1991 Civic Wagon Engine Swap

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JdmWagon91

New Member
Hello everyone. This is my first post on this forum. There's a lot of good information here!*
I just recently purchased a 1991 Civic Wagon. It's an all stock 5 speed. It's got a D15B2 in it. I'm considering a motor swap. Along the lines of a GSR. :D
Could yous let me know if this would be possible? Cause I am very new to this. Also, what else would I need, and what are some quality online shops to buy engines from?*
Thanks in Advance,
Jonathan*
 
Uncle Joe can build you a real nice motor.

Or, if you want to stay on a budget closer to mine - I've done business with these guys and got a decent motor from them.

http://www.jdmenginezone.com/

I had a motor shipped from them straight to the machine shop (arrived a week ago, torn down last Friday) for tear down and refresh, balance, 10:1 compression, port match, valve job, rings, seals, etc. It's in good shape, didn't require boring or pistons. Price was good and shipping not too bad. The guy worked with me - purchased on eBay, he ended auction early, I paid with PayPal and he was willing to ship it straight to the machine shop per my request. This is going into my '91 hatchback.

Engine was in good enough shape to just drop it in and drive. O2 sensor and TPS sensor got wasted, but that's to be expected unless it's crated and I don't want to pay for that - plus, those will be replaced as a part of this build anyway.

Cell phone pictures: (plastic wrapping removed)
DOHC%20ZC%201.jpg


DOHC%20ZC%202.jpg
 
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Thanks for clearing it up. I'll take a look. Anyone elses opinions are welcomed!
Thank you
Jonathan
 
That motor, delivered was $795.00.

The bottom video is last year's Problem Child running at the World Finals in Phoenix - it ran a 4.52 @ 265mph on that pass. I think it was a record - they set several last year and are doing it again this year running the new 1000' course.
 
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What motor is that?
It's a 4th generation 1992-1995 ZC DOHC 1.6L. Basically a JDM engine. Old School non-VTEC. With the build I requested, it should dyno 150-160hp - stock it's ~135hp depending upon what specs you read and if it was in a vehicle with a catalytic converter or not.

I'm building it up to a Stage 1 format. It's a direct drop in into the 1991 hatchback. Just some minor wiring and a custom ECU for it. Will use same tranny that got rebuilt last year. Stage 1 clutch and pressure plate. Already have stainless header and catback. Cold air, Optima battery, brakes completely redone, Polyurethane busihings on chassis, struts, wheels, tires, aluminum radiator, all that stuff.

I probably went backwards from what many do. I get the impression most do the engine swap first. I built the rolling chassis first over a couple of years time as it's the Daily Driver.
 
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It's a 4th generation 1992-1995 ZC DOHC 1.6L. Basically a JDM engine. Old School non-VTEC.

I'm building it up to a Stage 1 format. It's a direct drop in into the 1991 hatchback. Just some minor wiring and a custom ECU for it. Will use same tranny that got rebuilt last year. Stage 1 clutch and pressure plate. Already have stainless header and catback. Cold air, Optima battery, brakes completely redone, Polyurethane busihings on chassis, struts, wheels, tires, aluminum radiator, all that stuff.

Thanks for the information! :D
 
A b16b or a b18c would be a great motor to play with. To run either of them in your wagon you are going to need a set of conversion mounts, axles, shift linkage. You will need to do a mpfi swap and run some extra wires for vtec, knock sensor, etc. you will need a conversion harness for the ecu.. You also should invest in a new intake pipe and filter, as well as a header and exhaust system. Your stock intake pipe will not fit the new motors intake manifold and the soda straw sized stock exhaust is pretty restrictive for a high performance motor.
 
If you're going to swap a motor go with a 1.8. I'd take a poor mans type r over a b16. Gsr I'm not a fan of cuz of the intake manifold nonsense you constantly deal with. But more importantly you need to let us know if it's a daily driver, target hp, and your budget. Cuz anythings possible with a Honda. Zcs are a commonly overlooked swap. With equal hp and more torque I'd say it's a better base than a sohc vtec. But that's debatable.
 
If you're going to swap a motor go with a 1.8. I'd take a poor mans type r over a b16. Gsr I'm not a fan of cuz of the intake manifold nonsense you constantly deal with. But more importantly you need to let us know if it's a daily driver, target hp, and your budget. Cuz anythings possible with a Honda. Zcs are a commonly overlooked swap. With equal hp and more torque I'd say it's a better base than a sohc vtec. But that's debatable.

It's going to be my daily driver. And I'd like 250-300 HP. Is that within reason? And I think my budget will be around $5000.
 
It's going to be my daily driver. And I'd like 250-300 HP. Is that within reason? And I think my budget will be around $5000.
Advice - budget the overall build - don't just dump $5 grand in an engine swap - slam 300 hp into a stock rolling chassis = Death Trap.

Ya need brakes - not talking a brake job here - BRAKES - full system upgrade - lines, rotors, pads - going to have to stop.

Suspension - performance struts - tower bars - sway bars - maybe bushings - exhaust system will be a part of the engine package.

Wheel bearings, seals, wheels and performance tires, upper and lower ball joints.

For that much power, big Optima battery to crank in up. Big aluminum 2 row racing radiator.

Not sure on fuel pump - ask the other guys on that for the HP range you are seeking.

Do you know what 250-300 hp will do in a FWD car that light? Honestly I don't - but I do know taking mine from a tired 110hp stock with bolt-on's to a Stage-1 built DOHC ZC is going to be a HUGE Wake Up Call. And I'm talking from where it's at now, (maybe that tired D16A6 pumps 100hp with bolt-ons) a 50-60hp increase. Not a 150-200 hp increase.
 
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I think that you could buy a gsr with trans and swap parts and get it in for under $5k. I don't know if you will have enough money left over to put together a turbo kit to go for that extra 75-100hp you are looking for.

My advice is to swap the motor and do it right, not on the cheap. Than take the left over funds and start upgrading the other areas of the car. Being a 91 wagon it prolly has some miles on it and could use some major rehab work on the suspension. I would fix up the suspension with bushings, ball joints and tie rods, and shocks in that order.

Than if you have money available I would do the brakes. For a low budget set up get some decent oem style rotors and some agressive pads. I personally have had good luck with ebc brake pads. Alot of people on the forums run hawk hp pads as well.

After all that is done look into some light weight wheels and good tires. maybe something in a 185/60/14 or a 205/50/15 size range. Take a look at the dunlop direzza dz 101 tire. They are fairly cheap but work well.
 
The brakes and suspension are only necessary if youre moving too fast. It will still stop the same as before you just go faster. Gsr block no more than 600. B16 head no more than 500. Cable b series tranny No more than 450. Engine mounts shift linkage headers, arm v2 cold air intake, stage 1 or 2 clutch setup, lightweight flywheel, p72 obd1 Ecu, Ecu conversion harness, distributor, intake manifold. That's about 3G. And a basic swap plus breathe easy boltons. Thatll put you at 225 crank hp. That'll run mid to high 13s. Plenty fast for any steer racing or daily driving. But If you have a nice evo or Ferrari and you wanna dust it, just get a 75 shot of N2O. This allows you to run pump gas, not have to replace internals, keep great gas mileage when not spraying and rape virtually anything on the road. I estimate the 75 shot will put you down into the 11s if not low 12s. Wheels and tires are crucial. When you go nitrous you have to chip Ecu, up injectors, up fuel pump, get bottle heater. But you really should have a roll cage after doing the shot. And yes it is safe too spray. Safer than other forced induction. Less variables that can fail.
 
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