I just came over from Focaljet.com, you guys came highly recommended!

Here's the story:

Earlier this year, my Sister got into a fender-bender with her 89 Civic DX Hatch. The insurance co totalled it (mostly due to age) and she got stuck with a car that needed some body work, and to be re-registered. I asked, and she gave it to me. So, now I'm trying to build up a track car. I'm almost done repairing the damage, and i'm at the point where I need to make a choice. Should I build up the stock motor, or should I do a swap and make a hybrid. If I were to swap, it would probally be an LS teg motor. I'm more interested in torque than high end anyway. What do you recommend?

 

DX motors are kinda pointless building. You could put on a z6/y8 head (mini-me), build the internals, and boost it...

...but...

In the long run...you'll wish you would have gone with a b-series motor.

 

B20=torque monster

 

if your looking to go cheap you can get a B20A from the junkyard for a good price. building those could be a task and a half since the aftermarket isnt the greatest. or you could get a B20B or Z and do the same thing for more money. then you get the torque you wanted.

 

Thanks for the great replies guys.

You don't think the weight of the B20 would make a difference? I was under the impression that they were pretty heavy.

Also, can I get things like mounting kits, etc, etc, pretty easily? Everywhere I go for EF Hybrids, I only see B16s.

 

the mounts are for b series, so it "should" fit any b series engine

the weight shouldnt be too much of a problem, i would sya it would be a good idea to upgrade the suspension anyway but its not that much weight
i think your thinking about the prelude H series engines

 

Yeah, I think you're right. I used to have a 3rd gen Prelude with the B20A5 motor, and everyone always complained about the weight in the H22 swap. I got my numbers mixed up.

It's certanly something to think about. It just costs so much damn money...

 

if you go with a B20A from the junkyard it shouldnt be more then a couple hundred $. it may not be in the best condition but you could do some minor service, headgasket, valvecover gasket, timing belt, oil pump, water pump, and oil filter. as long as the pistons move around you should be in good shape, dont know if the bearings would be bad or not, depends how long the engine was sitting there

 

I can always buy the engine, and then work on it as I have the money as well.

Now, I just need to see if anyone online has done a B20 swap, and wrote about where they got their parts I know I can go to hasport for the mounts, and raxles could probally get me axles, but I wonder what I'll have to do for the ECU and the wiring harness. I'd stick with non-VTEC, so there's one less thing to worry about.

EDIT: B20b? The CRV motor? That would work? I just checked hmotorsonline and they have a B20B longblock without TPS and Alternator for $749.

 

the b20b will work but you will have to upgrade to obd 2 wiring and ecu i believe.

the b20a is in the first gen prelude 2.0Si. this swap qould be easier since you could get everything from a junked car and it would be easier to do the wiring since no vtec, should be direct plug in.

it all comes down to time and money

 

Time: All the time in the world.

Money: As little as possible.



The Prelude swap sounds good to me. That'll probally be a long term goal for me.

 

I'm almost positive that the Prelude B20 is not mechanically related to any other b-series engine, nor can it be swapped into an EF with the typical bolt-in mount kit. I believe the Prelude B20 was a modified Accord engine. Most definitely go with the B20B or B20Z.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by silverkorn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you go with a B20A from the junkyard it shouldnt be more then a couple hundred $. it may not be in the best condition but you could do some minor service, headgasket, valvecover gasket, timing belt, oil pump, water pump, and oil filter. as long as the pistons move around you should be in good shape, dont know if the bearings would be bad or not, depends how long the engine was sitting there</TD></TR></TABLE>

B20A = Cut and weld swap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JoeMonkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You don't think the weight of the B20 would make a difference? I was under the impression that they were pretty heavy.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The B20B/B20Z is no heavier than the LS, upon which it is based. As for mount kits, a B16A kit will work with ANY B-series motor as long as it is used with a cable transmission.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by silverkorn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the b20b will work but you will have to upgrade to obd 2 wiring and ecu i believe.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The most common setup for B20 Civic swaps is to use a 1994-1995 P75 LS ECU.