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1FunRyd - 88-91 Prelude B20vtec swap

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#1 · (Edited)
88-91 Prelude B20vtec swap

So it took about 9 years to get this thing off the ground. So many setbacks and issues but finally have a complete product to show the community.

1FunRyd Performance - 88-91 Prelude B20vtec swap is complete.

Original thread of where this swap started: 88-91 Prelude B20b/z swap

The lude is running and drivable, but the ecu needs to be chipped and tuned to pull out more power to get the vtec engaging as well.
Essentially the car is a high compression B20b right now since vtec is not setup but as you can see in the video below that it does perform well.

This build is a complete build. I have AC, Powersteering and Cruise control on this swap just like my last H22 swap. I felt that any swap in this car deserved to be a truly complete swap with all the creature comforts that come with our chassis stock.

I will continue to update the thread as we get full completion and then of course test drive it more and get on the road more often.

So without further delay here are the videos in sequence:

1. Video - Part 3


2. Video Part 2


3. Video Part 1.




4. Dyno video of a GSR head and stock B20b block making 185whp on a civic.
Link:



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For any questions feel free to reach out to me via pm, email or www.Facebook.com/1funryd

Sean
Email: 1funryd@comcast.net
 

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#2 ·
Update:

The B20vtec project had a little snafu, the headgasket from the conversion started leaking oil.
After some testing it was determined the HG needed to be replaced.

Due to other projects and finances we decided to store the project for later date until I got a new HG and we had more time to address it.

Months later I got a new HG and then just over the past weekend the HG was replaced and the motor ran and seem to not leak.
I just renewed the tabs so it can be street legal again and then we shall get it on the road for more testing, but other than that the swap works flawlessly.
 
#9 ·
If you go with my B20b swap kit, I provide you with a PDF document on installatino and all necessary parts after you purchase.

I do not provide much information due to my competitor will steal information like before.

But to answer your question, you need a B20b CRV motor and the B series S80 transmission and need to modify the shifter linkage to work.
All the rest of the swap parts and installation procedures are all documented.
 
#11 ·
Little updates...B20vtec Lude.
*Replaced factory rims with some 17x7.5 wheels and new tires - 205/40/17
*Dropped off the new muffler to be welded on.
*Ran the motor and tested the AC to check if it leaked and it held its charge...so that system is solid.
*Installed new intake and battery relocation with jump posts on the firewall.

Next items to address will be the Ksport front shock replacements and rears as well. I picked up a local set from an Offerup sale for a real steal!!!
Also will be getting a new valve cover due to the one that's on there has a crack near the distributor.

Here is a video of it running...


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#13 ·
Another update: 9-14-20

So Dave(MustardCat) buffed the old faded paint out and it looks beautiful!!! Just had to share.....


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And added a little more red to the engine bay. I had to purchase a new valve cover due to the grey one had a crack in it that would require repair work that would not look so good.
But hey thanks to all the B series aftermarket world on ebay amazon and other online platforms I have a ton too choose from now!!!!

:giggle:

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Final body mods will be to add the lip kit on the lude, then get it tinted, install alarm, wire up an amp to the rear and this time I am going with a custom sub box that will be blended into the rear trunk to give me more space.

Also will be upgrading my speakers front, rear and front tweaters. Then I will be really moving onto interior mods like lighting, reupholster the front seats and rear to a more modern Si red stiched look.

For now the engine is done. I may turbo it, and slowly aquire parts for an AWD setup.
 
#15 ·
Dyno pulls to see where the build stands. This is just a baseline pull no tuning and just wanted to see where we are at.

Pretty disappointing numbers...😞

Dyno setup -

1. Pull #1 -

2. Pull #2 -

3. Pull #3 -

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As you can see these are not the numbers I was expecting.
So there were definitely some issues preventing us from making power.



The next day we went to work and guess what we found???!!!

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White lude 4WS - B18c1 GSR swap - Red lude 4WS - B20vtec swap

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Ok found out what's going on with the lude.
1. No vtec
2. No IAB's
3. No VSS
4. Basemap is not good enough for this build, need a proper tune.

Royce Johnson
did some digging and found out that the iab's were not closing due to being wired to the purge solenoid.
So while there was signal it was not constant.
Then we found that vtec was not kicking on, due to the rest if the harness for vtec was not completed.
Also found out that the bulb in the Check engine light on the cluster was not showing codes because whomever the previous owner was destroyed the bulb in the cluster instead if replacing in.
So we could not even check codes.
Whewwww.... many issues.
But Royce got them mostly figured out and also his iab's as well so we both benefited because he found out his iab solenoid was not responding correctly either, so that gave his B18 - GSR swap more umph...

Also found out that I have a bad leak on the headgasket and the oil sandwich adapter plate on the back of the motor, the headgasket leak is on the normal side that most of these builds seem to get, even a stock GSR motor can get them.
Apparently I got the wrong headgasket but I am doing more research on that before I jump and get a 3rd head gasket for the same leak.

So all in all while the dyno pull was a waste of time since I never even knew I had issues with the motor, getting them resolved for the most part, I need to replace the harness because my VSS is working intermittently, was a good next day.

Stay tuned for more progress, as I try to resolve the VSS and headgasket leak issue and also replace the tune with a better one and then get back on the dyno for another pull session.
 
#18 ·
Just got ahold of couple non-running 3g's that I plan to make road worthy. My red one has a YUGE rust problem in the driver's side front strut tower. It's so bad that I'm not going to attempt to fix it, and the car will soon no longer be safe to drive on the highway. However, both of the rolling chassis I've picked up are in good shape, frame and suspension-wise, mine's a runner, and I have another engine on a stand in my garage that I can make work. It's gonna be a fun time doing this again! I can't wait! It's really good to see you're still here, Sean! I see MustardCat is still around too! I thought I was going to come back and no one I knew from the old days was around anymore! It's fantastic to see that's not true.
 
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#20 ·
Little update:

The past weekend I took the lude out to stretch its legs and the VSS just started working, so I took advantage of the moment and opened up the throttle. Vtec and the iab kicked in and the car just pulled nicely.

I am still saving up for the new harness, so its not changed yet. But when the VSS works then the motor does open up and scream like most people are used to hearing.

I also had a compustar remote start and alarm installed so little by little I am getting things done.

Also figured out a power window problem, my driver side window switch was malfunctioning so while the driver side worked intermittently the passenger side stopped altogether.

I picked up a driver side switch, which is different than the 88-89 switch so make sure to not get that mixed up.
Now I got power windows back.
 
#22 ·
Sean, those videos are PEARLS of wise documentation. It's freekin' incredible. I'm doing more of a restoration than a mod (though it isn't out of the question if I manage to really screw up the rebuild somewhere). I hope I can get mine documented at least half as well as this. MustardCat, is that you doing the work in the videos? I'm sure I'm not the first to say so, but you're brilliant, you know that? They're awesome. I can't wait to see more, if you guys have em.
 
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#23 ·
Marcus,

Thank you, and yes Dave is the one doing most of the work. These are his videos and I supplied my car as the test platform, but Dave also uses his own cars as well.

I also ordered my replacement engine harness from Wireworx for this build. So we should get the engine, vtec, and iab's working correctly.

We still have one more project in the works to finish off the lude.
Stay tuned.
 
#24 ·
Update: Some may have seen my other thread where my lude was broke into and they damaged the passenger side window and screwed up both door handles so I cannot open either door.
Also while its waiting for repair as long as we can squeeze our asses into the passenger window we would take the lude out to keep the motor and fluids moving once a week.

Well now the car will not start due to ignition switch, I have discussed with my installer but I think it is because it no has remote start that the connector could have come loose.
The car had to be towed home and its been sitting for a month.

I am getting itchy to get moving on repairing and replacing the engine harness but still waiting on the harness and also for the shop to open up space for me to tow it there to replace the doors and all internals and passenger window then get the car resprayed.
Thats the plan at least, at the very least get the doors working again and the ignition switch or connectors fixed.
 
#25 ·
Another update:

I recieved my Wireworx B series swap harness to replace the Old OE rewired harness.
I will get some pics to show it.
Install will be another delay until I can get the doors fixed and passenger side window replaced.

For those who do not know or understand what I am talking about here is my other thread regarding what happened to my car on Jan 10th. 2021:

www.preludepower.com

1FunRyd III attempted theft - Damaged both doors and...

January 09th, 2021 between 11:46pm and 7:00am January 10th. We heard my alarm go off at 11:46pm and went outside with my weapon and my son behind me looked around went around the car, all good. Battery was dying, but alarm was working. Later on went too sleep, the theives came back later on...
www.preludepower.com www.preludepower.com
 
#27 ·
I have a mobile body guy who said he can fix the body and door.
I will have to replace the window myself, but that is not hard to do, just need to get the doors to work so I can take out the broken glass and replace with my spare glass. I will need to save up for a body respray but at least the car will be fixed. I will still have too take the car to State patrol to get a salvage title slapped on it to be legal road worthy again. Not happy about that....uuugggghhh :confused:
 
#28 ·
So latest update is the car is running but we added an extra piece to this build.
Link to AWD build: 88-91 Prelude B20b/z swap & AWD

Its now going AWD, there is a separate thread on this with pics and updates.
The door handle got sorted out it was a bent rod that we did not notice, and MustardCat saw it and bent it back and it fixed the door handle popping out issue.

I purchased a new Wireworx harness, it took longer due to costs went up for the parts due to Covid and supply chain issues which passed on to all customers.

Have a look at the AWD build as its moving forward in that direction.
This thread was to show that B20vtec build is possible and doable with all my swap parts.

All parts can be purchased at: www.1funryd.com
Or email me directly: 1Funryd@comcast.net
 
#30 ·
So just curious but have you done any more Dyno pulls With the VTEC working? Also what do you think the 0-60 theme was. This is a very nice build and you car looks great!
 
#31 ·
No we ended up moving on to fixing the oil leak and so other things and then decided to go AWD.
But after the AWD is tested, I will make an appointment at the same place to see what the B20vtec AWD makes.

I am estimating around 160whp due to the AWD gearing is different than the fwd tranmissions.

0-60mph?? Its not going to be a fast car, but its definitely going to be grab better in the corners and give better traction for snow days.
Not that I will be driving this thin in the snow...
If I go boost, that will change things up, but will be focusing on getting the Kswap kit done first before I do anything anymore with the AWD setup.

I am calling this lude done for now after getting the road test on this swap. It was a big project from start to finish, but many OG's luders would have loved to see this happen.
It took so many years just because we still never really got the attention from the civic crowed. Which is a good and bad thing.
But we can still benefit from their knowledge.
 
R
#36 ·
It was an absolute pleasure to read your story 1funryd
You have put in so much time and money, amazing. But your baby looks great!! I hope you have many many more years to come with the Prelude.
I owned one in 1996, I was 19 and this was my first car as I always wanted one, a red 1991 facelift.

And now, I own one again. A 1991 one with 4WS, 140HP in red. I live in Ireland and picked the car up in Spain last September. Unfortunately, after 800km easy driving, never went fast or crazy the head gasket is gone. The car starts very difficult and when the car start, ther
e is straight a lot of pressure in the cooling system. Hopefully, it will be fixed next Wednesday. I have no idea unfortunately.
I am over the moon and your story gave my great confidence that we will have many many more years to come as there are people like you out there who know what to do.

Thank you, very inspirational story.

Thats my Baby now:

Best Maik (original from Germany)
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#37 ·
We never started out to be inspirations to anyone, it just happened.
We love our cars pretty much to extremes and we kept dreaming of what we would do if we had the skills or tools to do work.

Well after being friends for almost 20+ years we ended up doing little bits at a time and learning and just noticed that other people kept giving up on our chassis.
I don't blame others for giving up, our group over the years became to elitist in our own right because we just don't fall in the normal Honda category.

But saw many come and go and when they did not get the clout they wanted or recoginition the craved, they sold their ludes and moved on.

MustardCat and I, are not those types. We love other cars, but we chose to support this chassis cause no matter what other cars we owned, the connection with lude is just indescribable.

So we just did one project at a time, and here we are. But its not for the faint of heart.
 
#38 ·
What other cars are you guys into? I am just curious. For me it is Opel Gts. I would probably have to say I like them better than my lude. But my lude is faster and handles better. But that won’t last for long.
 
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