From those of you who responded, tks for the input. Here's where we ended up:
Clutch: Way bad. Mostly my fault, I thought about looking at it but allowed myself to be talked out of it-lesson learned.
Timing: Way-way bad. The shop (HondaTech in Ft. Lauderdale) was surprised the engine would run at all. Looks like there was a problem with the static timing (perhaps introduced when the belt was changed-that had to be redone as well) which carried over to ignition timing. Now corrected.
Header/Catalytic converter: Shop has temporarily rigged O2 sensor-We'll replace HP racing header with something more appropriate (maybe a Hedman Chikara plus Catco Cat) in the near future. In the meantime we're OK to run.
ABS Light: Here's an interesting note for anyone contemplating a JDM swap. The JDM cars are not fitted with ABS. The ABS system apparently takes the rotation signal from the half shafts and not the rotors as on American cars. Since the half shafts were stolen with the original engine we had to use the JDM half shafts so now the ABS light is on. Not a problem for brake operation-we just don't have ABS until we locate some US half shafts.
Car now runs great. No problems (knock on wood). Now I just have a garage full of other parts to install (suspension, lighting, Kaminari body kit, etc.). Looks like this forum will be great resource.
Clutch: Way bad. Mostly my fault, I thought about looking at it but allowed myself to be talked out of it-lesson learned.
Timing: Way-way bad. The shop (HondaTech in Ft. Lauderdale) was surprised the engine would run at all. Looks like there was a problem with the static timing (perhaps introduced when the belt was changed-that had to be redone as well) which carried over to ignition timing. Now corrected.
Header/Catalytic converter: Shop has temporarily rigged O2 sensor-We'll replace HP racing header with something more appropriate (maybe a Hedman Chikara plus Catco Cat) in the near future. In the meantime we're OK to run.
ABS Light: Here's an interesting note for anyone contemplating a JDM swap. The JDM cars are not fitted with ABS. The ABS system apparently takes the rotation signal from the half shafts and not the rotors as on American cars. Since the half shafts were stolen with the original engine we had to use the JDM half shafts so now the ABS light is on. Not a problem for brake operation-we just don't have ABS until we locate some US half shafts.
Car now runs great. No problems (knock on wood). Now I just have a garage full of other parts to install (suspension, lighting, Kaminari body kit, etc.). Looks like this forum will be great resource.