17 replies to this topic

[The Quaff]

Hey RPR, I am starting a swap project thread to help document my work and hopefully get some help when needed, by you, the beautiful RedPepperRacing community.  The reason for the swap is to make a reliable daily driver that will be able to handle 100 mi./day and be fun to drive.  I am using 2 cars to make one good car, a 1985 CRX and a 1987 CRX Si.  The plan is to put the Si motor into the '85 to replace the carburated EW1 that is currently in there and will not start... most of the time.  The body on the '85 is pretty good, very little rust, and only a couple of broken/cracked body panels, whereas the '87's body is bad.  I have never seen that much rust on an A pilar before, never mind the floorboards are basically gone in the front, and the "frame rails" are starting to disappear as well.  I have also been itching to rebuild an engine, so, yea  I know this has been done before and I have searched the site for a bit about this, but haven't found any specific threads on the D15A3 into the '85 EW1. I'll keep looking it's been very helpful so far, so thanx guys.

 

Here's a little history on the cars.  The 1985 CRX was sitting in a lot near my house and the guy wanted $1600 for it.  Again, the body on this thing was pretty darn good, and it only had ~165,000 miles on it, not bad.  We agreed on $1200, not bad, but I should have paid $1000, I thought.  I drove it for a little while until it started running like crap.  I fixed it, intake mani. gasket and carb rebuild, but I also broke it when I devac'd it.  It did run pretty good after the carb. rebuild and gasket, for a little while.  Then it stopped starting and I can't figure it out, so I'm gonna pull it out  The 1987 CRX Si is a recent purchase and it broke it's timing belt which bent 2 intake valves.  It's in rough shape, 365,000 miles on this one, and not much TLC during the last 28 years.  But, it has everything I need for a swap, and $400, so.... let the work begin.

 

How 'bout some pictures.

 

Before 2 become 1.

 

Lots of rust.

 

Almost no rust on the '85.

 

Gotta love the louvers

 

Boooo carburetor.

 

Yay fuel injection.

 

 

[The Quaff]

Reason I got the Si.  Uhh ohh.

 

No more exhaust manifold.  Also look closely and you'll notice there are no manifold studs sticking out of the head on the left side of the picture... I found a couple of the broken ones under the heat shield and the rest is in the head. Crap!

 

Headless.

 

Cylinder head uderneath.  Notice the intake valves for #3 and 4.

 

Cylinder #3.  Bent intake valve, #4 is the same... Need new ones, crap.

 

Looking a little naked.

 

The most important tool.  Worth the money to have the hard copy, imo.

 

That's where I stand thus far.  Next step, pull the block out and get it on a stand.  Also get the fuel tank out and make sure it doesn't need any love, if so, give it some love    I'll do my best to keep this up to date, if I start slacking yell at me, and I'll straighten my act out.  I hope you enjoy my project as much as I enjoy all of yours.

 

-Matt

[The Quaff]

EDIT: Those are bent exhaust valves, not Intake valves.... Yea, I knew that

[1985 CRX SI]

Consider swapping the entire wiring harness as many plugs are different.
Jeff
Also left hand drill bits (Harbor freight tools) will probably back the broken studs right out.

[The Quaff]

Thanx for the input Jeff.  I have read in a few different spots that I will need to replace the wire harness at least from the seats forward, so I was thinking of replacing the entire thing while I'm in there.  Left hand drill bits are a good idea, and I did think about trying that, but I really don't wanna mess it up.  I'll get a quote at a machine shop and evaluate weather it's worth it or not, to try it myself.  I looked at the tank last night a little closer and couldn't find any rust on it, at least not on the bottom.  I am going to try to pull it out this week and check the top and inside of it.  What about the transmission?  Will I need to replace the EW1 transmission or does that bolt up to the D15A3?

[1985 CRX SI]

Use the Si trans if you have one. The EW1 trans will bolt up but has a different final drive ratio. The studs are probably broken because of stress and using a small left hand drill bit will grab wile drilling and back them right out. Worked on all of the ones I have ever taken out. I drill a small starter hole and then switch to a little larger bit hoping the bit will grab wile drilling into the smaller hole.
Jeff

[The Quaff]

What is the difference between final drives, do you know?  I am going to use this as a daily driver, so I'd like a good highway cruiser, since 90 of my 100 mi/day is on the highway.  I have decided to try extracting the studs myself, thanx for the input 1985 CRX SI, I really appreciate it.  Also what about axles, I assume they are the same.  Am I correct in my assumption or am I making an ass outta myself?  Do you know?  Thanx again.

-Matt

[1985 CRX SI]

You are welcome.

4.250 for DX and the Si is probably 4.40 the 85 Si is only slightly steeper (4.42).

Some may tell you to swap out the 5th gear from an HF but I would just swap to the Hf trans(Good luck actually finding one. They look the same from the outside)

Axles yes same.

Jeff

[1985 CRX SI]

http://www.redpepper...showtopic=53026

[The Quaff]

So, here is the latest.  Not too much work being done lately, life has been getting in the way, mainly work...  I did manage to get the motor pulled last weekend and have been working on getting the wiring out of the engine bay.  I am headed outta town for a couple weeks so it's back on hold  This is all I really wanna do, but again, life comes first... I guess.  PICTURES!

 

 

Ohh yea here is my new "garage", pretty sweet huh?

 

Where did it go?

 

D15A3 awesomeness

 

Torn rack boot... crap.  Does anyone know where to get a replacement or 2?

 

That's all I've done in a while, definitely not enough.  I really want this project to be done, but I'm not in any rush because I want it to last.  Hopefully when I get back from "vacation" I can get some momentum and finish up before the snow starts flying.

 

Thanx for the link 1985 CRX SI, helpful stuff.

[The Quaff]

Hey Peppers! It's been a while since I updated, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working.  I was outta town for a couple of weeks and its been crazy this past week but I did get the engine all torn apart and ready to go to the machine shop for a through cleaning.  The head will come apart tomorrow and then that will be ready for a machine shop clean.  I think while it's there I might have them press my new pistons on and check the block and head to make sure they're flat.  I ordered a Clegg Engine rebuild Kit and it looks like quality stuff, hopefully it is.  It came with everything except for the timing belt and water pump, not a bad deal, I thought.  I wish there was more time in the day to work on this beast, but there's not... I am always psyched to be working on this, it's kinda funny actually.  Everyone at work will ask "What did you do this weekend?" and I'll say with a big grin "Worked on my car".  The response is usually a disappointing "Ohh" which make me laugh.  Some people just don't understand.  OK picture time.  Only a couple this time, sorry guys, life is getting in the way of my CRX build

 

Disassembled

 

 

Ohh I forgot about the gas tank.  I pulled the one out of the Si and saw this:

 

 

 

WHAT!?  Rust holes... awwww.  However, other than that one spot it is flawless.  What can i do about this that doesn't require welding in a new piece, anything?  I'm thinking I'll need to find a shop around here that repairs gas tanks... sounds kinda expensive.  If anyone has had any experience dealing with rusted gas tanks, please any insight would be helpful.

 

Thanx RPR, you guys rock.  Now back to work!  (I'm talking to myself again)

[1985 CRX SI]

Radiator shops in my part of the United States offer a gas tank service. They fiberglass them.
Jeff

[The Quaff]

Ohhh, that's a good thought.  I wonder if they do that around here... I'll make some calls.  Thanx 1985 CRX SI.

[OG-TJ]

Ohhh, that's a good thought.  I wonder if they do that around here... I'll make some calls.  Thanx 1985 CRX SI.

I discovered my Si tank went rusty on the inside a few years ago, which led to a cascade of other fuel related items going bad.  Mine was nowhere near as bad looking from the outside though I agree your's is probably fixable. 

The fuel tank guy I used is Carl Spike - 303-762-7522

2331 W Hampden Ave

Unit #123

Sheridan, CO 80110

 

While it was out, I also had to send the fuel gauge sender back east to a place that rebuilds them.  This place in NY state took care of that - http://tristarrradiator.com/

 

In addition to killing the fuel gauge sender, the fuel pump also went...replaced that with a Walbro kit for which you'd need a fitting adapter - look for:

"Fuel Line Fitting Adapter 6AN - M14x1.5 Female INVERTED FLARE like Earls 9894DBH" on Ebay

 

Here's what I ended up with on the fuel pump replacement:

 

and [mostly] installed -

[The Quaff]

Hey Peppers.  It’s been a long time, and I’m sorry.  Like I said in previous posts, life is getting in the way of this rebuild, and I guess in the way of me posting updates...  This build should be done, and I feel like if I had a garage it would be, but working outside in the winter is kinda hit or miss, so yea…  I have been outta town here and there, and snowboard season is upon us, so that takes a lot of my weekends during the winter.  Alright, enough excuses. 

Since the last post, 6 months ago… I have gotten the gas tank repaired, painted, and undercoated, twice.  The first time I did it, the undercoating didn’t cure/dry properly.  Not sure if I got a bad batch of undercoat spray or what, but I had to redo it.  What a pain that stuff was to remove, not to mention the mess it made…  It looks great now and is just about ready to go back into the car.  The repair came out pretty nice, as you can see in the pictures below.  The guy soldered a piece of tin onto the tank and took care of the smaller holes too.  I had it done at Gold Star Radiator on Santa Fe in Denver.  Nice guy and very reasonable price.  Plus, he had it done the same day.

 

 

 

 

As for the engine rebuild, it goes.  I bought new exhaust valves to replace the bent ones, but they were the wrong parts.  This had me discouraged, but I figured I should just bring it in to the machine shop and while the he had it, I could source the right valves.  I brought the head and block to Colorado Automotive Machine on south Santa Fe.  Terry was a great guy to work with and hooked me up for sure.  I wanted him to check the head and block surfaces to make sure they were straight and press my new pistons on.  He did that and then some.  While he had my stuff, he found, on his shelf, a D15A3 head.  He had already milled the head and done a valve job years ago, but the customer never returned to pick it up.  He gave me a smoking deal on it, that I couldn’t refuse. $300 for cleaning the block, checking the block, pressing pistons, and the rebuilt/machined head.  This also took care of my wrong valve issue, so I was a happy dude.

 

 

 

 

While I was in the process of rebuilding I found the Main bearings were incorrect…  Everything else in the rebuild kit I got was right, but the Main bearings are kind of a main part of the rebuild   This set me back a few days while the local parts store got them ordered in for me.  Luckily the bearings from the parts store were correct and fit perfectly.  I used PlastiGauge to check my bearing fitments, and found them all to be about the same.  I don’t remember off hand what they measured out at, but I remember it being at the upper end of the “New Bearing” tolerance.  Not too bad for an engine that had 350,xxx miles on it.  I used all standard size bearings, pistons, and rings BTW.

 

 

 

 

 

*Reason for edit: split into two posts... Too many pictures

Edited by The Quaff, 16 February 2016 - 02:26 PM.