[Sam_]

Hi guys, my name is Sam, and I'm a new-ish member.

I mentioned an EM2 last time I was on this page with regards to a build but I said f*** it when I saw the costs for everything. Instead, I bought a '95 Civic Hatch for $500 CAD. Mileage is unknown because the cluster was swapped but the d15 runs really, really well. Has an awful fart can and is down to primer (the previous owner was removing the paint to put some hideous body kit on it but he found the rear wheel arch rust to be out of his ability, which was covered by bondo). It's exactly the car that gives civics the ricer title.

Anyway, on to the good. Body really doesn't have all that much rust considering what I paid for it. Driver's side is pretty clean but the passenger's side has a large portion of the wheel arch missing due to the rust and the previous owner just cutting it all out (about 4 inches out from the taillight and about 3 inches up). Other than that, it's super clean. It also looks to have leather front and rear seats, from which I'm guessing would be an Integra. Plastic was painted from grey to black and actually looks okay. I don't plan on keeping the d15 in it but it really does run phenomenally.

I apologize for being all over the place here. I'm not really commenting here looking for opinions. It's really more for networking, and possibly finding people that I can ask more important questions when I need to. If anyone is curious, I can show my build plan.

 

[robgoof]

picks or it didn't happen..

 

[Sam_]

Pics are kinda shitty because I had to compress the files to handle sending them from my phone to my laptop, but you get the idea.

And just my luck, my EM2 dropped a valve today, so this is gonna be my daily for the next little while.

*Also, disregard the donut, the tire fell off the rim and that has already been dealt with, just haven't taken any photos since.

 

[Evanguy]

Nice man, i love 500$ cars, also welcome..what do you plan to do for a build?

 

[Sam_]

Nice man, i love 500$ cars, also welcome..what do you plan to do for a build?

Looking at doing an ls/vtec build to put in it the coming summer. My friend sent me a build sheet from his friend as soon as he found out that I bought this, and it looks like it would work well. It's f*cking expensive, so I may go slightly cheaper on some things, but overall it looks like a quality build.

B18B block
B16A2 head
Manley forged connecting rods (ARP rods bolts included)
Golden Eagle ls/vtec conversion kit
ARP head stud kit
ITR/GSR water pump and timing belt kit
ITR/GSR oil pump
ACL main bearings
ACL rod bearings
CP forged pistons (11.6:1 if I can find them, I've only been able to find 12.5:1)

Transmission: B16 Y1 for 1st-4th, and B18A1 YS1 5th gear + Y1 LSD 4.266 final drive

Plan on staying NA this year at least. Based on what my friend was saying, it's not difficult to get 225whp from this setup, which is pretty cool for a 2200lb car. I need to get my other civic sorted out first. I can daily this in the meantime but I do need the EM2 sorted so I do have something to drive while this is being worked on.

 

[Evanguy]

Build looks good but myself, id used factory rods with arps installed and some type of factory piston that gives me the comp i was looking for, also mill the head a little to fine tune the comp if needed.

But really nothing on the list adds any power ( other then comp and tune) A c1 or c5 would make more power and already built if your worried about cost.

Why not use a b20 block?

225whp seems real high to me.

Unless you left out cams, head work, header, IM and other parts that all come together in a build.

 

[Sam_]

Build looks good but myself, id used factory rods with arps installed and some type of factory piston that gives me the comp i was looking for, also mill the head a little to fine tune the comp if needed.

But really nothing on the list adds any power ( other then comp and tune) A c1 or c5 would make more power and already built if your worried about cost.

Why not use a b20 block?

225whp seems real high to me.

Unless you left out cams, head work, header, IM and other parts that all come together in a build.

The original plan for me was to grab a C1 and go from there, but my friend suggested this build (and no, there was no cam, head, IM, etc. included). The reading I do suggests the b20 sleeves are weak for boost (which is something I'd like to attempt at some point, so I'd like the option to be there).

Being realistic with myself, I'm probably either gonna buy a B18B or B18C and then go from there.

Thanks for the quick response. I dropped a comment on civicforums earlier on yesterday but that seems to be a super dead forum.

 

[rico58204]

I have had poor luck on my last 2 boosted B20VTEC builds. Cracked sleeves both times

 

[Sam_]

I have had poor luck on my last 2 boosted B20VTEC builds. Cracked sleeves both times

Yeah I've heard about that. I imagine they're fine for NA though, but I don't want to fully commit to that yet. I heard block posting helps that, but just a B18 right off the bat is probably the better option.

 

[Evanguy]

NA they will be fine and for boosted you need a real good tuner. Or just leave a little power on the table and pull some ignition. Incase you get bad gas or more load then expected.

Tune for 91 then run 93 would be a good idea. But really knock is what cracks the sleeves

Posting may help. The ones i personaly saw where cracked between the cylinders. Some online show cracks else where though.

But yeah if you dont want to risk it b18 block would be stronger and you wouldnt have to worry about the tune so much

 

[Sam_]

Is that an option worth exploring then? I'm not looking for any ground-shattering power because I still need to daily this. I'm just going off what seems to have the best results, and right now the B20 hasn't made the best impression.

 

[robgoof]

f swap

or learn to love the sweet little 1.5

 

[Evanguy]

F22 ftw!!

 

[Sam_]

Interesting. I never really considered that to be an option. I guess it would be torquey as hell in such a small car, wouldn't it? I'll definitely look into that, they're pretty abundant in junkyards where I am. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm not totally opposed to keeping the d15, but I want to consider all my options first.

 

[robgoof]

I have been seeing a bunch getting crushed that's why I say It.

 

[Sam_]

I have been seeing a bunch getting crushed that's why I say It.

Okay, I've been doing some reading on it, and you can make these things pretty quick and reliable for basically nothing. Unless something drastically changes with the used engine market in the next 6 months, I'm probably going with the F22.

 

[chinochang]

Looking at doing an ls/vtec build to put in it the coming summer. My friend sent me a build sheet from his friend as soon as he found out that I bought this, and it looks like it would work well. It's f*cking expensive, so I may go slightly cheaper on some things, but overall it looks like a quality build.

B18B block
B16A2 head
Manley forged connecting rods (ARP rods bolts included)
Golden Eagle ls/vtec conversion kit
ARP head stud kit
ITR/GSR water pump and timing belt kit
ITR/GSR oil pump
ACL main bearings
ACL rod bearings
CP forged pistons (11.6:1 if I can find them, I've only been able to find 12.5:1)

Transmission: B16 Y1 for 1st-4th, and B18A1 YS1 5th gear + Y1 LSD 4.266 final drive

Plan on staying NA this year at least. Based on what my friend was saying, it's not difficult to get 225whp from this setup, which is pretty cool for a 2200lb car. I need to get my other civic sorted out first. I can daily this in the meantime but I do need the EM2 sorted so I do have something to drive while this is being worked on.

just run stock b16a2 spec pistons . I’m currently running a b18b1 block / gsr head with the stock LS rods and rs machine b16a2 81.5mm pistons and arp rod bolts. Calculator says the cr is about 12.5:1.

I would recommend that you use the stock Honda bearings over the acl stuff. A real engine builder will be able to measure the journals and get you the proper color bearing from Honda ( not one of those one size fits all crapAnd anyone that uses plasti-gauge is half assing. Journals should be measured with a micrometer.

As for that weird ass tranny set up. Just go full dc2 GSR not any of that Frankenstein crap. I started with a hydro LS with b16 final drive 4.40 and it was fantastic for every day driving. Eventually I got a BNiB 97 type R trans instead.

 

[Sam_]

just run stock b16a2 spec pistons . I’m currently running a b18b1 block / gsr head with the stock LS rods and rs machine b16a2 81.5mm pistons and arp rod bolts. Calculator says the cr is about 12.5:1.

I would recommend that you use the stock Honda bearings over the acl stuff. A real engine builder will be able to measure the journals and get you the proper color bearing from Honda ( not one of those one size fits all crapAnd anyone that uses plasti-gauge is half assing. Journals should be measured with a micrometer.

As for that weird ass tranny set up. Just go full dc2 GSR not any of that Frankenstein crap. I started with a hydro LS with b16 final drive 4.40 and it was fantastic for every day driving. Eventually I got a BNiB 97 type R trans instead.

Okay, I was originally looking at my build from a reliability perspective. I could be way off, but the list I was given seems much more receptive to boost, which isn't something I'll necessarily do, but I want the option to be there. The further that I read, the more I think I'm gonna go F23. Still appreciate the input, though. Now I just need to budget everything.

 

[Chezboat24]

Can't remember my old email so I have to resort to using my old account. Got the EM2 finished about a week after the timing belt snapped and it still runs phenomenally. Also just picked up an F22B2 with the distributor, intake and exhaust manifold plus a few other odds and ends for $100 off Kijiji. Engine cranks and I removed the valve cover and all seems fine. Engine is sitting in the back of the hatch until my buddy is done using my engine stand, then a rebuild and swap will start