Honda Car Forum

I have a 1996 Honda Civic Hatchback CX and i'm looking for a good engine swap. Can a Prelude motor fit right in,or do i have to modify(some cutting) my inside hood? And what year of Prelude motor can i swap in? What parts do i need to swap a Prelude motor in?

The Prelude engine is a different series engine so you will need to do a lot of modification to get it to fit. An Acura Integra engine would be a much better choice. You can get an Integra engine (or any B-series engine) and all you will need is the engine, transmission, axles, engine mounts, ECU, wiring harness, and a few other button up pieces. Get a 1996 or newer engine because it will be OBD-II like your car and will be the easiest swap. Honda Civic SIs and Honda CRV also use Bseries engines. The B-series is also a lot lighter so your car will handle better.

Actually, you could go with a last year made prelude engine, the only thing is you have obd2a while those will come with obd2b harnesses. Rywire makes jumper kits. And the actual installation of the engine isn't hard, Hasport and Innovate Mounts both make H22 Mounts for the EK chassis.

I agree with Mike B. The part he left out is that it will leave about 1.5" of clearance between the oil pan and the ground. That means if you hit a rock on the road, you're screwed. But regardless, it is completely possible to fit a h22 in it. Try the engine from an RSX type s. It's a little smaller and packs a helluva punch.

.... well if your gonna go h22... i would go with the h22 ( any year, esp. if your gonna build it) with the bisi -moto H2B plate with a b series tranny... prolly a JDM GSr tranny with LSD... better bang for your buck plus you can run a b series shift link etc... so no cutting a hole in the fire wall etc... just need the ecu and harness mounts and h2b plate axles... if i left anything out check out www.honda-tech.com for more info...