I bought the hatch back in January of 2001. It took me a year and one month to actually take delivery of it. It was an ugly beast. The stock SOHC engine still had a lot of kick to it even with 200K on it. The body was in very bad shape, but the interior was well kept.

A lot of people thought I was crazy to buy it being that it needed so much work especially since it lived in another state and all I could do was literally go up and look at it. The person I bought it from, offered to do the swap for me, since that was my intention down the road anyway. We went through a him losing money on ebay for an engine and then him aquiring one, a B16A2 which I was unsure what year it was. It looked to be an older engine, but I still had a bit of research to do.

I know that I frustrated my installer with my uncertainties about things, but I wanted things to be done properly. In the end, I ended up with a B18C which I was told was a 1996 engine. He did tell me that he did an OBDII-OBDI conversion, but since I don't have the VIN for the engine, I can't say for sure.

My installer did a wonderful job with the engine. The wiring is clean and I haven't had any real problems with it. I did have to replace one motor mount and they did tell me that the knock sensor was throwing a code (which it was #23 if you care to know). The knock sensor was finally replaced the second week of May 2003) and now the O2 sensor which will be replaced sometime within the next couple of weeks (beginning to mid June 2003).

I am noticing, however, a really funky problem which at one point was only minor issue, but now it's becoming a bit more of an annoyance and causing my little baby to be a little less reliable. It's having trouble starting. Usually after I drive and park and get back in after 10 minutes (say to go to UPS or post office). I think I may have clogged injectors. Let's hope so. If nothing else, this car has been a good project to learn on. I'm not frustrated yet. Plus, it still has to get to the track!

Check the pics below to see just what I started out with.