Hi folks. I’m still having strange issues with my D16Y8, and really want to purchase a standby engine to build / refresh, while this one is limping along..
since the D16Y8 seems to be getting more difficult to find, I’m thinking it may be worthwhile to upgrade to a B series engine, rather than banging my head looking for the correct D16Y8.
so, I believe there’s a lot less involved (and cost) in swapping to a B series engine, rather than a K, which would be great, but I believe that would be well out of my budget.

I searched the threads, but might have missed it. Is there any comprehensive, step by step guide I can use, to accomplish the swap? I need a full parts list, and of course, the needed conversion components, to get this done.
I’ve never done a swap, and currently both vehicles are unreliable / down, so I’d like to get moving on this asap, but haven’t found a complete guide to help me get the job done.


​​​​Any pointers / links, etc would be much appreciated!

pic for attention

 

Unless you already have the engine/tranny, B18C swaps are most likely going to be more expensive than the K.
It’s an easier swap, but definitely not a cheaper swap.

I’m doing a B20V build but… If I were to start again, I would absolutely go K

 

Thanks, I must have been misinformed. I expected with such similar configurations, the B swap would be less expensive.

 

For "B" series, the engine and transmission are going to be very pricey if you find quality components... remember, these haven't been produced by Honda on over 20+ years, so low mileage, quality examples of top tier performance "B" series engines and transmissions have all but dried up... and those that remain are going to set you back big $$$. Today, a Primo low mileage "JDM '98 Spec R Engine, Transmission, and ECU" will run you north of $10K !!!

On the other hand, a "K" series performance engine will be far less money (although these engines were produced for a much shorter period of time, so the supply is smaller and the prices are starting to rise for primo examples), but the supporting necessary parts are an extensive list (remember that the engine is turned around the other way compared to your "D" series, so EVERYTHING has to be replaced) and therefore the cost of doing the swap is expensive initially.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve assumed that due to the complexity of turning the engine 180° in the engine bay, combined with the requisite wiring / tuning components, this is a fairly expensive proposition. At the moment, I’d rather just find a decent D16Y8 replacement to swap in while I refresh my original engine, but they’re getting pretty hard to come by as well. Which is why I’ve floated the idea of a swap.

 

You can find a decent B series swap cheap if you shop facebook marketplace.

My friend got a 00 hatch with damage that had a JDM B16 w/ trans for 2k. We sold the shell for $500. So $1500 for a clean working B16 swap with lots of extra parts... It's not as expensive as these guys make it seem. IMO after you buy all the conversion stuff you need to put the K in there, you'll probably spend more than a B swap.

It's funny if someone has an 00 coupe with a K swap they think it's worth 8-10k. But if it's got a B swap in it, $3-5k all day. It's due to the fact that putting the K into that chassis took more little parts that nickel and dime you to death.

With a B series swap in your car, you can get axels at autozone off the shelf no issue. With a K series swap, you need to go find K-swap axels. People don't value having off the shelf parts available like they should either IMO.

I was just out in Tuscon AZ and looked at a 93 teg coupe with a B20V. Guy wanted $2200. Motor didn't run yet, fresh build, he didn't have time to finish it and had other projects to finance like his 1100hp drag s2k that his getrag dsg trans is acting up on lol. Would have been a good buy if it was closer to my airbnb, I would have finished it and brought it home. It was in the car, 90% wired. Basically just needed oil and coolant. Deals like that exist though. Just gotta shop harder.

 

Hell yeah! That’s what I’m talking about.. if I could find a deal like that.. SOLD!

 

Some people will try to say that K swap is cheaper, some disagree. I think it depends on your goals, budget, and the time you are willing to commit.

Buying a full low mileage GSR/ITR swap from an import shop in 2025 is stupidly expensive. It's not 2004 anymore. You can do a K swap for the price of one of these. Unless you want to relive 2004 and a couple grand isn't a whole lot to you and you don't care, I wouldn't buy one of those.

B18C swaps locally are less than those low mileage import shops. What's cheaper than that is LSV or a B20V. 2.0L helps for torque too. I am building a B20V for my EG right now. My short block from a running CRV was 250, B17 head was 600, LS trans/shift linkage & w/ driver axle was 300 ish. I see GSR trans alone for 700-800 locally. After doing my rebuild and scrounging everything together it will be cheaper than a K for me. And I like the idea of using all factory parts. If my goals were 250 NA horse (which it isn't), than a K swap might be closer in price, just from building power on a B vs on a K. If you want to do an LSV or B20V, to rev it out much higher than stock B18B or B20 rpms then you need rod bolts (and to have your rods honed after install of bolts, local shop quoted me I think 120 bucks or something to do that?), which means you'll have the motor apart. If you don't want to open up the bottom end you can just keep redline close to stock and stay safe.

Sometimes you can find LSV or B20V or just regular LS/B20 swaps for sale locally. I feel like I see LS/B20 swaps for 1000-1600 depending on condition of everything & any aftermarket stuff.

There should be guides out there for a complete swap guide. Check the FAQ. IIRC you'll need integra axles, 99/00 SI rear T bracket, I believe integra motor/trans mounts for the rest of the mounts, B series shift linkage (99/00 SI will work - not sure about 94-01 integras, del sol ones are too short to use). Can use your wiring harness iirc. Run a factory OBD2 (a or b) ECU, or buy an adapter cable to run an OBD1 chipped ECU (p28 or other). Del sol VTEC or 99/00 civic SI radiator should work, your stock piece might be able to work but im not sure how sufficient it will be. That's basically it. If you want IABs & a knock sensor you need the proper ECU to do that - not all chipped ones can do this.

Do with that what you will. Also, I see plenty of D16 motors in the junkyard and for sale locally. I think the Y5, Y7, and Y8 bottom ends will yield similar compression ratios with your y8 head even though their pistons are different.

 

I saw a lot of that too when I was shopping around for project cars over the past year or so. I thought long and hard about buying one with a B series engine for the swap alone and then parting out the rest. The problem that I kept coming back to was that I was afraid to get stuck with a basket case of a motor since most or all of the cheap ones didn't run or were undrivable for some reason. It starts to make more sense if I was planning to do a full rebuild or refresh since it's likely that any problems with the internals can be sorted out at that time. It's like the dwindling supply of B series engine from the JDM importers are expensive, but there's a good chance that it came out of a stock chassis where it had a relatively easy life... Or you buy a cheap one from FB Marketplace where the engine has a bunch of bolt-ons or internal work, and it's been swapped in and out of multiple cars and ragged out over the past 2 or 3 decades. I guess you just have to put in some work and use your due diligence with whichever route you go.

Early last year when I was shopping for EG chassis', an acquaintance of mine bought a running '94 DB8 Integra for $2k. It was mostly stock with just coilovers and basic bolt-ons, but it only lasted maybe 6 months before he spun a rod bearing. I remember telling him after he picked it up that I was skeptical about the purchase, but he was convinced that it was good deal. I only mention that because it's direct experience that sort of reinforces my fear of cheap B series engines.

 

The $2K civic that amounted to a $1500 B16 swap did get a refresh. But we reused all the existing oem internals. These motors are oooold now anyway, they should get a refresh. We did new bearings, new rings, new HG, new head studs, new seals, new amazon oil pump, gates water pump + belt, new baffled oil pan. Everything in that motor looked extremely good. Piston skirts still had horizontal machining lines, hardly any wear. We pulled the trans apart for inspection and all synchros looked great! We are installing an ebay type-r clone LSD, new axel seals, and that's it. My friend has put a decent amount of time doing labor. But it's all fun and easy. I think he spent $300-400 for everything needed to refresh minus LSD for $350.

I just drove a B16 swapped del sol back from phoenix last week, doing 80-85, 4200-4800rpm pretty much the whole 1,700mi home. Solid.

If you buddy's lasted 6 months before spinning a bearing I doubt it's the engine's fault. He had to be doing something hard. Burnouts, ignoring maintenance, etc. From my exp, if a motor runs 100 miles, it's fine. If it's going to eat bearings it's going to be a fast death not a 6 month slow death.

 

All excellent points, and very helpful information! Thanks so much! The B20V conversion seems like it would be a great option. I’d like to refresh whatever engine I end up buying, as it will probably be rode hard, and obviously fairly old internally anyway. I’ll certainly need to do more research, but that seems like a great plan. I think it would be MUCH cheaper than a K swap. Even though I’d love to get a k swap done, it seems with all the necessary adaptations, that would add up to much more than I’d be willing (or able) to spend. Also, I already have a piggybacked P2P ECU (S300), so should hopefully be good to go on the ECU end, for that swap.