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Hi guys, today I bought my first ever car, a Civic EK1. I’ve never worked on a car before but I’m really excited to get into it. I’m pretty sure at the moment it’s got a D16Y4 engine in it but I’d love to have VTEC. What are your suggestions for a good engine swap with VTEC. I don’t have too much money so it doesn’t necessarily have to be the best one (although I don’t mind saving if it’s worth it.) I’ve also seen around that you can just modify the D16Y4 to be VTEC which seems to be a lot cheaper but is it worth it? Thanks!

 
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From a stickied thread. You can do more research on each engine to figure out what you want.

6th Generation

1. B18C1: Completely bolt-in swap, VTEC needs to be wired.
2. B16A2: Completely bolt in swap, VTEC needs to be wired.
3. B16A3: Completely bolt-in swap, VTEC needs to be wired, OBD Conversion.
4. B18C5: Completely bolt-in swap, VTEC needs to be wired.
5. B18B1: Completely bolt-in swap.
6. B16B: Completely bolt-in swap, VTEC needs to be wired.
7. H22A: Mount kit required, Hasport shift linkage, VTEC needs to be wired.
8. D16Z6: Completely bolt-in, OBD conversion, VTEC needs to be wired.
9. D16Y8: Completely bolt-in, VTEC needs to be wired.

 
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If you want all-out screaming VTEC, you'll need a DOHC engine, so forget all the D-series (I doubt you're gonna want to use the ZC).

H is a pain in the *** unless you do an H2B conversion which will annihilate your budget.

Type R swap is expensive. GSR swap isn't super cheap either.

Best option in my opinion is the B18B1. You can get all the parts you need from the junkyard so it'll be cheap. It doesn't have VTEC from factory but it'll be a nice upgrade to the sewing machine that you have in the car right now. Then, if you're feeling ambitious enough later, just do an LS/VTEC build.

Or, as an alternative:

G23 build with the H2B kit. H22 head, F23 block, B-series transmission. The G23 is the cheap part (actually the cheapest way to make decent power from a Honda, but the H-series axles don't line up properly which causes them to snap under launch, which is why people use B-series transmission, but the adapter isn't cheap). For like 2k, the G23's will make well over 220hp NA.