To swap or not to swap

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

Battle Pope

Battle Pope

Well-Known Member
So as most of you know, I've got this 91 hatch. Poor little puke never bothered to grow a scrot - I can't handle the slowness anymore. That and I had the valves adjusted about 4k miles ago, and for the last week the car has been sounding like the second coming of christ is happening under the valve cover. Valvetrain makes noise like a mofo.

I just need something a little better than what I've got. I just spent a couple hundred on new axles and such so I'd like to keep all that.

I'll be looking to replace the clutch, engine, computer, and do an mpfi conversion.

I'm thinking dohc zc, but the sohc zc is a couple hundred cheaper. I just don't know.

Is there any distinct advantage that the dohc has over the sohc other than stock power? More on this later. I've work to do.
 
find a u pull it and get a b18a.... prolly be cheaper in the long run

the one by me is like 80 bucks for a motor and 50 for a tranny if that... i know its mad cheap and there are always DA's in there
 
Speedracer228 @ Dec 19 2005 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
find a u pull it and get a b18a.... prolly be cheaper in the long run

the one by me is like 80 bucks for a motor and 50 for a tranny if that... i know its mad cheap and there are always DA's in there
Click to expand...

I considered that but a b-series swap usually costs quite a bit. Engine, Trans, axles, clutch, hubs (different spline count?), and mounts are like 400 bucks for anything worthwhile.

Seany-izzle @ Dec 19 2005 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
d16. 130hp, 30mpg around town. good for a daily.
Click to expand...

Where would I get one in good shape though? The big draw for me with the ZC is that they are cheap as hell from hmotors and they have a track record for selling damn good motors. If I get a yard motor half the time they don't know the mileage, it's a dog and needs rebuilt, or the miniscule possibility that it's a low miles gem. I'd like to be able to do this whole thing for under a grand, and I don't really want to have to rebuild the engine 5k miles after I put it in.
 
considered that too - but the engine's got 172k on it. It doesn't burn oil, but I'm afraid it might start iffen I work it hard.
 
you can find d16s everywhere.... and if you go toa yard, bring along a compression tester...unless you have to start the car to do that...then it could be a problem. Check out the local boards, www.turbod16.com youll find one there
 
Seany-izzle @ Dec 19 2005 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
you can find d16s everywhere.... and if you go toa yard, bring along a compression tester...unless you have to start the car to do that...then it could be a problem. Check out the local boards, www.turbod16.com youll find one there
Click to expand...

If I'm going to go to the trouble of shipping a motor, I'd have to get it from an actual company with some sort of reputation. And as I said, I have an aversion to going to a yard because I might be able to pick up a motor for a hundred bucks, but in most cases (around here anyway) it's gonna be a basket case and need a complete rebuild, which = downtime and money.

erebunicrx @ Dec 19 2005 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
basic bottom end rebuild, z6 head and turbo. less then a b series swap
Click to expand...

Downtime and money, again. And don't compare to a b-series swap, I said at the beginning I'd like to spend less than a grand, and absolute ceiling being 1200ish. You simply can't do a proper b-series swap for 1200 dollars and have a solid drivetrain. Unless you have connections, which I do not.

95% of all salvage honda engines within 100 miles of me come from cars that were beat on in their lifespan on the road.
 
I'd recomend a DOHC ZC myself. my buddy had one in his 91 Si with his stock tranny and all the basic bolt-ons and he ran a 14.9. I though that was ripp'n fast for a ZC so i've been all about em ever since.
 
hmmm.. I have 190k on mine and I don't drop a bit of oil :)

The head noise: Valve is off. 2 hour fix with pliers.
B16: Torqueless wonder, but it's such a light car that you'll never notice it.
DOHC ZC: Needs a donor trans too ? Gotta drive with the cam gear cover off (Hood clearance, unless you get the SiR hood)
SOHC: D15 Minime. We've been over this before.

You really had me there for a while, I thought you would be talking about a swap 30 days into it. :)

-< S
 
zc. the stock trans will work if you have the riht fly wheel combo...
 
i say do a D16z6 swap. good motors and has tons of aftermarket parts for it available. i had one in my 90 Civic DX hatch that i bought at a local junkyard for $500 (this was about 5 years ago), put it in, added necessary fluids and it fired right up. MOST yards should be able to tell you how many miles are on the motor that you are wanting. that was the case in my D16z6 for my hatchie and my 3.0L v6 for my Ranger back in March. call up a local yard and ask them.
 
I also vote for D16z6; if not that then the SOHC ZC. I was able to pick up a JDM D15B-VTEC, P28 ECU, Megan Header, and "Intercooler" Intake all for only $200. Just needed a new valvecover bolt. Just search around on local forums.
 
too bad you're on the wrong coast...


I've always got stuff coming in here (I just got a 95 Z6 w/118k, nice runner)
 
i think you would be more than happy with a simple MPFI conversion and SI trans...

it makes a world of diffrence and would actually be fun to drive the car...
you don't really need all the extra hassle that a sohc vtec will bring...
start with the MPFI conversion and see how you like it...
you'd have to do it for a swap anyway so try that first...

i've got a shit load of parts, prob have everything you need to do the mpfi swap, you already have a 5 speed?


and just a side question for knowledgeable d series guys

how can you tell if you have an HF or SI/DX trans?
 
why does that not suprise me?

i've seen people running turbos with DPFI

that doesn't mean its right though
 
dpfi on a z6? wtf for?

and let me guess, you're going to use an msd rpm switch to activate vtec too, right?

:bash:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top