b-series automatic swap

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94auto

New Member
Hello everybody. I am your typical early/mid 20's guy, with a Honda looking for help :eek:. In the past year I bought a 1994 Honda Civic Ex, with d16z6 with.....automatic transmission :rimshot:. I had plans for swapping this and that and B series and H series and manual swap and, then injured myself in a basketball game and am told to not use my left leg for anything for like a year :mad:.

So, I started my research for ways to make my automatic civic a little ballsier while staying automatic, for now. I have read of a few people that have successfully swapped a usdm 94/95 integra ls b18b engine and automatic and using the usdm Ls ecu and tcu and being able to chip the ecu. I have also read of a few people who have swapped in jdm integra sir-g (gsr) b18c engine and auto trans using the jdm ecu and tcu, which I've read is not chipable, meaning no cams or pistons, just bolt ons? I've also read of people swapping jdm civic b16 and auto trans using the jdm ecu (no tcu required?) which is not chippable which is not cool to me.

So, from what I've read, the jdm gsr auto trans is an mp7a, being better than the usdm ls auto trans which is an sp7a.

I've also read that the jdm b16a automatic transmission is an m24a which is also the auto trans mated to the d16 vtec, which is said to be better than the d15 nonvtec s24a found in the us dx and lx.

So I am wondering. Could I swap in the jdm b16a and m24a transmission and use a chipped p28? I've read that the integra b18 autos require an external tcu which provides major headaches during the swap, but both the jdm b16a automatic and the usdm d16z6 automatic are m24a which dont require a tcu, and the usdm p28 automatic ecu already controls a d16 vtec and m24a auto trans. So could I use a chipped usdm p28 automatic ecu and control the b16a and jdm b16a-m24a automatic transmission?

Sorry for the long post, and thank you to the guys with useful information!
 
Or, you could just build the suspension and focus on other areas of the car for now, and then get the engine and transmission you actually want in a year or so. That would be my suggestion. You can do one of these auto B-series swaps, but it's still not going to compare to, say an H22 or GS-R swap with manual transmission...
 
d-series and b-series tranny's are not compatible. they simply won't bolt up.

There are many options for automatic swaps. If your car is auto already, just get an auto full change over like an ls or sir-g or even the b16a. There should be little differences between your current D and a new B swap as far as the automaticl part is concerned. Just make sure you get the automatic ECU with it and instead of the shoft linkage, the proper shifter cable set up, if necessary (i don't know what differences are here... )
 
I wasnt talking about bolting a B up to the D transmission. I was asking if a chipped udsm p28 automatic ecu that was meant for a D16 vtec and its m24a auto trans that does not use an external tcu, could control a B16 vtec and its m24a auto trans? (there was a d16 m24a and a b16 m24a)

The reason I am asking is because I want a B swap that has the option of a chippable ecu, like a usdm Ls b18b/sp7a automatic swap, but I want vtec. And the jdm b18c/mp7a sir-g ('gsr') automatic swap requires both the jdm ecu (which Ive read is not chippable, which sucks) and the jdm tcu. And the jdm b16a automatic swap requires the jdm ecu which is not chippable, but (as i've read) does not require a tcu for the b16 m24a auto trans).

Will a chipped (and b16a basemapped) usdm obd1 p28 automatic ecu control an obd1 b16a and its corresponding m24a automatic transmission?
 
Not sure on the auto tranny stuff...

but the jdm p30 is chippable, and there is a usdm p30 as well (from the 9495 del sol vtec)
 
So the JDM ecu's are chippable? I must have misread that they werent!
 
Would the jdm p30 automatic ecu be able to control a b18c with skunk2 intake manifold (to do away with iab's) or a b20vtec and the correct b16a automatic transmission?
 
just a heads up, if youre still considering the b-auto swap, good luck finding info on necessary mounts.
 
Yeah hes right auto swaps arent common at all and you will have a time trying to find an auto tranny mount. However every auto trans has a tcm the difference being honda started making the tcm insde the ecu in the early 90's. Just make sure when you chose an ecu that it has a tcm built in it that will be compatible with the solenoids on your tranny. I would need confirmation but im pretty sure any honda ecu (with tcm) came out of a car that has the same number of gears and i dont see why you would have a problem. Now if your getting it chipped i believe the tuner will have the option to tune the transmission part of the ecu to sort out any problems you may have such as shiftpoints being off. Your best bet would be to consult your tuner and ask him but all honda automatics are manuals with fluid controlling the synchros rather than shift rods and the fluid is controlled by the soleniods on the transmission opening to allow fluid to pass (very similar to standard vtec operation) and those soleniods are controlled by the ecu. So given that logic you should be able to mate any 4 speed auto tranny with any ecu that came out of a honda with a 4 speed automatic. Hope i that answered some of your questions or maybe i was way off. Good luck with the swap it will be a challenge but very possible i havent done any auto swaps but ive seen a few b's in the civics
 
if you have a 94 civic and you get a bswap (gsr or ls) from an automatic 94 or 95 integra, then the auto tranny mount from the integra should work in the civic. i think
 
If I were you and you really want the car to be ballzy, just buy a cheap turbo kit...nothing fancy (T25/T28), maybe even a ebay kit (swap turbo for a better unit) + a chipped p28...this way once you are able to work on the car & can do the B series swap or auto-manual change you will already be turbo and will really only need to swap over turbo manifolds depending on which platform you stay with... it would be cheaper than buying an automatic B series swap and going thru all the labor to install it, just to end up swapping over to 5 speed later on..
 
if you have a 94 civic and you get a bswap (gsr or ls) from an automatic 94 or 95 integra, then the auto tranny mount from the integra should work in the civic. i think

the way I got mine bolted up temporarily was by elongating the trans mount holes and fabricating an engine mount. I will update my post if the b18a1 engine post mount works.
 
Sorry to bring this one back from the dead but at least it isn't like 10 years old or something.

Well anyways I'm curious to know if you've completed your swap 94auto?

I'm considering the same swap except I own an ek Civic a 97 LX but I'm probably going to pay a local shop to do it once I get the money to do it.

I would also like any additional info anyone could give me about this swap because my brother-in-lay wants me to do the swap along with him and his friend who is great with cars but I'm a bit fearful of the computer side of it (fabing the tranny to fit is no problem with these guys because they can weld and actually fit a V8 in one guys Civic).
 
No swap yet, still havent found enough info.

Apparently the Integra automatic wont fit in my 94 civic, and the only B series automatic that will is the B16's m24a. So, I'd like to use the b16 m24a instead of the b18 sp7a/mp7a due to the size and not needing a tcu with the b16 m24a.

Does anyone know 100% that a jdm p30 ecu is chippable? If not, will a p28 (chipped with p30 map) ecu be able to control the B16 m24a as it did the D16 m24a? Even aside from the leg injury I'd still like to do an auto swap.

B18c + m24a (B16 a/t) + chipped p28 OR jdm p30 ecu (if its chippable)? {I really dont want to mess with the larger Integra a/t and its tcu which is why I'd like to go the B16/civic a/t route}
 
Man, I figured hondaswap would be the place to ask.

Does anybody know anything about automatic swaps?

Are 92-95 jdm ecu's (jdm p30auto or jdm p72auto) chippable?
 
Dude... Its an unconventional swap... That hasnt been done a whole lot... So we have about as much info on it as you... This is where research. Trial and error come into play...
 
Man, I figured hondaswap would be the place to ask.

Does anybody know anything about automatic swaps?

Are 92-95 jdm ecu's (jdm p30auto or jdm p72auto) chippable?

Sorry that we can't be more help, but like dc4dude said, this type of swap is something that's done extremely infrequently, so there's not a lot of info on it floating around.

As I mentioned earlier (and which you seemingly ignored), why not just forget this swap and spend the next year or so building the car's suspension, securing an engine and a manual transmission, building that engine and manual transmission, and gathering the parts for an auto-to-manual swap? By the time your leg is healed up, you could have the car you actually want, sans the wiring issues...
 
No swap yet, still havent found enough info.

Apparently the Integra automatic wont fit in my 94 civic, and the only B series automatic that will is the B16's m24a. So, I'd like to use the b16 m24a instead of the b18 sp7a/mp7a due to the size and not needing a tcu with the b16 m24a.

Does anyone know 100% that a jdm p30 ecu is chippable? If not, will a p28 (chipped with p30 map) ecu be able to control the B16 m24a as it did the D16 m24a? Even aside from the leg injury I'd still like to do an auto swap.

B18c + m24a (B16 a/t) + chipped p28 OR jdm p30 ecu (if its chippable)? {I really dont want to mess with the larger Integra a/t and its tcu which is why I'd like to go the B16/civic a/t route}

A shop called Trackmasters has installed a B20 with an LS automatic into my 97 Civic LX. The main person doing th install will tell you it's a pita, I believe, but very possible. It took some cutting to get the LS auto mount but it does mount in with some cutting so he said. You'll pretty much need b series motor mounts as that's what I orderd. You can use a CRV A/C bracket if you want A/C as it's a must here. Oh you'll a B series axles, an Integra P75 auto ecu and matching tcm (check rywire.com for the matching tcm # you'll need). There's a little more work needed that I'll find out about soon but I don't know quite what just yet. I'll get pick as soon as I can.
 
A shop called Trackmasters has installed a B20 with an LS automatic into my 97 Civic LX. The main person doing th install will tell you it's a pita, I believe, but very possible. It took some cutting to get the LS auto mount but it does mount in with some cutting so he said. You'll pretty much need b series motor mounts as that's what I orderd. You can use a CRV A/C bracket if you want A/C as it's a must here. Oh you'll a B series axles, an Integra P75 auto ecu and matching tcm (check rywire.com for the matching tcm # you'll need). There's a little more work needed that I'll find out about soon but I don't know quite what just yet. I'll get pick as soon as I can.

Oh regretfully I didn't have time to participate in the actual install but I did supply most of the parts so a lot of the info is second hand so I'm passing it along the best I can.
 
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