How much does a swap really cost?

[honda2014]

I have moved passed the view that whatever price you see for an item is the price you pay once it is installed. After buying coilovers for only $400, I thought I was done with suspension work. Little did I realize that on 20 year old cars, whenever you strained the suspension, it broke. A camber kit, poly bushing kit, and 6 new ball joints later, I understand how the mod game works. You change one thing, and you will fix AT LEAST two.

I need to update my engine. Whether it be a rebuild with new pistons and rings, or a swap, it's hard to calculate precise, or even close values of what different things cost. With a 17 year old budget in mind, and over 300k on the clock, I often get blind sighted about which ways I should go about certain things. Maybe some of you guys can help me out: I'd like, from either a professional opinion, or experience, how much your swap/rebuild was, how effective it has been, and how much your's deviates from the average price. So far I have planned to spend about $2000 for an DOHC F22B and H23 transmission swap. Thanks.

['93CB7Ex]

depends on where you get your engine from, who installs it, and if you put new parts on it.

[Joey GT-R]

Unless you're doing all the work yourself, I doubt $2000 will cover that swap. JDM F22Bs generally run $1000, and the H23 trans will be about $200. You still need the ECU($100) and an appropriate header($100) as well. You'll also want put on a fresh timing belt($100) and water pump($75) at the least. Some people also opt for a fresh headgasket($50), thermostat($20), spark plugs($50) and wires($25), and distributor($175). All these components make the engine as reliable as possible from day one. That's roughly $1900 in parts alone. And if you need help, expect to pay a good shop AT LEAST $1000 to do it all.

I hope your car is already a manual as well, because if we're talking a conversion, than you're WAY under budget.

[honda2014]

Unless you're doing all the work yourself, I doubt $2000 will cover that swap.

I hope your car is already a manual as well, because if we're talking a conversion, than you're WAY under budget.

I am doing all the work, along with a good friend who is a very experienced Hyundai mechanic. I am converting to 5 spd, but I already have all the parts, besides the mount conversion, which I was not including in my swap costs.

[Joey GT-R]

Well as you can see you're dangerously close. I would save some more. You never know what might go wrong with a swap, as you've already discovered with other upgrades on your car. Perhaps $2500 would be a appropriate.

[honda2014]

Well as you can see you're dangerously close. I would save some more. You never know what might go wrong with a swap, as you've already discovered with other upgrades on your car. Perhaps $2500 would be a appropriate.

Thanks Joey. All other comments will be appreciated and possibly added to the thread for people's benefit.

[Raf99]

Well as you can see you're dangerously close. I would save some more. You never know what might go wrong with a swap, as you've already discovered with other upgrades on your car. Perhaps $2500 would be a appropriate.

I'd agree with this price. I'd say if you had $3000 you are safe to proceed, and this amount would be a good safety net. If you were going to a H22 you would need more $$$.

[h22sparkle]

Give the complete rundown what kind of parts are you getting? And where are you getting them from? Then who is going to install the.

[honda2014]

Give the complete rundown what kind of parts are you getting? And where are you getting them from? Then who is going to install the.

I'm going to be installing it. I've got most of the necessary tools to do so. It will be a complete swap. I will be refreshing all the old seals in the engine, besides the head gasket. Basically a thorough swap with use of the stock header.I'm guessing around $2500 is a good number to expect to spend.

What do you all think an H22 swap would cost? About $3500?

[Stoner51]

I think I had close to $2000 mine. That was using my f22 tranny and the motor I bought had a new timing belt and water pump installed.
I would order the parts here and there save up a little cash and then do it. If you don't have the funds you will be stuck. If something goes wrong you won't have any money left to fix it.
I did main rear seal, clutch and flywheel, Motor mounts, Header and exhaust. The guy I got my motor from was going to swap it and decided not to. He had already changed all the seals and wp and timing belt.
I had a chipped ecu with hondata, but the p13 cost me about 75.
Plugs wires, I would use the old dizzy and replace the coil($50), and you will prob need a new sensor or two here and there.

It took me at least a week to get the engine ready to swap in. Wiring and all.

steve

[Straight Success]

I did everything myself for my swap with some free transporting help from family members. I think I've spent roughly $2500 or so in parts to get it completely, and I mean completely fresh.

Take a look: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=197228

[CyborgGT]

I did the work myself as well.

$1575 - H22A long-block from HMO
> This included ECU, harness, alternator, header+dp (had a friend with a welder do the extra exhaust work for basically free)... everything, really. What it didn't have to work with a CB Accord, my F22 did. The block says mine is a 1997 model, so I assume HMO converted it to OBD1 for me.

Maintenance I wanted to be sure about:
$76 - NGK plugs & wires @ Advance
$15 - thermostat @ Advance
$18 - distributor rotor (the Civic cap in the FAQ was wrong for mine) @ Advance
$89 - manual timing tensioner conversion kit @ ImportRP.com (Kaizenspeed has since released a simpler solution)
$33 - balancer belt @ Majestic Honda
$65 - water pump @ Majsetic
$2 - thermostat gasket @ Majestic
$20 - 4 oil filters, for future use @ Majestic
$50 - timing belt @ Majestic
$50 - valve cover gasket set @ Advance

Extra crap:
$255 - Explicit Speed mounts @ ESP
$144 - AEM short ram @ IRP
$66 - RyWire VTEC subharness (out of laziness) @ RyWire
$16 - VTEC decals (... yeah) @ Majestic
$24 - CD SiR badge (...) @ Response Import Auto Fashion on eBay

$2498 total

There were a few other things I ended up not using for whatever reason, but all of this gave me a perfectly reliable car for a year before I ran into an electrical problem (I assume was my own fault from trying to tuck the bay) and decided to take it out for a power build. You can definitely do it for cheaper. Of course, I did have to buy an engine lift from Harbor Freight (look for coupons in the car magazines, it drops $100 off the price), and a few misc tools I didn't already have.