Hello, Im new to the forum. I have an 04 Civic LX with the d17a1 engine. It has a blown head gasket and was really cooked. It has about 190k miles on it right now. I was looking for a replacement engine. To my surprise, the non-vtec engines are almost double the cost for a vtec engine. My question is, can I swap a vtec engine (d17a2) in for the non-vtec (d17a1)? I am not looking for ANY performance gains, or extra power. I just want an affordable engine that will work. Basically Im just looking for the car to "putt-putt" around town and be a reliable daily driver.
There are some post that said I could do this, and some post that said I could not. I was hoping I could by a JDM engine for $400 and ride rather than spending $1100, which is more than the car is worth. I would hate to scrap the car because it has a nice body and excellent interior.
Please, anyone with any advice, send a reply to this post. It will be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

 

you can't replace the head ??? is the block warped ??? you can use a vtec as long as you have the corresponding ECU. you could even fit the K20 engine from the RSX with minor mods.