Detailed Cost analysis of my Del Sol S D15 -> B18C ITR swap
I'm new to the community but have done a few engine swaps/builds/etc over time so I wanted to pop in on my costs to help anyone who's interested in doing this one.
I know this is about as vanilla as it gets for engine swaps, but it can never hurt to have more data regarding what it costs to do it.
First off, the car I chose to start out with is a 1995 Del Sol S. It is a well taken care of one-owner, very little was cosmetically wrong with it.
I bought it to commute to the city for work every day to save miles on my ZL1. I quickly found that the 102hp was poorly suited for passing anything on the highway.
I needed an easy no-fab swap that would justify the costs with solid performance. Since this was my DD with ~60 miles a day on the highway, it needed to go smoothly without any fabrication or difficult work.
I picked the B18C ITR because I have a hard time settling for a lower powered option when there's something better available. I researched a lot of engine importers and found (JDM Engine Virginia).
I worked with a guy named Mike who helped me customize the swap to suit my needs. I bought a 98 spec ITR motor from a front clip he had, but opted out of the high-revving transmission for an LS transmission suited for the highway driving I'd be doing.
Since these cars are low-power by today's standards, and I am only driving this to and from work, I took the price cut he gave me and didn't mind losing the LSD. It would serve me very little benefit and I didn't want to swap gears/final drives just to keep the LSD.
I highly recommend Mike and JDM Virginia. The motor came quickly, had high compression, was in great shape, and he was very easy to work with.
Everything else that I had to get for the swap is laid out in many of the other online FAQs, so I'll just list them with a note or two regarding if/why I went a certain direction.
I keep a spreadsheet of everything I've spent on the car, so here's the numbers:
Total Swap Costs (so far) is $4,963.27 and I still need to get a cat. A few of these items were avoidable but I wanted to do it right with A/C, and new mounts/gaskets where needed.
I am doing all the labor myself in my home garage and I have all the tools required to do this (Cherry picker, engine stand, pneumatic, etc)
I can imagine with shop rates upwards of 90-100+ an hour, this could easily get in to the $1,500-2,000 range with all that I've done to clean the engine, engine bay, and prep work like timing belt and clutch job.
For those interested in other Del Sol costs:
I still want to get a rear sway bar, possibly rear disc brake conversion, and strut tower braces to help stiffen up the flexing.
I also want to get the windows tinted and possibly get an OEM spoiler or something similar to make it look a little less like an base S model. I don't want it riced out or trashy looking, but I'd like to freshen it up a little.
Total spent including the car, engine swap, cosmetic, repairs, and everything: $12,614.06 not including $1,496.69 in credit cards rewards discounts/coupons for Amazon and other places which helped out a good amount.
I can't leave well enough alone, but that's what I enjoy about cars. It's my hobby and I love doing it.
I could have saved a lot of money by skipping the S2000 parts, which ended up costing a whole lot of money ($1,408.85) - but I wanted to freshen up the interior a little and I loved my old S2000. Should the car ever be wrecked/totaled, most of this could be moved over to another EG so that made it easier to swallow the costs.
Anyway, hope this can give someone an idea of what it costs to add an ITR motor to a base model Del Sol, as well as other additions should they feel inspired to do them.
I know this is about as vanilla as it gets for engine swaps, but it can never hurt to have more data regarding what it costs to do it.
First off, the car I chose to start out with is a 1995 Del Sol S. It is a well taken care of one-owner, very little was cosmetically wrong with it.
I bought it to commute to the city for work every day to save miles on my ZL1. I quickly found that the 102hp was poorly suited for passing anything on the highway.
I needed an easy no-fab swap that would justify the costs with solid performance. Since this was my DD with ~60 miles a day on the highway, it needed to go smoothly without any fabrication or difficult work.
I picked the B18C ITR because I have a hard time settling for a lower powered option when there's something better available. I researched a lot of engine importers and found (JDM Engine Virginia).
I worked with a guy named Mike who helped me customize the swap to suit my needs. I bought a 98 spec ITR motor from a front clip he had, but opted out of the high-revving transmission for an LS transmission suited for the highway driving I'd be doing.
Since these cars are low-power by today's standards, and I am only driving this to and from work, I took the price cut he gave me and didn't mind losing the LSD. It would serve me very little benefit and I didn't want to swap gears/final drives just to keep the LSD.
I highly recommend Mike and JDM Virginia. The motor came quickly, had high compression, was in great shape, and he was very easy to work with.
Everything else that I had to get for the swap is laid out in many of the other online FAQs, so I'll just list them with a note or two regarding if/why I went a certain direction.
I keep a spreadsheet of everything I've spent on the car, so here's the numbers:
- B18C 98 Spec Engine $3,500.00 Shipped (JDM Engine Virginia) [LS Transmission, half-shafts, mounts, Linkage, Intake box, etc]
- Clutch Kit/Flywheel $167.00 (eBay)
- Honda Oil Pump $115.00 (eBay) - It's recommended to replace the oil pump on any engine swap
- Integra Wiring Harness $107.00 (eBay) - The JDM engine harness won't work due to RHD/LHD plug locations
- ITR Throttle Cable/Bracket $42.25 (eBay)
- Lower Engine Mount Stabilizers $24.49 (eBay) - Not required, but replaced anyway
- Gasket Kit $54.02 (Amazon) - Didn't replace the head gasket... but I did do all external gaskets, the oil pan, and all the basics.
- Timing Belt Kit (water pump, belt, idler) $50.03 (Amazon) - It's advised to do the timing belt/pulleys on any engine swap where you don't know the condition of prior to pulling it. Hoping the quality is good.
- A/C Bracket $46.04 (Amazon) - Needed to keep A/C, since this is a DD I wanted to keep it comfortable.
- Del Sol VTEC Shift Linkages & bushings $157.03 (Majestic Honda) - I received ITR shift linkage because Mike didn't have the Del Sol VTEC linkage I needed. Will sell the ITR linkage to recoup costs.
- OBD1 -> OBD2A ECU Jumper Harness $126.95 (RyWire) - I wanted to keep the JDM ECU for now
- VTEC/Knock Harness $61.95 (RyWire) - I didn't want to deal with running wires for this due to work/home life time constraints
- Tanabe Medallion Cat Back $485 (Tuner Motorsports) - I wanted as quiet of an exhaust as possible, without spending oodles of money
- Catalytic Converter ($50-$200) - I haven't bought this yet, since I want to measure it all before I do to make sure it's sized correctly with my 98 spec headers and Tanabe Cat Back.
- Radiator Hoses $26.51 (Auto Store) - Needed to connect the B18 to the radiator, since the D15 is different
Total Swap Costs (so far) is $4,963.27 and I still need to get a cat. A few of these items were avoidable but I wanted to do it right with A/C, and new mounts/gaskets where needed.
I am doing all the labor myself in my home garage and I have all the tools required to do this (Cherry picker, engine stand, pneumatic, etc)
I can imagine with shop rates upwards of 90-100+ an hour, this could easily get in to the $1,500-2,000 range with all that I've done to clean the engine, engine bay, and prep work like timing belt and clutch job.
For those interested in other Del Sol costs:
- Bought the car for #3,000.00.
- Replaced the shocks with AGX adjustables and Tein S-Tech springs for $491.74.
- Frame/suspension bushings and other various rubber items for $252.88
- New ITR replica 15" wheels & Firehawk Indy 500 tires (13" steelies were very flexy) $854.84
- Replaced the stereo/speakers/amps/sub/siriusxm/etc for $534.45
- Added S2000 seats for $450.00
- Converted to S2000 steering wheel (required Civic steering column) for $279.70
- Converted to S2000 gauge cluster (Wire Worx harness nad eBay cluster) for $709.15
- Replaced the carpet and floor mats for $299.43
- Miscellaneous OEM refreshments (missing/broken interior pieces) $56.95
- Targa Top Seals (OEM Honda) $159.24
- Engine Dressup $85.98
I still want to get a rear sway bar, possibly rear disc brake conversion, and strut tower braces to help stiffen up the flexing.
I also want to get the windows tinted and possibly get an OEM spoiler or something similar to make it look a little less like an base S model. I don't want it riced out or trashy looking, but I'd like to freshen it up a little.
Total spent including the car, engine swap, cosmetic, repairs, and everything: $12,614.06 not including $1,496.69 in credit cards rewards discounts/coupons for Amazon and other places which helped out a good amount.
I can't leave well enough alone, but that's what I enjoy about cars. It's my hobby and I love doing it.
I could have saved a lot of money by skipping the S2000 parts, which ended up costing a whole lot of money ($1,408.85) - but I wanted to freshen up the interior a little and I loved my old S2000. Should the car ever be wrecked/totaled, most of this could be moved over to another EG so that made it easier to swallow the costs.
Anyway, hope this can give someone an idea of what it costs to add an ITR motor to a base model Del Sol, as well as other additions should they feel inspired to do them.
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h0ust0n_del_sol
Honda Civic / Del Sol (1992 - 2000)
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Sep 23, 2011 01:25 PM



