Ok, today we pulled the old D15B7 out. That was a real bitch getting it out thru the top, but we pulled it off with no major problems. This motor/tranny doesn't have a whole lot of good mounting points for a hoist. Kinda gay.
it looks like there are already knockouts punched in the center console subframe thing for the shifter bracket. They pretty much line up perfectly, or so it appears. Seems like I'll be able to keep my center console with the NASA popup cup holder after all. Just need a shift boot.
I installed the clutch pedal, wasn't too hard, and in the process removed that little blue box that was in the way. Installed the clutch master cylinder and the hydro lines to the frame rail, so far so good. The clutch pedal did NOT interfere with the existing brake pedal by the way. There is about a 2 inch gap between the two, maybe slightly less. Shouldn't be a problem driving though. Or so I hope. If not I can always get the other pedal from the junkyard.
We noticed that the wiring harness plugs seem to be on the wrong sides of the motor. I assume this is because the JDM motors are for a right hand drive car, and so the driver side plugs would be opposite mine. I've been googling forever for detailed information on exact wiring changes, but so far haven't found enough to answer all my questions. Especially this particular problem. It looks like though that we'll be able to unclip most of the wire bundles and switch them to the opposite sides.
Oh and by the way, my driveshafts are too small to hook up to the B16A2. That was a nice little surprise, so I guess I must have misread something somewhere when I was doing my initial search. I'll have to order those Monday or something.
Another thing: All the information I've gathered as far as swap guides goes says that for this particular swap some of my motor mounts/brackets have to be changed, but so far we were lining up the mounts of the b16 with the old mounts, and they appear to be EXACTLY the same. The only different mount I needed was the Hasport Auto-to-Manual transmission bracket, and I have that. Any thoughts?