13-Second Car for $10,000

[ahzab33]

I was recently in another thread where we got on the topic of building a 13-Second Civic for $10,000 or less including the cost of the car. Honda Tuning Magazine recently did a project with an Integra, but they went over by a couple thousand dollars and even then it didn't get into the 13-second territory. It was 14 seconds. They had some other rules like it having to be all-motor and so forth.

If anyone has had success in building a 13-Second daily driven Civic for $10k or less please share your story. Time slips are a plus. If you did it on street tires and without taking out the stereo and other equipment that's even better. And if on top of all that, you did it all-motor, then, my friend you a re a guru!!

[SiZ]

Pftt. Easy.

2nd gen HF or std hatch - $2000 tops
1st gen B16 with cable LSD tranny - $1500ish
custom turbo kit - $3500
HX rims with some drag radials - $700
3" custom bent exhaust - maybe $600

You'd still have money left over.. Or you could build the hell out of a SOHC and make it run 13s.

[ahzab33]

Originally Posted by SiZ

Pftt. Easy.

2nd gen HF or std hatch - $2000 tops
1st gen B16 with cable LSD tranny - $1500ish
custom turbo kit - $3500
HX rims with some drag radials - $700
3" custom bent exhaust - maybe $600

You'd still have money left over.. Or you could build the hell out of a SOHC and make it run 13s.

No disrespect, but we've all heard about how you could do it. This forum is for people like me who haven't done it to hear from those people who have done it. I have friends who set out to do something as simple as an engine swap thinking they could do it for a couple thousand dollars and two weeks, but didn't get it done until after spending $3000-$4000 and six months! They probably could have saved themselves time and trouble by asking someone who's done it before what they did, what to go for, what to avoid, and where to go.

Theory and practice are two different things. I've already started my project. So far i've gotten the car (1990 Civic Hatch) for $750 so I think i'm off to a good start. I would like to know from people who have done it and can speak from experience how easy/hard it really was. If a magazine team with all the hookups you can think of had difficulty doing it, its probably not as easy as we might think. Then again, its nowhere near impossible either.

[Mtrujillo]

I dont know how many times I have stressed this out to everyone that I talked to.

10k + 13sec = possible !!!!

The thing you guys have to remember is dont get caught up in going to one shop!!!
Shops are in this business to make money!!!
these places will charge anywere between $3000-5000 for a b16swap!!!!! that is overpriced. There is no way in hell you should be paying someone that much when it's become a do it yourself project now. All you have to do is grab some friends and use th AF wisely. Guys it's not impossible to do, now if you live a rural area or were there is not alot of support for imports than you will run into problems. Seriously if any of you have questions let me know, or better yet I have a better Idea give me the 10K and I'll build you a 13 sec car GARANTEED !!!!!!!!!

[travagliante]

Originally Posted by ahzab33

No disrespect, but we've all heard about how you could do it. This forum is for people like me who haven't done it to hear from those people who have done it. I have friends who set out to do something as simple as an engine swap thinking they could do it for a couple thousand dollars and two weeks, but didn't get it done until after spending $3000-$4000 and six months! They probably could have saved themselves time and trouble by asking someone who's done it before what they did, what to go for, what to avoid, and where to go.

Theory and practice are two different things. I've already started my project. So far i've gotten the car (1990 Civic Hatch) for $750 so I think i'm off to a good start. I would like to know from people who have done it and can speak from experience how easy/hard it really was. If a magazine team with all the hookups you can think of had difficulty doing it, its probably not as easy as we might think. Then again, its nowhere near impossible either.

Humm, yep sounds like disrespect to me.

Its not hard. You can do it yourself if you know about cars, just take your time. For good deals, its always best to look at ebay. Plus i found this site that sells b16a compleate swap for $1K. Make a junkyard/ebay turbo kit for about $1k. and lets say at most $1k for install mounts, parts, etc. AND there you have it under 5k. Im not positive that will run 13s but buils up the block and head for about 2k more and there you have it!!!

[ahzab33]

Originally Posted by Mtrujillo

I dont know how many times I have stressed this out to everyone that I talked to.

10k + 13sec = possible !!!!

Once again. This is not a forum on whether or not it is possible to build a 13-second car for 10k. It is a forum to hear about experiences. mtrujillo: You are the same person I chatted with in the other forum. You said you built a 13-Second car for 10k. Here's your chance to tell us how. Here are some examples:

I found my car on ebay for $2.
I bought the engine for $100 from crackhead jake.
I took it to a machine shop and got it ported, polished and reinforced for another $100.
And then I bought the best turbo kit ever made for $9798.
And wallaa. I run 13's!
By the way, when you buy an engine, make sure it comes with a, b & c because if you don't this could happen.

That's the kinda stuff i'm talking about. When I asked my friend about his swap he didn't complain about how much the shop charged him. I'm going to school for my ASE certs, so I plan to do most of the work myself. But its still good to hear from people who've done it because they might be bale to tell us how to avoid problems. In the Bay Area of CA. there are a lot of shops that will do the job if you can't do it yourself so service costs aren't that high. His B16 swap took six months because he ordered his engine from a bad source. They took his money and made him wait six months for the engine because they had to import it. When it finally arrived it was missing parts, so he had to order them idividually which ended up turning into a nickle & dime situation. This guy had a wealth of advise for me because of all the problems he faced.

He also told me about little things that no one here seems to mention like changing the water pump, timing belt, etc. while the engine is out because its a pain to do it while the engine is in. What about checking the engine to see if its within factory spec before putting it in. This invloves measurements of the bore size to check for taper and out-of-roundness, checking the crank for balance, checking to see if the rods are warped, doing leakdown tests, checking the deck for warpage, etc. The lists of recommendations that I come across never include any of those. Some people will just buy an engine and take it to a shop to have it installed without checking for any of these things. A lot of shops here in the Bay don't even provide engines anymore because they don't want to be responsible for selling a bad engine. One shop I know of will take the engine apart & check it before installation, but for an additional charge.

Maybe if I ask a more specific questions it will help shape the discussion. I'm planning out a B20B turbo setup and I have a few questions for those who have performed the B20B swap:

1. Will the B20B engine bolt up to any cable or hydraulic B-Series tranny?
2. Are there any problems getting it to fit with the stock intake & exhaust manifold?
3. Which mounts will work best? i.e. Hasport, HCP, etc.
4. Is there much room left for a turbo setup without removing the A/C or cutting the subframe?
5. Does the weight & size hurt handling? If so, how much?
6. What do you think of the performance of the engine?

[doug294]

13 sec is easy. Ok first select your block. Day you go with a D series motor. D16Y8 for example. I bought my D16Y8 block bored .20 over, and the D16Y8 head port and polished with oversized valves, for $320 shipped.

Now for internals. Eagle H beam rods- $300, Arias pistons and rings- $420, VAFC-$300, 450cc injectors-$75, turbo cam- $300, clutch-$300~450

Get some small rims for cheap on ebay or junk yard. Some donuts will do. Drop two slicks on the front two tires. Lower the car and put the rear stiff as crap.

Now comes the turbo setup. Custom log style mani $200, T28 turbo- $100-250, JohnnyRaceCar FMIC-$200, BOV-depends on the style/sound you want, Ecternal wastegate if needed- $200.

Now I'm not sure where this will get you, but it should be in the 13's atleast. When the track opens up I'll let you know for sure. Oh and it's only about 3k. Depends largely on how much you can do and if you know where to get your stuff.

[90civicracer]

First of all this FORUM is not just about hearing experiences...but this THREAD is what you inteded it to be.

[91lxdreamer]

Jeez, maybe I should take some lessons from the NOOB about what I should be talkin about in these threads. Thats another thing ahzab33, learn what youre talkin about. If youre gonna come in and start actin like you own the place, you best start usin the right vocab. These are threads....the whole '88-'91 Civic / CRX page, now thats a forum, AF.com has a whole list of forums...but these individual topics are called THREADS, as shown by the button, thats right...the "NEW THREAD" button...

Anyways, wish Kris was here to answer your ?'s regarding the B20 setup, but how bout doin a little searchin first. Maybe that might help a bit...Its the button at the top of the screen(that would be the box type thing youre staring at now), and the button, if I'm not mistaken, should be blue letters, very easy to see. If you need more help with that, maybe you can ask someone to take a screenshot of it to show you where to look.

[johnb16a2]

Some of you won't want to see this but.....

How about a 11-second car for $2003??

Enjoy

[90civicracer]

Why spend 2k when u could spend 10k, lol. And I think ahzab33 shall feel the wrath of being

[91civicDXdude]

91 honda civic hatch... $1500
96 d16y7 block, 95 d16z6 head... $350
custom turbo kit.......~$950

running 13.9@98mph for $3000...priceless

13 seconds is easily obtainable for $3000

i know from personal experience, a good friend of mine "turboEF9" a.k.a. Jason Parker, creator of driftkids had this setup.

for $10,000 you better be deep in the 12s atleast

[slo89]

91 crx dx with b20/vtec, gsr cams, type-r intake manifold, dc sport 4-1 header, and aem fuel pressure regulator. Low 13 sec. car on street tires before intake manifold and 4-1 header, maybe hitting high 12's now, havent been to the track to run it yet. Car is daily driven and spent under $5000 on it. It can defiantly be done for under $10,000.

[Hybrid1990crx]

I plan on getting my civic into the 13's with under 10,000. with a zc swap and turbo. car cost me 2250. easy.

[EF You]

i have an 88 STD hatch. bought it for 250 bucks, didnt run, and the interior was crap.

bought a 91 CRX Si for 1200 bucks, it was totalled, but it had a b16a in it and some other assorted good parts. heres a list of what i got for 1200:

b16a1
S1 tranny
PR3 ECU
Skunk2 intake manifold
neuspeed header
AEM fuel rail
AEM pressure regulator
short ram intake
tokico struts and coilovers
neuspeed strut bar
neuspeed lower tie bar
hasport mount kit
hasport shift linkage
hasport sub harness
MSD plug wires
also used the suspension from the CRX, rear discs, sway bars, etc

since then i have added the following:
93 GSR YS1 tranny : 200 bucks
ACT street strip clutch set : 300 bucks
integra front knuckles and brakes:50 bucks
integra bored out throttle body: 10 bucks
MSD dizzy cap and blaster2 coil: 50 bucks
energy suspension master bushing set: 75
energy suspension trailing arm bushings: 20

i also rebuilt the engine myself when i was in mechanic school, and the total cost was 500 bucks. i ported the head myself at the school.

rebuilt the YS1 tranny when i was working at a nissan dealership, and it only cost me 50 bucks for synchros.

all the work is done by me, so theres no labor cost. theres more money in the car, but its cosmetic stuff like racing seats and steering wheel and interior parts, as well as two sets of wheels. wont include the 18s, cause they dont make the car faster

14 inch 3rd gen prelude wheels with generic directional tires:200 bucks (i actually traded the guy a set of prelude strut bars for them, but thats how much the bars are worth)

now, im sure you are wondering if i ever hit a 13? well, i havent driven the setup in the 88 yet, i drove it in my 90 HB, but with a stock clutch and the S1 tranny, and bald tires. i also had an o2 sensor problem, and VTEC never worked. i hit low 15s that way. i expect that with everything corrected, and with the lighter chassis, i should definitely get low 14s, and maybe break 13.9999999999 once in a while.

grand total, 2905.

and a set of cams and an AEM EMS are in the plans soon too. so if you want to add another 12-1500 bucks, just to be safe, but i can get both for lower.