It would be cheaper if he can’t get the engine resmogged, and has to take the engine out and put another back in.
Headgaskets are easy, if you know how to do them, and they are not honestly that hard; if you can remove an alternator and change your spark plugs, you can do a headgasket. It is all a matter of sitting there and not being in a rush or haste. Hardest part is doing the torque sequence on head bolts. Ever do an H22 torque sequence? That takes a little bit.
Baring any problems with the head, you can do it in a day, with only the cost of the headgasket. Granted, that is not the perfect way to do it, but it is the cost and time you have to worry about. I have done several H22’s and B1x’s with little to no problems. Some might take two days depending on how hard accessory removal is - most of your time deals with getting everything to the point the head can come off.
Cost of swap vs headgasket - rent an engine hoist vs. headgasket buy. Then there is the question of is he in a place he can do the swap? I’ve done headgaskets in the parkinglots of apartment complexes with little to no problems.
As to the comment I’m full of shit, guess that is your problem, now isn’t it?
you were saying motor swap is cheaper and quicker, now you are changing your mind? if the motor was smogged before, he will be abled to get it smogged again. it is the same motor. headgasket’s are pretty cheap too. i paid 85 for my ls gasket and 65 for my b16 gasket, both are brand new honda gaskets.
when i blew my ls headgasket last year, i ended up spending just over $600. i could have done it much cheaper but this motor runs just like new now and is a little quicker too. expect to pay like 400 in parts. also when you have the head resurfaced ask them to take off a little extra so you raise your compression a bit. also the prices should be about the same even though your motor is vtec
head rebuild-300
head gasket-85
intake gasket-13
valve cover gasket-25
jdm 95 b18b intake mani-45
65.5mm gsr tb-150