97'GSR Build,.. thinking build a B20

[maxbodyworks]

Ok I have a 97'GSR,.. previous owner had swapped a B16a2 into it which is a raging mother fucker for sure,... nevertheless ended up spinning a bearing,...and have decided in order to meet emissions and bring the power up substantially, that it was going to be necessary to go back stock (b18c1),..and found that motor is very expensive and rare these days,... So I am leaning towards building a B20,...what do you guys think,.. any suggestions,... I dont have tons of money to blow ,.. I have tons of experience ,..My questions are as follows

----What is the best motor to put in here?
----Will my rebuilt head off the B16a2 work on a B20?
----Will the Cams off the B16a2 work on a B20?
----will the Gsr Transmission work?

-----If I do the B20,.. I plan on replacing pistons, rods, bearings, and bolts, balancing of the lower end, and the vtec .


I think thats it If you guys have anything else of severe importance that I need to be thinking about , your input will be greatly appreciated.

MAX

 

[E_SolSi]

http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc2000search.cgi?what=page&item=30027

for what you are going to spend buying the B20 and building it up why not just get a GSR long block and be done with it

 

[maxbodyworks]

cant find a gsr long block thats not 3,000.00$,....,...I am picking up a b20 today for 550.00$,....I prolly have another 5-600.00$ to put into it ,..

 

[FLounder]

Your head and transmission will work fine, lsvtec/b20vtec has been done a million times tons of info out there. The engine will need to be tuned, I would not use a stock computer on it for long. B16a cams kinda suck, but they def will work. Even gsr cams are an upgrade.

 

[Briansol]

If you spun a bearing, your top end on the b16 is probably still good.

Do the b20 bottom, hook up the b16 head with a vtec conversion and use the b16 tranny as well and you'll be good to go for a pretty cheap price and virtually no wiring work either...

 

[maxbodyworks]

Ok,...so should i build the bottom end or do you think it will hold with the v-tec top end ,.. i would love it if the answer is yes it will be fine with out the lower end build.....lol,...because the after market pistons and rods are very pricey,.....let me know asap cuz this b20b is burning a hole in my garage,..thanks for the input,...btw

 

[Briansol]

you certainly don't have to do anything other than run the oil lines/etc to make it functional. It's more about the tune than the rods/pistons. running a b16 or gsr stock tune is not ideal and a custom map dyno tuned is something you should 100% consider.

 

[99sidude]

+1 on swapping the B16 head onto your B20. At minimum, replace the rod bolts with ARP hardware. The stock ones are known to be weak points on the B20 and B18A/B. You will want this to take advantage of the high rpm power you will be making. Might want to consider a vtec oil pump and water pump as well. But like B said, getting the car tunes right will make or break it.

 

[maxbodyworks]

Excellent help guys,... exactly what i was looking for ,...i am gonna use the head from the b16a2, with gsr cams (b18c1-5) ,.,.a 2mm head gasket so the valves will clear the stock pistons ,..block guard ...do the rod and main bearings as well as rings,..keep the pistons and rods stock with arp rod bolts,...i have a type r oil pump from the b16a2 i had just recently replaced in addition to arp head stud set,..the b20b i am using i noticed does not have the crankshaft position sensor,... that i will transfer from the b16,...i have a p2t intake that was on the b16,..with a 65 mm edlebrock throttle body,....i will need to pick a ecu to run with the distributor off the b16a2 as well as a two and a half inch exhaust with a free flow cat........how does that sound,... please review and add or subtract anything you guys think is necessary,...thank you all for your input it is greatly appreciated.,,.....i will be posting pictures on this build as i go along and noting any and all issues that may arise for your continued support,.....

 

[Briansol]

don't bother with the block guard...

 

[FLounder]

agree that block guard is not necessary. sounds like you are on the right path, and have most of the things you need to put it together.

 

[99sidude]

Is the 2mm head gasket required?

 

[maxbodyworks]

ok fuck the guard ,... lol ,... it was eighty bucks anyway ,.. one of those things i guess not needed ,...maybe for turbo,...ok the reason i mentioned a 2mm head gasket is that i read in here that one should use b16 pistons because they are cut away to provide for the deeper drop of the valves on the vtec head is this something i need to consider,... i dont want to slam valves into pistons,.. let me know

MAX

 

[99sidude]

I think you should be fine with the stock HG. Here is a great calculator for your build. I used this when selecting parts for the high compression B18C5 I built. http://www.zealautowerks.com/bseries.html

 

[FLounder]

You shouldnt have any issue with a stock headgasket. I used a stock one on my turbo b20vtec build, and that was with a twice decked head. Im pretty sure that whether its a totally stock b20 or a b20vtec, they are both interference motors (meaning that pistons hit valves if the cam timing is off).

Just for reference, my setup was a golden eagle sleeved 84.5mm b20z block, 9.0:1 CP pistons, eagle rods, with b16a head, oem valves, complete crower valvetrain, blox A cams, ARP head studs, ARP rod bolts of course. According to the compression calculator it equaled a nice 9.7:1 cr that worked well with turbo. Since you are just on motor, you will want to keep all the compression that you can, a thicker hg will hurt if anything, im thinking.

 

[maxbodyworks]

Ok,.... I am going to collect parts and get on this i will be posting pics and im sure I will have more questions ,...

I'll Be Back,...
MAX

 

[maxbodyworks]

A couple more questions on parts here,... is there a reasonable advantage to spending a hundred dollars on a head gasket ,...when they are available for forty,...??? same question with the thermal intake manifold gasket ,...?? Also on the B16a2 block there is a "sandwich" on the oil filter that brings the water jacket through the oil flow,... the b20b block is not set up for this ,... is it worth drilling, tapping and fitting this "sandwich" on the new block,....? The other thing I see is that the b20b does not have the spot for the oil catch can to fit on the side of the block ,...is it necessary,..performance loss/gain,...smog pass/fail,....? Hit me back ASAP I am gonna order the rest of these parts tonight,...

MAX

 

[FLounder]

OEM Honda gaskets work great. Catch cans are not necessary on a NA setup, although certainly don't hurt. Not sure I fully understand what youa re asking about otherwise. Passing smog is not a concern where I live, all that stuff was always eliminated from my motors.

 

[maxbodyworks]

Its an "oil cooler" ,...per se ,..its on the b16,.. and can be made to work on the b20,.. just want to know if its necessary on the b20 ,. it will require me to drill and tap the block which is no biggie,.just want to make sure
. In the pick you can see the spot where the fitting goes right next to the oil filter location,....


MAX

 

[Briansol]

not necessary... that's an aftermarket add-on. just run a regular filter right in place and don't use the cooler.