I don’t see any mention of budget constraints or your current mechanical ability, both of which impact any guidance big time. If you have good mechanical skills and a decent set of tools rebuilding your stock engine and swapping out the rods and pistons for forged ones in prep for a turbo may be the cheapest way for your power goals. Machine work isn’t that expensive as long as you’re handing the machine shop a bare block and aren’t paying for a shop to remove and tear down the engine in your car. I love the idea of keeping B series engines in DAs, EFs, EGs…but at the current prices I’d have to compare the cost versus a K motor swap which would easily set you up to achieve your power goals with bolt-ons. I bought a pristine, complete B16 long block for $500 back in the day just for the head for a LS-Vtec conversion but those days of readily available cheap B series Vtecs are gone.
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Hi 91TegBC
$15-20K might be fair if you’re talking about dropping off the car and picking it up turn key ready. I can ask some of my contacts to verify but custom mounts and some of the K specific adapter parts add to the cost. You have to ask yourself are you a naturally aspirated fan vs turbo fan or equally open to both. Again this impacts motor choices. Also honestly ask yourself what power level will you be satisfied at. That’s a big factor in deciding on an engine. I’ve owned my Integra since 1997 and back in the day I went from built B18a, LS-Vtec conversion to Full DA6 B16a drivetrain swap and while that took a lot of time and money (for the time) all that cost a small fraction of doing that today. Example, I purchased a pristine DA6 RSI motor and transmission with all working sensors and accessories included for $650 USD back in the day and no I didn’t forget a 0😂 If you have the answers to the two key questions I ask I could offer up my opinion to consider.
I will say modern turbo technology has come a long way and a modern, properly sized ball bearing turbo can easily get you a responsive 300+ whp if the stock motor is built and tuned right. If I were to target 300 whp, naturally aspirated the K-series would be the only way to go expensive as it is. But, for me personally, I don’t think I need 300 whp to have fun in our chassis as it’s reasonably light but it would be fun!
The car has been sitting for over 11 years so I anticipate lots of parts will need replacement.
Brake master
Power steering
Fuel pump
Starter
Alternator
Clutch - current one is definitely slipping, it’s probably stock as we haven’t replaced it.
Transmission, synchro issues
Distributor cap
Injectors
others probably
How many of these parts do you think would normally come with a K20 package?
By the time I replace all those parts I could possibly be in full engine swap territory?
Even moderately high, maybe 150,000+ kms (open to suggestions) on a K20 would be fine as this car will not be a daily driver.
See this importer as a quick check (I haven’t used this particular one but I’m listing it as a price reference):
Engine, transmission and ecu included for $8K. But note the warranty, which seems consistent with importers I’ve used. You’ll note many of the items you were concerned with needing replacing on the current motor are not covered just newer:
Look at the prices for the swap specific parts such as motor mounts and exhaust parts needed and the 2nd biggest cost, competent labor to make sure everything works as intended and you have a good baseline on what to expect for a full swap.