What is the easiest and cheapest engine swap

[eghalo]

i have a 93 hatchback with a d15 and i want to swap out the engine for a dohc but there is so many short blocks long block , b series ,k series ,h series . which engine would be the easiest with less modification and a reasonable price range. and what web sites have these i live in houston tx

[Tony]

Well for a DOHC, the easiest is going to be a B series. The difference between Short and Long blocks is what all comes with it. A Short block is just the block, nothing else usually. A Long block comes with the head, intake manifold, usually the exhaust manifold and if your lucky all the accessories, some places take the alternator, power steering pump, and a/c off their motors and sell the seperate.

As for the cheapest of the B-series, ofcourse any of the USDM's are gonna be cheaper than the JDM's. And just kinda depends where you get it from. There are plenty of sites out there that show the specs for the honda motors.

Now your cheapest swap option would be a D16z6, or a D16y8, and you can usually pick them up pretty cheap for individuals, mainly ones that opt for the B series over they D. The D still has plenty of power potential if you know how to build it. Check out www.D-series.org, they have some nice build ups over there, and I'm sure there are some good builds over here too.

[eghalo]

yeah the d series is good but for around the same price of dropping turbo on it you can get a stock b series and still have more potential with it but i just dont know where to look at?

[CivicSpoon]

www.hmotorsonline.com
www.passwordjdm.com
www.inlinefour.com (on the expensive side)
www.jhpusa.com
www.jdmshit.com

There are COUNTLESS threads about plaes to buy engines from, please search next time.

[Tony]

Yea, I'm sure there are several threads out there on the con's and pro's on each swap and all the fun details. If you plan on going with a USDM motor, check your local salvage yards, or any local messageboards if you have any for your area. You can usually pick them up cheaper locally, plus you don't have to worry about shipping and all that fun stuff.

[eghalo]

thanks for the links they were helpfull

[93CivicSiD16HB]

Does there happen to be any places online that sell USDM engines reularly? I don't see the bother in buying a JDM motor if im going to build them both up anyway other than it's JDM, 10 more horses and a higher compression dont excite me, especially when relating to boost pressures.

[Tony]

Like I said earlier, if your going USDM, check your local places first. If you can't find one locally, check any classifieds you can find online, you can usually pick up the USDM cheaper from individuals than a resaler. If no luck there, I can't really point you in the right direction to online stores, just do some searching, you should be able to find something.

[S2CorollaR]

I know Hmotorsonline sells USDM motors, the thing is, I want to go USDM too. The only way I'd go JDM is if I was doing a CRX build (which sadly seems to be highly possible) but I'd want to convert it to California legal.

If, like me, you want to go with USDM because it's smog legal and doesn't create problems with inspection ref, check out this link:

http://www.norcalcrx.org/library/calegalswaps.shtml

It's for CRX's but most of the information would hold merit for any other swaps. You can make a JDM engine USDM legal if you get the right parts. (Most of it is aesthetics like cat-converter, intake manifold, ECU/OBD set up)

A lot of it can be done with the stock parts off a B16A2 which hit the market a lot because most people upgrade to aftermarket. Even aftermarket intake manifolds work as long as they have the "stamp".

[93CivicSiD16HB]

If, like me, you want to go with USDM because it's smog legal and doesn't create problems with inspection ref

Well I suppose that would be good too but I was more less focusing on it being cheaper and only 10hp less.

I live in ohio lol

[S2CorollaR]

If you want to be cheaper, go with JDM motors dude

JDM are cheaper and easier to get ahold of

USDM motors get picked up in a quick minute because if you have a repairable title or a clean title USDM car, a USDM engine would make the car not only street legal, but fully insurable (theft coverage) and raise the value of the car a lot, since it translates as a valid engine swap to keep the car in original condition.

JDM motors require 400-500 dollars of work (Parts alone) to make them street legal in the United States. They're also easier to get since they're a little higher in rotation. Believe it or not USDM motors are actually HARDER to get ahold of than JDM motors.

[Tony]

JDM's are easier to get ahold of because of the market for them, always sites up for them. USDM's are a little harder to get ahold of and depending where you get them from will determine the price. Sometimes they are higher than JDMs, other times its a lot cheaper. Like I said before, if you pick one up off someone who opted for a JDM over their USDM, you should be able to pick it up cheap. Bigger salvage yards are gonna be more expensive cause they usually deal with car lots and places trying to get cars going to sell. The smaller yards usually don't know what they have, so you can pick it up at a decent price. I work in a bigger salvage yard and some of our motors are ridiculous, they want $1k for a B20z without any accessories and one has been welded on.