Engine swaps?

[Kobal]

I just remembered something that I'd like to get some discussion on...

Many times I've considered throwing down $600 for an old Civic hatchback to fuck around with; maybe toss in some aftermarket stuff for fun, see if anything happens. Sort of a rolling project. Then I hear about guys doing engine swaps on these things to up their performance, and I ask: "What's the point? Why not invest that money in a faster car to begin with?" It doesn't really seem worth it to me.

Any comments/arguments would be fun and educational, as I admittedly know very little about Japanese cars and the subculture surrounding them.

[funkdaflex1]

Well the point in swapping a new motor into an old civic hatch is well becuase the motor is old and tired for one thing and then the car weighs next to nothing if u put a b16 in it.It will fly.Just putting bolt ons on it is kinda a waste of money if u think about it except for intake and exhaust unless u plan on goin FI then skip the intake. Whats the point you ask?Well the point is is its just a hobby to most people something there doing cuz its what they do best or some people are out there for the competition to be faster than the next person.

[Kobal]

I understand the passion, believe me. I also agree that a lightweight Civic is a prime candidate for street drags. But where do you get the money for the new motor? Why not buy a stock Prelude or Integra that needs less work if the costs just about even up in the end? It just seems a little expensive for what you get in the end.

I imagine if you were a well-funded competitor and/or had a junked Prelude w/ a good powerplant, the swap would be feasible, as you're not fronting that much money, but for your average enthusiast buying a replacement motor for an older economy car is a bit extreme.

[jcrx]

My answer would be, I like Honda's. 1) they look good 2) cheap 3) cheap to maintain 4) cheap to turn into little rockets 5) good milage 6) easy to work on, and the list goes on. You can get a 92-00 hatch/coupe and for less then $20,000 blow most street legal "sports" cars away.

[B16EJ1]

Originally posted by Kobal
I understand the passion, believe me. I also agree that a lightweight Civic is a prime candidate for street drags. But where do you get the money for the new motor? Why not buy a stock Prelude or Integra that needs less work if the costs just about even up in the end? It just seems a little expensive for what you get in the end.

I imagine if you were a well-funded competitor and/or had a junked Prelude w/ a good powerplant, the swap would be feasible, as you're not fronting that much money, but for your average enthusiast buying a replacement motor for an older economy car is a bit extreme.

Why not a Teg or Lude? Already stated, lighter and IMO better looking(again MO) Take a Teg or Lude motor, swap into a Civic, and kill a Lude or Teg. New Teg or lude costs at least 10 G's. Get a Civic hatch for 3, B18C spec R or H22 for 5 and you got a much faster car for 2G's cheaper (labor done yourself considering how User friendly Honda's are)

Well funded? Swaps are cheap as hell and unless you're a high shool student living on your parents allowance.

[Kobal]

See, I don't know about any of this. I haven't really spent much time researching Honda aftermarket upgrades/tuning as I'm more of a classic Mopar guy. I assumed it was more expensive than that, and didn't seem worth it when the best results seem to only be high-14's.

Well, I might go looking for an old Civic hatch with a sick engine now. Where can I find good info on the swap/tune subject?

[funkdaflex1]

Well the best way to start learning is buying the magazines IMO HONDA TUNING has lots of tech and how to articles while superstreet will show u alot of aftermarket parts and some tech info...so its kinda like just pick up a book and start reading.

[crxlvr]

many race hondas are breaking into 7's and 6's now, but like everyone said, getting an old honda and dropping in the new motor will keep you nose and nose with a new lancer in the 1/4.

but for 20g less.

[Kobal]

So, I gather (from these forums) that stock Civic motors are "D" code, and Prelude etc. are "B" code, correct? Where do you guys, personally, find your parts (not bolt-ons)? Ebay? Swap meets? Junk yards? I don't imagine you'd buy a new crate motor, if they're even available to the general public.

I see a lot of guys in Civics in the Orlando area, and every one of them seems to have done something to the stock equipment. Even if $20K is less than a new sports car, it's still a lot of money for a hobby, so I assume there's a cheaper way to get effective results that don't come from a bolt-on catalog. Unless most of the people I see are all bark, no bite.

[funkdaflex1]

Well basicly what I do is I goto a local shop became friends with them and whatever I get all my parts there and ask for there advice as well as others on the forums and other techs and I go with whichever route seems best for me The price at the shop is usually the best price ur gunna find online cuz then u have to pay shipping most of the time and think of it this way if the part doesnt fit or work u have someone to goto and get it worked out internet u dont... The prelude motors are H series the older preludes like the 89-90 body style have like and old b16 in it i tihnk but all civics except the SI have D series motors where the SI has a b16 in it and all integras have B18's in it and the rs,gs,or ls (B18a/b) motors are all NON-vtec as where as the gsr(B18c1) and type R (B18c5)are vtec and the accords are H23 which are SOHC and the newer prelude (92-96 97-01) have the H22 DOHC motor and then theres a new popular motor which comes out of the honda crv which is a suv and that motor is a b20 motor.And yeah u can get crate motors well there not brand new there usually JDM used motors with usually under 40k miles on it.......Hope that helps you out a little bit.

[Kobal]

Werd--Thanks for the info!

Yeah, everything I've learned so far I got from magazines and the internet. I didn't get really interested in cars until about a year ago, but I'm going to take courses at college to get some ASE certifications. I'd like to end up doing serious engine work somewhere, and a project like this would be pretty useful in the long run.

[funkdaflex1]

Yeah thats what I'm trying to do but its all money I dont have.

[Kobal]

I know what you mean.

[crxlvr]

ok funked, some of your engines were wrong for those makes/models

88-91 Civic/CRX HF, DX, LX, STD - 1.5L SOHC
88-91 Civic/CRX SI - 1.6L SOHC
92-00 Civic DX, LX - 1.5L SOHC
92-98 Civic EX, SI - 1.6L SOHC
99-00 Civic SI - 1.6L DOHC Vtec(b16a2)
92+ Del Sol, S, Si - 1.6L SOHC
92+ Del Sol VTEC - 1.6L DOHC Vtec(b16a3)
01+ Civic 1.7L SOHC

Preludes came with either the H22(DOHC VTEC) or the H23(DOHC NonVtec)

Accords, have had many engine choices over the years, from the A20(2.0L) to the K24(2.4L DOHC i-Vtec) in the current model.

CRV had the b20 in the earlier model whereas the new one has the K-series motor.

[funkdaflex1]

Sorry about that crx I just didnt go very detailed with it and I didnt know about some of those accord engines.