Just got my first Honda. 89 civic si with a b16. Crx seats and dash. It has a header, high flow cat and an eBay cat back. With a short ram intake. I was told it has a p28 but I wouldn't know. How could I tell? How do I know what trans is in it? I think the tag said a1. I was told the motor is out of a 99 integra. Yet again how would I know? Thanks for any help. Will post pics tomorrow.

 

As far as the Ecu it's under the passenger side carpet it'll say p28-xxx on the side
The engine and Trans code are next to each other on the front of the motor/Trans the block is stamped and the Trans will have a sticker

 

Trans has an a1-xxxxxxx on it. Motor says b18b1. I'm gonna unbolt the ecm tomorrow and figure it out.

 

Then your B16 is an B18B1 "LS" Non-VTEC. A P28 is the factory VTEC ECU for the B16. Since yours is a B18 (though you were told B16), I feel pretty safe in assuming it's not a P28. The A1 is a cable transmission from a 90-91 Integra. As for verifying whether or not the motor came from a 99, you can check the stamp on the head for the production year. Refer to the pic below.



Though, this will only tell you the date of the head. If the head or block were replaced/swapped, you won't know.

 

Ok thanks for the help. Is there any difference besides displacement between b16 and a b18? Is the a1 a good trans? Gears feel real short.

 

get some pics up of the crx dashboard conversion

 

Is there any difference besides displacement between b16 and a b18

yes, the b18b1 is non vtec were as the b16 is vtec. they both have a 81mm bore so the displacement diffrence is in the stroke (bore x bore x .7854 x stroke x number of cyclinders = displacement in cc) so the 1.8 will have more torque. im not 100% sure but id assume that cams are different and general head flow design would b slightly different.

 

Ok I thought bore would be bigger. But I'd rather have more stroke anyways. I heard some bad things(as well as good) about the LS motors. Like the bottom ends are sh*t compared to a B16. I was planning on putting a turbo in it with a stock bottom end. But only running between 5 to 12psi. Only bc it's my daily.

 

Head says 97. Is there any high performance heads? I know that small block Chevys had a couple factory heads with bigger combustion chambers and valves. Same thing with hondas?

 

Dude, you need to just sit around here and start reading. Many.... no, all of the questions you've asked could be answered with some simple searches here and on Google. But I'll answer the few that you've posted.

LS motors are great and they handle boost well. That being said though, if this is your daily, I wouldn't recommend boosting it. Unless you drop the coin to do it right, you're playing with fire and will probably be left without a car at some point.

As the head says 97, I would do some serious digging throughout this car to check everything out. It's obvious the owner who sold it to you is either a) a complete idiot; b) was lying for the sale; or c) bought it with all the mods, having no clue what they were, and simply wanted something to beat the living dog **** out of for a while. As for performance heads, there are a few companies that sell pre-built (p&p, worked valve train, etc.) heads, but you might want to start reading up on the LS-VTEC headswap as you already have half of what you need.

 

beautiful

 

welcome aboard, and congrats on your new ef. But like 213374u said, start doing alot of research on possible builds, theres def alot you can learn on here about almost anything on anything. Figure out if you really want to go forced induction, or NA. Both have there advantages but it all comes down to what you really want. Next thing you know youll be making build theards on your car.

 

You can ls vtak your current motor, pick up a vtec head and lsvtec kit, slap it on, done

 

^ And go "BOOM" within 2000 miles.

OP, your first order of business before doing anything is compression and leak-down tests. Only then will you know how healthy your motor is.

 

You only go boom if you beat on your motor all day err'day

 

OP didn't even know what he was buying when he bought it. Judging by the overall appearance of the car and the description the seller gave him, there is ZERO doubt in my mind that this car has had the dog **** run out of it. To go out and buy a VTEC head and "slap it on" as you said, he will be walking wherever he needs to go in no time.... I'd be willing to bet a paycheck on that.

And beating on it isn't necessarily going to cause an engine to blow. A well built ($$$$$) motor can be beat on consistently and never even flinch. A "slapped together" LS-VTEC, where the owner knows nothing about the car or motor, will blow under even normal driving circumstances.

 

Is it just me or does that dash look like a civic dash and not a crx. Don't crx's have electric climate controls that looks like cable controls.

 

Isn't a Civic dash.

 

The guy i got it from is by no means a Honda guy. He's a diesel tech. And the car was in pieces when he got it. The motor sitting on the passenger seat and what not. The only reason i bought was I got a crack head deal and my 7.3 excursion was killing me driving 80 miles round trip a day. I'm sure it was beat on. It gets beat on everyday and is holding up fine. Had it two weeks and put almost 1k miles on it.

I also tried to do some research on google and a couple Honda sites. But it seems everybody has their own opions and post no actuly facts. I figured starting a new thread would allow me to ask the questions I have, then ask questions about the answers. That's all. Thanks though for all the advice and help though.

 

Wow you sound so smart, no sarcasm intended, please enlighten me on how would driving a car with lsvtec, under normal circumstances, no abuse to it at all, and have it **** on you within 2,000 miles? unless the owner neglects the simple oil change every 3k or whatever miles YOU. Mr.213374U would do an oil change at, or adding water or anything but gas into his car, how is that possible? it's not like it has a bajillion thousand miles on the motor. Take care of the motor and it'll take care of you, besides, Honda motors are bulletproof, don't you know that?

 

x2

Bullet proof? I just shot at my block now there's a hole in my b series! And 213374u is right a "slapped together" ls vtec will be unreliable. There's more to it than just slapping on a vtec head.

 

I planned on doing it this passed weekend but I just bought a house and havnt had time. I'll do it within the next couple days. Can someone describe what a ls vtech swap is? And gains?

 

As simple as Ls.Vtec sounds, it's quite complicated, as the other guy said can be unreliable if not done right, there's a reason Honda didn't produce the "ls/Vtec" themselves, but in a nutshell it's basically putting a Vtec head on a non vtec block, why not just get a GSR? Ls has a longer stroke which will yield higher compression, but the longer stroke would actually be useful if you're using higher compression pistons, that's why when most people build ls vtec they have to spend a lot of money and to actually BUILD it than just putting the head to the block and call it done, with that money you could probably get a b16b or an itr swap, then again it's all personal preference. Flame me all you want idgaf. If you'd like to read more about it here's a link, it's a great write up and really useful

https://honda-tech.com/forums/all-motor-naturally-aspirated-44/how-build-%22reliable%22-lsvtec-b20vtec-1676914/

Why you shouldn't do LSvtec:

http://www.phatwhippincrx.20m.com/custom4.html

 

i am working on my first build. it is a gsr turbo with aftermarket internals and i would like to know how much horse power i can safely run. no sleeves

 

Why not just take your time and enjoy what you have. Keep reading, get some swap books on it... Gather your knowledge and try not to jump into anything crazy you know. Besides, if ur doing 160 miles a day, performance and crazy *** mods may screw your mpg... Enjoy what you have man.