Jdm B20a

[88eyeguy]

I went to acustom shop called Intercrew today and asked the manager how much it would cost to get a jdm b20a, turbo, and everything else i needed to convert my 88 LX from carb to the b20a efi. he said parts and labor $3700 total! i'm a total 3rd gen noob but that seem really cheap :deal: . does that sound realistic to you guys, or was i on drugs at the time? :alc:

[RobT5580]

Not at all to me. A decent turbo swap would cost that much alone not including labor. Keep in mind MOST shops think its the prelude B20A which its not and this one is far more rare never mind finding a 5 speed. If you want a swap talk to B20ATurbo he just posted in the engine swap forum saying he had 2 left.

[88accordalltheway]

yea, that does sounds preety damn cheap. Are you sure he understood that you wanted a JDM? that price is enough for just a turbo, not the engine. plus you want to swap to efi which is even more. I dont know, that guy sounds like hes on crack.

[88eyeguy]

thats what i thought, cause i told him i wanted the jdm b20a and he asked if thats the on from the 88 japanese accord i said it wasand he told me the engine was only 900!

[RobT5580]

Well considering its an old swap they probably are dirt cheap to distributors but not many import them because it was a very undesired swap. So the engine price could be true but im doubtful he can get the right one. And a turbo setup is a completly custom job so unless he works for free its not going to happen.

[88eyeguy]

crap!! thanx, i was thinkin of going to the bank to take out a loan you sur saved my arse, not to mention my wallet.

[rjudgey]

why don't you get the engine and tranny plus other bits you need, then just convert it to run on carbs, you can use the stock A20A1 manifold and convert to DGV 38/38 or try going bigger or better Mikes twin 38/38 project or twin IDA'S or get a twin B18 DCOE manifold and run two DCOE's, save you cost on ECU, but change the ignition to something tasty like crank fired, either do a chepa DIY kit from megasquirt or if your feeling really mad go Electromotive or something similar. You can allways convert to EFI later as you have the manifold and you could even turbo charge the webers or ITB's, but to begin with you get the basics and a B20A with Good carbs should easily put out 170-180bhp with stock head and block.

[88eyeguy]

really i think that when i get the b20 i'll probably just convert to efi, my oem carb won't be worthy of the b20 compared to a weber or other perf. carb. and i've been reading alot on here about adapting the a20 mani to take a bigger carb like a 38/38 and it sounds like its just to much effort to go through if i'm gonna convert to efi later. and if i do go turbo sometime, then i want to get every single horse out of it that i possibly can. that's a really good plan though if i decide to keep it carbed. thanks for the input!

[Immeraufdemhund]

let me tell ya the efi swap sounds easy but it is a good size project. i finished up a bit ago, but it took me 32 hours.... Now granted i'm not the fastest person doing it, but it's still a large project cause you take apart everything. oh well, but it's your car and your money. a good hint is to have an extra car that is identicle to yours and take jes about everything from it....good luck though. hope that b20 is in your paws soonly.

[racerx]

Prelude B20A engines are not far less rare. Believe me, when I bought mine (for the lude) it seemed like everyone and their mom had an accord B20A, but not a Prelude B20A...

There's several places to look, but you can pretty much forget those big name places like nippon motors because they almost NEVER have them in stock. And they charge way too much, in my opinion.

I bought mine for $650 shipped (for the prelude) and it always seems that the accord ones are equally priced, at least on all the 1087 sites I looked at.

So, $3700 for B20A-T including labor? Doesn't sound wrong to me.
Shops around here charge anywhere from $200-400 for a 4cyl engine swap, especially if the mounts line up.
This turbo kit will not be manufactured, so it will obviously be custom made. Let's break it down:

Manifold: $600 (just estimating)
Turbo: new-$150-200, used-$50
Intercooler: $200
Oil Cooler: $150
FMU: $400, but it really depends on what you what
Injectors: $250
Charge Pipes: $250
Exhuast: $250
Other little parts: $250

Labor: 6-8 hours in a pro shop (max) at $65/hour: $520 (8hours)

Engine: $650

Labor for the engine: $400

GRAND TOTAL: $4120

He's probably cutting you a break since you'll go through him for everything and he can probably buy a lot of those turbo parts for wholesale prices, if not out of a junkyard.
And this price assumes the highest price on all parts. It could be as little as $3200, if you get used parts, and it doesn't take him that long to do the work, or if he's not that expensive...
Just some food for thought.

But if you want to get to the bottom of it, just ask him. No one here can tell you about this guy or what his connections are, or how cheap he can get his parts.
Go there (or call him) with a list of questions:
-How is this price broken down?
-Do you warrantee/guarentee your parts/labor?
-How can we make this cheaper?
-Would it help if I bought the motor/turbo/intercooler/etc on eBay?

We could theorize all day, but no one here is going to be able to tell you what you'll be getting into for sure. Heck, I'll call him for you if you want. PM me.

[smufguy]

lol, where on earth are you gonna get a Brand New TUrbo for $200??? Even a shitty rebuilt one goves 50 more. For a New TUrbo, u will be easily spending 300 to 400 bux and they are new in the sense they are rebuilt, not brand spanking new. The common type used turbos are the 14B turbos from the DSM cars and from a junkyard they run easy of $75 to $120 easy and u gotta pull it out. Then comes the part of rebuilding it. Once the Turbo sits in junkyard where there is a lot of accumilation of moisture, And old oil just sitting in the turbo, it will get rusty and carbon deposits will be all caked up.

For the Oil cooler on the other hand, a nifty big enough cooler from B&M from Summit merely costs $50 (just the cooler) and a race type costs only $100 (with fittings).

[racerx]

well, I was just estimating on a lot of things, and what I underpriced in the oil-cooler, I made up for in the turbo. :D

Anyway, if you want to go balls to the walls:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33742&item=7943016555&rd=1
:D :D :D

or,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33742&item=7942722803&rd=1

There's butt-loads of turbos on eBay, but you can also look on www.car-parts.com for used stuff.
I know 2 guys who have bought 14B turbos for $40 out of a local junk yard, and then paid an additional $10 for the downpipes.

I still think you should call.

[smufguy]

both these turbos are for a diesel engine. Esp the first one is mad big on the exhaust side. I bet the boost lag will still be there eve at 6000rpm. LOL. But yeah, u get what u paid for and be careful when u choose the turbo. .48 ar is just too damn small.

[racerx]

geez, don't tell him what he needs and what he doesn't. If he wants to just boost a little for better drivability, let him. And if he wants a turbo diesel, awesome. :D That was just for fun, anyway.

Let us know what kind of deal he's gonna hook u up with.

[Dr._8t9LX]

Also, My mechanic, who is pretty good, was stuck on this problem. JDM to him ment made in Japan for IMPORT to America. It took a couple trys for him to get that JDM in Japan for Japan is different. Some of these Accords were still made in Japan for import, remember. He knew about JDM parts and stuff but in his mind I think it was a waste of money and just a fad.

Maybe your mechanic isn't hearing you that it is a Japanses for use in Japan engine (B20A-T) that you want.

[RobT5580]

All i can say is good luck on that you left out a lot of stuff and it adds up fast. I think the small stuff is where most people seem to go wrong and under estimate it a lot. Ask anyone who has a custom turbo setup and they will tell you about all the odds and ends. I do 98% of the stuff myself so i know what it takes and i still highly doubt you will find a shop to make a kit and swap at that price.

[88eyeguy]

I talked to him again this morning and he said that they could do the engine, carb to efi, headers, and 2.5" cat back for about $1900. When i asked where he would get the engine, he said that he got all his JDM stuff through a guy in New Zealand. So i'll probably get the engine done there and worry about the turbo later when i feel comfortable doing it myself. On the subject of the turbo, i was thinkin of running a high psi without a big lag, but i don't want to max it out at an early rpm. Besides, the guy at the shop was probably quoting that price on an internally wastegated turbo for a low psi w/o an intercooler. Sooo, if you have any more suggestions on the engine for stuff that I might want to have them do before they put it in that would be beneficial for the turbo, I'm all ears. Thanks in advance!

[racerx]

well, go ahead and name all of the many things I left out.

*cricket cricket*

:D j/k

Anyway, yeah, it's true that it always adds up to more than you think it'll be, I was just giving him an estimate. And if he's not going to include the intercooler, and it's internally wastegated, FORGET IT! I'd wait for a good deal to come in, or do it yourself.

And yeah, a lot of mech's don't understand what JDM means. Heck, I was talking to am engine supplier and he said that the JDM motors were on a completely different labeling system. As in, there was no B20A, or H22A, or ZC or anything like that. It was in japanese. idiot.

[RobT5580]

I was just going through my folder the other day and i think most people would be surprised how much things add up. Granted i bought top of the line stuff but he stated he wanted high boost so you cant skimp any where unless you want a big headache when your car falls apart. Im talking clamps, connectors, hoses, piping, flanges, fittings, hardware, oil supply/drain kit, misc welding, some parts need modifications in the process. And we have not even gotten into the rebuilding of the engine and that is a very important and more expensive part. And i pretty much built or modified what needed to be myself and i always shop around and have some connections where i saved a good deal of money.

Sure you can build a hack system cheap but i have yet to see a reliable setup built that has lasted long at all. Plus unlike civics/tegs this is all custom for the accord so you generally pay more like the manifold.