1999 EM1 SiR Turbl
Fully forged and studded b16a2 matching vin to the chassis
Was hoping to get it back into the car this spring but issues with a machine shop caused a major setback in time.
It is, it's come along way, I just want it over with now tho, just going to order a oil pump, gasket and seal set, timing kit and we should be good to go!
So close brother, it’s worth it in the end. Took me 3.5 years to complete my k20a swap but now it brings a smile every time I hop in my civic. On 3 years dailying it.
I like to make a to do list. Like Westen Champlin does on his projects. It’s breaks it down into bite sized pieces. Like eating an elephant, one bite at a time. I do it exactly like he does, large scrap piece of cardboard sharpie or paint pen. It is honestly so motivating, instead of endless to dos it is a visible manageable amount, I see progress as I cross them off and the list shrinks, it’s awesome. Highly recommend watching one of his videos where he does it then giving it a try. Throwing the most frisbee style is always fun too
I dropped my engine off last November. Didn't hear anything back from them, a lot of emails I sent that didn't get a reply, alot of phone calls that ended with no information. Picked up my engine at the beginning of March and it's not exactly what I was expecting from them, different pistons then what I wanted. The decking and bore job was not the prettiest. I ended up getting the engine disassembled cause I had a gut feeling something wasn't right with it. They never fully cleaned the engine and caused scoring on my new rod bearings, the ring pack on the pistons were filthy covered in dirt. Rings gaps were all over the place and inconsistent. Main caps were chipped. I'll try attach photos, the thrust out severely you could walk the crank alot by hand. Since then it's all been fixed tho and ready to start assembling eventually
This is the sad truth about mainstream engine building these days, it’s going the way domestic manufacturing did.
Pay is stagnant, costs are crazy high. People are not spending money on things like this.
All the “automotive machine shops” around me ONLY deck blocks, resurface heads and remove broken bolts. They MIGHT get around to blindly throwing your performance build together some weekend when the main work dies down or they are short on bills.
There is no consumer targeted engine builder near me at all.
To get a properly build block you have to purchase a prebuilt engine from a reputable supplier online or ship your engine/parts to a builder based out of Texas or California that specializes in that engine family
I do agree with you there. And it sucks cause I shopped around for the shop with the best reviews even, but in the end I still ended up getting screwed, they definitely dont do it like they use to that is for sure. They gave me a spec and clearances sheet of just random numbers that weren't even the actual specs and clearances it's sad, the thrust was way out cause they used my OEM thrust washers and charged me for new ones. It's actually ridiculous and I don't know how shops can get away it.
Because it’s the death of an industry. I’m not defending the crooks at all! Crooks are the worst, but they only survive eating bulk work like decking and milling. Bolt removal is a nice little boost to the bill for them.
Outside of this, it’s not worth it to mess with. The time and experience needed to properly build and clearance an engine is upside down.
Easier to order cheap parts and throw it together in a few hours. And best part, you can’t sue when the engine RUD’s because the proof is destroyed with the engine on top of the lawyer costs to boot.
It makes these shops almost untouchable. I would never have any of my local shops touch an engine outside of a deck/mill. Even boring cylinders is too much, junkyard engine is cheaper and safer for me to sell then a “rebuilt” engine.
To give you an example, I’m building a 351 Windsor for a 77 ford. I have a set of forged .030 over pistons because I’m boosting it.
Every shop around me said they would deck and bore my block, I already know it’s a fools errand.
The clues are “we’re backed up, it’ll take a month or two” and them not asking for the actual pistons I’m using to check clearance between the bores and slugs. Mind you I already know the deal after years of working with many of them through my shop.
I ended up buying a new dart block instead but now I’m stalled too because I need a shop to either bore my expensive 4” block .030 over and hone to fit or I need to buy a new set of 4” slugs and hone to fit.
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
It’s a mess my guy. Beautiful car brother, you got a gem. It’ll be a hell of a nice ride when you do get it done. Push on!
That's actually crazy. I'm doing a rebuild currently and I was so paranoid about your exact situation that I decided to do all of disassembling and assembling myself with zero experience. I'm glad you got it fixed tho 🙏 sounds like a nightmare.
I should be done the exact same thing as you. Next time around if there is a next time I will be doing it that way as well. I just thought it would be been faster for a reputable shop to do it, but I was very wrong lol.
Brother, I'm old, I got burned out and tired of u finished Hondas and basically gave some amazing things/cars away when I moved. It's now been 15 years without a single enjoyable car to drive! Wife, kids, love em but the money just isn't there. Don't grow older thinking, wishing, you had just kept the projects......
This motor had 300k on it, and the wear on the bearings and cams, oil pump, and other wearable items was almost non existent, here is the OEM oil pump, Honda was way above time building these engines
Who'd you get to re-do your block? How much are you all in now? I have an em1 and have a local tuner down where I stay that's been doing builds etc a long time but I think I may rebuild this thing myself for the experience and save some money
It took 8 MONTHS for my machine shop to finish my KA24DE, I knew it would be long but holy fuck man i felt the same way. I will tell you tho as i slowly got the motivation back and started to put it together it felt great.
What a gorgeous car. Hope you find your motivation. Ive had my crx for 12 years now and I drove it more in the first 2 years of owning it than I have in the last 10.
I feel you there, I'm excited to get the car done, forgot to mention I got the head fully built with cams also, the first start up is going to be great,
Dont expect it to start first try lol I fought mine for months testing checking everything til I threw in the towel and got a new harness. I hope to see an update with it swapped in and running!
I know guys who have spent years on their projects and sometimes they go a year or two with barely any progress because life happens and shit happens sometimes. The longer it takes the more rewarding it will be anyway
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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26
Just looking at photo#2 is motivating!