shewantsthed16

Hey guys,

I am new to the forums and Hondas in general. Now that I have graduated and have an income, I am looking into building my first engine and I feel like I want it to be a b20-vtec to swap into my 2000 coupe. I have found a core motor with a blown head gasket at the local junkyard for 250; should I avoid this engine even tho I will be replacing the head and most other parts or would this be a good starting point for the price? I know that this is a newb question haha

B20VtecVillain

Well an engine with a bad head gasket isn't necessarily damaged, but the problem is that you won't know how long it was driven with said bad gasket and if it was allowed to overheat or not. Personally, I would not buy it unless the yard was willing to let you pop the head off and use a straight edge (real one, not your typical 5th graders ruler) and feeler gauge to see where the block is at in terms of straightness. Even a warped block can be decked, but I wouldn't bother with it for something like a B20, where there are plenty of decent condition short blocks running around for a couple hundred bucks and you don't even need a B20 head period. My advice to you would be to take someone who is mechanically knowledgable, preferably with Hondas in particular, and have them on hand to inspect whatever used engine components you purchase. On a second note, if this is going to be your very first Honda build, a hybrid combination like an LS VTEC or B20Vtec may not be the best choice for a first timer. These are not engine platforms that were ever designed by Honda and are a combination of parts from different Hondas that enthusiasts have made work over the years. As you can probably tell from my user name, I am a big fan of the B20V, so I would hate to ever tell someone NOT to build one, because when done right they are awesome setups. The problem is that because they are not factory Honda engines, there is no factory Honda way to assemble them, so therefore you are stuck with Internet how-to's since you don't have your own experience to fall back upon. As great as these hybrid engines can be, they can also be equally nightmarish if done wrong, and when you run into problems you can't always just pull out the shop manual and find the correct information. For a first time builder, I would recommend tackling something a little more straight forward this time around. Once you have an idea of your power goals, what the engine will be used for (street, drag race, road race, etc) and a budget of what you are willing to spend, then we can help you more, but truthfully this day in age you can easily build a powerful, reliable B series without having to go too wild on the build. Also, make sure to include tuning into your equation. This is something often overlooked by newcomers, and you simply cannot plug in a stock ECU or some random chip and expect it to run properly if at all when dealing with an aftermarket build. My suggestion to you is to first answer the questions I posed with regard to purpose, power goals and budget, and then look into what it would take to fit those needs with a standard B series setup. You will likely find that unless your dead set on a B20V, your goals can easily be met with a B18C and without the hassles a hybrid engine can bring to a first time builder.

atanatas

The B20VtecVillain man has a point.
from a friend of mine's experience
H Swap sometimes is easy than a B20V build with all the consicuences.
but if properly build the B20V has a beauty you cannot resist.

fcm

I agree with B20VtecVillain a B18c for your first build is probably the way to go, [a lot easier for a first build. 94

shewantsthed16

Hey guys, thanks for the input. Ill probably stay away from that motor taking what you said into consideration. My goals would be to have something around 200 to 250hp (is that good enough for 13s? Haha)that could beat up a few of my friends cars such as Focus STs and older WRXs in a straight line and be fun around town. I also want to be able to cruise around and drive it to work and stuff and not worry about it being a bomb or having to hunt down e85. I dont need a magazine quality build but in also dont want to cheap out on it real bad and blow it up. Im not sure what a realistic budget id need but Im in no super hurry. Id like to do as much of it as possible on my my own and really learn as much as I can. Ive done stuff like head gaskets and cams in other cars just never full blown builds. As for tuning, im actually really interested in learning as much as i can about the subject; ive purchased a book that should be here any day now, have been researching like crazy, and will probably be signing up for the efi 101 course. Hondata or NepTune sounds like the way to go. The car is a 2000 EX so its already a vtec car. Im not sure if that matters. B20vtecs just sounded cool to me haha I thought about a turbo y8 but b series sounds like the way to go.

shewantsthed16

Theres a few cheap k20s (like 250 to 500 bucks) in my area.

tony_2018

If you have the budget than go K, if not than find a good b20 block. They are cheap and if built right they can be reliable.