Hey i have a stock 97 civic and i want to do a motor swap because i want more power but still the good fuel economy. And my question is, what is the easiest bolt in motor swap that would get me the most power while also getting good mpg?

 

any b series.
power is relative to money.

 

i dont have that much money to spend really. if i sold my old motor for 350, then i could have 600 bucks for a new or used one. but i also heard that the B-series motor swaps are kinda difficult. what would i have to do to put a B-series engine im my car?

 

Search to find specifics on swaps. With $600, you are looking at another D series. Do you have a 97 EX or what is the trim level?

 

with $600 i was assuming that i would get a D-Series engine. i have a d16y7 motor, civic dx. i was looking into a d16y8 that came stock in the civic ex. i just want a simple bolt in swap that would give me like an instant 20hp gain, while also not having to change anything like the ecu, computer, or wiring harness.

 

Well, the ECU is the computer, and you would want one from a y8 motor in order for the motor to act correctly. You will only have to add vtec wiring which is simple.

Instead of swapping out the entire motor, all you really have to do is swap out the head for a vtec y8 head. It is called a mini me swap. You can re-use everything. You would need the y8 head, head gasket, y8 ecu, and 20 feet of wire at the absolute least.

 

I'm new to this whole rebuilding cars and everything so please forgive me if i ask stupid questions. so what your saying is, keep my stock d16y7 block, swap the y8 v-tec head, and then wire up the v-tec along with the y8 ecu and everything else? if that is right, how do i wire the v-tec and how does having a v-tec head help in power when i don't have a v-tec block with it?

 

Vtec really has nothing to do with the block. Vtec blocks can have little oil squirters on the under side of the cylinders that spray oil up under the piston to cool the walls better. But the main primary functions of vtec are in the head.

Google wiring vtec. There are a million guides. I have never done it myself, but have seen it done thousands of times.

 

ok cool. so if i do this mini-me swap, home much hosepower gain am i looking at?

 

theoretically.... 127hp...

actually? no one can say for sure... considering age wear & lack of tune i would throw out a number like 100 top? when that vtec kicks in you can pretend like it is pushing 200wph tho

also i typed this without a keyboard. and there is immense detail on this subject. google y8 mini-me and you will get step by step guides that any noob can follow!