Los Angeles Area Swap Shop?

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Casper42

Junior Member
Hey all, I need some QUICK help. I own a 98 EX Coupe and one of my cylinders went clang clang clang like a trolly Thursday night and now shes dead. Aside from that, I was told the header (exhaust manifold) is cracked. Instead of handing Miller Honda in Van Nuys $6500 for a new ShortBlock and 22 hours of labor (Car has been dealer maintained since I bought it new), I figured I should look into a B16A2 swap.

Now what I need to know, is obviously the motor mounts ,according to this site, will line right up, but I would like AC and Power Steering working when I'm done. What other Parts besides Block, Head, Header (Since mine is dead anyway) and ECU will I need? Tranny?

And the bigger question is where can I get this done in the Los Angeles area.
I need the engine AND the work done ASAP since this is my only car.

PS Where can I find a B16A2 into 98EXCoupe swap guide. The "Basic 6th gen B-series Swap info" one here starts by saying unless you have a B16A2 from a 99/00Si. Well I hope to have exactly that.
 
get a complete swap, dont piece together a head here block there ect. For the swap you will need the complete swap (normally ecu, tranny, engine, few other excessoriys) When you finally get ready to do it, you will need to get a new timing belt and waterpump. Then for the radiator stuff, you will need to buy an upper and lower hose for a civic si, as yours will not work. Other than that it is basicly pull in pull out. You will need to change your wiring for your o2 sensor also.

I would recomend instead of going to a shop to do it, do it your self. It is not that hard, thats why hondas are known as LEGOs.
 
Thank for the link. I didnt see a B16A2 listed but will call them in the morning.

asmallsol: I dont plan to peice together, If I do the swap I plan to swap the whole engine system. My other option is to buy a brand new block and header from Honda and have a Honda authorized service center replace the dead components. This wouldnt give me anymore hp, but would get it running again with some form of Honda Warranty

I STILL NEED GOOD SWAP SHOPS close to the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles.
I have a couple different Honda places I'm gonna call tomorrow, but none mention Swaps in their ads.
 
There's this shop that I got recommended to. It's called OrzSports or something like that. It's in chatsworth on devonshire and I forgot the cross street. There's aslo this other place I go to, it's called Trick Auto, I don't remember if they do swaps, I'm sure they do. They are located in Granada Hills on Chatsworth and Encino. And if OHC is on your list your gonna call tomorrow, don't. OHC sucks balls. Hope this helps.
 
i know 3 shops in the greater LA area that are worth looking into. all are listed in the shop locator section of this site:

shop locator section (click here)

first is HookUpsImportTek in Upland. they have a rep for having the cleanest, neatest and most trustworthy swaps and they carry a lifetime warranty on labor. each engine is compression tested too and i think they warranty the engines for 10mo.s/10k miles (have to check on that). they've been swapping honda engines for five years, and they own a 9 second crx. I got a quote from them of $2400 for a complete B16a1 swap into an 89 crx DX. that includes everything in the car, ready to drive.

another is prospeed performance in anaheim. they have a rep for doing great work and also specialize in doing honda engine swaps. they are a total performance shop with a dyno and they offer chip re-programming services and have been in the business a number of years too.

the last shop is swapshopracing in glendora. they also specialize in honda engine swaps and have the lowest prices ive seen. a ZC swap into an 89 crx is only $1000. i dont know if they offer warranty or not. their prices are right on their website.

there are also 3 more greater LA area shops listed in the locator section, but i have not looked into them yet. they are:

K. Watanabe - Lynwood

JG engine dynamics - Alhambra

Autohaus - walnut
 
Thanks for all the help, here is what I found so far.
UPDATED 4:30 PST

OrzSports
Used Low Mileage EX Longblock for $750
Labor $850 including fluids
Says he doesnt have any good leads on a US Si Longblock (B16A2) but If I can find one with the ECU he will do the swap for $1000 including fluids.
2-3 Days for the work.

Trick Auto
Spoke with Mike and then Jason at Trick Auto. Without even seeing their place or their work my gut feeling is Jason KNOWS his shiz.
Fix existing problem if cheaper than Short Block Replacement (Spun Bearing, etc): $800 or so
Engine Replacement with 98 D16Y8: ~$1500
Engine Replacement with 00/01 D16Y8: ~$1650 (around $150 more than 98, so if 98 was more or less, adjust apropriately)
98 D16Y8 with performance Intake, Headers and Exhaust: ~$2200
He said a B16* DOHC replacement engine will run between $3500 and $5000 to do properly.
But DOHC Perf Parts sometimes cost more and if anything ever breaks, SOHC is generally cheaper to fix.

Hook Ups Import Tek
Spoke with Chris, he said to call back in 15 while he makes some calls to look for a US B16A2
OK, no avail US B16A2 right now, said he can do 98 JDM ODB1 Full Conversion (Engine, Tranny, Axle, Skunk2 ECU Converter) for $2700 Parts and $500 Labor.
Startup Warranty Only
To get AC and Power Steering working, another $450 parts and $100 Labor.

ProSpeed
Spoke with Brian, said to call back this afternoon and he'll check around for a US B16A2

Swap Shop Racing
Spoke with Nick
Said he would do a JDM B16A2 (He says its ODB2) swap, total out the door for $3400 including all parts and labor, and if I wanted to go with better intake and headers he'll give them to me at cost because I'm doing the swap with them.
<40K Miles on their engines, no written warranty but if it falls apart right after I start driving it, they will tear it open and diagnose the problem for free and if it was the motor, they will replace it because they get a startup warranty from their source.
3-4 Days for the work


I am a total newbie to swapping, but I thoutght most if not all JDM B16A2s were ODB1? Is that wrong?
Any reason to go US vs JDM if both engines are ODB2?
---
OK, Jason at Trick Auto confirmed exactly what you said, no such thing as a JDM ODB2 DOHC. JDM ODB2 SOHC is avail, just not ODB2. I just left amessage for Nick @ SwapShop to find out what he quoted me the $3400 for exactly. Chris at HookUps had said ODB2 also, but what he meant when I called back for clarification was ODB2 ECU with a Skunk2 Converter. The Engine would be ODB1.
 
well the only diffrance is that the usdm ones are easier to pass emmissions but the JDM one will have higher compression -> 10 more hp. The 4th one does not sound that bad.

Some people call the b16a SiRII the b16a2 but the usdm b16a2 is ONLY obd2 but if they call the b16a2 obd1 you know that they are talking about the SirII (i am not talking about the EDM engines)
 
With the cost differential, the fact that I may just be selling this ride in the next 12-18 months, and the availability of a real US B16A2 I think I might just go with the SOHC Replacement EX Engine (01 if I can find one) and then shove $5-700 in aftermarket like Intake, Headers and Exhaust into it instead. That should put me up around 145 or 150 HP, and I could always shove a little T3 Turbo in there later for more power at a relatively cheap cost (Jason at Trick said under $1200 parts and labor if you shop eBay for the parts isnt unreasonable).

Thank you all so much for the information. If I can ever get my wife to stop spending my yearly bonus before I get it, I may have to double back and get an older ODB1 Civic as a project Car.
How are 99 Eclipse GSX's as a Project Car?
 
Y are you so stuck on a USDM b16a? The major problem with them are they are extremly rare. You should just order a obd2 b16a SirII ofline and install it yourself. Swaps are not that hard, and you will be much happier with them in the long run. Also you will be saving yourself a good 1000+ if you do it yourself (from the prices you told me) Anyways, i doubt that youll ever get those kind of #'s with basic bolt ons with a d16y8 engine (ex engine) Plus if you go turbo, the cai, header and stuff like that is pointless
 
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