alright before you flame me for my lack of knowledge id like to say im only 18 years old and my crx is my 2nd car ive owned. i bought it as a project to learn how to work on cars. my question is this. i currently have a dohc zc 1.6l in my crx. i bought it with it swapped in it. the swap was done incorrectly and the timing is off and it has been a real struggle to get this thing running right. im hinking of buying a new engine and am curious as what you guys think i should get. mind you i only have about 600$ to spend on this and this will need to include a new transmission if need be as well. Or should i just stick with what i got and work on fixing the timing problem that it currently has. all help is much appreciated. thank you for your time and efforts

 

save your money and fix the timing...zc dohc is a good motor even though it lacks aftermarket support but if you dont care about that then its all gravy...there are plenty of problem solvers in the FAQ 2.0 section to help you fix your timing issue...!!!

 

Stick with what you have. Fix it. Then use whatever money you have left to fix all of the broken and leaking parts on your car. Overhaul the suspension, steering and brakes. You'll be amazed when you're done.

 

the motor is pretty ****ed up the distributor is turned almost 45 degrees to make up for the failure of the timing and it has possible valve damage thats why im thinking about replacing and not having to deal with the head ache of it. i was even considering replacing with another dohc zc theyre only about 600 bucks of of tiger jap motors with a trans. or go with the b16. i heard b16 have a little bit of a reliability issue and lack torque tho so im kind of nervous on getting one. My family is big on american cars so im not used to these cars and know very little about them. i saw my rex and fell in love tho so i had to get it and for a real steal of a price too. only 800 bucks. it has skunk 2 coilovers, short shifter, stage 3 clutch, k and n intake, 15inch rims with brandnew tires, and a 1300 watt amp with 2 700watt kenwood subs. it has no rust rot too

 

i plan on doing a lot of work to the car i want to strip it clean and build back up this engine thing is just the first thing i want to get stright because im driving a 1990 chevy lumina atm and it gets 14 miles to the gallon and i drive 50 miles round trip everyday to work. i make about 500-600 a week i just want to get this done very soon.

 

the steering and suspension have already been delt with. i got skunk 2 coil overs and a s2000 steering kit on it atm

 

Deffo stick with the ZC dohc, awesome engine, and if you did want to modify it, theres enough support out there.

With an inlet adaptor you can go Skunk or edelbrock intake, the sohc headers fit the dohc. You got cams too. So tbh, its not that restricted for parts.

 

bushings and everything else done too. fresh brakes?

 

yup brand new have less then a mile on driving on my new brakes also picked up steel braided brake lines. the only thing i want to do is replace the rotors soon theyre a bit rusted and old. im thinking about buying a new dohc zc the current one i have has about 120k miles on it. also idk if i mentioned this but i got 4 to 1 2.5 inch headers and a 2.5 to 4 inch exhaust as well. also picked up some racing seats not sure what brand ill post some pictures when i get my car back. its currently with my friend who is a transmission mechanic whos trying to fix my timing problem. if he cant fix it is it worth staying with the dohc zc or going for a b16 or something else my budget has increased to 1000$ for this motor and trans combo

 

Why would you take on a engine swap if you don't want to fix your timing?
Just wondering because i just finished my first swap, and i ended up having to replace the timing belt and readjust the mechanical timing (as it was off).

If i were you, i would fix my timing and then see how she runs, if you do have bent valves or something, a head swap would be alot easier than the whole engine, and you will have more money in your pocket when you are done.

 

I would stick with the ZC as a personal choice,I just like them nothing against any other engines,and they go well in the CRX.

 

i can handle the swap due to friends/family that knows how to do these things. the timing is something that no one knows how to do on this engine because of how badly messed up it is the cams are off the distributor is turned a lot and it has a lot of miles on the motor thats why im thinking of swapping but i would really like to get this car running in the quickest manner possible. my gf is pissed that i dropped 800$ and have nothing to show for it lol

 

http://www.jdmtigerjapanese.com/details.php?id=1597... the zc i can buy or should i go with a sohc vtech http://www.jdmtigerjapanese.com/details.php?id=3725 or the b16a1 http://www.jdmtigerjapanese.com/details.php?id=1598 they are all around 600 bucks which is something i can handle

 

stick to another zc. going with a vtec motor will require a few other things if you want to do it right. i.e. distributor, vtec wiring, jumper harness and p28 ecu.

b series will require even more parts.

 

thanks i was thinking that too. go basic just do a simple swap for now and when i finally get promoted in my job and start to have fun money go for a b18c. i really appreciate your guys input on this. im very new to hondas and well cars in general i just started to get into them and found this site its been very helpful great community here