Hey guys, I'm new here. Posted this on honda civic forum and no one seems interested so I hope I can get some appreciation here. Bought my 99 civic for 900$. Got the Z6 head and crankshaft as well as vitara rods and YCP pistons all for 250$. I pulled the engine and just stripped down the short block. Please let me know if you have any concerns or suggestions.
D16Y7 Z6 minime build
1 - 20 of 81 Posts
Hey guys, block is currently at the shop. Need to get motor mounts wondering if anyone has heard of Precision Works and if they are of good quality. The kit is fairly cheap -$134.
Also, should I stick with the stock z6 cam if I intend on going turbo? I do think I ought to get an adjustable cam gear.
I've done some research on sleeves and block guards. Sleeves seem to be out of the question for my intentions. However block guards seem to have mixed views. I honestly think I wont go with one unless someone believes the contrary.
Thanks!
Also, should I stick with the stock z6 cam if I intend on going turbo? I do think I ought to get an adjustable cam gear.
I've done some research on sleeves and block guards. Sleeves seem to be out of the question for my intentions. However block guards seem to have mixed views. I honestly think I wont go with one unless someone believes the contrary.
Thanks!
What's the mixed review on block guards? They restrict coolant flow? So does a head gasket. I've been running a sleeved and block guard setup for 10 years with no cooling issues but I run upwards to 20 psi and the block is over bored. So unless you're planning on running big boost I believe your thinking is good.
![]()
sql- I have heard that block guards can slightly alter the position of the stock sleeves. When you say you've been running a sleeved and block guard set up, I imagine you mean either your sleeves have a guard on them, or you have after market guard less sleeves with a guard machined out specifically for them. Excuse me if my terminology or thinking is inaccurate on this topic.
Flip- I think Ill stick with the oem z6 cam, but still get an adjustable cam gear for altering my timing if need be when I get to the turbo stage further down the road.
Thats another thing, I totally forgot to mention I intend on going with boost later on. This is my first ever build so I want to make sure I get everything done right before I start investing in pieces for turbo.
For the older posts:
Robgoof- thanks for making that comment, that is something I completely overlooked.
Sailor- I love Volvos too. Issue is they are a pain in the ass to work on. Do you intend on tuning that 240?
Anyway, block is still at the shop, since I overlooked notching the block, I guess Ill do a layer of masking tape and some subsequent layers of duct tape on the cylinder walls as to protect them from metal shavings when I do the notching. Thanks everyone for replying, some of the advice may seem little to you guys but chances are it will be of great help to me.
Flip- I think Ill stick with the oem z6 cam, but still get an adjustable cam gear for altering my timing if need be when I get to the turbo stage further down the road.
Thats another thing, I totally forgot to mention I intend on going with boost later on. This is my first ever build so I want to make sure I get everything done right before I start investing in pieces for turbo.
For the older posts:
Robgoof- thanks for making that comment, that is something I completely overlooked.
Sailor- I love Volvos too. Issue is they are a pain in the ass to work on. Do you intend on tuning that 240?
Anyway, block is still at the shop, since I overlooked notching the block, I guess Ill do a layer of masking tape and some subsequent layers of duct tape on the cylinder walls as to protect them from metal shavings when I do the notching. Thanks everyone for replying, some of the advice may seem little to you guys but chances are it will be of great help to me.
It's clean and hasn't been tampered with, so I think I'll keep it as stock as possible.
This picture is from the seller's advert:
Joined
·
1,264 Posts
Just make sure you get a quality cam gear if you are going aftermarket. I still have the oem cam gear on 612whp.
Hey guys, got the block back, notched it and the girdle. Pistons and rods are in. Gapped the top ring to 0.019 and second 0.022 then oil rings to 0.025. Rods have clearance.
![]()
![]()
Also, from the P2P0 -Performance 2.0 website, the instructions say that if you don't have a stretch gauge, torque the ARP 2000's to 55 ft/lbs. I've looked this up and yes some others have said this, but damn that seems real tight. And yes I did apply the ARP high torque lube. Anyone else got something to say about this that differs?
I made a silly decision to buy a skunk 2 intake manifold and adjustable cam gear off of a guy today. However I am not 100% sure if they are clones or not, cam gear would be a tuner series before skunk moved to pro series. But I cannot find any pictures of the old ones. If you google "real or fake skunk2 cam gear" there is a thread where someone has the same gear in a different color but only one guy says its legit -I don't trust one reply.
![]()
![]()
As for the intake, team integra has a guide, but it is for a different manifold. From what I can see it looks the same from the one on skunk's website, and the inside does look correct compared to team integra's guide, but reassurance is good. If anyone has one, or knows the correct size of the throttle body port would you tell me the diameter?
![]()
![]()
![]()
At the end of the day, if they are clones, I will still use the intake, but definitely not the gear. It's on me for not doing more research if I got ripped of :frown:
Also, from the P2P0 -Performance 2.0 website, the instructions say that if you don't have a stretch gauge, torque the ARP 2000's to 55 ft/lbs. I've looked this up and yes some others have said this, but damn that seems real tight. And yes I did apply the ARP high torque lube. Anyone else got something to say about this that differs?
I made a silly decision to buy a skunk 2 intake manifold and adjustable cam gear off of a guy today. However I am not 100% sure if they are clones or not, cam gear would be a tuner series before skunk moved to pro series. But I cannot find any pictures of the old ones. If you google "real or fake skunk2 cam gear" there is a thread where someone has the same gear in a different color but only one guy says its legit -I don't trust one reply.
As for the intake, team integra has a guide, but it is for a different manifold. From what I can see it looks the same from the one on skunk's website, and the inside does look correct compared to team integra's guide, but reassurance is good. If anyone has one, or knows the correct size of the throttle body port would you tell me the diameter?
At the end of the day, if they are clones, I will still use the intake, but definitely not the gear. It's on me for not doing more research if I got ripped of :frown:
Head is ported and polished. Sent it to the machine shop to have the valves and seats reground.
![]()
![]()
![]()
I still need to port the oil pump. I will not be buying a new one and using devcon. If anyone knows where I can get a custom plug made or what to buy if something already exists, a member by the name 007 had a port guide where that was his method to smooth the passage. If not I will be skipping that part of the port job. I feel that my power goals (350 whp max) are not high enough to justify it. I will port the hole that goes into the block and the port beneath the gears. I will not shim it initially, maybe when I get to the turbo stage further down the road. Also the port that connects to the pick up is that same size as the hole on the pick up tube so I do not believe I will be touching that. I dont know if thats how all y7 pumps are but it seems people had to port this hole on other pumps
Should I drill this hole out a little bit?
![]()
Also heres another picture of the block with the pistons in. Got it on the stand and I think it looks nice
![]()
I still need to port the oil pump. I will not be buying a new one and using devcon. If anyone knows where I can get a custom plug made or what to buy if something already exists, a member by the name 007 had a port guide where that was his method to smooth the passage. If not I will be skipping that part of the port job. I feel that my power goals (350 whp max) are not high enough to justify it. I will port the hole that goes into the block and the port beneath the gears. I will not shim it initially, maybe when I get to the turbo stage further down the road. Also the port that connects to the pick up is that same size as the hole on the pick up tube so I do not believe I will be touching that. I dont know if thats how all y7 pumps are but it seems people had to port this hole on other pumps
Should I drill this hole out a little bit?
Also heres another picture of the block with the pistons in. Got it on the stand and I think it looks nice
You had the post about the cam gear a few posts up:
Although I can't comment on its authenticity, it does look like a decent unit. It's good the hub drive is steel and provides a full backing against the aluminum gear. This means the bolts will also be driving into steel rather than aluminum offering a much better clamp and less thread stress.
The only thing I would do to help it out a bit is get some wider good quality steel washers to run between the hex bolts and the aluminum gear to spread out the clamp load over more aluminum than just the tiny bit around the elongated adjustment holes.
Another thing, if you go with thicker washers here, you should get longer bolts so that the bolt engages the entire length of the threaded hole in the drive hub. You don't want short fasteners in those holes! It looks like it should work well, but if in doubt the stock gear works very well.
On our engines, adjustable cam gear is useful if you had the head/block decked a bunch and need to re-align your cam/crank timing, but that's about it honestly. The gains from trying to adjust your powerband on the stock cam under boost will be minimal. You won't see too much advantage from cam advance/retard until you get a turbo-specific profile as the Z6/Y8 cams were profiled for N/A so there will be "some" scavenging built into the profile especially during VTEC. Going with a turbo cam will get rid of the scavenging, keep VE higher, and increase spool time, and allow you to take more advantage of advancing/retarding cam timing in regards to your powerband requirements.
Read this article, best straight-and-to-the-point cam timing article ever:
https://www.hamotorsports.com/cam-gear-tuning.html
Build looks good! You have more patience than I do to port and polish. I'd rather spend 20-30 hours doing f*** all and less carpal tunnel... lol
Although I can't comment on its authenticity, it does look like a decent unit. It's good the hub drive is steel and provides a full backing against the aluminum gear. This means the bolts will also be driving into steel rather than aluminum offering a much better clamp and less thread stress.
The only thing I would do to help it out a bit is get some wider good quality steel washers to run between the hex bolts and the aluminum gear to spread out the clamp load over more aluminum than just the tiny bit around the elongated adjustment holes.
Another thing, if you go with thicker washers here, you should get longer bolts so that the bolt engages the entire length of the threaded hole in the drive hub. You don't want short fasteners in those holes! It looks like it should work well, but if in doubt the stock gear works very well.
On our engines, adjustable cam gear is useful if you had the head/block decked a bunch and need to re-align your cam/crank timing, but that's about it honestly. The gains from trying to adjust your powerband on the stock cam under boost will be minimal. You won't see too much advantage from cam advance/retard until you get a turbo-specific profile as the Z6/Y8 cams were profiled for N/A so there will be "some" scavenging built into the profile especially during VTEC. Going with a turbo cam will get rid of the scavenging, keep VE higher, and increase spool time, and allow you to take more advantage of advancing/retarding cam timing in regards to your powerband requirements.
Read this article, best straight-and-to-the-point cam timing article ever:
https://www.hamotorsports.com/cam-gear-tuning.html
Build looks good! You have more patience than I do to port and polish. I'd rather spend 20-30 hours doing f*** all and less carpal tunnel... lol
Head gaskets restrict coolant flow?
Thanks for the insight, I guess my main fear is the bolts not holding and the gear shifting - I read a review for a blox cam gear on amazon and thats what happened to the guy. It ended up destroying his head. I appreciate the link you sent.
Anyway, I ported the pump, not going to deal with the issue of devcon or a custom bolt. Waiting on a couple other parts to finish up the short block.
Got my head back, installed the valve springs.
![]()
When I picked up my rocker arm assembly, one of the vtec pins slid out, and I noticed that I am completely missing one.
![]()
I cannot find anywhere online to buy one. My local junkyard had one car that had a z6 engine in it and its completely stripped. Should any other vtec engine have the same pins? All the shops Im calling seem to be unable to fabricate one for me. Anyone got any solutions?
When I picked up my rocker arm assembly, one of the vtec pins slid out, and I noticed that I am completely missing one.
I cannot find anywhere online to buy one. My local junkyard had one car that had a z6 engine in it and its completely stripped. Should any other vtec engine have the same pins? All the shops Im calling seem to be unable to fabricate one for me. Anyone got any solutions?
Get rid of the y7 crankshaft. Install a Z6 crank.
Z6 crank journals are Cross drilled . WAY Stronger to boot.
Z6 crank journals are Cross drilled . WAY Stronger to boot.
Yeah I have the z6 crank in there.
Any way, I got some similar pins from a D17 rocker at the junk yard since the only VTEC d16's they had were completely stripped. The pin was a little longer but the same diameter so I just dropped them off at a shop to have shortened down to length. Funny because the engine I got the pins from was a non-vtec engine.
I just ordered my timing belt and a genuine skunk 2 cam gear. I also ordered a comp stage 2 clutch and comp flywheel. Does any one recommend getting those ARP fly wheel bolts? Or should I be fine with the OEM fly wheel bolts?
Engine is back in, had some complications: ordered an innovative two post mount kit from speed factory and they sent me a there post mount kit. Allegedly couldn't get it exchanged until December cause innovative was changing buildings. So innovative sent me a three post mount to try to help me out, too bad it wouldn't fit. Anyway they tried to fix the problem so whatever. I put a genuine skunk 2 cam gear on it, using the clone manifold. Im using the tranny and rear mount from the kit and the oem drivers side mount. Using the ac bracket mount and tranny bracket mount cause why not.
![IMG_1112.JPG]()
I got a d15b7 fuel rail with injectors from the junk yard. I want to verify that for the injector clips: it is brown, red, blue, yellow, for the wires from cylinders 1-4. also I got some obd1 injector clips from the junk yard, I read some where that it doesn't matter which wire goes to which but I figure Ill plug in the clip and solder the wires in the same orientation that the obd2 clip plugs in at.
Picked up a p28, converted it to manual. There is a lot of conflicting information about what plugs and plays OBD2-OBD1. I guess I can verify what does and doesn't. One of the issues I have ran into is that people aren't willing to re-pin connectors or splice in different connectors, so they brush it off and then go and say that you cannot do it entirely. I intend on seeing if the 3 wire IACV will work with the 2 wire IACV ECU, of course re pinned at the plug. I may try to use an OBD1 IAT since it plugs into the manifold.
I got a d15b7 fuel rail with injectors from the junk yard. I want to verify that for the injector clips: it is brown, red, blue, yellow, for the wires from cylinders 1-4. also I got some obd1 injector clips from the junk yard, I read some where that it doesn't matter which wire goes to which but I figure Ill plug in the clip and solder the wires in the same orientation that the obd2 clip plugs in at.
Picked up a p28, converted it to manual. There is a lot of conflicting information about what plugs and plays OBD2-OBD1. I guess I can verify what does and doesn't. One of the issues I have ran into is that people aren't willing to re-pin connectors or splice in different connectors, so they brush it off and then go and say that you cannot do it entirely. I intend on seeing if the 3 wire IACV will work with the 2 wire IACV ECU, of course re pinned at the plug. I may try to use an OBD1 IAT since it plugs into the manifold.
1 - 20 of 81 Posts
Join the discussion
Join now to ask and comment!