I was wandering how to build a b18a1 motor i have all the parts its totally stripped got off ebay. I have haynes manual but seems a little lacking.

I want to know what car i can direct drop into using that cars harness & ecu. want something like a civic<4door> crx

Also I was planning on changing cams, headers, possibly change out crank & pistons but i want to stick with honda parts for the crank. I dont want to put a vtec head nothing like that just something a little quick but tight budget and just a fun project.

I have some mechanical experience plus i work at honda plant in ohio build the ACCORD 2dr/4dr.


the ecu code is ABJ and harness is CA5 i want to know if this is for a manual trans or automatic. what codes are for manual. also whats 5speed trans can i use out of what cars direct bolt on.

ALL INFO WILL GREATLY BE APPRECIATED THANKS

 

the haynes manual should have everything you need.

an 88-91 crx would be good, or an 88-91 civic.

a stock LS crank is fine. take it to a machine shop and have it checked out. they can make sure its not cracked or warped, then have the journals micro-polished and the whole assembly shot-peened. that will help harden the surface to reduce the chances of a weak spot. also, rechroming the jounals isnt a bad idea at this point, but not usually necessary on a honda crank.

sorry, cant help on the ecus, i have no idea. but on the build, if you need any more advice, post up. we'll see what we can do.

 

For an 88-91 drop in, you'll need more than just the ECU and harness (something in the order of mounts, axles, linkage, and a short alt belt)...

 

im just curious i have been thinking of doing a vtec head frankenstein swap but i would like to know what head would work for my b18a1 and what all i would need to do the swap such as crank rods pistons

I know i orginally posted i didnt just curious

and how much hp should i expect by doing the swap i know the stock b18a1 runs like 140hp

 

i always recommend against the frankenstein swap. its pretty unreliable, and tends to leak a lot of oil. along with the fact that the ls motor isnt balanced very well compared to the dohc vtecs, and after awhile of revving it to 8k, it will very likely have a catastrophic breakdown. if youre building it, then it is a lot better, but still not as good as a normal dohc vtec.
should you decide to do it anyway, the power should be around 170-180, and torque around 135-145. you will want the head from either a b16, or a gsr. a type r head would make more power, but its really expensive, and revs even higher, making the balancing problem worse. if you ever plan on boosting the motor, get the b16 head, if not, then the gsr might be a better choice. it has .3 higher compression, but the b16 head flows a little better, so the initial power will be very similar.