2000 b18c swap and swap and ref bar

Pics Added See Below

Ok So I just did the craziest thing in desperate need of a motor and bought a jdm b18c motor from a buddy. motor came with flywheel, §§§§§, wires, ecu, harness and type r intake manifold.

my delima is I want to convert my 91 obd0 componants and swap everything to obd1 since if im correct the 2000 b18c is obd1.
And in the long run have everything done roght to have the motor bar’d with the ca state reff.

Ive heard all sorts of stories due to the new law that passed april of this year wich makes it harder for swaps to get bar’d. but every reff is different in standards so ill have to take my chances when the time comes.

so far I need help with parts im gong to need for the jdm to usdm conversion on emissions to my 91 obd0 car.
pics below of what i have.

the ecu

this is the back of the block looking at the oil cooler

this is the back of the intake manifold

bigger pic of the back of the intake

pic of the §§§§§ and harness plugs

pic of the year on the front side of the head

The task in front of you can get quite complicated depending on how you want to handle it.

Unless the rules have changed, if you REF a non-USDM engine, it must be identical to a USDM engine. Then you do the REF process as if the engine was really it’s USDM counterpart. Typically small things (like compression ratio) may be different. But usually they’ll overlook that sorta thing as long as the important stuff (diagnostic and emissions equipment) is hooked up properly.

So, your USDM equivalent would be a B18C5. All of those engines were OBD2, so you need to convert to OBD2.

I’m sure it’s possible, and I’m sure people have done it, but I haven’t seen an OBD2 conversion from an OBD0 car. If you’re clever and lucky you may be able to pass the engine off as being a JDM GSR engine and then REF it as a B18C1 which would then get around the OBD2 issue…

I think the route ahead for me will have obd1 ecu and harness. Does anyone know if the jdm b18c harness and motor is a obd1 already or not. Wow I didnt know I had an equivalent of a C5. So lets say I have everything done and take it in to pass the ca bar and the reff fails me then what? Dont they log it on the system that i need to take it out and give me like 10 days to do it, and since its been logged as failed no other reff will take me in to get the bar seal.

OBD is dependent on year, not on engine or anything else.
89-91 = non-OBD aka OBD0
92-95 = OBD1
96+ = OBD2 (but be aware there is more than one version of OBD2)

You can take any motor and run it with a different diagnostic system (OBD) but originally the engine will match the OBD for the year of the car it was pulled from.

[QUOTE=half twisted;2070124]
Wow I didnt know I had an equivalent of a C5. [/quote]
Maybe you should clarify then just in case you misspoke. Like I said, the JDM “B18C” has two versions. The ITR version and the GSR version. I assumed you have the ITR version because you mentioned it has an ITR intake manifold.

A stock type R motor from Japan (B18c) will come stock with a type R manifold. This manifold does not bolt to the GSR head. If you have a JDM GSR (b18c) engine then you cannot have an ITR intake manifold on it. However, maybe the manifold you have is not stock, maybe it’s an ITR copy made for the GSR (p72) head opposed to the ITR (pr3) head.

[QUOTE=half twisted;2070124]
So lets say I have everything done and take it in to pass the ca bar and the reff fails me then what? Dont they log it on the system that i need to take it out and give me like 10 days to do it, and since its been logged as failed no other reff will take me in to get the bar seal.[/quote]

I’m not sure how that works if you fail, but someone has got to know, I suggest you :search: I would assume though that failing does not prevent you from trying again.

well im sure i have the oem itr intake and throtle body since it reads p73 well I took some late nite pics so you be the judge. let me know if i need better or more pics.
that way i can find out if i have the obd1 or 2 harness and ecu.

Yeah, ECU and IM point to that being an ITR engine. The GSR manifold is completely different and would say “P72” on it. You can also look on the head for a stamp, it should say “PR3” and not “P72” if it’s an ITR head.

If you’re so worried about the OBD thing, why don’t you just ask the guy you bought it from? Just ask him if the wiring and distributor are original or if he changed those out. You never mentioned if this engine has been in another car or if it was simply pulled and shipped to the US.

That ECU is definitely OBD2. ITR engines were only made in the OBD2 configuration, and all “P73” ecu’s are from an ITR. I can’t say about that distributor though as I’m not really sure the differences between OBD1 and OBD2 distributors. Everything I deal with is OBD1 so I haven’t had the need.

Either way, you shouldn’t care what the harness is, you can’t use that harness. I’m gonna stop answering questions right here cause it seems pretty obvious you have not THOROUGHLY read through both the Engine Swap Guide in the Teg Tips and the OBD1 conversion write-up I linked you to in another thread and STRESSED that you read until you understand it.

Another good source for info is the ref center itself. Lots of community colleges with auto tech programs are ref centers. You could also just get pulled over and have the cop hand you the phone number to a ref too :slight_smile:

That’s a good point! Back in 2001 I spent a lot of time on the phone w/ my local Ref trying to determine the best way for me to put a legal vtec swap into my 91 GS. He was very helpful. In general they will be helpful if it’s obvious you aren’t trying to pull the wool over their eyes…

i did read the link in the other thread and fully understand the process of converting from obd0 to 1. point of this thread is to find out what components i have with the motor. I did buy the motor from a buddy that had just pulled it out.

Engine swap guide has those answers.

ok thank you for pointing me to them

ok anohter question, I know i need an obd1 ecu but wich do I use to get this bar’d. I know the p73 ecu revs to high 9k and timming is different and with the b16 intake i have to drop in im not sure what ecu i should run and injectors…

What is your plan here? Are you trying to get it reffed as a b18c1 or a b18c5? Your question doesn’t make sense since you said you knew you needed to run obd1 but then mention using an obd2 ecu (p73).

I want to run obd1 but the p73 ecu is obd2 so that rules out me ever useing it in the future for the motor. and yes I want to get it Bar’d so the easiest and cleanest method will help. I need to know what obd1 ecu do I use, a b16 or b18 since im going to need the b16 intake manifold and injectores… I cant use the itr intake since its not going to fly with the state reff…

I can’t walk you through this whole thing, the answers are out there, you need to search. You’re clearly confused on what you need to do.

In order to smog that engine you have TWO choices

  1. Convert to OBD2 and ref the car EXACTLY as if it were a USDM spec b18c5. That means you need all the smog equip and other related parts from a US ITR engine.

  2. Attempt to convince the ref that the engine is a GSR version, which means you will try to smog it as a 94-95 b18c1 (US GSR). That means you need to have all of the GSR smog equip and related parts. The problem you encounter here is that you would then need the p72 intake manifold, which won’t bolt to that head. If the ref knows what he’s doing he’ll fail you for the stock P73 intake manifold.

You might be able to get around that by using an aftermarket (e.g. skunk2) intake manifold which has a BAR sticker. That way you have a reason why your intake manifold does not match and you have a BAR sticker to show that it’s smog legal. Of course the CARB EO #'s are probably different for the p72 and pr3 applications. So, if they chose to look that up they could still get you.

As far as I know those are the only two options. Either make it look like a US b18c5 or like a US b18c1. Stock ecu, stock vacuum routing, stock evap, stock emissions…everything.