H23a/vtec

[toastyghost]

The car I'm looking to buy after the death of my 3g is a 92 Prelude Si, which has an H23A in it. Since that engine is basically a stroked H22A with a non-VTEC head, it is apparently really easy to do a H22A head swap to get a LOT of top end power out of it. I know you have to plug one oil passage on the head and run an external braided line to the pan. Then you have to either get an H22A ECU or a standalone VTEC controller. I can't find any detailed guides on the whole process though and I'm wondering if there is anything else that you have to do to get this up and running. It just seems too easy for that much power... if it were that easy wouldn't a lot of people have done this already and hence I could more easily find complete information on it?

[RobT5580]

I read an article before but i have no idea where i found it. My friend has a 92 Prelude Si but he blew his motor so he is going with a whole 2.2 Vtec. I will see if he knows where i can get that info for you because im sure he knows more than i do about it. His 2.3 was pretty nasty with higher compression new rods, pistons, and full gude head package. I will say that it was fast as hell but he had a lot of problems with poor quality Gude work.

[toastyghost]

Did you talk to him about it? I'm probably not going to buy that car because it ran a little rough when I test drove it, but it would still be good information to have.

[RobT5580]

No he wasnt sure he does have a freind with that set up but he had a shop do it because he has no clue on mechanical things. I have no clue what site i was on that time but most likes a prelude message board or site. If the price was right i would buy it otherwise i would just go for one that is already Vtec but seems rare or hard to find.

[toastyghost]

Sticker price was $4900, then lowered to $4200. They told me 4 grand... but it has 150k on it and it has an automatic that shifts -(smooth). So I scrapped that. There's a mid-90's (5th gen?) Civic hatch at another dealership that's already pretty hooked up.. nice pearl black, white 17's, lowered. I don't know how much they want for it, I'm calling them tomorrow. I also test drove a 97 Altima GX today that was semi- hooked up and cheap as a motherfucker... silver 16's, short throw, exhaust. Didn't see under the hood though. There are a lot of riceboys around here that trade in their hooked up cars on even nicer cars to start new projects. I saw a 00 teg at the same place that had the Altima and it (the teg) was only like $7k!! I think the Altima was between 4 and 5 grand too. Judging by the sticker prices, I don't think the dealers really know what some of the aftermarket shit on these cars is actually worth... or they dicked the people that traded them in and don't really care.

[RobT5580]

I am leary of buying a hooked up car because most people beat on their cars. I would rather find one stock but i do see some deals and usually the person takes a loss on this type of deal.

[toastyghost]

I know what you mean, whenever I test drive something I always pull over somewhere and check under hood for visible signs of wear or neglecting regular maintenance. I realize there's only so much you can tell without doing a full diagnostic but if I can sell the rims for 25% the cost of the car then it makes it that much more likely I can get my money back out of it. Keep in mind I'm doing this to have something to drive while the Z34 is in the shop, if I get a "new" car I'm probably going to turn around and sell it in the paper in like a week or two.

What I really wanted to do was put the Accord in the back yard and do some HEAVY body work until I can afford an engine for it. Most of that stuff I could do for next to nothing if I didn't have to worry about it being undriveable: hood/fender vents, rear suicide doors (this is why I'm specifically looking to buy another 3g sedan), fender flares, finish the custom ground effects, 90-93 Celica power mirrors, the list goes on and on...