Info needed on which civic hatch year and model to get for engine swap

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R

rikhemi

Junior Member
Hello there, need some advise on an upcoming purchase I'm going to be making.

I've been reading on the forum on engine swaps on the civic hatch and how the different years can change different equipment you might need. I still havent purchased the civic hatch but was interested in a 88-95 civic hatch. Ofcourse the later year model will be cheaper to purchase initially but was wondering how much or what would be needed to swap the engine to a b16 or b18 engine. I read that there is a vtec b18 and a non vtec b18 and the price difference is 800 dollars. I also read that in certain years you might need to change the obd or transmission. What would be the best cheapest setup with any type of civic hatch between those years. I read that for ex. a civic hatch si 92 swap wont change certain parts compared to a 92 dx model. Im looking to spend around 3g on the engine setup(expecting the car will cost me 2g, so a total of 5g). Also, where a good place to get the engine. Do you just have to search for a used one. Also, if some can tell me the cost of installing a b18 engine on different years so I could know initially which year and model for that year to buy. I know these prices would be estimates, but just from your past experiences.

Thanks
 
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3 grand won't get you anywhere....

you're going to spend 2 on a decent car
1000 on a non-vtec, 3000 on a vtec swap
+ all the swap stuff, parts, misc fluids, etc etc that adds up quick
and then shop labor on top of it, add another 1000 probably.

you might be better off trying to find a car that is already swapped. there are plenty of them for sale for good prices as the market went to shit for hondas a couple years ago.
 
ON the b18 b, with exhaust, intake and headers and hondata, how much hp are we look at to the wheels. Also, on the civic si, will any year be the easiest swap for a b18b. Where would I be able to find that engine.
 
Also, what about the k series motors, ls, and gsr integra motors. Are the cost and conversion much higher. Thanks
 
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I got my CRX for $1000 and did my b16 engine swap for $3000. I don't konw what you guys are talking about. Then again I did all the work on my car, but as long as you're willing to do that, you'll be able to do it. I got my motor from Hmotorsonline.com, you'll find that most people will suggest them.
 
when i started my project.. i bought the honda for $500, it had a blown engine, but the body was straight, and everything else worked fine. im already on my second engine and i havent put down 1.5K on the car, including buying hte car. this is using a ZC D16 engine however. it CAN be done, you just have to look around for a bit to find a good deal on a decent car.

its all about how good of a shopper you are i guess lol.
and i'd shop around with the shops too (if your not doing the work yourself)

i dont know about B series swaps, but i know D series swaps are a breeze. im sure a B series swap would be a bit more difficult, but if you have any wrenching experience, i'm sure you could do it (and end up saving yourself a lot of money)

just my .02
 
yeah, that is really only plausible if you are swapping an LS. anything more than that is gonna cost you.
 
Wow, you guys are so pessimistic. If you want to do the work yourself, it's not a big deal, and you'll save lots of cash on labor. You can get an eg civic(92-95 hatch) for $2k - I saw a clean titled vx in socal for sale for 800, but it's a reasonable assumption that you could pick up a decent one for $2k.

It's easy to find an ls motor for well under $1k, if you shop right. I bought my b18a1 complete with automatic transmission shipped for 450 off ebay, and then turned around and sold the auto tranny for 300. I then drove that engine for over 60k miles, and did nothing but the basic maintenance. A failed tensioner pulley killed it. Not all deals will be that great, but I wouldn't pay more than 500 for an ls engine. Pickup a gsr transmission for 400-500. 500 for mounts. Figure on about 500 more for extra parts you might need to buy to finishe the swap. I figure anywhere from 1500-2000 for an ls with a decent gsr or better transmission if you do it yourself. If you want to upgrade, grab a pr3 or p72 head anywhere from 300-600, another 250-300 in parts and go ls vtec. No biggie. Do some research, and you'll find that honda stuff is pretty cheap and easy to come by if you know exactly what you want. If you don't know anything, it just costs a lot more. Like everyone said, if you want to start out with a b16 or b18c, it is going to cost a bit more, but an ls swapped eg is fairly quick.
 
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