Looking for more info on honda b16/18 swap.

[Rod Midkiff]

I am also dreaming of the B swap. so many choices on which B. which bottom end, which head, turbo, etc, etc.

If I do anything it will Be a B simply for the cost savings (and less cutting refabbing) and from I have seen/read when you turbo the B you get almost the same HP from the B that you get from the K20)

 

[autox19]

dollar for dollar, you are correct. you can swap a 500 hp B series way cheaper then a 500 hp K. The K is a much cleaner swap, mainly because it looks right by being in the same stock side as the X. The B is backwards with the engine behind the fuel tank and trans behind the spare. Some people say the K is better balanced that way, I disagree. I think they are pretty much the same. I base this on when I had the X engine out I found the left right balance point to be, go figure, in the center of the car. I did the same with the B. again, the balance point is in the center. Some say but the drivers weight figures in. well if that was true then right hand drive cars would have a disadvantage and I dont see that in ant right hand drive cars I have seen in an autocross (disclosure, I have only seen 2)

Walts write up had a pretty good breakdown of his costs. . I am going to try me best to put down what I think are needs costs.

Engine/trans: JDM b16 off ebay: 2-3k Can find a swapped whole car cheaper.
wiring harness: $500 or free if you are good at wiring. they usualy come with the engine/trans
Shafts: $800 from Driveshaft shop for 1000 HP overkill shafts. probably can get ones cheaper
coolant reservoir: $30 amazon special. I tried to use my stainless steel. didnt work so well
Steel mounts for the B. ~100.
Misc steel: mounts, closing up the notch in the rail from the trans: $40
Throttle cable: $20

TOTAL: 4490. lets call it 5k. 4k if the engine is only 2k, 3500 if you can wire. never priced out cheaper shafts.

additional, that I CHOSE to do.
Porsche boxster shifter : 150
Cables: $200
Hondata and ECU: 800
tunerview RD-1 (dashboard) 300
Ktuned coolant ends to make the cooling easier to bleed/plumb 300
misc metal for shifter conversion: 50
Cable to Hydraulic conversion 120

My niceties: 1920, lets call it 2k.

SO highball, I could replicate this for 7k. less work. and needing a welder.

most of my issues on why it took so long were life in general. (kids), and trying to figure things out. wiring I thought I could do it. after many frustrating nights, I just bought the harness. Shifter, I have the rod shifter working, but it worked like ass. so I converted it to cable. Much better, just did another revision and it is really nice now. Cooling was a bitch to figure out. Ending up with my original way but with added parts to make it easier to bleed. I am now onto tuning. I am not exaggerating when I say I could do it in less than a week, 9-5 now that I have done it.

I will try to dig up better pictures of my mounts if I have time today. let me know what specific pics/vids you might need.

Odie

 

[autox19]

found a few pics of the mounts I made. not perfect, but gives you an idea. one thing to keep in mind, my cross member was toast. so the rear will look different. no need for the uber beefy one i have been building. the rear mount will still have to be attached to the stock cross member. the orange/red is what mounts I built.

Odie

 

[Dr.Jeff]

TOTAL: 4490. lets call it 5k. 4k if the engine is only 2k, 3500 if you can wire.

First I will fully support what Karl said about engine swap projects; they are always much more difficult and expensive than anticipated. And many never get completed (although that is also true for many car projects of all types).
With that being said, and looking at Odie's excellent post with his costs. I would think if you started with a complete Honda ('B' engine) car, and used the stock electronics, wiring, shifter, etc, etc, from it (assuming you chose the right year/model to get the preferred components). Then the additional build costs would mainly be the axle-shaft modification ($600-800), and misc metal/small parts ($300-500)....say under $1500. Add about $2000 (or less) for the complete car and the total could be around $3500. Naturally you can go anywhere from there with performance mods, upgrades, rebuilds, etc. But you could also resell what's left of the Honda car (-$500) and sell the Fiat engine/trans (-$200), and the total could even be under $3000.
Compare that against the cost of rebuilding the Fiat engine and trans. Or the cost of the conversion kit for a "K" swap (not counting the actual K and related extras). Or the cost of building a performance SOHC engine. Even a stock B will be equal or better in performance than any SOHC build, and the Honda engine and trans will be much more reliable and robust. Naturally all of this is assuming you have the ability and equipment to do an engine swap of any kind.
But please don't get me wrong. I am NOT advocating that anyone run out and start building a engine swap. There are many potential reasons not to do such a large project. I'm merely stating my surprise at how affordable this COULD be done and considering how it compares to the options. For example, I will likely have that much invested into my turbo SOHC build by the time I'm done with it. And it won't be anywhere near the potential of a B swap, on so many levels. So maybe part of my reaction here is a bit of remorse for not considering this option further before starting on the turbo?

 

[lookforjoe]

Thanks for the links, Odie. Did a quick read. I added a link to that post in my K20 swap thread first post under my 'reference links' section, to keep track of it for additional reading

My neighbor has a k20X that Midwest built for him. It’s the blue one you see on Matt’s home page. He called me up to go for a spin last spring and shockingly, we pulled over and he said,”you drive”!!! I didn’t push it even with him saying “give’er”! My x was a little less exciting after that. I’ve done several swaps, no problem, it’s just a whole lot easier when you have a “map”!!!

I feel the same way

I was pondering how I would handle this aspect (the bay mods, since the rest is really not so hard to figure out, and has been covered pretty much). I will likely make drawings with actual measurements for all the cuts I make. So, if that kind of detail (for K20 version swap) is helpful to you, just stick around .