Low Budget Civic Swap

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fuse77

Junior Member
I recently came into a 5th gen hatch. It looks good and has a full body kit. So I pop the hood uh-oh here lays the puniest engine ever have i seen. I am not sure what it is mabye a 1.5 or worse. I want to know all honda and acura engines that will fit in here without a whole hell of a lot of trouble even older ones because from what I can see anything would be better than what resides under the hood currenty.
what will fit this transmission if any I just need a little more than 88hp it doesnt have to kill mustangs or anything, I have a lude for that. Any help would be appricieated I am new to hondas, so be gentle. After blowing up 5 mitsubishis Im goin honda and need an education.
 
5th gen easy fairly cheap,better than what you have would be a D16Z6.Do a little research around the forums and you'll find what you need.Though a exact trim (vx,cx,dx,si) would help in determining exactly what you would need to do but the motor basically just swaps out perfectly.No problems or surprises.
 
budget?

HondaSwap - Basics of Engine Swaps: what fits in what

quote from that page...

5th Generation

1. B16A2/3: Completely bolt-in Swap, VTEC needs to be wired, SIR II, Hasport shift linkage. Del Sol VTEC for the del sol
2. B18B: Completely bolt-in swap, SIR II, Hasport shift linkage. Del Sol VTEC for the del sol
3. B17A: Completely bolt-in swap, cable-hydro transmission kit(not recommended) or hydraulic b-series transmission, VTEC needs to be wired.
4. B18C1: Completely bolt-in swap, VTEC needs to be wired.
5. B18C5: Completely bolt-in swap, OBD conversion, VTEC needs to be wired.
6. B16B: Completely bolt-in swap, OBD conversion, VTEC needs to be wired.
7. H22A: Mount kit required, Hasport shift linkage, VTEC needs to be wired.
8. B16A: Not recommended! Too much work, more costly compared to B16A2/3's.
9. D16Z6: Completely bolt in, VTEC needs to be wired.
10. D16Y8: Completely bolt in, VTEC needs to be wired.
 
Budget? Mini-me...

Z6 head, IM, TB, sensors, ECU, timing belt of the yr of head, y8 gasket will be good for ~130-135. If you can get some ZC pistons, it will up the CR to 11.5:1

Not bad for roughly 600-700 bucks.
 
I am pretty sure it is the crappiest model. All the badging was removed as well as all manufacturer stickers someone put a pretty decent paint job on it, even did under hood and door jambs. It has just base stuff no power anything. I am not even sure if it is 4 or 5 speed. The deal was I just looked at it quick I have a bunch of 1g talons and one is blown up but looks good and the kid is giving me this civic for it and I wanted a civic so having 4 talons and wanting 0 I didnt really care i said ok. I would like to use the same tranny or at least the same linkage. I am good with swaps so any ecu problems are ok even a complete ecu swap. budget is mostly open but I want to keep it down no b16a or any jdm stuff like that. The prelude swap sounds interesting like a ls motor h23a4 or something if it is not too complicated. I just dont want to sink a lot of time into it because I am working on boosting a lude too.I was really into dsm (diamond star mitsubishi) But this last blow up has ended it for me I am going honda all the way. So if any of you guys want a talon or two or three. Hey let me know any additional info on my civic swap thanks.
 
well if you dont have any power anything, i'm assuming that you have a CX. (not sure if a VX comes with power stuff, although i know that it is already wired for VTEC) I have a CX myself and i think that model is perfect for a swap because you dont have power steering, although i have AC, i'm going to take it off when i swap in motor. anyway, back to your situation, if you were on a budget, i would do an LS swap. you wont kill V8 mustangs or anything but you'll have a nice setup for daily driving because you'll have the torque to bring you around town...!
 
werd. if i were you, i'd go ls (b18b1) for sure, it dosen't have the top end of a b16, but it more than makes up of it in low end torque. it's a direct bolt in swap, no mounts, no vtec wiring. you'll need to switch the engine, ecu, tranny and axles. then when you get bored with the ls and want more power... bold a turbo on to dat biznatch as it is super "boost friendly" for a stock honda engine. if you want to save some money or 130hp and no low end is enough for you... you could just do a mini-me head swap.
 
Originally posted by kylemarhx@Feb 7 2003, 08:53 PM
werd. if i were you, i'd go ls (b18b1) for sure, it dosen't have the top end of a b16, but it more than makes up of it in low end torque. it's a direct bolt in swap, no mounts, no vtec wiring. you'll need to switch the engine, ecu, tranny and axles. then when you get bored with the ls and want more power... bold a turbo on to dat biznatch as it is super "boost friendly" for a stock honda engine. if you want to save some money or 130hp and no low end is enough for you... you could just do a mini-me head swap.

A mini-me has low end, it raises the CR and you can only get 4-2-1 header for em (or so i have seen), that adds to the low end. Get an EX tranny along with a head/y8 gasket/cam and bolts ons and have something that may have around or more tq then a b16. If oyu can score some ZC pistons, add those in there to bump to CR up even more.

Im going to just build up my d-series to see how fast i can get it to go all motor.. i know to most its a waste, but its my money :p and when i move in acouple of months, i wont have a garage to work on my shit in, so the swap will come after my girl and i get a place with a garage :)
 
I found out today it is a cx. I also went to columbus to a really good junk yard and sniffed around. I talked to the owner about a 2000 acord sohc vtec I saw in the lot it only has 5000 miles on it and it is hit hard in the ass, and it is a 5 speed. He said he would hack that "biznatch" in half and give me the whole front for 850. Great price but what the hell is it and will it work? How bout axles? Will they work? If not where do I get axles?
 
Oh yeah also the mini me head swap. What cars do these heads come off of. That sounds like a decent option I have all kinds of experience with turbos and I hear a boosted mini me is good for around 190 hp with mild boost pressures and a fuel pump upgrade.
 
Originally posted by fuse77@Feb 8 2003, 08:24 PM
Oh yeah also the mini me head swap. What cars do these heads come off of. That sounds like a decent option I have all kinds of experience with turbos and I hear a boosted mini me is good for around 190 hp with mild boost pressures and a fuel pump upgrade.

Mini-me is just a VTEC head.. any EX/Si (92-95) is the head you want. Also, get the p28 ECU, timing belt for the yr head you get.

Would you go NA or boost with a mini-me??

The accord motor wont be worth it, you need a mount kit, its heavier and its basically not worth it in my opinion. you spend 850 for the swap, but wind up paying 600-700 to get it into the car.

You can boost a stock mini-me on 8-10 psi on a 15g turbo and with some tuning get 200-210 to the wheels. Build up the rods/pistons to boost more, or get a turbo cam and a little head work.. maybe port match everything and get a little more. No one goes with a d-series b/c any b-series can beat it with the same mods.. but I myself just wanna be different (actually b/c my apt has no garage :))

Im going all motor d-series at first and i wont stop till i have around 170-180 to the wheels.
 
thanks for the heads up on the accord motor, scratch that one. Mini me is sounding good. I already have some t-25 turbos and those will flow plenty for that little motor. So next question, this motor in the car has 140,000 mi on it, am I right to assume that without a rebuild it will come apart soon? And also would I be better off to take the whole motor from a 92-95 civic with sohc vtec or will mini me be more durable and potentially make more reliable power? I have basicly now decided on that route so any more mini me details would be appriciated. I too am partial to an underdog setup. Someone sees you have a bitchin ride that runs great and asks what you have under the hood and you get to say some freaky frankenstine setup that you contrapted yourself.
 
Originally posted by fuse77@Feb 8 2003, 09:55 PM
thanks for the heads up on the accord motor, scratch that one. Mini me is sounding good. I already have some t-25 turbos and those will flow plenty for that little motor. So next question, this motor in the car has 140,000 mi on it, am I right to assume that without a rebuild it will come apart soon? And also would I be better off to take the whole motor from a 92-95 civic with sohc vtec or will mini me be more durable and potentially make more reliable power? I have basicly now decided on that route so any more mini me details would be appriciated. I too am partial to an underdog setup. Someone sees you have a bitchin ride that runs great and asks what you have under the hood and you get to say some freaky frankenstine setup that you contrapted yourself.

The d16z6 vtec motor 126hp and i think 106tq. A mini-me with a z6 head will have around 130-135 hp and 110-112 tq.

Since you are boosting it, then you need.

z6 head
timing belt for the yr of head you get (i.e. head 94, you get a timging belt for 94 z6)
Si/EX water pump would be nice since you are boosting
p28 ECU

and that is it. Buy the pieces to boost. That is for stock. since you have so many miles, I wouldn't be to just do an OEM rebuild if you dont want to spend the cash for rods/pistons.

With good tuning (id say hondata with boost) you can get around 215 or so to the wheels. Re-do the enternals, get a good cam and head work and put 250 or so to the wheels.

so, final list is.

z6 head/IM/TB, ecu, lighter flywheel (rev faster = boost faster :)), timing belt, water pump, i would rebuild the motor. Turbo parts for it and you should be good to go for some good power. Also, you need someway to tune the boost, so Hondata with boost is what i would get. Someone here is gonna have his computer chipped for boost, that isn't tunable, that is a waste.

The mini-me swap is a straight forward swap, you just bolt the head on and add the wires for VTEC, but since you have a CX, i believe the wires are already there. Its basically a bolt up, plug in the new ecu and the vtec wires and you have vtec. :)
 
my '92 VX has 237,XXX miles and has just started smoking. I've been driving it 38 miles one way to work for the las 4 yrs and I haven't been easy on it. If your CX only has 140,XXX I doubt it's about to come apart.

However, since you don't know anything about its history, and you keep the motor you got, go on and get a new water pump and timing belt (even without the mini-me).

While everyone is in love with the B-series DOHC, you can still do alot with the dimunitive D-series. Check out this link for A LOT of info on Honda's SOHC build-ups.

Honda D Series
 
i didn't read the whole thread- so sorry if this is a re-post, but don't waste your time with the f22 from the accord. its not worth the hassel for the lame at best power it has
 
Originally posted by lil' red rocket@Feb 9 2003, 04:16 AM
While everyone is in love with the B-series DOHC, you can still do alot with the dimunitive D-series. Check out this link for A LOT of info on Honda's SOHC build-ups.

Honda D Series

No one here is going to deny the SOHC can be built into a little power house,but as a owner of a once was vx I can tell you there is no hope for that motor,and it is the stronger of the vx and cx.The mini me is cheap.D16Z6 has more potential,B18B1 rocks em both and the B16's and up are on top.
 
Originally posted by 92b16vx+Feb 9 2003, 01:30 AM-->
lil' red rocket
@Feb 9 2003, 04:16 AM
While everyone is in love with the B-series DOHC, you can still do alot with the dimunitive D-series. Check out this link for A LOT of info on Honda's SOHC build-ups.

Honda D Series

No one here is going to deny the SOHC can be built into a little power house,but as a owner of a once was vx I can tell you there is no hope for that motor,and it is the stronger of the vx and cx.The mini me is cheap.D16Z6 has more potential,B18B1 rocks em both and the B16's and up are on top.

A stock sir 2 has 116tq and a mini-me will produce around 110 or so, the d-series block is lighter.. so it equals out. The d15 has a better r/s ratio then the b16 and so in the end, after bolt ons, the mini-me will own a stock to nearly stock b16.

You own a VX, not even a 100 hp. Sure, to 99.9% of the ppl a d-series blows, but i'll have a bad ass d-series that will hold its own when said and done. No, i wont be the fastest, but you never are the fast. Someone is ALWAYS faster than you.
 
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