Is it worth it to build up a B17A1?

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Mighty

Member
Im an old man compared to most of you. Im 35 :) And Ive only been doing the Honda thing for a year. First I turboed my D16 then I bought a B18b swap. When I bought the B18b the guy threw in a B17a1 longblock so I could do a LS/VTEC. The head on the B17 is no good. So I think for now Im just going to turbo the B18b. But I was thinking in the future maybe I would pick up a B16 head and throw it on the B17 and turbo that. Instead of researching several months to find out that B17s arent worth dealing with, I thought I ask you oldtimers.

Is a B17 worth dealing with?

Is the loss of displacement going from a B18 to B17 a big power hit?

Are parts readily available? And are they expensive?

Part of the reason I would do this is because I save money since I already have the block. Let me know if B17 parts are expensive.

Thanks a lot guys.

Just in case, anyone wants to know I have a 97 Civic EX.
 
i haven't really done much research on it, so don't quote me on this, but the b17's are a pretty rare engine, so i'd assume the demande for parts was never really high for them. no demand = less parts that are more expensive..
 
the bottom end is an odd ball. but the head is basically the same thing as a b16a head. cams, etc are all interchangable.

if the head's no good, you can't do an ls/vtec with it.
and swapping in the block woul dbe counter productive.

i'd say, ebay the b17. you'd be suprised at the coin it can turn in. just the cranks go for 350+ all day.

i say pick up the b16 head and an ls/vtec kit with the return on the b17, and throw it on your ls block. see this months featured article :)
 
A guy i know has a b17 setup in his 1988 crx. Pretty cool. If the car is anything newer? Nah.... Ebay it. Get some coin. Build a 22 psi ls monster. Mmmmmm.
 
the B17a1 cranks are so sought after because it is the best set up to use when you're doing an ls v-tec conversion or even in an b20 v-tec conversion that's why it's so sought after...... you do the reseach and prove my wrong
 
well they are sought after for the b20s, so that you can have optimal RS ratio's with decent displacement coming from the hondacamp.
 
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