The Creation of a Monster D Series Civic

By:

Michael (OscarMayer) Wichter (click to email me with questions)

Link to old setup

 The birth of a MONSTER D-series Civic car. I feel the D-Series motors have quite a bit potential and are always overlooked. So I wanted to see what can be done with one.

 

11/12/03

This is the first step in my project. Here you see my car up on jack stands. These are the “Truck” jack stands that have my car off the ground close to 2.5 feet. Since I do all my own piping work including welding and cutting I needed the room to get to the underside of the car comfortable.

Up on Stands

 

Another shot of the car up on stands.

 

Here you will see my car with the front off and where I have mounted my new front mounted intercooler. I made some custom brackets that allow it to mount properly on the center of the bumper opening rather than having part of the cooling fins covered.

Front Mounted Intercooler

 

As you can see here I’ve done a lot of work to ensure it is properly centered and aligned.

 

Here is a shot of the Drag turbo manifold and Precision SC61 turbo that I am going to use. It is currently mounted to my old motor for references purposes. Soon after the first of the year I hope to have the motor back from the shop and ready to drop in.

 

Turbo bolted on to manifold

 

This is just a basic shot of what the car currently looks like. It’s getting the inside alto redone for new gauges, new pager alarm system with all kinds of features and theft tracking just in case.

 

It’s a mess!

 

Currently I’m working on all the turbo and intercooler piping. Next, I’ll be working on the 3” down pipe and 3” exhaust system I’m installing for the car. I want to hit around 26 lbs of boost on race fuel and drive daily with 18 lbs of boost.

 

04/13/04

So far things have come a long way since we last talked. I have a Skunk2 intake system, the turbo piping and entire exhaust system including the down pipe is complete. The motor is being worked on at the machine shop, and I’m getting ready to redo my springs and install a rear drum to disc conversion. Right after that, I’m installing adjustable upper controller arms on the front and rear. Both are skunk2 units. I’m working on getting some more pictures for everyone so please give me a few days to get them up. If things go well, I may even be able to post up pictures of the machine shop and their engine dyno room which I’ve done the entire engine dyno harness for. We basically took the plugs off a stock harness and cut them off and started from scratch. I’ll have pictures of those as well as long as the shop lets me. So keep watching and soon you should be seeing some really nice stuff coming.

 

10/15/04

Well the bottom of the engine is fully assembled and the head is finally done as well. I still have to bolt the head onto the engine and set the cam timing gear once the proper piston to valve clearance is checked. I have taken a lot of pictures of several stages of the project. It’s pretty close. I still need to get some pics of my custom exhaust setup I made. It looks like 450+ wheel power is a realistic possibility now with the extras that have been added to the project. On to the pics.

 

Here are 2 shots of the head taken by Endyn (they are doing all the engine work)

 

Overall shot of the head completed from rework

 

Close-up of combustion chamber

 

Here are some pics of the block assembled and on the engine stand.

 

Block upside down before oil pan is installed

 

Top of block with pistons and rods installed

 

The next picture of the side of the block showing the 2 installed hose barbs. Those are for the Endyn Breather kit assembly that allows for better crankcase breathing and less stress on the overall system.

 

I’ve been asked what turbo I’m going to use so here are some pictures of the turbo. The turbo exhaust side has been fully ported to product the best possible flow. The turbo is a Precision Turbos SC61 model turbo with the newer 4bolt and better flowing exhaust housing. I got my turbo from Arturbo on Honda-tech site. I know him personally and he’s a great guy and a very trust worthy seller.

 

Ported Turbo housing (Sorry about the pic, it’s from my camera phone that I was testing.)

 

Turbo compressor side   Turbo Exhaust side

 

Here are some pictures of my oil pump being reworked. The oil passages were honed out and were modified to allow for better flowing.

 

Here is the pump on the table waiting to be operated on

 

Here is a picture of the finished pump (No this is not my pump but mine looks exactly the same. I got this pic off Endyn’s site.)

 

Here is one more of the pickup port (No this is not my pump but mine looks exactly the same. I got this pic off Endyn’s site.)

 

I’ve decided to use a Skunk2 intake manifold for better flow over the stock unit. Since it is a decent piece it needs very little work done to it. It is only going to be port matched to the head. The pictures I took were of my test fitting it inside the car on the old motor prior to removal of the driveline.

 

Intake1   Intake2   Intake3   Intake4

 

I have a shot of the intercooler piping as I was working on it. It’s done now and I’ll get some more updated pics, but this should give you an idea as to how I manufactured my plumbing.

 

Pipe1   Pipe2

 

There is a lot more to come. So far the transmission has been rebuild with the new QUAIFE LSD installed, and it’s sitting on my garage floor waiting to be installed once the engine is done. The engine is going to be broken in and fully tuned on the engine dyno prior to taking home and installing into the car. So the biggest advantages are when installed and completed I don’t have to wait for a break in period (except for the clutch). I can hit the wood and go. I’ve installed a new boost controller and installing new gauges. I’m going with a  Greddy Profect-B spec2  controller and new ETG, OIL pressure, Water temp, wide-band O2 A/F, and debating on a inside fuel pressure or not. I’ll be installing a Clutch Masters Stage-4 clutch and pressure plate and a new Alloy flywheel and new TO bearing.

10/24/04
I've taken some pics of the Finished machined head when the valves and springs were being installed. I also got a couple more pics of the fully assembled block.

Block1   Block2   Block3

Head1   Head2

Close up of vales in chambers

Top of assembled head showing springs installed

There will be more pics coming soon as well of the rest of the car and it's current progress.

11/13/04

The engine is officially "Together!" The head is on and torqued to specs, the cam gear (Skunk2) is installed along with the timing belt. There's just small stuff left to do.

Head on the engine    Head on engine2    Cam gear and timing belt installed

12/04/04

I've started putting the rest of the motor together including final installation of the turbo system, and manifolds.

Here is a pic of the oil pan we had to re-tap after I misjudged it the first time w/o the turbo and manifold being in my possession.

Taped oil pan

Here are some pics of the engine in it's final assembly stages.

Engine1    Engine2    Engine3    Engine4

As you can see things are really starting to take shape. It's taking me a lot longer due to only have a few hours on Saturdays to work on it. But if all goes well, maybe By just after the holidays I'll be able to bring it home and install it into the car.

12/23/04

Finally after about 2 years, things are starting to come to a wrap up on this engine. I've installed the intake, Throttle body, and test fit the piping on the engine for the dyno run. I'm fairly impressed with the looks thus far and think things are really coming together. I still have to install the hoses, finalize the oil lines and cooler lines, install the new injector clips into my old harness, and wire in the resistor box for the larger injectors. Blow are some pic with the piping installed. It should give you an idea as to how the routing is going to take place.

Intake1    Intake2    Intake3    Front1    Front2

Still have to degree the cam in, and install some more sensors. I also have to install oil and water lines still for turbo, but those will be somewhat simple compared to the rest of the project. Then maybe we can break it in and dyno it on a engine dyno which will be awesome.

01/08/05

Finally ran the oil lines and installed the injectors. I used MSD 758cc injectors (72 lbs). The injector part that goes into the fuel rail is larger than the oem ones. So The fuel rail had to be bored out to fit the injectors.

Fuel Rail and injectors installed

Here you can see the oil lines are installed. I gut a junction block that allows multiple connections to make it easier and neater for instillation as well as functionality is better. I also used special clamps to hold the line down to keep it form moving around a lot. I do not want the oil line to vibrate or rub a hole in itself so this will keep that from happening along with keeping it looking neat and out of the way. In the "Line to turbo" pic you can see where my water lines are going and how they will connect. Those fittings are NOT cheap. at $17 each, that's quite a price for doing something right. I looked in to many options but none proved to be able to properly handle the job like I wanted so, I'm bit the bullet and got the fittings. It makes install and removal easier along with looks nice.

Oil line Junction    Oil line Junction2    Line mounted    Line to turbo

01/22/05

Since this is a D16Z6 head (92-95 SOHC V-TEC) on a D16Y motor, There have been several EXTRA things that have to be done manually. Some things have to me manufactured and some modified in order for things to fit well. I discovered that the 96+ distributor will not bolt to a 92-95 head. So I went and purchased a 92-95 Distributor from a local junkyard for about $125. There still was a problem. The wiring on the distributor for the 96 and the one I got from the junkyard had different connectors. The earlier has 2 plugs while the 96-2k have 1 big plug. This left me with 2 choices.

    1. Cut the plugs off both distributors and solder the newer plug onto the wires and use a wiring diagram to make sure all wires are properly connected. The problem with this is it    would take an extremely long time (I'm anal about my soldering) and it would have this big bulge in the wiring near the plug I would half to deal with. It would also ruin the later model distributor. I did not like this idea much.

    2. Take everything out of each housing and stuff the newer guts into the older housing. This was the best idea and this was what I did. It not only allowed me to not have to worry about crossing a wire and spending an hour soldering stuff, it also allowed me to keep the newer electronics which are much better than the older stuff. The older stuff is plagued with igniters that go out, sensors that die and such. the newer stuff doesn't seem to have those issues. The best thing was everything was direct bolt in. No extra work was needed, Just unbolt and unscrew, clean everything, and bolt it in.

I also am using an external coil. Now the interesting thing is how most of you would rather cut a hole in the distributor cap every time and cut and re-solder wires you change the cap rather than to drill the hole in the housing. I drilled my hole in the housing and used a nice grommet to ensure the wires would not be chafed by vibration. I also zip tied the wires out of the way inside the distributor. If the wires are left loose they pose a chance on getting caught in something moving and thus resulting in a short or even damage to something, and maybe even a blown motor if under full boost going down the track and loosing spark is about the worst thing that can happen (next to loosing fuel). In the pictures you can see how everything fits all nice and snug as if had been installed from the factory (meaning the 96 parts in the 95 housing) along with the modifications I have done.

Distributor1    Distributor2

Here is a final shot of the 4-way oil line junction. It allowed me to connect the turbo feed line, the factory oil pressure switch, and the new aftermarket oil pressure gauge. I used a rubber clamp to hook it to the bottom of the manifold so it would be nice and snug, but out of the way of any thing that can harm it.

4-way

Here is a shot of the new injector harness I made with the injectors and fuel rail installed. This is final instillation before testing.

Injector Harness

I've taken some extra pictures of the rest of the motor.

There is the Dump Tube installed. I'm going to be later tying it into the down pipe. this picture also shows the timing belt cover and crank pulley installed.

Here is a picture of the Inlet Side of the turbo. I wanted you guys to see it's size. It also makes for a cool shot I think.

Here are a couple of shots of the turbo bolted on with the oil and water line fittings installed.

Shot1    Shot2

08/30/05

Well the car has been driven. Here is a current update:
The first turbo has ran for 25 min and started spitting oil into the exhaust badly even with a restrictor on the line. So I ended removing it and replacing it with another turbo. ( I would really like to THANK Precision Turbos for their awesome customer service and assistance. W/O their help I would not have been able to get this done so easily. Those guys do great work and provide awesome service.) For good measure I decided to order an aircraft quality flow control valve to help control the amount of oil going to the turbo itself. With the new turbo and controller installed I also installed a oil pressure gauge to tell me what the pressure going to the turbo is after the valve so I know if it needs adjustments. I have driven the car about 28 miles now and the first Freeway trip yielded a disappointment. During re-assembly of the trany The 5-gear shift fork came off the shift collar and the trany will not go into 5th. I have a 4th but no 5th. I have to take it back out and look into the problem and resolve it. I also need to drive it some more to  burn off the quart of oil that was dumped into the exhaust form the first turbo. This will be done by just driving the car and it is already nearly gone. I'll be removing the trany Friday 09/02/05 and repairing it and reinstalling it. Once completed I will then schedule a time for me to drive to Houston with the car to have it tuned.

Here are the latest pics of the car. My goal was to have the engine parts (aside form the red wire loom as the hardware store had not enough black but a bunch or red so I was forced to use red) look as stock installed as possible to a novice eye. I think I accomplished having a clean instillation. The thing I hate about the 96+ is it has less engine bay room than the others and this makes it look more messy with the same parts as other models.

FMIC    Turbo    Side Shot    Front Shot    Inside Gauges

Gauges installed: Engine Oil Pressure, Turbo Oil Pressure, Water Temp, Boost, ETG

To be installed: Wideband O2, maybe Fuel Pressure, Air Intake Temp

08/19/06

This is how the car looks at this point. It has a GT30R76 turbo installed. The drag manifold was ceramic coated (is going to have to get changed out due to flow issues NOT Waste Gate placement). I have re-routed some of the engine bay stuff and change out a few minor things. I created a basic pic page instead of listing 10 different pics. I also took pics of the suspension and rear disc break conversion I did.

Here is the latest pics of the car and engine.