What heads will swap on to tha A20 block?
Originally Posted by carotman
I know someone that put a B20A3 head on a A18.... it worked but had coolant problems
I posted 1 year ago that someone installed a B20A3 head on an A18A... the problem was the cooling passages and the timing gear location. He said in the other thread the he shimmed the bottom gear... fine, I can beleive that.
However, the distributor and crank sensor are NOT from a B16A... they are from a D16 (Integra 86-87 engine)
The major problem I see with this setup is that you need a custom intake manifold to make it work... or a monster hood
Like sean said, for all the trouble involved, you could use a VTEC head instead... no need for a custom intake with that head since the engine leans in the proper way.
Nice work tough... I wonder if it actually runs.
That's because of the exhaust valve location isn't at the same place on cylinder #1-2 and #3-4. This way honda can make only 1 model of piston instead of making 2 different pistons for the same engine...
The F23A head isn't bad but I would prefer to have the DOHC F22B head on it. Interesting project tough.
It sure seems to line up properly.
Once the head is bolted to the engine, the rest would be fairly easy.
However, the JDM B20A head would be a better option to mod in my opinion. The intake manifold wouldn't need to be modified to fit in the car since the B20A uses the same mani as the A20A.
The problem is findind a B20A head in North America, which leaves us back to square 1.
With the B20A5/B21 head, you would need to mod the intake mani so it fits inside the enginebay. Just a cut N weld thing.
I would run the PK2 ecu with that setup but the PJ0 could also run it.
For the Manifold, I was refering to the Accord B20A. The Accord B20A will not bolt to the B21A or 88+ Prelude B20A
The A20A has a 82,5mm bore if I remember.Originally Posted by Swap_File
I finally logged into 3geez after being gone for a few months, and saw a few PMs asking about this project. Here is a quick summary:
Here is what you would need (Mostly from memory):
B21A1 (from 1990 - 91) or B20A5 (from 1988 - 91) head from a Prelude. B21 head lowers compression just a bit, B20 head bumps it up just a bit. B20A5 heads are much more common in the junkyards around here.
Custom lower timing gear (Modify a B20/B21 gear to fit A20 shaft)
Some other timing belt - Unsure of what is needed
Tap and plug the extra oil drain holes in the new head
Redo the one head bolt that does not line up. Probably make the hole in the head a little bigger and oval shaped, and then make a special washer for it.
Redo the oil feed, since the head bolt that doesn't line up is used with the head's oil system.
Upper timing belt pulleys do not quite align with the tensioner and bottom pulley. Probably has to have some shimming done.
You need the B21A1/B20A5 intake.
I remember that the A20 distributor had a different number of teeth than the B20A5/B21A1. You will probably need to switch to one of the OBD1 ECUs to make tuning simpler. Look for the instructions on what distributors fit on the B20A5/B21A1 head on preludepower.com. The ECU swap is a project in itself...
My suggestion: Do the head swap if you are looking for a challenge, if you want cheap power go turbo. I am sure that the head swap could be done, but it will not be easy.
I am currently (slowly) working towards going turbo. College has been keeping me very busy, but I am slowly making progress.
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