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97ex coupe build. Pics included

5K views 38 replies 18 participants last post by  paulhonda22 
#1 · (Edited)
Welcome to my thread!

1997 Honda civic ex coupe build.


When I originally wanted to build a Honda I wanted more power without sacrificing economy and maybe even approve upon it. Even though many said they are inversely proportional I choose to disagree. I originally wanted to build a jdm d15b with 3-stage vtec. Doing research on the 3-stage vtec I discovered the usdm vtec-e, the d15z1, d16b5 (gx) and the d16y5. In the beginning my noobness led me to believe that there was no aftermarket support for these little engines. Well more research and a few phone calls opened up a new world of opportunities. I realized that no aftermarket parts were listed because there is minimal, or seems to be minimal interest in the engines (except for Bense and a few others).


Knowing that I could build a y5 to my hearts content I set out to find one. I was able to pick one up semi-locally for $250 which may seem high but at the time it was way cheaper than jdm importers and it came with many extra parts. I first was going to swap it in right away, throw on some bolt-ons and call it a day. But, my “slight interest” turned into an obsession with the y5 build.


I first looked for a cam and was unable to find one. I was lucky enough to contact a very helpful guy in California (Amkrew) who informed me for vtec-e to engage the base circles of the intake lobes must be the same. Knowing this I contacted Bisi upon the recommendations of others and he said “No problem”. I described what I wanted out of my car, power with fuel economy in mind, so we decided upon a level 1.5.


So now that the power house was on it’s way I decided it would be nearly impossible to swap in to my car while having something to drive to school and work, so I begun to look for a shell to swap into preferably a hatch or coupe. I lucked out and a friend sold me the 97 ex in the pictures below for $300. Yeah cheap I know. When I got it, it wasn’t running. Well a cleared code later it started right up and has ever since.

Thanks for reading and here it goes!
Things I already have in Bold
Engine/Transmission:
D16y5 head
-P&p’d
-5-anlge valve job blended together
-Stainless valves
-Bisi level 1.5 cam
-Bisi cam gear
-Stiffer spring (not beehives)
-Factory roller rockers except secondary intake valve follower
-D15z1 valve cover
-D16z6/z1 dizzy. Still need jumper harness
-240 injectors
-Fuel rail
-Manual y5 IM c stock TB
-Cheap C.A.I.
-still undecided on compression

D16y5 Block
-Stock crank, rods and p2m pistons
-P2m pistons have been ceramic coated
-O.E.M Honda bearings and thrust washer
-New water pump
-Endyn upgraded oil pump for y engines
-Arp rod bolts

Exhaust:
-Heat wrapped Hedmann Chikira
-2” pipe to rear c Flowmaster

Transmission:
Bone spec
-Dx/lx 4.058 FD
-Stock 1st and 2nd
-Zc 3rd and 4th
-Hf 5th
-13lb flywheel balanced to nascar specs soon to come
-Probably going with a Sachs Clutch

ECU:
-Chipped and tuned by Amkrew
-obd2a to obd1 harness by rywire

Suspension:
-Lowered about 2"
-Homemade strut tower bars on the way

Body/Exterior:
-Homemade black housing headlights TU:
-15” Konig heliums
-Maybe a lip

Interior:
-Homemade 7th gen. headrests to fit 6th gen. seats in the works
Done

Aerodynamics:
Saving this stuff for the coupe so I can check it off as done :0
Since this is a project car I believe it should serve as a learning tool for others and I. And everything in this category is a maybe.
-Smaller mirrors
-Grill guard (yeah a gassavers.org idea)
-I was also wanting to reduce drag on the rear bumper by making my own diffuser via either two elongated holes about 3” high that cross the span of the bumper with about a 2” gap in between. Or three elongated holes that mock the shape and angles of the taillights and the license plate holder also only about 3” tall.



Well for those of you who read through this I would like to thank you. Any constructive criticism or input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

UPDATE: I was going to use the two door as my swap candidate but, decided that if I choose the 4door.
Reasons:
Clutch is almost brand new and still has lots of life
Flywheel has already been lightened
No manual swap required
Plus by doing the swap to the four door it will save me lots of time and money and I will have time to get it done right.
4 door has a rod knock so it's already broke.




This is the new contender


 
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#5 ·
yeah, i wanna see the build too! you have a nice car to start with
 
#9 ·
Ordered some of the last parts today:
-Complete gasket kit
-Hastings 75mm standard bore rings
-y-series water pump


Also the machine shop called:
-Block has been honed
-Head is ported (finally Oh my it took forever)
-Pistons have been ceramic coated as well :TU:


I Feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel[biggrinsanta.gif]
Pics will come sometime in the near future!
 
#11 ·
Here is what it looked like when we called it a night:


I did go through with tape and mark every single connector to it's original place. When I go to put this back together I wan't it to go as smoothly as possible I figured every little thing I can do now would help:
 
#14 ·
33mm
 
#24 ·
Nice build, man! Glad there's more fuel economy nuts on this site.. Just with bolt-ons and a Crome-tuned P28, my '93 EX regularly breaks 40 mpg hwy doing around 70 mph. I know if I had an extensive VTEC-E project in a lighter platform (hatch, CRX) I could hit some very high numbers.
 
#29 ·
lookin good chris! comin along qute nicely.
 
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#31 ·
Just got my oil pump back from Endyn and man is it purty. I almost have this thing ready to go back in the car I'm just waiting to get my oil pan welded up and then the car will start finding it's way back together again.

Just to keep you guys intertained here is how much I have in the engine/tranny(BS Thanks) to date.

Rod bearings 8 top and bottom Honda: $95.60
Main bearings 10 upper and lower Honda: $119.60
Complete set of piston rings Honda: $141.68
Thrust Washers Honda: $12.98
Complete Gasket kit from FJT: $79.00
Y-series water pump FJT: $52.75
Oil pump and upgrade from ENDYN: $245.73
Head bolts: $60
Timing belt and tensioner: $100
Rear motor mount insert Ebay: $30
Custom built trans Bone: $400
P&p,Head assembly,Stainless valves Hone&clean block, Pistons ceramic coated, Skirts with dry film lubircant all done by the local machine shop: $725
New Sachs clutch and lighten, balance, and re-surface flywheel: $300
Bisi cam, Springs, Titanium retainers, and bisi adjustable cam gear: $750
Y5 block, head, IM and other box of random parts: $250
240 Injectors: Horse trade for an extra z6 IM that I didn't need
used header: $35
Virgin p28: $100
Chipping and basemap: $75
Rywire Jumper harness: $60 used

As you can see I have plenty of money wrapped up into this build about $3,632.34 to be exact. If I were to do this again(remember I wanted power and FE) I would have just swapped a y5 head onto a good block and went with a cheap turbo set-up. But you live and learn and I hope others can learn from this build as well.



Thanks to all of those showing interest,
Chris
 
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