the following are followed:

-No truck engines in your car, so B20 is a no no.
-Your new motor is newer than the year of your car.
-Wiring is done for the correct year of the new motor.
-Emission devices are retained to match that of the new motor, USDM CA standards.
-Must run clean enough to pass the sniff test.

If you're swapping in B17A or B18A/B, chances are they are USDM motors, so just make sure you swap over the ECU, exhaust manifold, intake manifold and all the vacuum/emission sensors specific to that car year model.

If you want a B16A, again, USDM or JDM, your only option is to make it similar to the 93-94 USDM Civic Del Sol DOHC VTEC. That means using the P30 ECU from that car, its intake manifold and all the associated emission sensors, same goes for the exhaust manifold. Basically, all USDM parts.

If you have a B18C (GSR), you must try to match it with the 94-95 USDM GSR models, P72 ECU only, again, USDM intake and exhaust manifolds.

I didn't mention motors made after 95 because they are OBD2 motors. 4th gen is OBD0. Trying to wire things up for OBD2 without downgrading to OBD1 is impossible, and it's a no-no for BAR. Remember 3rd rule above?

Other things to consider:

-Some refs might not allow mix and matching tranny because CA engine-change law doesn't allow (http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/replace.htm). However, since some tranny codes from USDM or JDM are the same (S1, Y80, S80 ...), they can't tell without opening them up, and some will not even pay attention to the tranny.
-Head swapping is also illegal (per link above), so LS/VTEC is a no-no.
-Make sure your engines are legit. All USDM motors are traceable from their serial number. They will scan it and confiscate your vehicle on site if it's hot. JDM motors are untraceable from the serial number unless someone reported stolen to the CHP database.
-If you have aftermarket parts with the swap, make sure they have EO CARB exempt number and that they are specific to the make and year of the motor (not the car).
-ECU jumper harness, this is 50/50, some refs will not care, some will say no. Just reschedule with different refs I suppose.

How do I know all this? 4 friends with BAR'd JDM B16A & B18C equipped EF's and EG's, I am in the process of getting my B18C CRX legalized, 2 years of research, hours on phone or on site visits with local refs.

I will not drive my hybrid on CA public streets until it's BAR'd. The risk is too high to have your big invesment confiscated or receive a hefty fine, which will also send you to the ref. Good luck.

 

Ldo. Thank you very much. Such a response is above and beyond. I appreciate all this information. Assumable; this is all the same for the bar'ing of all similar swaps into 92-95 civics, just cautioning the wiring between the OBD-0 and the OBD-1. Ill be working on a b16 into a 91 Si. So i really do appreciate you taking the time to inform me of ALL that. lol. Best of luck to you and your Crx. Take care brotha.