Honda Civic Forum - D17A2 Vtec ported and polished head

Ok here's the scoop. I bought a spare head as a port and polish job. We did all the work and had it milled .10. The car ran fine but spurted a little smoke. I even raced an early 90 Predule with exhaust and hung without problem The car felt noticeably faster and the exhaust note changed to a deeper sound. After a few days Vtec wouldn't engage. I got frustrated, found a good deal on a k20, and put my stock head back on. So here's what I found taking the head off. After removing the valve cover there is a bolt that sists on top the rocker assembly that had backed off and literally fell right in front of the vtec galleyway. Thank God it hadn't moved over to the springs (theres a ridge in the head design that prevented it.) I honestly didn't torque one bolt and it could have solved that issue. Secondly one of the ports was just as clean as they day I put it on. You could replace the valve seals on all four springs for under $50 and still drop the head right in. This would be something you would want to do anyway if you had a head ported. All springs are gapped and ready to go. This head runs perfect. I ran it for about about 4 weeks with the VTEC system malfunction where I couldn't go over 4K RPMS. I even have an extra vtec solonoid that goes with it. Keep in mind I do not have a port flow tester and I'm not the kind of guy that recognized our d17's as much of a motor from the beginning. So understand that I wasn't about to go throw it on a dyno. I have no idea what the gain would be. It was noticeable enough that I would have sold my stock head had it not have been for the issues. Once I had the car about 50% apart I contemplated just putting new seals on the head but I figured I was too far into it. I can even walk you through the head removal sequence. Took me 12 hours the first time (going super slow) and 7 the next. Now I bet I could do it in 4. It's fairly easy and there are many unnecassary things that the manual will want you to do. I can get the head gasket and the intake for $35 from a friend that works at the dealership. I am selling it locally as well. I would have no worries with anyone from AZ running the head either. I can hot tank it too before it ships but I'd rather leave it as it is so that it can just be dropped into the car. I can tell you any specs, I can tell you whats involved, just ask. I bought the head for $200 and it had countless hours into it. The milling was $50 as well. I'd like to get $500 for it. Obviously your installation is in your hands, but you're more than welcome to take it to Honda before you install it to make sure everything is A-OK. I know the head is perfect minus a leaky valve seal. It's one of the easiest MAJOR engine mods. Thats obviously relative to your capability, but trust me I had NEVER pulled a head before and I did it on an 03 Civic, so I was nervous. Turned out to be no big deal. Anyways, I'll entertain offers. Pics can be found on this following link.

http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...ghlight=ported