Layspeed -
You'll like the B18 - I have a ZC and wish for a bit more displacement at times . . .
Putting it in was a chore, at least the first time!
- Rob
Layspeed -
You'll like the B18 - I have a ZC and wish for a bit more displacement at times . . .
Putting it in was a chore, at least the first time!
- Rob
Hey Rob...I'm sure I'll love the B18. I have a Integra ZC (brown top) in my 1st gen Civic wagon so I know a little bit about those motors also. It moves my 1st gen just fine though. But for the '90 I'm planning ahead as I may have to tow something in the near future and would like the extra torque more than the HP. On a scale of 1 to 10, the swap in my 1st gen would around a 9 (the first time anyways) and this swap in comparison I would say is about a 3 The swap is easy...finding time and funding it is what is difficult for me.
nice project looks like mine when i bought it , mine was in a box mostly took me about a week to put it back together
So you bought a "wagon in a box"? It's always "fun" putting stuff back together when you didn't take it apart right? BTW, my kids named my '78 Civic wagon "Beep Beep."
But, I did manage to get all of the valvetrain back in: rocker arms, cams, cam caps. I'd like to get it prepped and painted this weekend. I'll be moving Friday and Saturday and my plan is to have it in the workshop and the D16 yanked out early next week!
I love the b18 motor.
Vtec yeah cool factor I guess.
A friend of mine use to have a DA with a b18 motor and I loved driving it!
Wasn't very many cars that could keep up they way he had it tuned all motor and was amazed at the power and getup it had. Would be even better in a wagon.
Got quite a bit of cleaning, prepping, and painting of misc parts and brackets the last two days. My finger tips are sore. I will post some photos tomorrow. My list of things to get done tomorrow:
- replace front crank seal
- replace tensioner and timing belt
- adjust valves
- install timing covers
- replace oil pan gasket
- install intake manifold
- install rear crank seal
- install flywheel and clutch
- install release bearing, clutch arm and axle seals
- attach transmission to engine
- clean workspace
April 19, update! Well, it's the 20th now. It has been a very productive two days. I got everything done on that list in my last post Just unloading some photos of the progress.
#46 New parts
#47 more new parts
#48 TYPE II and MTF
#49 even more new parts
#50 Long block painted!
#51 Parts painted
#52 Painted the cam gears even though they're not going to be seen!
#53 Exhaust heat shield
#54 Other stuff painted
#55 Yup, more!
#56 Transmission painted same color as engine (Dupli-Color engine enamel, Cast Iron Coat)
#62 Wrecker find from an EF Si hatch. H&R race springs looks like and some aftermarket rear lower control arms
#63 $70 clutch kit!
#64 Welded a nut onto the bottom of the '90-93 driver side mount bracket (right). You'll see why during the install. Stock '94+ Integra mount bracket on the left side.
#65 Cam seals, front crank seal, new tensioner and timing belt on!
#66
#67 Alternator, intake manifold and fuel rail on
#68 Looking like a complete engine again! New clutch kit in and transmission back together!
#69 Soon...hey look at that, photo number 69
If I'm lucky, I'll be able to pull the wagon into the workspace sometime this weekend and start the tear down. Exciting! What's even more exciting is I'm going to put my '78 back on the road at the same time!!!
I had a few hours after the kids went to bed last night and started tearing the car apart. I got just about everything disconnected except the shift linkage and the axles. It was late and I didn't want to disturb using air tools so I called it quits at about 10:30pm. Today I got the D15 yanked out of there! I also removed the front knuckles because I'll be replacing the wheel bearings at the same time as the swap. I also found out my front lower control arm bushings for the shock forks are completely shot! I was able to push the metal sleeve out of the bushing by hand! :evil: So I have to now find another set of LCA's.
I test fitted the rear mount and "T" bracket on the rear crossmember. I marked where it might hit, removed the mount and made clearance room. I just made two cuts with a cut off wheel and bend the lip down with a hammer. There is plenty of room now. I also did a preemptive bash in of the driver side frame rail for the alternator pulley. I didn't massage too much so I hope it clears ok. Then I tediously cut, grinded, and chiseled off the front transmision mount bracket on the front crossmember. I still have to sand it smooth because I don't like the way it looks now. I'm actually contemplating modifying the front crossmember by cutting out the middle section altogether for more clearance. We'll see how well it clears the factory exhaust manifold and downpipe.
Then after the kids went to bed again tonight, I went back out with my hot date, "Simple Green" and tag teamed the engine bay for a few hours. It's 100X better than it was and is acceptably clean for me now. I thought about just dropping the engine in but I couldn't get myself to put it a nice clean engine into a shit hole of an engine bay! And I will clean the underside of the hood as well. I'll remove it to make it easier on myself. I plan to start the wiring tomorrow, beginning with the DPFI --> MPFI section first. I'll also be going to OBD1 but my buddy has hooked me up with an ECU jumper harness A few photos:
#70 Finally up in the air!
#71 Clean enough for me! Lots of Simple Green, a fine scotch brite pad and lots of manual labor!
#72 Rear crossmember notching for "T" bracket clearance
Engine/Transmission are in as of a few days ago. Still buttoning up a few loose ends here and there. Mounted the ECU yesterday and cut the top of the original ECU cover for some clearance. I cut the flange off of the catalytic converter and rotated it to match up to the B18 downpipe. The length was just about right after I cut it. I started modifying my shift linkage and will finish it up today. Wiring is 99% complete. I pressed new wheel bearings into the front knuckles and painted what I had off. The lower control arms bushings were shot so luckily had a CRX laying around I could steal front LCA from which were only marginally better lol! No worries, I can change the bushings later. Radiator is in also. Haven't attached the radiator hoses yet though. Still have to install the radiator fan but that's easy. And a few other things. I'd like to have the fluids in and a test crank today to make sure everything is a go before it gets tidied up.
#75 It's not good when you can push the sleeve out of the control arm bushing eh?!
#76 Knuckles (before)
#77 DPFI harness on top, '94 Integra MPFI harness on the bottom
#78 Painted the wrong intermediate shaft (didn't know there were at least 3 different types! :roll: )
#79 Knuckles (during)
#80 Figured I'd paint the hubs too what the hell
#81 And the backing plates and rusty battery tray
#82 Starting on the engine harness
#83 I tried to use as much of the newer Integra harness as I could because: 1. the wires are in better condition 2. the connectors look nicer
#84 Knuckles (after)
#85 Three frickin' styles of B-series intermediate shafts? I pulled them all from Integras! The one on the right is the one I used.
#86 Engine harness done (for now)
#87
#88 8) Ugly valve cover! Debating on whether to cut the studs off of the fuel rail for the original injector wire cover...hmm
#89 quickly sprayed the front and rear crossmembers also while everything was out.
such a pretty build. leave no stone unturned sir!!!
Thank you, if I had the time and money, I would definitely be rebuilding my '78 before this! This swap was a last minute idea because I'm going to be moving about 1600 miles and the original DX motor was using a little too much oil at 403xxx km even though it ran fine.
Looking good man. Keep it up she will take care of you with all the love your giving her.
Thanks, and trust me I try to take care of my cars mechanically if not cosmetically. I know this car will last me for many years to come and "HIS" name is Pepe. Don't ask, kids named him. I guess like Pepe Le Pew of Looney Tunes, a black and white skunk!
So I got a few more things done today (well yesterday). I finished my modified shift linkage, painted and installed it. My buddy Old Skool had another aluminum short shifter laying around, so I installed that while everything was out. I bolted on the catalytic converter so the exhaust is complete. I reinstalled the intake manifold rear support bracket since I had to remove it to install the big bulky rear engine mount "T" bracket. I got the radiator fan in, both radiator hoses, battery tray. I reinstalled the MAP/Purge Solenoid assembly (I might hide it later) on the firewall. I got the knuckles in, axles in, front brakes back on. I was going to install some H&R red race springs I found at the wrecker on factory Honda shocks, but realized the shocks were a different diameter in the front. They are larger, so I'm assuming they are 92-95 or 96-00 Civic shocks even though I pulled them from an '89 Civic hatchback. So I just put my old shocks and cut springs back in for now until I have time to head back down and grab the correct front shock forks. The ironic thing is, I removed the forks from the shocks at the wrecker thinking I didn't need them. I didn't even bother to check while I was a the damn junkyard! I got front wheels back on and lowered back onto the ground. I still need the correct length alternator belt though. Also, I need to figure out which set of spark plug wires I"m going to use. I have a set of NGK (blue which would probably go better with the blue interior) or Neuspeed (yellow). And I still need to clean the dirty ass under side of the hood! Simple green to the rescue.
I then spent about 3 hours sandblasting my '96+ B18/B20 valve cover. Then after dinner I went back out and sanded the whole thing with some 400 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. I thought about polishing it for maybe 10 seconds and didn't feel like wasting that much time lol!! And the last thing I did tonight was Old Skool and I made up our own camouflage idea went to town on the valve cover! IMHO, it looks freaking awesome and you'll have to wait until tomorrow for a picture of it. It's different I think. So tomorrow morning, it's my daughter's 6th birthday, I'll make her breakfast then go out and work on the wagon some more and try to fire it up for the first time in a month, exciting!
Note: I still have to solder on a factory Honda connector for the SCS connection part of my OBD0 to OBD1 conversion harness so I can use my version of Honda's SCS tool.
So during the past few days, I got everything buttoned up. It started up second crank!!! Woooohooo!!! First crank, I had it build up some oil pressure first with the ECU disconnected. It started right up, not even a puff of smoke and went right to cold start idle of about 1700-1800. I let it warm up on it's own with the heater on, bled the air out and let the fan cycle twice before capping it off. I moved it back and forth to make sure the clutch engagement was ok and all seems good there. I noticed it was really quite, like at idle, much quieter than the D15 as far as exhaust sounds go.
I modified the D-series clutch cable bracket to fit onto one of the fuel rail studs. I reused the clutch/throttle cable bracket on the driver side strut tower to hold them in place. I did not want the clutch/throttle cables laying on or rubbing against anything. I wired up the ECU to use the new throttle body mounted MAP sensor and relocated the purge solenoid to the fuel filter bracket. The firewall looks more tidy now. I cleaned and reinstalled the OEM Civic air box after trimming off some of the tube. I used a '92 Integra rubber intake pipe to attach it to the throttle body. It looks very OEM under the hood and I couldn't be happier. The ECU fits well under the carpet with the little mounts I made to bolt down the top.
I ran into a issue with the damn intermediate shaft. The shaft I ended up using was from a '99 Civic Si B16. It bolted to the back of my block BUT the size of the shaft that goes into the transmission seal is SMALLER! I did not realize this until during the first test drive. Luckily I didn't get far before it started smoking as the tranny fluid leaked all over the down pipe and catalytic converter. I had to go get the right seal which was from a newer Integra '99+ I believe and install it. No more leaks haha. My shift linkage works great along with the new short shifter. The clutch is nice and smooth and actually the pressure is easier than the D15's but it grabs well enough to spin the tires in 2nd. I'm impressed with the torque of the B18. It makes the wagon not feel underpowered anymore and fun to drive. I can't wait to get the right front shock forks to install the H&R's. And even with the old cracked bushings of the CRX front LCA's, the front end feels much tighter. I will look into some new bushings later.
I also goofed on my DPFI to MPFI wiring somehow and swapped C1 and C2 into the wrong locations. That was an easy fix though as it gave me a trouble code 9 as soon as I started it up. All in all the wiring conversion was fairly straight forward to MPFI as long as you have good directions and take your time. I spent 90% of my wiring time planning and seeing where I wanted things than actually making the connections! If I just wanted to "make it work" I could have done it all in 10 minutes.
Anyhow, there's a few more things I want to do to it this week so I'll update as I go but it's done and driving around. My wife took it to work this morning and I'll see what she has to say about it later. It was her first time driving the B-series I'll ask if she raced anyone hahaha!! Here are the remaining pics I have.
#90 Radiator mounted
#91 Transmission mount installed
#92 Driver side mount installed. Here's where I welded the nut underneath the mount. I used a M12 Metric hex cap bolt for the mount because using a 17mm head M12 Honda bolt doesn't leave you any clearance to put a socket onto the bolt to tighten it. This was my solution.
#93 Top view, driver side mount
#94 Top view, passenger side mount
#95 The modified shift linkage and short shifter. Painted brown because that's what I had laying around and saved me a trip to the store.
#96 Custom extended top hates I will be using for the front once I go to install the H&R springs.
#97 Shift linkage and catalytic converter bolted on. Sorry forgot to rotate this pic!
#98 Timing belt side clearance, under car
#99 Exhaust manifold clearance, under car
#100 Transmission side clearance, under car
#101 Driver side axle (BTW, I'm really impressed with Innovative's placement of the engine in regard to axle lengths and intake/exhaust manifold clearances)
#102 Passenger side axle
#103 Engine in, start of the tidying up
#104 the H&R springs that will be going in once I get the correct front forks to mount them
#105 And here she is, the camo HONDA valve cover. Props to my buddy Old Skool, my old fake Christmas tree and a few Honda emblems!
#106 mounted the ECU
#107 ECU bolted down. I taped around the sharp edges of the cover to help prevent any wires from rubbing against and cutting through .
#108 The money shot! OEM FTW!
#109 There's the hood that took 3+ hours to clean...
Wow this is a really great build, and very detailed. I wish I took as many pictures. Keep up the great work!
Thanks! I like taking pictures almost as much as I like working on my cars. I love driving them more than both of those activities combined! I still have a few more things to do before I move out of province at the end of the month so there will be some more pictures.
Charb, of all the cars I've ever owned, bodywork and looks have always been at the bottom of the list for mods. I've only had one car repainted and it was because my older sister was dating a guy who's family owned a body shop at the time and I paid nothing LOL! I don't mind sharing photos as long as people get something useful out of them.
The last documented swap I did was for a friend. I swapped an '89 CRX HF D15B6 into a 1978 Honda Civic wagon. It was almost a step by step tutorial by the time I was finished. That thread had over 200+ photos! Here's the link if anyone is interested.
I'm going to schedule some time with a fabricator buddy of mine next week to get a hitch made. I got some EG front forks so I can install the H&R's also. I have some '92-93 Integra GS-R wheels that I want to sand, paint and put on also to change up the look. The 15" Chevy Aveo wheels have snow tires on them still haha. I also have a roof rack I want to put on. I'll let you all know what I got it from if it fits well.
A little update also I suppose. I drove my wagon from Richmond, BC to St. Paul, Alberta last Wednesday. It was loaded up with all of my tools and some personal belongings. I figure it had at least 400-500lbs inside. I installed the H&R springs since I got some EG Civic forks. I also installed the rear lower control arms (which are stamped "OMNIPOWER"). The wagon drove effortlessly through the Rocky mountains up and down the hills. It felt very stable at highway speeds with all the extra weight. It wasn't bouncy at all and didn't bottom out thanks to the extended top hats I made for the front. It's a little bit lower than I'd like it but I'll live with it. It will be interesting to see how well it plows snow (2wd) here in Alberta LOL!
No hitch still. I ran out of time and forgot to book a uhaul trailer. I just fit whatever I could into the wagon and headed out. Maybe I'll get one made later, who knows. I don't plan on towing anything now. When I bring my Odyssey to Alberta, that can be my tow vehicle.
Comments
You'll like the B18 - I have a ZC and wish for a bit more displacement at times . . .
Putting it in was a chore, at least the first time!
- Rob
So you bought a "wagon in a box"?
But, I did manage to get all of the valvetrain back in: rocker arms, cams, cam caps. I'd like to get it prepped and painted this weekend. I'll be moving Friday and Saturday and my plan is to have it in the workshop and the D16 yanked out early next week!
Vtec yeah cool factor I guess.
A friend of mine use to have a DA with a b18 motor and I loved driving it!
Wasn't very many cars that could keep up they way he had it tuned all motor and was amazed at the power and getup it had. Would be even better in a wagon.
Enjoy seeing your build.
Keep it up.
- replace front crank seal
- replace tensioner and timing belt
- adjust valves
- install timing covers
- replace oil pan gasket
- install intake manifold
- install rear crank seal
- install flywheel and clutch
- install release bearing, clutch arm and axle seals
- attach transmission to engine
- clean workspace
#46 New parts
#47 more new parts
#48 TYPE II and MTF
#49 even more new parts
#50 Long block painted!
#51 Parts painted
#52 Painted the cam gears even though they're not going to be seen!
#53 Exhaust heat shield
#54 Other stuff painted
#55 Yup, more!
#56 Transmission painted same color as engine (Dupli-Color engine enamel, Cast Iron Coat)
#57 Innovative steel EF, B-series mounts 60A durometer
#58 Driver side engine mount
#59 Passenger side transmission mount
#60 Rear engine/transmission mount
#61 '97 Integra downpipe, hoping it fits ok
#62 Wrecker find from an EF Si hatch. H&R race springs looks like and some aftermarket rear lower control arms
#63 $70 clutch kit!
#64 Welded a nut onto the bottom of the '90-93 driver side mount bracket (right). You'll see why during the install. Stock '94+ Integra mount bracket on the left side.
#65 Cam seals, front crank seal, new tensioner and timing belt on!
#66
#67 Alternator, intake manifold and fuel rail on
#68 Looking like a complete engine again! New clutch kit in and transmission back together!
#69 Soon...hey look at that, photo number 69
If I'm lucky, I'll be able to pull the wagon into the workspace sometime this weekend and start the tear down. Exciting! What's even more exciting is I'm going to put my '78 back on the road at the same time!!!
I had a few hours after the kids went to bed last night and started tearing the car apart. I got just about everything disconnected except the shift linkage and the axles. It was late and I didn't want to disturb using air tools so I called it quits at about 10:30pm. Today I got the D15 yanked out of there! I also removed the front knuckles because I'll be replacing the wheel bearings at the same time as the swap. I also found out my front lower control arm bushings for the shock forks are completely shot! I was able to push the metal sleeve out of the bushing by hand! :evil: So I have to now find another set of LCA's.
I test fitted the rear mount and "T" bracket on the rear crossmember. I marked where it might hit, removed the mount and made clearance room. I just made two cuts with a cut off wheel and bend the lip down with a hammer. There is plenty of room now. I also did a preemptive bash in of the driver side frame rail for the alternator pulley. I didn't massage too much so I hope it clears ok. Then I tediously cut, grinded, and chiseled off the front transmision mount bracket on the front crossmember. I still have to sand it smooth because I don't like the way it looks now. I'm actually contemplating modifying the front crossmember by cutting out the middle section altogether for more clearance. We'll see how well it clears the factory exhaust manifold and downpipe.
Then after the kids went to bed again tonight, I went back out with my hot date, "Simple Green" and tag teamed the engine bay for a few hours. It's 100X better than it was and is acceptably clean for me now. I thought about just dropping the engine in but I couldn't get myself to put it a nice clean engine into a shit hole of an engine bay!
#70 Finally up in the air!
#71 Clean enough for me! Lots of Simple Green, a fine scotch brite pad and lots of manual labor!
#72 Rear crossmember notching for "T" bracket clearance
#73 Another view
#74 Front mount bracket gone!!
#75 It's not good when you can push the sleeve out of the control arm bushing eh?!
#76 Knuckles (before)
#77 DPFI harness on top, '94 Integra MPFI harness on the bottom
#78 Painted the wrong intermediate shaft (didn't know there were at least 3 different types! :roll: )
#79 Knuckles (during)
#80 Figured I'd paint the hubs too what the hell
#81 And the backing plates and rusty battery tray
#82 Starting on the engine harness
#83 I tried to use as much of the newer Integra harness as I could because: 1. the wires are in better condition 2. the connectors look nicer
#84 Knuckles (after)
#85 Three frickin' styles of B-series intermediate shafts? I pulled them all from Integras! The one on the right is the one I used.
#86 Engine harness done (for now)
#87
#88 8) Ugly valve cover! Debating on whether to cut the studs off of the fuel rail for the original injector wire cover...hmm
#89 quickly sprayed the front and rear crossmembers also while everything was out.
Thanks, and trust me I try to take care of my cars mechanically if not cosmetically. I know this car will last me for many years to come and "HIS" name is Pepe. Don't ask, kids named him. I guess like Pepe Le Pew of Looney Tunes, a black and white skunk!
So I got a few more things done today (well yesterday). I finished my modified shift linkage, painted and installed it. My buddy Old Skool had another aluminum short shifter laying around, so I installed that while everything was out. I bolted on the catalytic converter so the exhaust is complete. I reinstalled the intake manifold rear support bracket since I had to remove it to install the big bulky rear engine mount "T" bracket. I got the radiator fan in, both radiator hoses, battery tray. I reinstalled the MAP/Purge Solenoid assembly (I might hide it later) on the firewall. I got the knuckles in, axles in, front brakes back on. I was going to install some H&R red race springs I found at the wrecker on factory Honda shocks, but realized the shocks were a different diameter in the front. They are larger, so I'm assuming they are 92-95 or 96-00 Civic shocks even though I pulled them from an '89 Civic hatchback. So I just put my old shocks and cut springs back in for now until I have time to head back down and grab the correct front shock forks. The ironic thing is, I removed the forks from the shocks at the wrecker thinking I didn't need them. I didn't even bother to check while I was a the damn junkyard! I got front wheels back on and lowered back onto the ground. I still need the correct length alternator belt though. Also, I need to figure out which set of spark plug wires I"m going to use. I have a set of NGK (blue which would probably go better with the blue interior) or Neuspeed (yellow). And I still need to clean the dirty ass under side of the hood! Simple green to the rescue.
I then spent about 3 hours sandblasting my '96+ B18/B20 valve cover. Then after dinner I went back out and sanded the whole thing with some 400 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. I thought about polishing it for maybe 10 seconds and didn't feel like wasting that much time lol!! And the last thing I did tonight was Old Skool and I made up our own camouflage idea went to town on the valve cover! IMHO, it looks freaking awesome and you'll have to wait until tomorrow for a picture of it. It's different I think. So tomorrow morning, it's my daughter's 6th birthday, I'll make her breakfast then go out and work on the wagon some more and try to fire it up for the first time in a month, exciting!
Note: I still have to solder on a factory Honda connector for the SCS connection part of my OBD0 to OBD1 conversion harness so I can use my version of Honda's SCS tool.
So during the past few days, I got everything buttoned up. It started up second crank!!! Woooohooo!!! First crank, I had it build up some oil pressure first with the ECU disconnected. It started right up, not even a puff of smoke and went right to cold start idle of about 1700-1800. I let it warm up on it's own with the heater on, bled the air out and let the fan cycle twice before capping it off. I moved it back and forth to make sure the clutch engagement was ok and all seems good there. I noticed it was really quite, like at idle, much quieter than the D15 as far as exhaust sounds go.
I modified the D-series clutch cable bracket to fit onto one of the fuel rail studs. I reused the clutch/throttle cable bracket on the driver side strut tower to hold them in place. I did not want the clutch/throttle cables laying on or rubbing against anything. I wired up the ECU to use the new throttle body mounted MAP sensor and relocated the purge solenoid to the fuel filter bracket. The firewall looks more tidy now. I cleaned and reinstalled the OEM Civic air box after trimming off some of the tube. I used a '92 Integra rubber intake pipe to attach it to the throttle body. It looks very OEM under the hood and I couldn't be happier. The ECU fits well under the carpet with the little mounts I made to bolt down the top.
I ran into a issue with the damn intermediate shaft. The shaft I ended up using was from a '99 Civic Si B16. It bolted to the back of my block BUT the size of the shaft that goes into the transmission seal is SMALLER! I did not realize this until during the first test drive. Luckily I didn't get far before it started smoking as the tranny fluid leaked all over the down pipe and catalytic converter. I had to go get the right seal which was from a newer Integra '99+ I believe and install it. No more leaks haha. My shift linkage works great along with the new short shifter. The clutch is nice and smooth and actually the pressure is easier than the D15's but it grabs well enough to spin the tires in 2nd. I'm impressed with the torque of the B18. It makes the wagon not feel underpowered anymore and fun to drive. I can't wait to get the right front shock forks to install the H&R's. And even with the old cracked bushings of the CRX front LCA's, the front end feels much tighter. I will look into some new bushings later.
I also goofed on my DPFI to MPFI wiring somehow and swapped C1 and C2 into the wrong locations. That was an easy fix though as it gave me a trouble code 9 as soon as I started it up. All in all the wiring conversion was fairly straight forward to MPFI as long as you have good directions and take your time. I spent 90% of my wiring time planning and seeing where I wanted things than actually making the connections! If I just wanted to "make it work" I could have done it all in 10 minutes.
Anyhow, there's a few more things I want to do to it this week so I'll update as I go but it's done and driving around. My wife took it to work this morning and I'll see what she has to say about it later. It was her first time driving the B-series
#90 Radiator mounted
#91 Transmission mount installed
#92 Driver side mount installed. Here's where I welded the nut underneath the mount. I used a M12 Metric hex cap bolt for the mount because using a 17mm head M12 Honda bolt doesn't leave you any clearance to put a socket onto the bolt to tighten it. This was my solution.
#93 Top view, driver side mount
#94 Top view, passenger side mount
#95 The modified shift linkage and short shifter. Painted brown because that's what I had laying around and saved me a trip to the store.
#96 Custom extended top hates I will be using for the front once I go to install the H&R springs.
#97 Shift linkage and catalytic converter bolted on. Sorry forgot to rotate this pic!
#98 Timing belt side clearance, under car
#99 Exhaust manifold clearance, under car
#100 Transmission side clearance, under car
#101 Driver side axle (BTW, I'm really impressed with Innovative's placement of the engine in regard to axle lengths and intake/exhaust manifold clearances)
#102 Passenger side axle
#103 Engine in, start of the tidying up
#104 the H&R springs that will be going in once I get the correct front forks to mount them
#105 And here she is, the camo HONDA valve cover. Props to my buddy Old Skool, my old fake Christmas tree and a few Honda emblems!
#106 mounted the ECU
#107 ECU bolted down. I taped around the sharp edges of the cover to help prevent any wires from rubbing against and cutting through
#108 The money shot! OEM FTW!
#109 There's the hood that took 3+ hours to clean...
#110 "H"
Lately I've come to despise the word "clean", but this actually fits the description. I applaud your attention to detail.
Working my ass off to get a clean white shell (all be it, RT), and then I still need to do all of this!
Thanks for sharing all the pics! Some really good stuff.
The last documented swap I did was for a friend. I swapped an '89 CRX HF D15B6 into a 1978 Honda Civic wagon. It was almost a step by step tutorial by the time I was finished. That thread had over 200+ photos! Here's the link if anyone is interested.
http://www.1stgencivic.com/world/c1zr/m1/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14902
I'm going to schedule some time with a fabricator buddy of mine next week to get a hitch made. I got some EG front forks so I can install the H&R's also. I have some '92-93 Integra GS-R wheels that I want to sand, paint and put on also to change up the look. The 15" Chevy Aveo wheels have snow tires on them still haha. I also have a roof rack I want to put on. I'll let you all know what I got it from if it fits well.
The valve cover was a nice touch as well.
Thanks! So you love pictures eh?
#111
#112
#113
#114 My '78 and my '90
A little update also I suppose. I drove my wagon from Richmond, BC to St. Paul, Alberta last Wednesday. It was loaded up with all of my tools and some personal belongings. I figure it had at least 400-500lbs inside. I installed the H&R springs since I got some EG Civic forks. I also installed the rear lower control arms (which are stamped "OMNIPOWER"). The wagon drove effortlessly through the Rocky mountains up and down the hills. It felt very stable at highway speeds with all the extra weight. It wasn't bouncy at all and didn't bottom out thanks to the extended top hats I made for the front. It's a little bit lower than I'd like it but I'll live with it. It will be interesting to see how well it plows snow (2wd) here in Alberta LOL!