b18a1 to b18b1

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

dc4dude

Member
ok guys, here goes, i have a 97 acura integra with 165,000 miles on it, car still pulls decent, engine is mostly stock, had the head cut to replace a badly diagnosed head gasket..... (sigh)... but burns a TON of oil!!! i drive 64 miles one way to work 5 days a week and go thru about a quart of oil a week. granted i have an itr trans in it and it revs pretty high in the highway... i have a wrecked 93 ls integra with a b18a1 in it, but THAT car only has 75,000 miles on it.the engine is awesome in that car, but the body is crap... and the trans is broken... im running low on funds, what do i have to do to swap this engine in my dc from mmy da? is it a big pain? i know about the crank sensor, how much of an issue is this going to be? is it even worth the trouble? remember, dont have alot of cash to fix this issue... what do you guys say? thanks for any help!
 
I honestly wouldnt swap the older A1 into the B1, your going from an obd1 to an obd2 motor if im correct ? its a pain that I honestly wouldnt go through, if the head doesnt need shaved I would use the A1 bottom end with the B1 head, but other than that I wouldnt do it
 
well... here's another scenario then. i have a set of pr4 pistons sitting here... now when i swapped out the head gasket, i could still see the crosshatching on the block, so i fugured it HAD to be the valve guides and seals... so i replaced them when i had the head serviced... well, i figured WRONG cuz the damn thing still burns oil like it's going out of style!!! as far as engine management and tuning goes, can i get away with just installing the pistons and running the factory tune?
 
Last edited:
I think you might be in luck on that one, do you have bad rings ? lol
 
The A1 and B1 are nearly identical. I would say swap the A1 long block and use all the electronics off the B1.
 
I honestly wouldnt swap the older A1 into the B1, your going from an obd1 to an obd2 motor if im correct ? its a pain that I honestly wouldnt go through, if the head doesnt need shaved I would use the A1 bottom end with the B1 head, but other than that I wouldnt do it
B1 is OBD2. OBD2a to be specific in 1997. All A1s are OBD1.

IDK why you would piece together the two nearly identical motors when one works just fine. Like I said, they are almost identical. I think the B1 might have slightly more aggressive cams, but IIRC its not a big difference.

Like I said before, use the A1 long block and strap all the OBD2 gear to it.
 
B1 is OBD2. OBD2a to be specific in 1997. All A1s are OBD1.

IDK why you would piece together the two nearly identical motors when one works just fine. Like I said, they are almost identical. I think the B1 might have slightly more aggressive cams, but IIRC its not a big difference.

Like I said before, use the A1 long block and strap all the OBD2 gear to it.

Well said, your correct, I was just thinking the power differences
but yes im pretty sure the only differences are in the head

B18A
90-91 = 130 hp 121 lbft tq
92-93 = 140 hp 121 lbft tq

B18B
94 + = 142 hp 127lbft tq
 
So this topic peaked my interest so I did some research. The difference between the two are cams and manifolds. So if you swap the B1 cams and use the B1 intake and exhaust manifolds, you will pretty much have yourself a B1.
 
thank you guys sooo much for the info!!!! i am left now with the question, what engine do i stuff the pr3 pistons in? and will it work with the factory tune?
 
B1 is OBD2. OBD2a to be specific in 1997. All A1s are OBD1.

IDK why you would piece together the two nearly identical motors when one works just fine. Like I said, they are almost identical. I think the B1 might have slightly more aggressive cams, but IIRC its not a big difference.

Like I said before, use the A1 long block and strap all the OBD2 gear to it.

B18A1's are also OBD0, they came in 90-91 Integras (OBD0) and the 92-93's (OBD1). Just to clarify.

thank you guys sooo much for the info!!!! i am left now with the question, what engine do i stuff the pr3 pistons in? and will it work with the factory tune?

As stated you can put the A1 in your car as is, as long as you swap over the electronics (might have to use the IM as well, not sure about all the emissions shit involved).

As for the PR3 question, 1. what bore is the PR3 pistons you have now? You can technically put them into any B series engine thats the same bore as your current pistons. The PR3 in a stock LS will raise compression and thus require some sort of tune. If you dont have the cash to do that, dont use them.
 
B18A1's are also OBD0, they came in 90-91 Integras (OBD0) and the 92-93's (OBD1). Just to clarify.
Yea, sorry I didn't point that out. And just for further knowledge, the transmission on the 2nd gen Integras are cable. 3rd gen is hydro. They aren't interchangeable without custom trans mounts. This doesn't apply to you at the moment though.
 
Back
Top