Hey there everyone, a friend of my owns a pretty beat up 93' del sol automatic. It's pretty rusty and the front right fender is mashed up, everything else is really pretty clean. Beside rust of course. I want to buy it and fix it up, and I came here to ask if I'm getting over my head.

The car runs, drives with a slight alignment issue, breaks are meh, and it sounds alright. I know the person I'm getting it from pretty well, she was in a collision that to me doesn't look to bad because of the damage only messing up what looks to me as the right fender.

I'm looking to put about 4,000$ maybe 5 into this car over this year before I get it back on the road (this is what I estimated the price of getting all the fancy things I want. Some of which I may never get.) bare bones I'd like to get some coilovers, new wheels, new lights; a new fenders, bumper and maybe rear bumper. Then some interior stuff, nothing crazy. But heres were it get interesting for me, being that I know a lot about cars, but have little to no experience.

I'd like to do an engine swap, I want to put in a b16a1 because it seems cheap to me and will give me just enough power for fun and daily driving. Also whilst I do the swap I'd like to put in a 5speed manual transmission and convert the del sol into a standard car. Have never done any of these things, am I screwed?

I just want to know if it's ridiculous for an inexperienced person to want to jump right into swapping an engine AND doing a convention like this, also is this del sol worth the 300 then 4,000$ I'd like to possibly throw into it.

Any suggestions, questions or advise would be awesome! I'm really I love with this del sol, del sols in general even though I'm a huge Nissan guy (dunno if it was a bad idea blerting that out on a Honda forum) and I'd love to start my into to learning about cars with this little delight haha. Thank you so much for you time reading and/or replying to this.

 

Well...I would start by searching for DIY's on the major things you want to do. Then see if it's worth it.

Nobody can tell whether this car is worthwhile unless they saw it. You've seen and presumably driven it. Is it worth starting a project on? Will you be satisfied in the end in creating something worthwhile? Or is this just a pile of feces that you're spraying febreeze onto?

This whole thing doesn't seem grandiose. Are you depressed?

 

i bought a clean shell for 500, great car to work with and i absolutely love it. if youre 110% motivated go for it otherwise youll end up with a piece of scrap in your yard , check out my build if youd like

 

So far so good. Sorry if the message is alittle long I just wanted to cover a lot. I totally think it's worth it. I'm just worry about how difficult the engine swaps going to be. And also if there's anything I should reeeeealllly check on before I buy it that would totally scrap it. This is also my first car I'm buying on my own

 

If the Del Sol is automatic, that means it has a D-series engine. So, to put in a manual transmission B16A into your car as you stated, do you realize that you will need not only the engine, but also a 5-speed transmission, shift linkages, axles, mounts, ECU, etc.?

For an idea of how much a B16A + transmission costs, click this link:
http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc...age&item=30004

And then after you acquire all of those parts, you need to convert the automatic to a manual... it just isn't worth it.

Honestly, if you plan on putting that much money into it, you may as well just go find yourself a nice Del Sol VTEC for a little bit more money. The "VTEC" trim level comes with a B16A3 (94-95) or a B16A2 (96-97) right out of the factory.

 

If I liked del sols I would pick it up for 300$ just as a parts car. A front end collision like that could easily be more serious than it seems, and the frame could be bent

I suggest getting a professional like a reputable body shop look over the frame to give you peace of mind its cosmetic rather than frame damage

 

Not to mention, depending on the severity of the rust that could cost more than buying a vehicle that is rust free. Both of my cars have rusty wheel wells, but that's less than 100$ worth of parts.

my coupe has a rusty/dented quarter (lol I wrote 1/2 but meant 1/4) panel and door, and that's atleast another 100$ of parts and a ton of labor.. If the rust is worse than that, I would deff think its more cost effective to go and buy a not-rusty car.

 

I've bought eight Del Sols over the last couple years. Cut one in to little pieces with a Sawzall, parted one down to the shell, restored and sold two, and have four now. I'm not a mechanic, but I have tools and I'm not scared to use em.
#1 $300? Buy the car. Even if it's beyond repair You can part it and make money while you learn, or use it to fix the one you do build.

#2 Check the rust thoroughly before you spend money and do a lot of work. Plenty of people here have sunk a lot of money into a build only to have it fail when they find the frame is shot or have a strut break off.

#3 READ THE FAQs. Auto to manual and B-swaps have been covered. Youtube (I recommend Eric the Car Guy's Videos) can help a lot.

#4 If you do it try to do it right. 90% of the stuff you'll find on the internet is crap. Get a HELMs manual https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-type-r-8/helms-service-manual-91548/.

 

Not sure where you live, but in Oklahoma where most cars are rust free, $4K is top dollar for a very nice Del Sol. Most sell for under $3k. Just don't expect to get that much back out of it.

I'm assuming since it's an auto that its an 'S' model (Non-VTEC). For starting out, I'd recommend a B18B or B20B. Both are widely available domestic and JDM and fairly cheap. You can do a VTEC head swap later with either and have more power and torque than the B16 plus a lot more low end.

 

I cannot comprehend why people prefer to go against the intended purpose and try to make a Honda with low end torque. It boggles my mind. If you want low end torque, get a car with a big engine, not a 100 inch engine.

but I prefer high revving engines, like a 4age, b16, or rotary. and a b16 is prolly the easiest platform to spin over nine thousand. The b18c's, maybe, but that's a larger price increase.

 

Well guys thanks a lot, even though a few of you are conflicting it's till good to hear different opinions. So far I think I'm going for it. I mean 300$ win win I believe, I'll have to check about the frame that was something. Was worried about. And yes. Do know that I'll need a tranny with the b16a. I saw some on eBay for a good price... Is eBay a really bad idea?! Haha I know it is for quite a few things.
Btw I live in canada, Niagara Falls ontario. So yeah rusts abit of an issue here.

Again thanks a lot keep the advise coming!

Edit: PS I'm much more into high end power.

 

Its called a project for a damn reason, you plan to spend a certain amount but you end up spending a little more which I'm sure anybody can tell you. Maybe you can fix the rust issue and go from there. But tackle the rust issues first and than worry about other things. If rust issue gets any worst than you did your best, time to cut your losses and sell it to the junkyard then move on to something better.

 

IMO its not a huge deal.. He can do everything except rust, and then transfer everything over to a 300$ rust free shell w/ a 200k engine and a non-functional automatic trans.

if the car drives, it drives. I have so many rusty old pick up trucks it isn't funny. It doesn't actually matter all that much.. I mean if the frame is thoroughly rotted, yeah that matters. But if the fenders/doors are half gone.. Oh well? If its not a show car, looks aren't a big deal..

 

I defiantly agree, although I do want it to looks nice, it more important to me if it runs, plus if I get a 2 new fenders (seeing as the right on is smashed) and I complete forget how bad the 1/4 panels were but I feel not all that bad, cause I'd remember. Soooo it's fine.

And like this is Aldo my first car, something to beat on. And have fun with so what the hell, let's do it! thanks guys! I'm still happy for anymore advise and I'll answer any questions you might have.

I'll also for sure be back when I mess something right up and I need some help haha and I'll post progress and stuff.