I just got a 92 GS with the b18a @140hp. First off , im not trying to swap anything yet, and when i do it will only be a 1.6 VTEC head onto my b18. My problem is the car has mad miles on it, what should i do first before I buy every bolt on possible . Pistons? Rings? Clutch? I know the whole cars history , it's been a girls car since 92 , no races, (for sure) just alot of freeway .
What To Do First To A 143,000 Mile B18a.
- Thread starter 92teg
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The very first thing I would do is swap the tranny for a B16a1 cable tranny. While the Tranny is off go ahead and put a stage 2 clutch and a lightened flywheel. This will help a considerable amount as well as giving you shorter gears. After that since your planning on going ls/vtec I would definetly, absolutely put some rods in there. The B18a redlines at 6800 or so, and the b16 redlines at 8300. That's a huge difference. Remember, the head is what determines the redline. That's why the ls/vtec only last's 30,000 miles. Put in some true seal rings, and while the head is off put in a blockguard and maybe resleave the block. But resleaving is very tedious. Hope this helps.
lsvtec
GNU/Linux Evangelist
90% of the above post is 
. If you are planning on going LSVTEC you can start by rebuilding the bottom end for high compression. Replace all the seals, all the bearings, and get some eagle rods and high compression forged pistons. Put the LS back together with a tighter tranny. Break that engine in while you save money for your VTEC conversion. LSVTEC engines can last. It is all in how you build it. There are people that swear by Total Seal rings, personally I don't want to spend $120 for a set of rings when the rings that should come with your pistons will do fine. You certainly don't need a blockguard and I would only resleeve if you are going to go to a significantly larger bore.
. If you are planning on going LSVTEC you can start by rebuilding the bottom end for high compression. Replace all the seals, all the bearings, and get some eagle rods and high compression forged pistons. Put the LS back together with a tighter tranny. Break that engine in while you save money for your VTEC conversion. LSVTEC engines can last. It is all in how you build it. There are people that swear by Total Seal rings, personally I don't want to spend $120 for a set of rings when the rings that should come with your pistons will do fine. You certainly don't need a blockguard and I would only resleeve if you are going to go to a significantly larger bore.That shit is not wrong at all. I give you reps for having been in the post for a while but I'm going by what I know, heard and seen. An ls/vtec is NOT going to last long with stock internals, I said that resleeving would help, I never said that it was neccessary. Why not get some true seals? The HEAD IS what determines the redline, and like I said, they don't last long. Half the shit you said is exactly what I said. Ok yes you are right, I forgot to mention the fact that you definetly need to replace the bearings, MY BAD, Please, tell me what I said was wrong. I honestly want to know. Damn 
lsvtec
GNU/Linux Evangelist
To determine how fast a block can spin you need to consider the block as a whole. The geometry of the bottom end comes into play, the rings you are running have an effect as well. How well the bottom end is balanced...
I didn't say don't, I said I don't think they are worth the extra money.
I didn't say don't, I said I don't think they are worth the extra money.
heterosapian
Senior Member
Listen to lsvtec. Mech, just because the head can handle 8,9,10000rpm doesnt mean the bottom end can and POST YOUR DAMN GEO TIMESLIPS ALREADY! You lost a ton of credibility with that post and until you give us some proof, nobodys gunna care what you have to say.
2 litre EG
Senior Member
i definitely agree with what LSVTEC was saying... since the motor it self has so many miles, if i had the money i would tear apart the block and replace pretty much everything. ok lemme build up a scenario as if i was doing the work
tear apart block, replace all bearings, seals, eagle rods [cause their pretty cheap and reliable], forged pistons [i've had good experience with JE pistons], hmmm now that i think about all the miles, make sure you check the block for scoring or anything that may affect performance, you might wanna clean up the stock sleeves and MAYBE bore it over a lil bit [machine shop], get your hands on a tranny that has shorter gears [b16 w/ LSD will work perfect]
later on when you wanna start doing the VTEC change over, your gonna want to get the VTEC oil pump, belts, and blah blah blah...
if you want since you are going to want to replace the tranny, you might as well get a clutch, lightened flywheel, re-balance or knife edge your crank shaft [beware that with the lightened flywheel and a knife edged crank, your RPMs will shoot up alot faster than before]
drive carefully and break it in properly... to break it in correctly
hope this healped a lil