I've been wondering for some time if this is possible, put a s2000's F20C into a 96-00 hatch. I realize that there is the 5 gear - 6 gear difference but assuming you had a complete s2000 at your disposal would it be possible to basically change the guts of a hatch to the guts of a s2?

well the s2000 is a rear wheel drive, and the hatch is a front wheel drive. Unless you are one hell of a fabricator I would stop there and move on to other options . But moving on, you will need to fabricate new engine mounts, probably remount the radiator elsewhere, possibly even cut crossmembers and frame and repalce them if there isnt enough engine bay room. You will need to create a transmission tunnel, and fabricate a way to mount a rear differential in the hatch. (This would be by far and away the most difficult part). Everything would then need to be aligned and mounted, wired, etc. Im not saying its impossible (there is a 355 chevy RWD accord rolling around somewhere here in cinci !) , but if you were to pay someone to do this for you, the labor would probably be well over the cost of a brand new S2k.

I figured that it would be a extremely troublesome process. How much of the process could be done without the aid of a garage?

none Except maybe removal of the HB engine and equipment. (would still need tools, jackstands, engine hoist, etc. Im not trying to be a jerk, but if you really dont know what it entails, or have a LARGE amount of money burning holes in your pockets, you might want to consider a different route.

I know there are plenty of easier swaps but I'd save for years just cause I want to do something different.

What if I cut the front of the s2 and grafted it on to the front of the hatch? That should deal with space and mount issues and leave it with the transmission troubles.

grafting the front end starts dealing with a whole new set of VERY difficult problems. For instance it compromises the structural integrity of the entire chassis. You also have to deal with altered suspension geometry, finding a method of remounting and fabricating a custom steering rack, and a slew of other issues that havent even crossed my mind as of yet.

I would suspect the easiest way to do something different were to modify a FWD transmission to mate to the s2k motor. Exactly what this entails im not sure at all, but would probably require a custom bell housing, and modified transmission internals. I would guess the cost for completion of a project like that would be considerably lower than fabricating a rear end, modifying the engine bay, etc.

I had taken the idea on hold cause I thought that it wouldn't be possible to keep it FWD. But if that is possible I might look into it more. That body with RWD gives me images of body rolling, if it can only become FR then I would just scrap this idea.