I have a 92 cb7 and am thinking about a swap. I've heard the F20A or B is good, but what kind of pain in the *** is it and would an F22A tranny work with it for now?

 

I was looking into this also and this is my conclusion.

A car with a F20B will be more expensive, harder to maintain, and slower than one with a H22A. The H22A is easier to find and has more torque. That being said, the F20B is more "revvy" and may be more appealing because of this. I think either of them will bolt up to the stock transmission.

 

Why would an F20B be more expensive and harder to maintain? You can service them with off the shelf parts if you know what to buy. F20B is actually quite a bit cheaper. A full manual swap with LSD trans can be had for around $1400 shipped. Hell I got an auto F20B shipped to my shop for $550 total with <40k miles on it. Whereas just a JDM H22 with no trans run about $1000 alone. Any USDM H22 engine you find will have many more miles and generally not be worth swapping without a rebuild. F20B will also last longer if maintained properly as well due to the iron sleeves VS the FRM sleeves in the H series that always end up with ring seal issues after they get some mileage on them. If "torque" is what's wanted, an H23 blue top is the best option for an NA application. More torque than both engines by far and priced between the two with a good PDE model being around $800.

OP, yes the stock trans will work. All FWD H/F series use the same transmission bolt pattern. Flywheels, clutches, etc are all interchangeable as well. The swap isn't that bad if you have some basic mechanical knowledge and know how to google/read/comprehend. However, bolting an F20B or similar DOHC engine onto a stock F22 trans is going to make the car a total turd because of the long gears. The F20B especially really benefits from shorter gears due to the high RPM nature of it.

 

If torque is wanted, I'm more inclined to advise a g23v build over anything else. That said, a base model prelude or accord of the 93ish vintage might be light enough to be pushed along by a f20b, especially one massaged with cams and other breathing mods. I think the valves and timing belt are the only true problem parts to find for it.

 

Why would you recommend a weird hybrid motor?

Why do people even remotely bother over complicating this?

Swap in an OBDI H22A and be done with it.

 

Go f20b especially if your thinking about forced induction down the road. The f20b has iron sleeves which means it's a cheaper turbo build for low boost. Alot of people don't know this. Also the manual version has "type s" cams. Same specs as the bryan crower type s cams for the h22...

 

That weird hybrid engine is built using commonly available usdm engine components and doesn't mess with the...difficult frm cylinders. He can put in high comp k20 pistons at the same time if he wants and have more power and fuel economy. It's a build and more difficult than a h222 swap but will last longer.