My brother just dropped a B16A in his 89 civic dx, when trying to start it (without the downpipe on), gas was coming out of the ports in the header along with a little bit of smoke.......... what could be the problem here?

 

A number of things, maybe you don't have spark and kept crankin' it so not only do you have fuel puddling in your header but you now have washed the oil off the sides of your cylinders temporarily. Check for spark. Check your spark timing. Check your mechanical timing, check your spark plug wires and make sure they are in the right spot. give more info on what it does when it starts.