89 A20A3 head on an 86 BT block? Do I need anything special?

[deevergote]

I'm going to the junkyard to get an A20A3 head from an 89 LX-i. The head on my 86 BT LX-i is kinda messed up (stripped spark plug hole) so I want to grab a new one ($30 can't be beat!)

Anyway, I want to know if there's anything I need to be aware of. Should I get the intake manifold, exhaust manifold, ECU... can I use the old 86 parts? I know the A20A3 is the best 3G engine, so there must be something different... Dual runners, perhaps?

Help! :)

[YK86]

The head will be a straight bolt on and that's all you need. Just swap the old intake and exhaust manifolds over using new gaskets. The sensors and stuff like that on the intake manifold are different on the 88/89 so you won't be able to use it even if you pick it up. You would need to do rewiring and it's probably not worth the hassles.

Just an idea but if you use the 88/89 LX-i/SE-i exhaust manifold and downpipe and block the holes (like the extra O2 sensor hole, the egr hole if your 86 LX-i is like my 86 EX-i with no EGR), it would help a bit in the performance department. The 86/87's use the 4-1 while the 88/89 LX-i/SE-i had the more freeflowing 4-2-1.

[deevergote]

Man getting the head off of a 17 year old car is a pain! lol

I have it halfway done. Hopefully I'll get it tomorrow! The last few exhaust and intake manifold bolts are soaking in PB Blaster.

It will definitely be interesting getting it ON my car, since I care a lot more about that than the junk car!