Ok, I have my flame suit on. I am a newb to Hondas, but not to turning a wrench. I've been reading up as much as I can in the last few days trying to educate myself but I am going to ask this question anyways due to time constraints.

My ol lady has a '92 Integra with a spun rod and 3 other b18a1's that have some sort of issue. I have been having the worst luck trying to find a good shortblock for less than the price of my first born child. I did find a C1 longblock for a reasonable price that needs some work because it got wet, however that is easy money kinda stuff to deal with. What kind of drama, or is it even worth it to use that shortblock and mate it up with an a1 head? It needs to stay legit looking for the smog ***** and I can handle most issues that will arise with the proper guidance.

Thanks in advance

 

the a1 is non vtec correct? and you want to take a gsr motor and put the a1 head on it? my question is why? surely you can find a b18a1 long block or short block much cheaper than a gsr long block.

maybe you could throw in a b18b1?

 

You can find a B18A1 for $100 or something. The oil feed on the B18C1 block for the vtec oil feed wont like that LS head, so I would avoid doing the reverse ls/vtec. Grab a good B18A/B or B20 for $750 or less and call it a day.

 

or just throw the GSR crank/rods/pistons in one of the B18A blocks if you already have the parts laying around.

 

For some reason a good a1 block that needs nothing to run keeps eluding me. They all need to be decked, or the cylinders are not true, its been a pain in the butt for sure. In my observation any open deck honda once opened up is an immediate candidate for having the block decked, and assume that just because the cylinder walls still have cross hatching does not mean the bores are still true. Aluminum cylinder walls are great candidates for shifting around apparently. The two supposed good motors I have both still have visible cross hatching still on the walls but the mic states they are not true. If I put a motor in I want it to stay in there till I take it out in a million years. I like the idea of having a sleeved block just so the cylinders will have a better chance of staying true. I have been trying to find that $100 a1 block but they usually come from kids who abused them....

 

You would be surprised at how inexpensive it is to rebuild the B18A engine.

 

machine work is cheap. have it decked and honed then rebuild it

 

go to hmotors online and get a b20b long block and throw it in for about 600 bucks

 

if all my motos needed were rings and bearings I would readily agree with that statement. i have two blocks that have visible cross hatching. In my mind that would have meant that all I needed was to clean,measure tolerances and assemble. In my case however I am looking at $600 or more to bore/build a shortblock. the bores do not have straight or circular walls. new rings cannot conform or seat to walls that are out of round, and rings will get a serious workout in the bore when its not straight. I do not want a smoker....

 

$600 is cheap to rebuild an engine.

 

i still say hit up hmotors and grab a b20

 

i have read that the motor you are referring to is not smog legal in California.

 

^^ no its not, you cant bar a jdm motor anymore in cali, besides just that, they wont let you have a truck engine in a car.

 

man that sux i would hate living in cali they sale ls motors too

 

+1 for a low mileage b20 block...
Im sure you can have a little block stamp plate fashioned up that says b18a1 or whatever you need it to...
Not sure how tough the cali smog guys are, but im sure with a little creativity, you could trick em!

 

Cali smog is pretty strict, dont live there but been there plenty of times to know. I think the OP's best luck is just buy a ls motor. They're cheap and easy to find

 

i would fashion a blob of grease and a drive down a dirty dust road to hide whatever needs to be hidden, or just grind it smooth and stamp whatever I like in its place. that and find a smog guy who thinks it looks factory and lets it go through... still dont want to bother with the hassle if I get caught.

 

do a b20 with a b18 valve cover they will never know the difference

 

^^ they arent that stupid! its not like they arent going to check the stamp.

 

there is a reasonably cheap and easy way to restamp your b20.

what you need is fiberglass material,so wax,gelcoat,polyester,fiber sheets and some bondo.

clean the b18a stamp area,dry and apply wax and gelcoat(read the fiberglass kit instructions) and then apply your first sheet of fiberglass and brush it wet with some polyester then smear the air bubbles out,apply 3 more sheets the same way and wait to dry(atleast a few ours in sunlight or heat)

prime off the fiberglass and you will now have a reverse mould of your b18a stamp.
now shave the b20 stamp and apply some bondo and press the mould where the old stamp used to be and prime it off,repeat if not proper untill perfect.

then repaint the whole motor with aluminum paint and walla you now have a b20 with a b18 stamp and if you want it to look perfectly original switch valve covers

 

I am a FNG about Honda motors, aside from more displacement, what is so great about a B20?

 

The displacement is the only difference.

 

there a compression difference of 0.4 between b20's and b18ab's. b20b's are 0.4 less and b20z's are 0.4 more with b20b at 8.8,b18ab at 9.2 and b20z at 9.6.

the jdm b20b with the p8r stamped on the head has vtec sized 33mm valves and 9.2 comp=best b20 if you ask me,especially if your gonna go boost

 

and i have the b20 with p8r head which is why i reccomend it