v6 swap!

[88accordSF]

i'm totally sold on the v6-in-a-small car idea. just bought a 92 corrado VR6 and the thing is f***in smokin down the road, pushin 240+ hp N/A with headroom to go in the engine build itself. still washin out the boxer stains from my joy ride a couple weeks ago.

so that brings me to thinkin, if i'm wanting to swap in a hot motor into the 3geez, it seems that the main issue is getting RELIABLE power outta a 4-banger. yea, you can juice em up, but i've been chewin on the idea of: grabbing a v6 + manual tranny + driveshafts from some sort of honda (or acura, if that's available) and starting the project. with my driving habits, i'll be snapping 4-banger turbo'd blocks left and right, so a v6 sounds like a slightly better idea in terms of keeping the car on the road and actually enjoying it, after it's all said and done.

anybody attempted this ridiculous project?

i've done a number of swaps in the past 5 years in different cars, but not the 3gee. making the motor & trans mounts is not a problem. i'm trying to think ahead in terms of space available (no problem fabbing up a hood for clearances), and other potential chassis issues

and for the record, yes i'm f***in off the wall. that's a given, if you know me.

[ghettogeddy]

id try like a acura legend v6 swap it might just fit id go to a jy and pull the motor on a 3g and see if u can get the v6 to even fit in there right

[SZfiftyfour]

I would think there would be plenty of room for a V6. At the time Camry's were running V6's and i'd assume Honda would build their cars for the possibility at least. Camry & Accord had almost the same dimesions then.

[Legend_master]

Possible, yes . Easy, no .

[ghettogeddy]

Possible, yes . Easy, no .

did he ever finish the v6 swap

[snoopyloopy]

bah, legend beat me to it. but that's a honda (acura) legend v6 from the same time period as the 3g accord, and was also reused in the 95-97 accord v6. 170 hp, 170 tq. so if power is what you want, i'd go with an h22 if i were you since it makes almost as much torque and much more hp. if originality is what you want, i'd still go with the h22 since it's been done by what appears to be two-three people = it's rare.

did he ever finish the v6 swap

according to greatdane, he did and was working on tuning it, but then inspection time came around so he removed it and put the stock engine back in and hasn't tried it again since...

[Legend_master]

bah, legend beat me to it. but that's a honda (acura) legend v6 from the same time period as the 3g accord, and was also reused in the 95-97 accord v6. 170 hp, 170 tq. so if power is what you want, i'd go with an h22 if i were you since it makes almost as much torque and much more hp. if originality is what you want, i'd still go with the h22 since it's been done by what appears to be two-three people = it's rare.


according to greatdane, he did and was working on tuning it, but then inspection time came around so he removed it and put the stock engine back in and hasn't tried it again since...

I just looked at those pics a little closer and relized the fuel filter is in the wrong spot for a 3gee and the iginition coil is also on the wrong side. I wonder if that guy was B.Sing us or if he moved them. I know this can be done, because I saw a guy on the Acura Legend forum stuff that same motor into an 89 civic hatch. The car was an absolute beast, but he had to use the entire front suspention setup from the legend. He also modified the entire fron radiator support. Later he tore that down and stuck the engine in the rear of a 96 civic, check this thing out. Oh and he turboed it



Here is his read

[lostforawhile]

he would have had to move those,the fuel filter and coil go there on the legend. i think the entire subframe can be switched, i've been looking at this for years,the cars are sister cars. and i don't think the fuel filter is in the wrong spot, if you look at a picture of my car,there is a fuel distribution block on the firewall,thats where the fuel line comes out. maby it's a different spot on the FI? it wouldn't matter if this was a FI car or a carb,everything would have to be changed anyway.

[Legend_master]

he would have had to move those,the fuel filter and coil go there on the legend. i think the entire subframe can be switched, i've been looking at this for years,the cars are sister cars.

Thats an understatement, there like clones gone wrong. With my research into the suspension and brakes of both car, all they did was beef up the Legend to support the V6. Have you ever actually compared the sub frame? I know the Legend engine bolts on the passenger side of the car and the tranny is on the drivers side unlike the a20. So a mounting location would have to be made on the passenger side frame rail. The Legend uses a similar dogbone mount as well. If I had a different project car I would try it and turbo it.

[87LXiR]

Thats an understatement, there like clones gone wrong. With my research into the suspension and brakes of both car, all they did was beef up the Legend to support the V6. Have you ever actually compared the sub frame? I know the Legend bolts on the passenger side of the and the tranny is on the drivers side unlike the a20. So a mounting location would have to be made on the passenger side frame rail. The Legend uses a similar dogbone mount as well. If I had a different project car I would try it and turbo it.

I havent compared the two in detail but the similarities are there (both mechanicaly and body line wise). Im pretty sure the legend is slightly bigger demension wise but as you too have mentioned it could very well be done.

[AccordEpicenter]

Shit, with all the work involved with actually swapping to a V6... goddamn!! Even on the stock 135000 mile engine my car on boost was a mid to high 12 sec car on slicks... Soo if you wanna go fast, turbo your A20. Itll be ALOT faster then your VR6

[lostforawhile]

Shit, with all the work involved with actually swapping to a V6... goddamn!! Even on the stock 135000 mile engine my car on boost was a mid to high 12 sec car on slicks... Soo if you wanna go fast, turbo your A20. Itll be ALOT faster then your VR6

why not boost the vr6? the main thing with the v6 is the torque,for a daily driver you have that torque at lower rpms, and it makes for much better drivability. if you were to build a carb manifold,you would have much better choices for matching a carb to a v6,then a 4. all the old datsun tricks would be able to be used,there is a ton of knowledge on building carb power in v6 engines from those guys. and i'm sure there is a lot of honda knowledge out there too if you search for it. i'm sure you could get close to 300 horsepower with enough work. it's been done many times for the old z cars and the displacment is pretty close. i've always wanted to see one of those v6 motors with six bike carbs, that would kick ass.

[MessyHonda]

only thing is ......we live in california......and would have to pay under the table just to pass the damn thing. the JDM b20a should be a bolt on....and they have lots of autos....so try to get one of thoes till you find a 5 speed one.

[AccordEpicenter]

yeah, you could boost the VR6 and make a shitton of power but turbo VR6 builds arent even remotely cheap. Itll be a bit easier to make insane power with tho

[Legend_master]

yeah, you could boost the VR6 and make a shitton of power but turbo VR6 builds arent even remotely cheap. Itll be a bit easier to make insane power with tho

That is definitly true, they do make alot of power. The turbo kit alone is 6K

[snoopyloopy]

only thing is ......we live in california......and would have to pay under the table just to pass the damn thing. the JDM b20a should be a bolt on....and they have lots of autos....so try to get one of thoes till you find a 5 speed one.

you could theoretically do any engine swap in cali as long as the donor engine is same model year or newer as the target car and all emissions systems from the donor engine are in place and working properly. and of course it has to pass the sniffer.

[Legend_master]

Also the Legend uses a hydraulic clutch system, so that would have to be something else to figure out.

[88accordSF]

Shit, with all the work involved with actually swapping to a V6... goddamn!! Even on the stock 135000 mile engine my car on boost was a mid to high 12 sec car on slicks... Soo if you wanna go fast, turbo your A20. Itll be ALOT faster then your VR6

a boosted ~180hp turbo a20 will get SMOKED by the VR6. VR6 can run a very low 14sec completely stock @ 187 hp. i haven't quarter-miled my 240hp done-up engine yet, with 10lb 15" rims.

however, i do see your point about all the work for a v6 swap in the LX. maybe i should just grab a donor a20 block and boost it for around-town fun with some upgraded internals, and swap over to a 5-speed. that does seem like a good idea.

[AccordEpicenter]

heh i had more than 180hp

[MessyHonda]

heh i had more than 180hp

hurry up with your new build and show us some numbers.

[AccordEpicenter]

im still waiting for bitesize to send me my crank... Its been over a month. I know hes an OG and he has vouches so i didnt want to start shit over it but i might have to if i dont see it VERY SOON. IDK why 5/10 people ive dealt with on here in classifieds never follow through with their ends on stuff bought or sold unless hassled and even then... Ive actually never had a problem on HMT like i do here... pisses me off bigtime. The crank is about the only part i need besides rods/bearings

[88accordSF]

heh i had more than 180hp

what did the dyno numbers report the HP to be?

[Pico]

im still waiting for bitesize to send me my crank... Its been over a month. I know hes an OG and he has vouches so i didnt want to start shit over it but i might have to if i dont see it VERY SOON. IDK why 5/10 people ive dealt with on here in classifieds never follow through with their ends on stuff bought or sold unless hassled and even then... Ive actually never had a problem on HMT like i do here... pisses me off bigtime. The crank is about the only part i need besides rods/bearings

No worries with Bitesize , I bought my pacesetter from him, and it took some time but he kept me updated, he's one person you can trust.
So dont worry you'll be getting your part soon

[AccordEpicenter]

what did the dyno numbers report the HP to be?

no dyno on the old setup but if you use pretty much any calculator 13.7 at 105 with a given 2700 gross weight of the car with me in it (its been on the scales) it roughly equates to about 245-255 hp at the crank and about 210-215whp. These are VERY conservative numbers because these 1/4 mile times were with massive wheelspin on the stock 14" wheel/tire combo. If you see the vids youll understand...

[ryan2107]

I just looked at those pics a little closer and relized the fuel filter is in the wrong spot for a 3gee and the iginition coil is also on the wrong side. I wonder if that guy was B.Sing us or if he moved them. I know this can be done, because I saw a guy on the Acura Legend forum stuff that same motor into an 89 civic hatch. The car was an absolute beast, but he had to use the entire front suspention setup from the legend. He also modified the entire fron radiator support. Later he tore that down and stuck the engine in the rear of a 96 civic, check this thing out. Oh and he turboed it

Here is his read

thats crazy