well first off, i own an engine hoist. i do all my own work on my vehicles. i have built two D's and one B from the ground up. my automotive experience relating to hondas is very small compared to toyotas. i do have a job where i work a minimum of 10 hours a day, 6 days a week (i'm a postal carrier in phoenix, where it often gets over 115degrees in the summer), and have three children, yet still manage to find time and energy to maintain/swap/repair mine, and my friends vehicles. the series of circumstances i described weren't pertaining to myself. i am merely pointing out that there are people who prefer to drop in a more reliable, more powerful engine than taking the time to build one themselves for whatever reason. i assume there are a select few who dont live in southern california with a capable tuner withing 10 miles of their home just waiting to give that "good tune." and no one should ever follow injen's example of a "makeshift" lift. which he likely jacked his car up, put on jackstands, put jack on a block of wood, the repeated. engine hoists can be rented for little money if you look around, and the risk of dropping your vehicle, or engine on one of your loved ones isn't worth saving a few dollars.
but back to blanco, it all boiled down to my own inexperience. i have never seen a D built to that extent (even 170whp) just like you mentioned. but again, my initial comment was that the D was a great bang for the buck, i was mistaken on their capabilities however. with that said, there are still those who will swap in a B rather than build a D, and not out of ignorance, or incompetence. and before either of you do a quick google and find me a tuner in alaska, or maine, who is capable of a good tune, it's all about convenience. some aren't willing to drive their rough running, fresh build 200miles to get to that tuner. besides, there's no need to justify why they did it, if you believe they are ignorant, then by all means, believe it. they are building their vehicle for their own enjoyment, not to please you, or anyone else.