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seancornelis
06-17-2002, 04:33 PM
Does anyone happen to know if the ES3 in the '85 Accord SEi is of the same family as the A20 in the 3rd gen Accords, and if things like exhaust manifolds and heads are interchangeable? The ES3 is the fuel injected version of the ES2/A18A1 in the 2nd/3rd gen Prelude.

1989 DX R
06-17-2002, 05:44 PM
I would say no, but I'm carbed.

PhydeauX
06-17-2002, 09:00 PM
The ES begat the ET which in turn begat the A18A. They are in the same general family as the A20. The blocks are similar to the A20's (apart from a smaller bore and shorter stroke), but the heads arn't. I don't know if they are interchangable or not, I don't think that has ever been tryed. The ES3 is a rare one only coming in the 85 accord SE-i. The 2nd gen prelude came with either a dual carbed ES1/ET2/A18A1 (depending on the year) or the BT/A20A3 (you all should know those), the gen3 prelude had some form of the B20 in it. You can swap an ES for an A20 and you can swap the accessory brackets etc, but the manifolds dont swap.

If you want the power ratings for the motors here they are:
Motor / fuel system / hp / torque
ES1 / Dual Side Draft / 100@5500 / 104@4000
ES2 / 3bbl Down Draft / 86@5800 / 99@3500
ES3 / PGM FI / 101@5800 / 108@2500
ET2 \ A18A1 / Dual Sde Draft / 100@5500 / 107@4000
BS \ A20A1 / 2bbl Down Draft / 98@5500 / 110@3500
BT \ A20A3 / PGM FI / 110@5500 / 114@4500
A20A3 / PGM FI / 120@5800 / 122@4000 (88-89)

All of those motors are interchangable, but you can see which one is worth going for.

andy

seancornelis
06-18-2002, 03:43 PM
Would the A20A3 into an '85 be as a direct swap as yours was? I'm not too knowledgable about 1980s Honda fuel injection systems, but I have a feeling they were all very similar up until around 1990.

I ask this because I found some kind of freak '85 SEi with 70k miles and a 5-speed, which is weird because I could have sworn they only came with automatics.

PhydeauX
06-18-2002, 07:09 PM
The motor will swap right in, I don't know how hard its going to be to wire though. They are similar systems, but if I were you I'd try to use the a20 ecu just incase. Grab a later a20a3 with the dual stage manifold and all those other goodies. That one definitely will require its own ecu, but its 20 more hp then whats in there.

andy

seancornelis
06-18-2002, 10:55 PM
Are you using the '85 or the A20 transmission?

PhydeauX
06-19-2002, 06:20 PM
I have a 1.8 prelude trans, was supposed to be from an 85 for the lower final drive, but its not. Stupid junkyard riping me off. The prelude has shorter gears and a lower final drive in it. You'll also have to use a prelude flywheel, though I think you can use the ES3 flywheel, it should be the same thing (Same pn on the clutch, but I dunno if it has a 6 or 8 bolt pattern, the a20a uses an 8). You could also use the existing trans or you shouldn't have any troubles with the a20a trans (though I don't think that has ever been confirmed).

andy