i have a '93 integra. all stock. all original. virigin. and i came across an oportunity to buy a built ls-v motor.
it turns out that the same person is also selling a sohc d15b that i could use for my brother’s civic. he offered them to me both for an ok price. he claims he needs money, he seems reputable. from honda-tech, nice. im thinking i might as well go for it, being as i would like more power, and my brother needs a motor. for that price, i think i should
so the engine is a “fresh built” b16 head b18b1 block, AEM adjustable cam gears, Nippon race springs new clutch/flywheel, CTR pistons. thats all the info there is. i contacted seller, he said he bought it built, for his civic ef, and decided not to go through with it, becuase of the cost of mounts, tranny, etc.
so i guess this seems ok… my concern is reliability, and ease of the swap work. i do, however plan on buying arp bolts all around. but thats later.
ASSUMING that any other part not mentioned is stock, would that setup be reliable? i do NOT race. and this is my first ls-vtec. anything else i should ask him? or that i should be concerned about?
if i do buy this, im planning on getting a p28 chipped and tuned after the swap… and using my obd1 stock 93 distributor, i am currently searching to see if i can use my stock ls intake manifold… or rather… if its recommended i DONT. :shrug:
From what you’ve posted I wouldn’t trust that motor at all. The parts alone may be worth what he’s asking, but I wouldn’t swap it into my car and expect it to run for long or very well.
Maybe it’s completely legit, but I’d want a lot more proof of how “built” the motor is. Receipts, dyno numbers, pictures…etc. A lot of people say “fully built” and don’t know shit, to them that might not include some of the most basic parts needed for a reliable ls/vtec.
hello colin. just the guy i wanted to talk to… i was gonna email you BEFORE i posted this. but i didnt want to bother u.
ok so… maybe i should clarify a little bit. sorry. the motor is not “FULLY built”. nor does he “claim” its fully built. he claims its FRESHLY built, and NEVER been installed. he bought it from some guy that needed to pay his school debts, and now he said HE needs to sell it cuz he has less hours at work. :shrug: economy is crap, so… i guess…?
so… its a “fresh” build. never been installed. i asked him if all the other parts NOT mentioned are stock, he said yes.
I’d want a detailed list of EVERYTHING done. If he can’t provide that, I woudn’t trust it. Seems like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, I wouldn’t trust it… I’m personally extremely weary of that sort of thing, there are very few situations where I would purchase any engine which has been “built” or “rebuilt”. In that case there are almost zero instances where I would actually make the purchase. If something is built or rebuilt I want to pick everything myself and I want to make sure it’s done right.
I would want receipts and/or info about everything on that engine:
all machine work
any work done to strengthen bottom end? rods? shot peening? arp bolts?..etc.
was the ls/vtec “conversion” done properly?
proper machining of pistons/rods to make them fit?
pistons
rings, bearings, seals, gaskets…
oil pump, water pump, head gasket, timing belt…
Like I said, it might be worth it just in parts, it really depends on your goal if you buy it. It’s cheap, so maybe you just want to throw it in, see if it works, then if it blows in a month you can pull it out and do something different or do your own rebuild. Or just buy it and rebuild it immediately. But I definitely wouldn’t buy it and expect it to be a reliable track or daily driver engine w/o getting confirmation on a lot more stuff.
On the good side it looks pretty clean in those pics, so that’s a pretty good indicator that it has at least been to the machine shop.
yes, it is an indicator that its been machined. great. thanks colin. much respect. your answer is exactly what i was looking for. it sure gives me a good idea of what to look for and ask the guy. i will buy the engine, and take out the head, inspect everything. i will post pictures, etc. i still need to see if the stock parts are used, or at least new.
good luck! may even be worth taking to a local machine shop that you trust to have them inspect it to see what work has been done. I know I personally don’t have enough experience w/ internals to know the details. I could probably see the basics like if the pistons were new and if the cylinders had been honed… but not much more than that.
ok. so ive been searching all day. ive read that ctr pistons on an LSV will result in very high compression, and very little clearance between the head/valves. so alot of people are against it. saying its stupid. and to go with p30 pistons or itr instead.
other people say they love their ctr pistons on their LSV. so i dnt know if i should buy this motor anymore. the thing is, that the people that praise or hate on the ctr setup may have had a b18a or b18b… and they are confusing the two… i HEAR they have different rod lengths? im not sure… i still need to do alot of reading.:read: so possibly, the people that have good experience with ctr pistons had the motor with the shorter rods? (not sure at all)
ive read about “decking” “claying” , getting a thicker head gasket to lower the compression, retarding the timing (but loose power) and more…:dozing:
is there anyone out there with experience with ctr pistons on their lsv? if this really IS a bad setup, then i will have to swap pistons. which i have never done. but im not afraid. this would finally be my chance to really get into engine internals. but… would also include ecu programming, tuning, chipping, and hybrid monster shizzzz. dam. the problem is that im a newbie to that.
i need a little more assurance so that i can buy the motor. and just face the problems that MAY arise. the way i see it, the motor will end up costing me about $600. a b16 head =$400, clutch= around $100, so that means i would be getting everything else for around $100. i say its worth it even if it turns out ctr pistons on a b18b block for lsv is a bad idea, and i have to swap them out.
but my point is: i want to avoid having to swap pistons… so what do i do? i shouldnt pass this up, right? i mean… the engine looks good, obviously the bottom end was worked on. maybe the whole bottom end was machined? i think i will start a new thread, but first… i will keep searching
