looks great.. i wish i had the time and resources to put my prelude under for a while like this and do a proper build

******************** ENGINE ASSEMBLY *******************

So with the crank and head back from the machine shop, block machined and painted, and all parts and gaskets in hand this junkyard motor was finally ready for assembly. I had several hours of detailed work ahead of me so i didnt take as many detailed "step by step" pics of the longblock assembly as i wanted too. I really wanted to document/photograph every stage with tech and spec info similar to the FSM but I was a tad bit anxious too see this motor back together!



Oil pump cleaned and inspected prior to installation. Excellent condition.



Pistons cleaned of all oil and carbon build up, ready for new rings.



Head studs cleaned and lubed.



Rebuilt cylinder head. Also had them replace the valve guides while it was apart.



Block hot tanked and clean.

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Original factory bearings cleaned and returned to thier original location. (pre-lube)



With assembly lube applied to upper main bearings the polished/balanced factory crank is put into place, thrust bearings are also installed at this time. Again, lubed crank journals for lower bearings/caps.



With lower crank bearings returned to original location the main cap bolts are cleaned, lubricated, and snugged. Once all caps are installed they are torqued in factory sequence and to spec, this is done several times after rotating crankshaft several times. Crank spun incredibly smooth! With crank installed it was time to install pistons, rings, rods. Sorry for lack of pics as its an oily mess and timely process of checking and double checking everything. I install each marked rod/piston 1 at a time to insure everything returns to its original location and to prevent any mix up starting with #1-4-2-3. Once bearings are cleaned and returned to their original location the rings are then installed and ring gaps are off-set on pistons on both skirt sides. The piston rings recieve a heavy amount of oil as well as the cylinder walls, bearings recieve assembly lube. Rings are then compressed and the piston/rod is then installed in the block and rod bolts threads lubricated then snugged. Once all piston/rods are installed the rod bolts are then torqued to factory spec which is checked several times after a few crankshaft rotations.



Once the oil pump is installed with new gaskets it is again lubricated with oil. I also pour a hefty amount oil on the complete rotating assembly and piston wrist pins prior to oil pan installation.



With gray silicone added to recommended areas the new gasket and powdercoated pan is installed



New crank and rear main seal installed as well as t-belt tensioner and waterpump.

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Assembled shortblock.



Each piston returned to original location and position.





New headgasket in place.



With headstuds cleaned and lubricated the head is installed and torqued in sequence and to factory spec via fsm.



Oil pump gear cleaned and lubed. Journals and related areas lubed prior to camshaft and rocker assembly installation.





Camshaft installed and lubed.



New cam seal with gray silicone in needed areas.

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Rocker assembly installed and oiled.



Timing marks lined up for new timing belt installation.





With timing belt installed timing marks are double check along with proper belt tension. Tensioner bolts tightened.

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After valves and aux valve lash adjustment the wrinkle finished valve cover is installed. This reborn junkyard longblock is now complete!!

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Great job! I've always loved Honda for their engine building. I've overhauled many 50-90cc Honda engines, the quality and engineering of those tiny engines is magnificent. Interesting to see a CVCC engine being overhauled. How many mpg do you get with these engines?

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'90 N13 Sunny 1.6 GT - '00 P11-144 Primera 1.8 - '03 K12 Micra 1.2

wow. as an old skool honda fan, Im lovin this !

Thank you and i totally agree with you, Honda has designed and engineered some awesome engines. I did get into some "hypermilling" techniques for fun since i was commuting the Accord around 100 miles a day. With a consistant driving style i would average 26-28 mpg with combined city/highway driving. Not bad for a tired 30 year old motor with a carb that was running a bit on the rich side.

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Thank you.

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A few snaps of the dissassembly phase for repaint. More to follow.


So many things to remove..



and 30 minutes later...





A lot of weight removed from the engine bay and front end.

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Wow, amazing work so far! I love that color! I am so glad to see some classic Honda cars being restored. I love the color of your car too. Im definitely tuned in to see more of you're car! Oh and did it really only take 30 minutes to get the bay that stripped?

wow. this is so nice. do you have some more images of the engine? super clean looking stuff.

Great details for sure.

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