B18C swap? Need suggestions.

[JohnnySasakiMGS]

Hey guys. I'm kind of in a bind here. I recently bought a 95 Civic Ex coupe 5spd for $1700. It has 129kmi on it. The engine runs great and the ac is ice cold. The only real issues with it is a little bit of the usual Honda rust and the input shaft bearings are pretty bad. The tranny makes a rattling noise that is relative to engine rpms. I have all the service records from the previous two owners and it has always had regular maintenance done except for the timing belt crap. Now here's my problem.

I had originally planned on just getting a refurbished tranny and doing the timing belt and all that. Approximately 1500 in parts and labor right there. Now my friend tells me his buddy has a B18C with a GSR tranny for sale. $2000 for everything I would need to fit it into my car. Motor mounts, shifter linkage etc. 72kmi on the original motor and 10kmi since a complete rebuild. I dont know all the details but he built the engine planning to turbocharge it. If I did swap this drivetrain, the stock engine would be gradually rebuilt. New timing belt and repair/replace the tranny etc.

I drive almost 30kmi a year for work in all weather conditions up an down the east coast. No racing or other shenanigans. The interior of the car is clean but the exterior could use a touch of bodywork. I sold my wifes car and bought this one to help get out of debt and I will be keeping this car for a few years. I just don't know if doing all this work is worth it on a less than perfect shell. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

The Honda noob

 

[s_crowley 17]

Welcome to the forum, havent really seen you on here much...

I just swapped a b18c into my coupe. Its night and day compared to a single cam that seems like it is unable to rev. The b18c is in fact a JDM GSR. It should come with a type r transmission which i believe is an s80.

The fact that it has a GSR transmission will mean that it will not have LSD i believe.

Its a little sketchy that it had to have a rebuild, you dont know the condition of the motor and you never know what could go wrong next. With that said, it might be easier to keep your car more stock.

Having a swapped civic isnt the easiest of tasks, especially being a 'noob'. There are many bits and pieces that you will need and of course its not a direct fit so its not a plug and play. You can make it work though. Sorry for going on and on but it seems to me like keeping your civic stock will yield any more problems in the future. just my two cents.

 

[Jersey8]

it sounds like youve done some research and you have some common sense.
129k miles is not alot for a honda, so putting a swap in it would be worth it. i just put a swap in my civic earlier this year and my hatch had 186k miles. if you have the money to do it, do the swap. also keep in mind like crowley said you will encounter some obstacles whether they be small or large. you have to be willing to deal with any headaches that come your way and if your not an idiot you should be fine.

if you choose not to swap, get a junkyard transmission, and change the trans out to get rid of the bad input shaft bearing. or, if you have the confidence, change your input shaft bearing yourself. i did it myself back in the day and only takes a day. and the bearing only costs $30 or so. timing belt and water pump can be done by you for around $100 in parts. or you can spend a few hundred at the shop.

whichever you choose, keep i mind that even tho you do not race or anything, i guarantee you will be glad you did a swap. i drive about 20,000 miles a year and i love my swap on the highway and for my commute to work

 

[XpL0d3r]

+1 swap it! Much better IMO

 

[JohnnySasakiMGS]

Welcome to the forum, havent really seen you on here much...

I just swapped a b18c into my coupe. Its night and day compared to a single cam that seems like it is unable to rev. The b18c is in fact a JDM GSR. It should come with a type r transmission which i believe is an s80.

The fact that it has a GSR transmission will mean that it will not have LSD i believe.

Its a little sketchy that it had to have a rebuild, you dont know the condition of the motor and you never know what could go wrong next. With that said, it might be easier to keep your car more stock.

Having a swapped civic isnt the easiest of tasks, especially being a 'noob'. There are many bits and pieces that you will need and of course its not a direct fit so its not a plug and play. You can make it work though. Sorry for going on and on but it seems to me like keeping your civic stock will yield any more problems in the future. just my two cents.

Yeah I only used to pop in and out to get some help with my old 94. Its more like a built motor than a rebuilt motor. He didn't blow the engine or anything. Again, not sure on the details but he was preparing it for a turbo so I imagine better valvetrain, pistons and whatnot.

Thanks everyone for your advice!

 

[JohnnySasakiMGS]

Oh and the guy selling the built motor took it out of his 5th gen and already has all the parts needed to convert. Whatever those may be lol.