K series swap in a 4th gen
akiraboy
HondaCivicWagon.com Founder
Heres a post from a guy named ComposiMo @ Honda -Tech on his Kseries swap
Another K20-R CRX is born:
This is my first foray into a K-series CRX swap, so i'm learning step-by-step... and believe me, there is a ton of little things that need to be dealt with on this swap. First and foremost, like any swap, make sure all the parts are there before you start... with the K stuff, since some of it is still 'custom' with manufacturers, sometimes getting the parts you need in a timely manner isn't all that easy. lol.
Anyway, so here is what we are starting with... a baby-crap green CRX, with a fairly healthy GSR swap already in it. The motor has 13:1 compression, RMF header, and a hogged out intake manifold. The car is running a ZDyne GOLD for tuning, and really is a fun little car to drive.... but he wants more
The new hotness... a JDM K20A Type-R
First order of business was to completely remove the old engine, and strip the engine bay. The owner of the car is wanting to repaint the car a very nice Hunter Green in the future, and so while we have everything out right now, we're going to completely redo the engine bay for him, and that way he won't have to mess with it when it is time to redo the rest of the car.
With everything out, we also decided to remove any unnecessary bracketry, and cover up any unecessary holes in the engine bay... sort of a 'mild engine bay shave', without a complete wire-tuck. Also, we started installing/welding the timing chain-side bracket that is supplied in the HASport Mount Kit we are using. The instructions say that you just have to weld the rosette welds, but we went ahead and welded al the way around. Better safe than sorry... besides, once painted, the weld is easier to make look nice than a big gap between the mount and framerail.
The job also requires "banging in the rear crossmember for clearance"... so instead of sledging away at the car, we notched the rear crossmember, folded the edges into each other, and seam-welded it back together. Came out fairly nice
And here is the engine bay right before it left for paint
While the car was at the body shop, we had them completely remove all of the stock seam sealer, and refinish the car with all new sealer. They completely sanded it down, and repainted it with base-coat and clear-coat in a beautiful black finish. Unfortunately this makes pictures tough to take, because light won't reflect off of it very well, but it'll look beautiful with the Hunter Green paint job when it gets done.
Now we're going to skip ahead a bit, because unfortunately the memory card that was being used sort of crashed for some reason, and we haven't been able to get the pics off of it =(
So now the motor is in the car. Everything pretty much lines up perfectly, and if you have a lift, the car slides right over the motor with absolutely no isses at all. Fits easier than a B practically... lol!
Couple of things noticed at this point: Make sure your belts are on before the motor goes into the car. It is a lot easier to figure out the routing. Also, make sure you have the alternator relocated somehow, or the headlight bucket modified. I didn't like the idea of cutting the fresh new engine bay headlight housing, so we relocated the alternator.
Also, it is kinda hard to see in this pic, but make SURE that you have everything done to this motor before you put it into the car... because to pull the head on this motor, or mess with anything under the timing chain cover, basically will mean pulling the motor. The area between the shock tower and the timing chain cover is extremely close. At minimum here, you'll have set the motor on a dolly, unhook all the mounts, pull it forward 1.5" or so, and then shift it over another couple of inches to be able to clear the car... you can then leave a lot hooked up this way, but it is a LOT of extra work just to pull the head, or replace a timing chain.
The Header being used is a DTR Fab 4-1 Merge Collector Header. This is a very nice piece... it sure is a tight fit though. To pull the header, the engine has to come out of the car basically (or at least completely unhooked, and pulled forward a couple of inches).
Also installed, is a full Ingalls Camber Kit. Using Balljoints in the front, and the forged adjustable link for the rear, this car will have great camber, and be really easy to align. <<Shameless Plug>> If you'd like to purchase a set for your car, check out http://www.IngallsCamberKits.com
During the process, the prop valve was also replaced, and new brake lines added. While we had them out, it was fairly easy to modify them, but you can see how the prop valve was mounted here... fairly simple, and definitely out of the way.
Next item up for change, is the shifter box area. It was decided that the car should look stock from the inside, so we trimmed out the center console area, and boxed it in with steel. Created a new floor for the shifter, and now the shifter will have a place to go, and fit completely underneath the stock console plastic.
Also on the 'modification list', is the radiator. The aluminum radiator in the car would barely fit, even moved all the way over to one side. The upper hose was still coming out right at the throttle body. So, instead of off-setting it, we decided it'd be better to just center it, and reposition the top hose position. So, i cut, welded, and voila! Also, we decided that for the cleaner look, it'd be cool to mount the radiator using its lower mounting holes... so now it is in place, and barely moves with no upper braces... looks a LOT better.
Here is the car as it sat waiting for a fuel rail to complete the system...
This has been a fun but also a loooong swap... but it's worth it. Definitely need to be ready for almost anything when doing this swap... and unless you have good fabrication abilities, and a welder, you'd be a bit hard-pressed to do this properly in your driveway.
Anyway, i'll update this more once we get it tuned and to a track
Another K20-R CRX is born:
This is my first foray into a K-series CRX swap, so i'm learning step-by-step... and believe me, there is a ton of little things that need to be dealt with on this swap. First and foremost, like any swap, make sure all the parts are there before you start... with the K stuff, since some of it is still 'custom' with manufacturers, sometimes getting the parts you need in a timely manner isn't all that easy. lol.
Anyway, so here is what we are starting with... a baby-crap green CRX, with a fairly healthy GSR swap already in it. The motor has 13:1 compression, RMF header, and a hogged out intake manifold. The car is running a ZDyne GOLD for tuning, and really is a fun little car to drive.... but he wants more
The new hotness... a JDM K20A Type-R
First order of business was to completely remove the old engine, and strip the engine bay. The owner of the car is wanting to repaint the car a very nice Hunter Green in the future, and so while we have everything out right now, we're going to completely redo the engine bay for him, and that way he won't have to mess with it when it is time to redo the rest of the car.
With everything out, we also decided to remove any unnecessary bracketry, and cover up any unecessary holes in the engine bay... sort of a 'mild engine bay shave', without a complete wire-tuck. Also, we started installing/welding the timing chain-side bracket that is supplied in the HASport Mount Kit we are using. The instructions say that you just have to weld the rosette welds, but we went ahead and welded al the way around. Better safe than sorry... besides, once painted, the weld is easier to make look nice than a big gap between the mount and framerail.
The job also requires "banging in the rear crossmember for clearance"... so instead of sledging away at the car, we notched the rear crossmember, folded the edges into each other, and seam-welded it back together. Came out fairly nice
And here is the engine bay right before it left for paint
While the car was at the body shop, we had them completely remove all of the stock seam sealer, and refinish the car with all new sealer. They completely sanded it down, and repainted it with base-coat and clear-coat in a beautiful black finish. Unfortunately this makes pictures tough to take, because light won't reflect off of it very well, but it'll look beautiful with the Hunter Green paint job when it gets done.
Now we're going to skip ahead a bit, because unfortunately the memory card that was being used sort of crashed for some reason, and we haven't been able to get the pics off of it =(
So now the motor is in the car. Everything pretty much lines up perfectly, and if you have a lift, the car slides right over the motor with absolutely no isses at all. Fits easier than a B practically... lol!
Couple of things noticed at this point: Make sure your belts are on before the motor goes into the car. It is a lot easier to figure out the routing. Also, make sure you have the alternator relocated somehow, or the headlight bucket modified. I didn't like the idea of cutting the fresh new engine bay headlight housing, so we relocated the alternator.
Also, it is kinda hard to see in this pic, but make SURE that you have everything done to this motor before you put it into the car... because to pull the head on this motor, or mess with anything under the timing chain cover, basically will mean pulling the motor. The area between the shock tower and the timing chain cover is extremely close. At minimum here, you'll have set the motor on a dolly, unhook all the mounts, pull it forward 1.5" or so, and then shift it over another couple of inches to be able to clear the car... you can then leave a lot hooked up this way, but it is a LOT of extra work just to pull the head, or replace a timing chain.
The Header being used is a DTR Fab 4-1 Merge Collector Header. This is a very nice piece... it sure is a tight fit though. To pull the header, the engine has to come out of the car basically (or at least completely unhooked, and pulled forward a couple of inches).
Also installed, is a full Ingalls Camber Kit. Using Balljoints in the front, and the forged adjustable link for the rear, this car will have great camber, and be really easy to align. <<Shameless Plug>> If you'd like to purchase a set for your car, check out http://www.IngallsCamberKits.com
During the process, the prop valve was also replaced, and new brake lines added. While we had them out, it was fairly easy to modify them, but you can see how the prop valve was mounted here... fairly simple, and definitely out of the way.
Next item up for change, is the shifter box area. It was decided that the car should look stock from the inside, so we trimmed out the center console area, and boxed it in with steel. Created a new floor for the shifter, and now the shifter will have a place to go, and fit completely underneath the stock console plastic.
Also on the 'modification list', is the radiator. The aluminum radiator in the car would barely fit, even moved all the way over to one side. The upper hose was still coming out right at the throttle body. So, instead of off-setting it, we decided it'd be better to just center it, and reposition the top hose position. So, i cut, welded, and voila! Also, we decided that for the cleaner look, it'd be cool to mount the radiator using its lower mounting holes... so now it is in place, and barely moves with no upper braces... looks a LOT better.
Here is the car as it sat waiting for a fuel rail to complete the system...
This has been a fun but also a loooong swap... but it's worth it. Definitely need to be ready for almost anything when doing this swap... and unless you have good fabrication abilities, and a welder, you'd be a bit hard-pressed to do this properly in your driveway.
Anyway, i'll update this more once we get it tuned and to a track
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Comments
give me two years! then i'll do this too!
I like the new crossmember too. Nice design indeed. Keep us posted on this setup. Im interested to know 1/4 times and hp. Also interested in overall weight and corner weights if possible.
that's cost alotta grip for sure, but there's always someone crazy enough with some extra time and money to do it.
unless I had my own shop to do something like that, it would take awhile to complete.
parts, welding, wiring + going above budget = aggravation.
actually, thats shift linkage, axles, ecu, and everything else for your swap. all you need is some hasport mounts.
same here goin K on my coupe!
If you have any questions about the swap, shoot away. I think it'd be AWESOME to have this swap in a Wagon.. hehe.
Anyway, update away:
Well, she runs! Fired up for the first time tonight. Although, still have not gotten the fuel rail we've been waiting for...GRRR! How freakin hard can it be to get a fuel rail, even overnighting it? Doesn't matter, we improvised... and actually, i personally like it better!
Now for the pics... first things first, i was sent a set of these fender braces by Robert at RC Auto Works. I requested them unwelded, because i wanted them TIG welded, and he's not offering them TIG'd (Yet
They went onto the car, and we snapped some shots.
I promised Robert that i'd get good pics of them, and since it is a black background, i had to paint them silver... unfortunately, he sent me silver stickers! LoL.... Well, almost all silver
He sent one Pink sticker, so it got put onto the braces for the pics
Next order of business was touching up a few items. We got kinda concerned about the radiator and the intake manifold, so our tech Jason decided to install a rubber foot incase they decided to rub, it would insulate it... worked great!
Then the interior got put back together.... this is why the shifter box welding was done... so that the center console could fit over the rsx shifter box, and everything would clear nicely!
Now, onward to the fuel system! So, we ordered a GE fuel rail on Thursday (It is now Monday) through our local wholesale supplier, and it was SUPPOSED to be overnighted... Well, someone dropped the ball, and it is still unaccounted for. So, we just improvised... the stock fuel rail is steel, and i had some steel fittings.... so that was that:
For the rest of the fuel system, we used an Aeromotive -6 FPR, mounted it on the firewall to existing bolt holes, and plumbed it all up...
Anyway, thats that, she runs, and all is well. Putting the finishing touches up on the exhaust system, and it'll be at the track for some runs very shortly
I do have a vid from the first-startup, and will post it once i get it off of my friends phone.. hehe.
For now, THANKS for all the AWESOME responses and questions. It was nice talking to those of you interested in the swap. We have two more K-RX swaps coming in right behind this one... one built K24 setup which should be out of this world awesome!, and the next one (which will be built right beside it basically) is going to be a turbocharged K20, likely running Motec (already have it, but may try K-Pro first), GT42 turbo, and a couple of other interesting little tricks up its sleeve
Also, both of the upcoming cars are going to be full-restorations as well, which means they will both be getting new paint jobs! So like this one got its engine bay done, the next two are getting the whole car and the engine bays done. The next few months are going to be VERY fun!
that install is comin together quick
Davens: Hey now... at least i'm not in the corner of the dark lord anymore...
akira: Hey, glad to be here
Oh, and he tacked them together... i had to actually weld them since i wanted em TIG'd.. hehe. But yea, he's a good guy.
If anyone is looking to have this done at a shop (please be serious), and has a clean car, i'd like the opportunity to do the swap, and if from a distance, may even be willing to work on the labor prices a bit just to do it... Feel free to contact me
I says "Praise the Lord"! Say it with me brothers and sisters!
Can I get an "A-men"?
actually I agree. the wagon in this swap may be able to get away with its hoodline since its steeper than the rex. Although you can't beat the power to weight ratio in a rex
where did you get the cable actuacted shift box from?
akira: Cable tranny came from a HASport bracket that turns the hydro tranny into a cable one... It is included in the mount kit 8)
Does it feel like the pull you get from an H swap or ?
I don't know how it would compare to an H22, but i guess we'll see when it gets on a dyno and tuned, and then goes to the track.
But even untuned, it still pulled WAY harder than a decent B... hehe.
As far as time predictions, i won't really make any, because ya never really know. I AM hoping for around 220 to the wheels, and mid to low 12 second ETs at the track. But we're not running slicks, just drag radials, so the ET may not be all that great, but we'll see what the MPH is like, whcih will be a good indicator.